Download Sociology and Culture Learning Objectives Written Lecture Reading

UNIT I STUDY GUIDE
Sociology and Culture
Learning Objectives
Reading
Assignment
Chapter 1:
Sociology: Perspective,
Theory, and Method
Chapter 2:
Culture
Learning Activities
(Non-Graded)
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1. Define the concept of sociology and the corresponding components of the
sociological perspective.
2. Examine the global perspective for sociology in relation to the elements of
culture
3. Describe the different components in sociological theory and how it relates
to cultural diversity.
4. Discuss the purpose of research, hypotheses, and theory within sociology
5. Distinguish between the differences in cultural diversity: high culture,
popular culture, subculture, multiculturalism, counterculture, cultural
change, ethnocentrism, and cultural relativism.
6. Evaluate the different theoretical analyses of culture: structural-functional
analysis, social-conflict analysis, and sociobiology.
See information below.
Written Lecture
Key Terms
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Counterculture
Cultural change
Cultural relativism
Culture
Ethnocentrism
Global perspective
High culture
Multiculturalism
Norms
Popular culture
Sapir-Whorf
hypothesis
Social-conflict
approach
Society
Sociobiology
Sociological
perspective
Sociology
Structural-functional
analysis
Subculture
Symbol
Theory
SOC 1010, Introduction to Sociology
Sociology: Perspective, Theory, and Method
John Macionis (2011, p. 2) defines sociology as “the scientific study of human
society.” This definition includes not only the study of human social life, groups,
and societies, but also the study of people in groups. It gives us the tools to
understand the most far-reaching and global phenomena while letting us
understand why we, as individuals, act, react, and interact with our culture and
society in the ways we do.
The study of sociology leads us into areas of society that we might otherwise
have ignored or misunderstood. Our world view is shaped by our personal
experiences, and people with different social experiences have different
definitions of social reality, but sociology helps us to appreciate viewpoints other
than our own and to understand how these viewpoints came into being.
Sociology challenges us to leave the familiar behind and to delve into the inner
workings of our society. It insists that we need to take a broader look at why we
are the way we are and why we act the way we do.
Now that we have a working definition of sociology, we can move on to a more
difficult question: How can we learn to think sociologically? Or, how do we
develop a sociological perspective?
Perspective: The sociological perspective is a quality of the mind that allows us
to understand the relationship between our particular situation in life and what is
happening at a social level. It invites us to look at our familiar surroundings in a
fresh way. It encourages us to take a new look at the world we may have taken
for granted and to examine our social environment with the same curiosity that
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we might bring to an exotic foreign culture. Without this sociological perspective
(which has been called the "sociological imagination"), people see the world
through their limited experiences of a small orbit of family, friends, and
co-workers. The sociological imagination allows us to stand apart mentally from
our limited experiences and see the link between private concerns and social
issues. It permits us to trace the connection between the patterns and events of
our own and the patterns and events of our society. The focus is on social order
and stability.
In essence, most of us experience society in only a limited way—we know our
families, we are familiar with some politics, we know the culture in which we
were raised, and we are familiar with the idea that there are people and customs
that exist in our society and internationally that differ from our own. However,
information technology is drawing countries closer together.
Therefore, a global perspective, the study of the larger world and our society’s
place in it, becomes increasingly important. The future of our nation is
intertwined with the future of other nations on economic, political, environmental,
and humanitarian levels. Also, understanding diversity and developing tolerance
for people who are different from us is important for our personal, social, and
economic well-being.
Theory: Sociology is one of the more recently developed sciences. It was born
out of a need to understand the world and our place in it as a result of striking
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changes in Europe during the 18 and 19 centuries. The early sociologists
were desperately trying to understand what had happened to the “old world” and
what was likely to happen next. They were very much concerned with the
changes that were taking place—the Industrial Revolution, which began in
Great Britain; the French Revolution of 1789; the Enlightenment; and advances
in natural sciences and technology. Thus, sociology was born out of these
revolutionary contexts.
Auguste Comte (1798-1857) was the first social philosopher to coin and use the
term sociology. He was also the first to regard himself as a sociologist. He is
considered to be the “founder” or “father” of sociology. He developed the theory
of positivism, which argues that sense perceptions are the only valid source of
knowledge.
Emile Durkheim demonstrated that social bonds exist in all types of societies in
his first major study. In another study, he found that the more firmly connected
people are to others, the less likely they are to commit suicide, thus
demonstrating that even suicide is impacted by social forces.
Karl Marx was a social scientist, philosopher, historian, and revolutionary.
However, it seems that most of his ideas were not recognized until after his
death. He believed that social change was needed for a better society. However,
to get social change, there must be class conflict. He felt that capitalism
contained the seeds of its own destruction and would eventually lead to
communism.
Max Weber was interested in the shift from traditional society to the modern
industrial society. He was particularly concerned with the process of
rationalization—the application of economic logic to all human activity—due to
the development of bureaucracies throughout society. He believed that
rationalized and bureaucratized systems of law had become incapable of dealing
with individual particularities.
SOC 1010, Introduction to Sociology
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While Comte, Durkheim, Marx, and Weber represent the sociological tenets,
theirs are by no means the only theoretical orientations in sociology. More
modern approaches—symbolic interactionism, functionalism, and conflict
theory—also lend important contributions to the study of modern social events
and interactions. Proponents of each of these theories build on the base created
by the pioneers and reach very interesting conclusions. For example, one of the
founders of symbolic interactionism, George Herbert Mead, argued that
language is one of the most important keys to understanding social life. W.E.B.
DuBois was one of the first to note the identity conflict of being both black and
American. He pointed out that people in the U.S. espouse values of democracy,
freedom, and equality while accepting racism and group discrimination.
Symbolic interactionists contend that the meaning of objects, events, and
behaviors come from the interpretation people give them. These interpretations
may vary from one group to another. Consequently, we experience the world as
constructed reality.
Structural-functionalism is a consensus theory. It views society as built upon
order, interrelation, and balance. It focuses on social order based on tacit
agreements between groups and organizations and views social change as
occurring in a slow and orderly fashion.
The Conflict theory draws much of its inspiration from the work of Karl Marx and
argues that the structure of society and the nature of social relationships are the
result of past and ongoing conflicts.
Method: While theories make hypothetical claims, methods produce data that
will support, disprove, or modify those claims. Methodology involves the process
by which we gather and analyze data. Quantitative research uses data that can
easily be converted into numbers, such as a survey or an experiment.
Qualitative research involves data that cannot easily be converted into numbers,
such as observations or informal interviews.
The research methods described in this unit are often applied outside the field of
sociology as well. Some examples include the U.S. Census, political campaign
offices, business, and market research.
Reference
Macionis, J. J. (2011). Society: The basics (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall.
Learning Activities (Non-Graded)
Through the CSU Online Library, access the Academic OneFile database, and
search for the article “Overcoming Gender Bias” by Emily Holbrook. Consider
the position the author is taking with this article. Do you believe she has a valid
point? Why, or why not?
Full article citation:
Holbrook, E. (2011). Overcoming gender bias. Risk Management, 58(1), 22-27.
Retrieved from Academic OneFile database.
SOC 1010, Introduction to Sociology
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