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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 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 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 1 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 th th 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 2 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 3