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SOCIOLOGY
Richard T. Schaefer
1
McGraw-Hill
Understanding
Sociology
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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1. Understanding Sociology
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What is Sociology?
What Is Sociological Theory?
The Development of Sociology
Major Theoretical Perspectives
Developing a Sociological Imagination
Sociology in the Global Economy
Applied and Clinical Sociology
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 3
What is Sociology?
• Sociology
– Systematic study of social behavior in
human groups
• Influence of social relationships
• How those relationships influence behavior
• How societies develop and change
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 4
What is Sociology?
• The Sociological Imagination
– Awareness of relationship between an
individual and the wider society (C. Wright
Mills)
• Ability to view one’s society as an outsider,
rather than from perspective of our limited
experiences and cultural biases
• Goes beyond personal experiences and
observations
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 5
What is Sociology?
• Sociology and the Social Sciences
– Science: body of knowledge obtained by
methods based on systematic observation
– Natural Science: study of physical
features of nature and ways they interact
and change
– Social Science: study of social features
of humans and ways they interact and
change
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 6
What is Sociology?
• Sociology and the Social Sciences
– Emphasizes the influence that society has
on people's attitudes and behavior and the
ways in which people interact and thereby
shape society
• Sociology and Common Sense
– Sociologists test and analyze
information they use
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 7
What is Sociology?
Figure 1-1. Race of Murder Victims
Sources: Department of Justice 2005:table 2.3; Death Penalty Information Center 2003
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 8
What Is Sociological Theory?
• Theory
– Set of statements that seeks to explain
problems, actions, or behavior
• Effective theories have explanatory and
predictive power
• Theories never a final statement about
human behavior
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 9
The Development of Sociology
• Early Thinkers
– Auguste Comte (1798–1857)
• Coined sociology to apply to the science of
human behavior
– Harriet Martineau (1802–1876)
• Studied social behavior in Britain and U. S
• Emphasized impact economy, law, trade,
health, and population could have on social
problems
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 10
The Development of Sociology
• Early Thinkers
– Herbert Spencer (1820–1903)
• Studied “evolutionary” change in society
• Émile Durkheim (1858–1917)
– Developed fundamental thesis to help
explain all society
Anomie: loss of direction felt in a society
when social control of individual behavior
has become ineffective
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 11
The Development of Sociology
• Max Weber (1864–1920)
– To fully comprehend behavior, we must
learn subjective meanings people attach to
their actions, called Vertehen
Ideal Type: construct or model for
evaluating specific cases
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 12
The Development of Sociology
• Karl Marx (1818-1883)
– Society fundamentally divided between two
classes that clash in pursuit of their own
interests
• Worked with Engles
• Emphasized group identification and
associations that influence one’s place in
society
• Argued working class should overthrow the
existing class system
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 13
The Development of Sociology
• Modern Developments
– Charles Horton Cooley (1864—1929)
• Increased understanding of groups of relatively
small size
– Jane Addams (1860–1935)
• Combined intellectual inquiry, social service
work, and political activism
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 14
The Development of Sociology
• Modern Developments
– Robert Merton (1940–2003)
• Created theory of deviant behavior
• Emphasized sociology should use “macro-level”
and “micro-level” approaches
Macrosociology:
onoflarge-scale
Microsociology:concentrates
stresses study
small
phenomena
or entire
civilizations
groups, often
through
experimental means
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 15
Major Theoretical Perspectives
• Functionalist Perspective
– Emphasizes ways parts of a society are
structured to maintain its stability
Manifest
Functions:
institutionsor
Latent
Functions:
unconscious
Dysfunctions:
element
or process
are
open,
stated,
conscious
unintended functions that may
of
a society
that
may actually
functions
that
involve
reflect hidden purposesintended,
of an
disrupt
the
social
system
orofdisrupt
recognized,
consequences
an
institution
it
stability
aspect
of society
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 16
Major Theoretical Perspectives
• Conflict Perspective
– Assumes social behavior is best understood
in terms of conflict or tension between
competing groups
– The Marxist View: conflict not merely a
class phenomenon, but part of everyday
life in all societies
McGraw-Hill
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Slide 17
Major Theoretical Perspectives
• Conflict Perspective
– An African American View: W. E. B. DuBois
• Conducted research to assist the struggle for a
racially egalitarian society
• Believed knowledge essential to combating
prejudice and achieving tolerance and justice
• In-depth studies of urban life
McGraw-Hill
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Slide 18
Major Theoretical Perspectives
• Feminist Perspective
– Views inequity in gender as central to all
behavior and organization
– Sometimes allied with conflict theory
• Also focuses on micro-level relationships, just
as interactionists do
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 19
Major Theoretical Perspectives
• Interactionist Perspective
– Generalizes about everyday forms of social
interaction to understand society as a
whole
– Sociological framework for viewing humans
as living in a world of meaningful objects
Nonverbal communication: can include many
gestures, facial expressions, and postures
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 20
Major Theoretical Perspectives
• Interactionist Perspective
– George Herbert Mead (1863—1931)
– Erving Goffman (1922—1982)
Dramaturgical approach:
people seen as theatrical
performers
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 21
Major Theoretical Perspectives
Table 1-1 Comparing Major Theoretical Perspectives
Table to be continued on next slide
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 22
Major Theoretical Perspectives
Table 1-1 Comparing Major Theoretical Perspectives
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 23
Major Theoretical Perspectives
• The Sociological Approach
– Gain broadest understanding of society by
drawing on all major perspectives, noting
where they overlap or where they diverge
– Each perspective offers unique insights into
the same issue
– A researcher’s work always will be guided
by his or her theoretical viewpoint
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 24
Developing a Sociological
Imagination
• Theory in Practice
• Research in Action
• Thinking Globally
– Globalization: worldwide integration of
government policies, cultures, social
movements, and financial markets through
trade and the exchange of ideas
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 25
Developing a Sociological
Imagination
• The Significance of Social Inequality
– Social inequality: condition in which
members of society have differing amounts
of wealth, prestige, or power
• Speaking Across Race, Gender, and
Religious Boundaries
• Social Policy Throughout the World
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 26
Sociology in the Global Economy
• The Global Response to the 2004
Tsunami
– International relief effort obvious sign of
globalization
– Most devastation hit relatively poor areas
of the world
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Slide 27
Applied and Clinical Sociology
Applied Sociology: discipline of sociology with
specific intent of yielding practical applications for
human behavior and organizations
Clinical Sociology: dedicated to altering social
relationships or to restructuring social institutions
Basic Sociology: seeks more profound knowledge of
the fundamental aspects of social phenomenon
McGraw-Hill
© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.