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The Sociological
Perspective
Introduction to Sociology
WCU
Fall Semester, 2015
…but first, what is Sociology?
Sociology is the study of society (then
what is society?)
Society is a group of people who share a
culture and a territory. Sociology studies
the social forces that influence our lives in
so many unseen, yet significant ways.
Sociologists look behind the scenes!
The Sociological Perspective:
“The Usefulness of Sociology in our
Everyday Lives”
The Sociological Perspective Allows us
to see general patterns in the behavior of
people.
“Seeing the Strange in the Familiar”
The Sociological Perspective
(cont’d)
*The Sociological perspective examines
how social contexts influence people’s
lives. (What are “social contexts”?)
Social Context refers to the immediate
physical and social setting in which people
live or in which something happens. It
includes the culture that the individual lives
in, and the people and institutions with
whom they interact.
Social Location
Sociologists examine social location in order to
find out why people do what they do; think what
they think, etc.
Social location: the group memberships that
people have because of their location in history
and society.
Sociologists look at how jobs, income,
education, gender, age, race-ethnicity (“SES”)
affect people’s ideas and behavior.
C. Wright Mills (1959)
The "Sociological Imagination”
“The sociological imagination
(perspective) enables us to grasp the
connection between history and
biography”.
What did Mills mean by this?
C. Wright Mills (con’t)
Mills meant that each society is located in
a broad stream of events; at a particular
moment in history.
Each society has specific characteristicssuch as its ideas about the proper roles of
men and women.
By “biography”, Mills was referring to each
individual’s specific experiences.
Sociology: A Social Science
Sociology is but one of multiple “social
sciences” that can be characterized as
intellectual/academic disciplines designed
to understand the social world objectively
by means of controlled and repeated
observations.
Objectivity vs. Subjectivity
(what’s the difference?)
Other Social Sciences
Anthropology: examines culture; anthropologists place
more of an emphasis on artifacts, authority, and kinship
relations.
Economics: examines the production and distribution of
the material goods and services of a society.
Political Science: examines politics and forms of
government.
Psychology: examines mental processes that occur
within individuals.
Where does sociology come from?
Origins of sociology can be traced back to
middle of 1800’s.
Industrial Revolution created fertile ground for
inquiry; massive changes in social conditions
such as in the workplace, home, political
systems, etc. Upheavals of traditions.
Tradition, which provided the answers to
questions regarding social life could not longer
be counted on.
The Industrial Revolution!
The Industrial Revolution can best be
characterized as a major turning point in
history (roughly between 1760 to 1840)
where a massive shift toward mechanical
manufacturing, urbanization, and the
emergence of the modern, capitalist
economy took place.
The Industrial Revolution!
Spurred massive changes in social conditions
such as in the workplace, home, political
systems, etc. Upheavals of traditions!
The domestic sphere and work sphere became
increasingly distinct; “gendered work”/ domestic
division of labor.
The Industrial Revolution!
Life expectancy of children increased
dramatically. The percentage of the
children born in London who died before
the age of five decreased from 74.5% in
1730–1749, to 31.8% in 1810–1829*
*Mabel C. Buer, Health, Wealth and Population in the Early Days of the Industrial Revolution
Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
Credited as the founder of sociology. What holds
society together? What creates social order?
What causes societies to change?
Comte was interested in applying the scientific
method to the social world. (what is the scientific
method?)
Positivism: the application of the scientific
approach to the social world.
Sociology can be utilized to guide social reform.
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
Often referred to as the second founder of
sociology.
Spencer disagreed with Comte that sociology
should guide social reform. Instead, Spencer
thought that societies evolve from lower
(“barbarian”) to higher (“civilized”) forms. Over
time, “the fittest” members of society survive
while the less capable die out. Thus, as time
passes, societies improve.
Herbert Spencer (con’t)
Spencer coined the phrase “survival of the
fittest” (NOT DARWIN!-although it is often
attributed to him).
Spencer disagreed with the concept of charity.
By helping the poor and lower classes, we are
interfering with natural processes.
Because Spencer’s ideas are so similar to
Darwin’s, Spencer’s concepts are often referred
to as “social Darwinism”.
Herbert Spencer (con’t)
Spencer’s ideas offended many, but the
wealthy industrialists of the time welcomed
his ideas.
Why would have the wealthy industrialists
of the period agree/support Spencer’s
notion of social Darwinism?
Other important figures in
sociology!
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917): contributed many
important concepts to sociology. Major research
in suicide rates. Social integration is the key role
in social life.
Max Weber (1864-1920): Cross cultural and
historical analysis to trace causes of social
change. “Sociology must be value free!”
Advocated for objectivity in sociology.
The 3 main theoretical perspectives
of sociology:
Conflict Theory
Structural Functionalism
Symbolic Interaction
let’s look at each one of these…
Theory 1: Structural
Functionalism
Society as a whole unit consisting of
individual parts (i.e. gears of a clock)
The idea of society as a living organism.
Emile Durkheim (see sociological studies
of suicide rates) When all parts of society
are functioning-we are at a normal state.
When all/some parts are not functioning,
society is in a pathological state.
(what is Durkheim talking about?)
Robert Merton (1910-2003)
Society not so much a living organism, but more of a
whole that is composed of parts.
The various functions of society help keep the whole in
equilibrium, or “homeostasis”
What about deviance? Is it functional? (it can be
considered just another mini-function of the larger whole)
How is deviance “functional”?
Theory 2: Conflict Theory
Karl Marx (1818-1883): founder of conflict theory
(“Marxism”). Witnessed industrial revolution
transform Europe. Suffering and exploitation that
came with the many changes of the I.R. lead
Marx to analyze society/history which revealed
the CONTINUOUS STRUGGLE OVER
RESOURCES AND POWER.
Conflict Theory (cont’d)
Marx concluded that:
The key to human history is class conflict.
In industrialized societies, this conflict is
between the “bourgeoisie” and the
“proletariat” (or the capitalists vs. the
workers).
Conflict Theory (cont’d)
Many sociologists today apply conflict
theory in a much more broader sense than
Marx did.
Conflict theory can be applied to the
household, workplace, and also applied in
a larger global context (i.e. strategic
thinking among nations etc.)
Theory 3: Symbolic
Interactionism
Can be traced back to Scottish philosophers of
the 18th century who noted that individuals
evaluate their own conduct by comparing
themselves to others.
Charles Cooley (1864-1929) and George Mead
(1863-1931) brought this idea to sociology.
Symbols lie at the basis of self-concept; people
communicate and develop worldviews through
use of symbols and language.
Symbolic Interactionism (cont’d)
Reality is “socially constructed” through
language and meaning.
Through institutionalization, meaning is
embedded in society.
Notions of morality, “truth”, knowledge,
aesthetic beauty, ideology, history, etc. are
based upon consensus, and only exist
because we collectively agree that they
do.
The “Social Construction of
Reality”
According to symbolic interactionism,
society’s institutions are elaborate social
constructions:
Examples:
“Gender” “The Law” “Marriage” “Family”
The “Social Construction of
Reality” (cont’d)
Other social constructions:
“The Economy”
“Religion”
“Aesthetic Beauty/Art”
“Race”
“Sentimentality”
Language and Perception: A
Unique Relationship
Example: The Himba People of Namibia
and color perception
“The Himba Color
Experiment”
“The Himba Color
Experiment” (cont’d)
“Structure vs. Agency”