Download File - New Richmond High School Behavioral Sciences

1
Unit I: The Sociological Perspective
I. The Sociological Perspective.
A. Sociology is the systematic study of human society.
B. The sociological perspective helps us to see general social patterns in the behavior of particular
individuals.
C. It also encourages us to realize that society guides our thoughts and deeds — to see the strange in
the familiar.
D. Sociology also encourages us to see individuality in social context.
1. For example, Emile Durkheim’s research showed that the suicide rate was strongly
influenced by the extent to which people were socially integrated with others.
II. The Importance of Global Perspective.
A. Sociologists also strive to see issues in global perspective, defined as the study of the larger world
and our society’s place in it.
1. Example: A look around the world shows that childbearing is not a personal choice.
Women living in poor countries have many more children than women living in rich
nations.
B. There are three different types of nations in the world.
1. The world’s high-income countries are industrialized nations in which most people have
relatively high incomes.
2. The world’s middle-income countries have limited industrialization and moderate personal
income.
3. The world’s low-income countries have little industrialization and most people are poor.
4. The Global Village: Think of the population breakdown if the world were a village of one
thousand people.
5. Global thinking is an important component of the sociological perspective for four reasons:
a. Where we live makes a great difference in shaping our lives.
b. Societies the world over are increasingly interconnected, making traditional
distinctions between “us” and “them” less and less valid.
c. Many human problems faced in the United States are far more serious elsewhere.
d. Thinking globally is a good way to learn more about ourselves.
III. Applying the Sociological Perspective.
A. Certain situations like the following promote a sociological way of viewing reality.
1. Social marginality, the state of being excluded from social activity as an “outsider.” People at
the margins of social life are aware of social patterns that others rarely think about.
2. Living through periods of social crisis like the Great Depression or the 1960s.
B. Benefits of the sociological perspective.
1. The sociological perspective helps us assess the truth of “common sense.”
2. The sociological perspective helps us assess both opportunities and constraints in our lives.
3. The sociological perspective empowers us to be active participants in our society.
4. The sociological perspective helps us to live in a diverse world.
2
IV. The Origins of Sociology.
A. Three major social changes during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are important to the
development of sociology.
1. The rise of a factory-based industrial economy.
2. The emergence of great cities in Europe.
3. Political changes, including a rising concern with individual liberty and rights.
The French Revolution symbolized this dramatic break with political and social tradition.
B. Auguste Comte believed that the major goal of sociology was to understand society as it actually
operates. Comte favored positivism—a way of understanding based on science. Comte saw
sociology as the product of a three-stage historical development:
1. The theological stage, in which thought was guided by religion.
2. The metaphysical stage, a transitional phase.
3. The scientific stage.
C. Auguste Comte and Karl Marx are well-known political pioneers of sociology. Other sociological
pioneers who made important contributions include Harriet Martineau, Jane Addams, and W.E.B. Du
Bois, all pushed to the margins of society.
V. Sociological Theory.
A. A theory is a statement of how and why specific facts are related. The goal of sociological theory is
to explain social behavior in the real world.
B. Theories are based on theoretical paradigms, sets of assumptions that guide thinking and research.
Sociologists ask two basic questions:
What issues should we study?
How should we connect the facts?
C. There are THREE major sociological paradigms:
1. The structural-functional paradigm is a framework for building theory that sees society as
a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability.
a. It asserts that our lives are guided by social structures (relatively stable patterns of social
behavior).
b. Each social structure has social functions, or consequences, for the operation of society
as a whole.
c. Key figures in the development of this paradigm include Auguste Comte, Emile
Durkheim, Herbert Spencer, and Talcott Parsons.
d. Robert Merton introduced three concepts related to social function:
1) manifest functions, the recognized and intended consequences of any social
pattern
2) latent functions, largely unrecognized and unintended con-sequences and
3) social dysfunctions, undesirable consequences of a social pattern for the
operation of society.
2. The social-conflict paradigm is a framework for building theory that sees society as an
arena of inequality that generates conflict and change. Most sociologists who favor the
conflict paradigm attempt not only to understand society but also to reduce social
inequality.
a. Key figures in this tradition include Karl Marx and W. E. B. Du Bois.
b. Critical evaluation: This paradigm has developed rapidly in recent years. It has several
weaknesses.
3
1) It ignores social unity based on mutual interdependence and shared values.
2) Because it is explicitly political, it cannot claim scientific objectivity.
3) Like the structural-functional paradigm, it envisions society in terms of broad
abstractions.
3.The symbolic-interaction paradigm is a framework for building theory that sees society as the
product of the everyday interactions of individuals.
a. The structural-functional and the social-conflict paradigms share a macro-level
orientation, meaning that they focus on broad social structures that shape society as a
whole. In contrast, symbolic-interactionism has a micro-level orientation; it focuses on
patterns of social interaction in specific settings.
b. Key figures in the development of this paradigm include Max Weber, George Herbert
Mead, Erving Goffman, George Homans, and Peter Blau.
c. Critical evaluation: Symbolic interactionism attempts to explain more clearly how
individuals actually experience society. However, it has two weaknesses:
1) Its micro-orientation sometimes results in the error of ignoring the influence of
larger social structures.
2) By emphasizing what is unique, it risks overlooking the effects of culture, class,
gender, and race.
Chapter Objectives
1) Define sociology and examine the components of the sociological perspective.
2) Explain the importance of a global perspective for sociology.
3) Examine how social marginality and social crisis encourage people to use the sociological perspective.
4) Identify and describe four benefits of using the sociological perspective.
5) Identify and discuss three social changes especially important to the development of sociology.
6) Identify and describe the three-stage historical development of sociology as a science.
7) Discuss the importance of theory in sociology.
8) Summarize the main assumptions of the three major theoretical paradigms in sociology.
Key Vocabulary
Sociology
Global Perspective
High-Income Countries
Middle-Income Countries
Low-Income Countries
Social Marginality
Positivism
Theological Stage of Historical Development
Metaphysical Stage of Historical Development
Scientific Stage of Historical Development
Theoretical Paradigms
Structural-Functionalism Theory
Manifest Functions
Latent Functions
Social Dysfunctions
Social-Conflict Theory
Symbolic-Interaction Theory
4
Key Figures: “Godfather’s of Sociology”
August Comte
Max Weber
Karl Marx
George Herbert Mead
W.E.B. DuBois
Erving Goffman
Emile Durkheim
Robert Merton
Herbert Spencer
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Sociological Perspective Unit Project
You have been assigned a “Godfather” of sociology. Create a media presentation that includes text, images,
audio, and (optional) video that answers the following questions:
1) Where are they from?
2) What is their academic background?
3) What are their professional accomplishments?
4) What is their most significant contribution to the field of Sociology?
Rubric for Sociological Perspectives Unit Project
Your “Godfather” is:
_________________
Needs Improvement (3)
Meets Expectations (4)
Nation of Origin?
Include 2 out of three
from ----->
Date of birth, city/town,
nation
Only one of these ------->
Where they went to schoolboth HS and College level.
What was their emphasis of
study,
Academic Background?
Professional
Accomplishments?
Only two of these ----->
Contribution to the field
of Sociology?
Only one of these ------->
Images
One
Embedding a song and/or
video would be GREAT!
*EXTRA CREDIT*
Random information
that does not apply to
project.
How did they use their
education? Publications?
Research emphasis?
What was their
theory/theoretical
paradigm, Why are they
famous/important to the
field of sociology?
Two
Covers/reviews the
information as presented.
Surpasses
Expectations (5)
family, timeline of
places lived
Specific degrees
earned, complete list
of all schools
attended, who they
studied with
Awards
Complete theories
that are still with us.
More than two
Includes all
information above
AND focuses on their
contribution to the
field of sociology.