Download Sociological Perspective

1/9/14
Chapter 1
The Sociological
Perspective
Planet Earth - Activity
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Planet Earth
•  5.5 billion people = 1,000 people
–  190 nations
–  575 Asian (200 China)
–  130 African
–  125 European
–  100 Latin American
–  65 North America (Canada, U.S, Mexico)
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Planet Earth
•  Economics
–  ½ of villages income is earned by 120 people
•  Food
–  Produce enough to feed everyone
–  500 are hungry going to bed (poor nutrition)
–  200 lack food and are vulnerable to diseases
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Planet Earth
•  Housing
–  Examples of splendid, 60 richest families in in
luxurious houses
–  600 live in shanty housing with no comfort or
safety
•  Education
–  75 have completed college degrees
–  ½ have never been inside a classroom
–  700 can not read or write
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Planet Earth
•  Environment
–  In danger… pollution, global warming
•  Conflict and war
–  Divisions over nationality, religion, Race, and
language
–  Virtually at any time, fighting disrupts peace in
community….
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Seeing the Broader Social Context
•  How Groups Influence People
•  How People are Influenced by Their
Society
–  People Who Share a Culture
–  People Who Share a Territory
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Social Location - Corners in Life
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Jobs
Income
Education
Gender
Age
Race/Ethnicity
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C. Wright Mills - History and
Biography
•  History - Location in Broad Stream of
Events
•  Biography - Individual s Specific
Experiences
•  External influences—our experiences—
become part of our thinking and motivation
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The Global Context and the Local
•  The Global Village
•  Instant Communication
–  Pick up a telephone or use the Internet to
communicate instantly with people anywhere
•  Sociology Studies both the Global Network
and Our Unique Experiences
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Sociology and the Other Sciences
•  The Natural Sciences
–  Explain and Predict Events in Natural
Environment
•  The Social Sciences
–  Examine Human Relationships
–  Divided into specialized fields based on their
subject matter
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Sociology and the Other Sciences
•  Anthropology
–  Studies Culture
•  Economics
–  Studies the Production and Distribution of
Goods and Services
•  Political Science
–  Studies How People Govern Themselves
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Sociology and the Other Sciences
•  Psychology
–  The Study of Processes Within Individuals
•  Sociology
–  Similarities to Other Disciplines
•  Sociologists focus primarily on
industrialized & postindustrialized societies
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The Goal of Science
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Explain Why Something Happens
Make Generalizations
Look for Patterns
Predict What will Happen
Move Beyond Common Sense
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Risks of Sociology
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Nooks and Crannies People Prefer Hidden
People Attempt to Keep Secrets
People Feel Threatened by Information
They peer behind the scenes to get past
those sugar-coated images
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Origins of Sociology
•  Tradition vs. Science
–  The Industrial Revolution
•  Masses of people moved to cities in search of work
–  Grew Out of Social Upheaval
–  Imperialism of the Time
–  Rise of the Scientific Method
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Sociology defined
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Sociology defined
•  Comte = study of society
•  Scientific study of society and the social
activity of human beings
•  Study of groups – how they are formed
and how they change and with the actions
of individuals within these groups
•  Studies human society and social behavior
•  Study of human beings and their
interaction with each other
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Auguste Comte and Positivism
(1798-1857)
•  Applying the Scientific Method to Social
World
•  Comte began to wonder what holds
society together
•  Coined the Term Sociology
•  Armchair Philosophy
•  Founder of Sociology
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Herbert Spencer –(1820-1903)
•  Second Founder of Sociology
•  Disagreed sharply with Comte s idea that
sociologists should guide social reform
•  Lower and Higher Forms of Society
•  Coined Phrase Survival of the Fittest
Fittest societies would survive over time
•  Spencer s idea that it was wrong to help
the poor offended many
•  Believed in Social Darwinism
•  Functionalist
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Karl Marx (1818-1883)
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Engine of Human History is Class Conflict
The Bourgeoisievs.The Proletariat pg. 236
Marxism Not the Same as Communism
Marx thought that people should try to
change society. People who own the
means of production control society
•  Marx did not think of himself as a
sociologist
•  Stated that imbalace of power leads to
conflict between owners and laborers
•  Conflict Theory
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Durkheim and Social Integration
(1858-1917)
•  Got Sociology Recognized as Separate
Discipline – applied methods of science to
the study of Society (Fuctionalist)
•  Studied How Social Forces Affect
Behavior (Suicide)
•  Identified Social Integration - Degree to
Which People are Tied to Social Group
•  First sociologist to test theories through
statistical analysis (suicide)
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How Americans Commit Suicide
60%
Whites
54.5 53.7
African Americans
Percentage
50%
40%
30%
20.8
20%
23.8
18.4
11.2
10%
0%
Guns
Hanging
Poison
2.0 3.5
1.2 2.7
1.6 1.8
0.4 1.1
1.2 2.2
Jumping
Drowning
Cutting
Fire
Other
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Max Weber and the Protestant Ethic
(1864-1920)
•  Religion and the Origin of Capitalism
–  Disagreed with Marx’s claim that economics is
the central force in social change
–  Said that role belongs to religion
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Religion is Central Force in Social Change
Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism
3 P’s (Property, Power, Prestige) pg 255
Symbolic interactionist
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The Debate over Values in Sociological Research
The Purposes
of Social Research
To understand
human behavior
versus
To investigate
harmful social
arrangements
The Uses
of Social Research
Can be used
by anyone for
any purpose
versus
Should be
used to
reform society
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Values in Sociological Research
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Sociology Should be Value-Free
Sociology Should be Objective
Research Should Involve Replication
Goals and Uses of Sociology
That bias has no place in research is not a
matter of debate
•  Are teachers bias… objective vs
subjective test…. How to make it more obj.
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What do you see?
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What do you see?
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Rat
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Old man
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Try not to see it now……
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Verstehen and Social Facts
•  Weber
–  Verstehen - “To Grasp by Insight”
–  Importance of Subjective Meanings
•  Durkheim
–  Stressed Social Facts
–  Explain Social Facts with Other Social Facts
•  How Social Fact & Verstehen Fit Together
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Sociology in North America
•  First Took Root in 1890 at University of
Kansas
•  Spread Rapidly in Next 20 Years
•  Not at Harvard until 1930
•  American Journal of Sociology 1895
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Sexism in Early Sociology
•  Attitudes of the Time
–  1800s Sex Roles Rigidly Defined
–  Few People Educated Beyond Basics
•  Harriet Martineau
–  Published Society in America Before
Durkheim and Weber Were Born
–  Her work was Ignored
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Be a t r
(1858–1943)
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Early North American sociologists combined the
roles of social analysis and social reform. As sociology
became a respected academic subject and sociology
departments developed across the United States,
academic sociologists began to emphasize social
research and theory. From this orientation, the
academic sociologists wrote the history of sociology.
They designated non-academic activists as social
workers, not sociologists, effectively writing them
out of the history of sociology. The women
shown here, among the forgotten sociologists
of this period, are gradually regaining a
place in the history of sociology.
(18
–
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The Forgotten Sociologists
(1880
Fr a nc
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ice Potter Webb
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The Forgotten
Sociologists
A t te n d e d Fisk
U niv e rsit y 8 8 2 – 1 8 8 4
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I d a B . 1 8 6 2– 1 9 3 1 a r n e t t
Wel l s - B
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tt e
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Racism at the Time: W.E.B Du Bois
•  B.A. from Fisk University
•  First Harvard Ph.D. for African American
•  It is difficult to grasp how racist society
was at this time
•  Published a Book Each Year from
1896-1914
•  Neglected by Sociologist Until Recently
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Jane Addams: Sociologist and
Social Reformer
•  Member of American Sociological Society
from Start
•  Came from Background of Wealth and
Privilege
•  Co-Founded Hull House
•  Co-Founded American Civil Liberties
Union
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Talcott Parsons and C. Wright Mills
•  Many early North American sociologists
saw society as corrupt & in need of reform
•  Parsons Developed Objective Analysis
and Models of Society
•  Mills Deplored Theoretical Abstractions in
Favor of Social Reform
•  Continuing Tension in Sociology
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Theoretical Perspectives (handouts)
•  Basic Sociology
•  Symbolic Interactionism
–  How People Use Symbols in Everyday Life
–  Applying Symbolic Interactionism
•  Changing meaning of symbols affects expectations
•  Public Sociology
•  Social Reform is risky
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Comparing Basic and Applied Sociology
APPLIED SOCIOLOGY
BASIC SOCIOLOGY
Audience: Fellow sociologists and anyone interested
Product: Knowledge
1
Constructing
theory and testing
hypotheses
2 Research on
basic social life,
on how groups
affect people
Audience: Clients
Product: Change
PUBLIC SOCIOLOGY
3
The middle
ground: criticisms
of society and
social policy
4
Analyzing
problems, evaluating
programs, and
suggesting solutions
5
Implementing
solutions
(clinical sociology)
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Call-Back Rates by Race–Ethnicity and Criminal Record
40%
Without
criminal record
With criminal
record
34
Percentage
30%
20%
17
14
10%
5
0
Whites
African Americans
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U.S. Marriage, U.S. Divorce
2.50
2.25
Number in Millions
2.0
1.75
Marriages
1.50
1.25
1.0
.75
Divorces
.50
.25
.00
1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2015
Year
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Applying Symbolic Interactionism Examples
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The Meaning of Marriage
The Meaning of Divorce
The Meaning of Parenthood
The Meaning of Love
In Sum
–  Symbolic interactionists look at how changing
ideas put pressure on married couples
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Functional Analysis
•  Society is a Whole Unit Made Up of
Interrelated Parts that Work Together
•  Functionalism, Structural Functionalism
•  Robert Merton and Functionalism
–  Functions
•  Manifest
•  Latent
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Functional Analysis
–  Dysfunctions
•  Applying Functional Analysis
–  Economic Teams
–  Education of Children
–  Teaching of Religion
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Contemporary Sociological Theories
•  Activity 1-3
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Contemporary Sociological Theories
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Activity 1-3
1. Symbolic
2. Control
3. Functionalist
4. Symbolic
5. Functionalist
6. Control
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7. Control
Part III
1. Control
2. Functionalist
3. Symbolic
4. Control
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Functional Analysis
–  Care of the Sick and Elderly
–  A Glimpse of the Past - 1800s
–  Changes in the Functions of…
•  Family
•  Friends
•  marriage
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Conflict Theory
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Karl Marx and Conflict Theory
Conflict Theory Today
Feminists and Conflict Theory
Applying Conflict Theory
Functionalists and Conflict Theorists Macro Level
•  Symbolic Interactionists - Micro Level
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Trends Shaping the Future
•  Sociology Full Circle: Reform vs.
Research
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