Download File - Ms. Hunter`s Class

Ch.1
• Text in red are key points you need
to pay attention to
• “...THE SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF
HUMAN SOCIETY ”
– SYSTEMATIC
• SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINE THAT FOCUSES
ATTENTION ON PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR
– HUMAN SOCIETY
• GROUP BEHAVIOR IS PRIMARY FOCUS;
HOW GROUPS INFLUENCE INDIVIDUALS
AND VICE VERSA
– AT THE “HEART OF SOCIOLOGY”
• THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE WHICH
OFFERS A UNIQUE VIEW OF SOCIETY
GLOBAL LINKAGE
• SOCIOLOGY OFFERS STUDENTS THE
OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND THE
GLOBAL VILLAGE
– ALL SOCIETIES ARE INCREASINGLY CONNECTED
THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMICS
• INTERDEPENDENCY OF NATIONS
– MANY SOCIAL PROBLEMS FACED BY AMERICANS
ARE MORE SERIOUS ELSEWHERE
• MORE AWARENESS
– UNDERSTANDING GLOBAL ISSUES AND THE
WORLD AROUND AMERICA ALLOWS STUDENTS
TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THEMSELVES
• FEWER ETHNOCENTRIC TENDENCIES
The Sociological Perspective
OBSERVATIONS ARE CERTAINLY
IMPACTED BY THE PERSONAL
PERSPECTIVES THROUGH WHICH
PEOPLE COME TO VIEW THE WORLD
Sociological Perspective
• We will be looking at
social life in a scientific
systematic way, rather
than depending on
common-sense
explanations.
• By adopting a sociological
perspective, you can look
beyond commonly held
beliefs to the hidden
meanings behind human
actions.
OTHER WAYS SOCIOLOGY
ALLOWS US TO SEE ANEW
• ADVANTAGES OF A SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE
– ALLOWS US TO NOTICE DIVERSITY IN
AMERICA
– SOCIOLOGY DRAWS ATTENTION TO SOCIAL
CRISIS
• IMPORTANCE OF THESE ITEMS
– THEY ALLOW US TO SEE THE CONNECTION
BETWEEN MICRO AND MACRO SOCIAL
ELEMENTS
Why is a sociological perspective
important?
• Helps us see:
– People are social beings
– Behavior is influenced by social factors.
– You have learned your behavior from others.
• Can help us to:
– Broaden view of the social world.
– See there are many different perceptions of social reality.
– See beyond our own day-to-day lives by viewing the world
through the eyes of others.
– Find an acceptable balance between personal desires and demands
of social environment.
– View our life within a larger social and historical context.
SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION
• C. WRIGHT MILLS’ SOCIOLOGICAL
IMAGINATION – (the ability to see the connection
between the larger world and your personal life)
– SOCIETY IS OFTEN RESPONSIBLE FOR MANY OF
OUR PROBLEMS
– WE NEED TO LEARN TO SEPARATE THINGS THAT
HAVE TO DO WITH
• PERSONAL TROUBLES, OR BIOGRAPHY
• SOCIAL ISSUES, OR HISTORY
• EXAMPLES:
– WOMEN’S OPPORTUNITIES AT THE TURN OF THE
CENTURY AND THESE DAYS
– LIFESTYLES OF THOSE WE LABEL DISABLED IN
THE 1950’S AND NOW
Sociology’s Place in the Social
Sciences
•
•
•
•
•
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Sociology
Anthropology
Psychology
Economics
Political science
History
THE DISCIPLINE’S ORIGINS
• SOCIOLOGY SPRANG FROM THREE
SEPARATE, YET INTERDEPENDENT
REVOLUTIONS
– THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
• A BELIEF IN SCIENCE BEGAN TO REPLACE
TRADITIONAL FORMS OF AUTHORITY
– THE ECONOMIC REVOLUTION
• INDUSTRIALISM AND CAPITALISM WERE
CHANGING ECONOMIC PATTERNS
THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION
• MORE DEMOCRATIC VALUES AND STANDARDS
WERE BEING ADOPTED
PERSONALITIES
• AUGUSTE COMTE (1798-1857)
– Founder of sociology as a distinct subject.
– Interested in the causes and consequences of
the French Revolution.
• Focused on two basic areas of study – social order
and social change.
– Felt social statics held societies together and
that society changed through definite
processes called social dynamics.
• These basic principals could be uncovered, studied
scientifically and used to reform society.
– Today most of his ideas regarding soceity
have been refuted.
• However modern sociologists are still concerned
with his basic issues of order and change.
PERSONALITIES
• HERBERT SPENCER (1820-1903) –
“Social Darwinism”
– Influenced by views of Charles Darwin.
• Adopted a biological model of society.
– Stated that society is a set of interdependent
parts that work together to maintain the
system over time.
– Stated that social change and unrest were
natural during a society’s evolution toward
stability and perfection.
• Felt no steps should be taken to correct social ills.
– Believed that only the fittest societies would
survive over time.
PERSONALITIES
• KARL MARX (1818-1883)
– Believed the structure of society is influenced
by how its economy is organized.
– Society is divided into two classes – bourgeoisie
and the proletariat.
• This imbalance of power would eventually lead to
class conflict that would end only when the
proletariat untied to overthrow those in power.
They would then create a classless society.
– His emphasis on conflict as the primary cause
of social change led to the development of one
of the major sociological perspectives – conflict
theory.
PERSONALITIES
• EMILE DURKHEIM (1858-1917)
– Like Comte, he was concerned with social
order and like Spencer, he saw society as a set
of interdependent parts that maintain the
system throughout time.
• He viewed the role of these interdependent parts
in terms of their function.
– He was interested in the function of religion
in maintaining social order because he
believed that shared beliefs and values were
the glue that held society together.
– Basis of his scientific analysis of society was
his belief that sociologists should only study
features of society that are directly
observable.
• These phenomena can be tested by applying the
scientific tool of statistical analysis.
• DURKHEIM’S STUDY OF SUICIDE
– MORE LIKELY TO COMMIT
• MALE PROTESTANTS WHO WERE WEALTHY AND
UNMARRIED HAD HIGHER SUICIDE RATES
– PROTESTANTISM AND INDIVDUALISM
– LESS LIKELY TO COMMIT
• MALE JEWS AND CATHOLICS WHO WERE POOR AND
MARRIED
– BEING CATHOLIC AND GROUP-ORIENTATION
• ONE OF THE BASIC FINDINGS: WHY?
– THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE GROUPS HAD
TO DO WITH “SOCIAL INTEGRATION”
• THOSE WITH STRONG SOCIAL TIES HAD LESS OF A
CHANCE OF COMMITING SUICIDE
Seeing the General in the Particular
RATE OF DEATH BY SUICIDE
20
18
20
WHAT SOCIAL FORCES ARE
AT WORK HERE?
18
16
16
14
14
12
12
10
10
20.2
8
8
6
10.9
4
6.2
2
4
4.9
1.9
0
6
12.4
2
0
African Americans
Whites
By Race and Sex PER 100,000 PERSONS
Males
Both Sexes
Females
U.S. Bureau of the Census
PERSONALITIES
• Max Weber (1864-1920)
– He was interested in the separate
groups within society instead of society
as a whole.
• This led him to focus more on the effect of
society on the individual.
– Felt sociologists should go beyond
studying what can be directly observed
and attempt to uncover the feelings and
thoughts of individuals.
• This would be done using the principle of
Vershehen.
• Also used the concept of ideal type.
WOMEN IN SOCIOLOGY
• HARRIET MARTINEAU (1802-1876)
– TRANSLATED THE WORKS OF AUGUSTE
COMTE
– FOCUSED ON ISSUES SURROUNDING
• WOMEN’S RIGHTS
• SLAVERY
• THE WORKPLACE AND FACTORY LAWS
• JANE ADDAMS (1860-1933)
– SOCIAL WORKER
– DEVELOPED PLAN TO HELP IMMIGRANTS
NEW TO CITY LIFE IN AMERICA
• HULL HOUSE IN CHICAGO
• NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER, 1931
SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES
• THEORY: A STATEMENT OF HOW AND
WHY FACTS ARE RELATED
• PERSPECTIVE: A SET OF FUNDAMENTAL
ASSUMPTIONS THAT GUIDES THINKING
PEOPLE HOLD DIFFERING
OPINIONS ABOUT THEIR
SOCIAL WORLD
WE ALL COME FROM
DIFFERENT SOCIAL
EXPERIENCES AND THEY
BIAS OUR ASSUMPTIONS
FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE
• THE BASICS
– A MACRO-ORIENTED (LARGE-SCALE) PERSPECTIVE
– VIEWS SOCIETY AS A COMPLEX SYSTEM WITH MANY
INTERDEPENDENT PARTS
– THE PARTS WORK TOGETHER TO PROMOTE SOCIAL
STABILITY AND ORDER
– MAJOR CHANGES TO THE SYSTEM’S PARTS IS NOT REQUIRED
OR DESIRED; SYSTEM SEEKS TO MAINTAIN IT EQUILIBRIUM
• KEY ELEMENTS:
– SOCIAL STRUCTURE
• REFERS TO RELATIVELY STABLE PATTERNS OF SOCIAL
BEHAVIOR FOUIND IN SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
– SOCIAL FUNCTION
• REFERS TO THE CONSEQUENCES OF SOCIAL PATTERNS FOR
SOCIETY
– Functional (positive) or dysfunctional (negative) – and these can be manifest or
latent
Conflict Perspective
• THE BASICS:
– A MACRO-ORIENTED (large scaled)
PARADIGM
– VIEWS SOCIETY AS A STRUCTURED
SYSTEM BASED ON INEQUALITY
– SOCIAL CONFLICT BETWEEN GROUPS
OVER SCARCE RESOURCES IS THE NORM
• KEY ELEMENTS:
– SOCIETY IS STRUCTURED IN WAYS TO
BENEFIT A FEW AT THE EXPENSE OF THE
MAJORITY
– FACTORS SUCH AS RACE, SEX, CLASS, AND
AGE ARE LINKED TO SOCIAL INEQUALITY
– DOMINANT GROUP VS. MINORITY GROUP
RELATIONS
• INCOMPATIBLE INTERESTS AND
THE CONFLICT
PARADIGM
INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE
SYMBOLIC INTERACTION IS A MICRO-ORIENTED PARADIGM,
WHICH MEANS IT IS EFFECTIVELY USED WHEN ATTEMPTING
TO UNDERSTAND SMALLER-SCALE SOCIAL PHENOMENA
• THE BASICS:
– THE VIEW THAT SOCIETY IS THE PRODUCT OF
EVERYDAY INTERACTIONS
• PRINCIPLES:
– SOCIETY IS A COMPLEX MOSAIC OF
UNDERSTANDING THAT EMERGES FROM THE
VERY PROCESS OF INTERACTING
– INTERESTED IN THE ROLE SYMBOLS PLAY IN
DAILY LIVES.
• FOCUS ON HOW PEOPLE USE SYMBOLS WHEN
INTERACTING.