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Ch. 2-Thinking Sociologically
I.
The Development of Sociology
a. Historical Development of Sociology
Industrial Revolution
Four major changes:
Technology
Growth of cities
Change in political ideas
Colonization-exposure to diverse cultures
(see Ch. 14, pp. 484-485)
b. European Origins
Auguste Comte-Father of Sociology-society can be
studied
Positivism-a need to make moral sense of society in a
time of declining religious authority; social reform
Herbert Spencer-Social Darwinism-survival of the
fittest, liked status quo, did not believe sociology
should be used for social reform.
Harriet Martineau-translated Comte into English
One of the earliest feminist sociologists
Emile Durkheim-First research study-suicide
His research on suicide shows how individual acts are
conditioned by social forces.
Major cause of suicide was isolation and disconnection
from others.
Interested in religion-social bonds;
How society holds together; what are society’s values.
The ways in which capitalism and industrialization
have transformed how people relate to one another;
Anomie-normlessness-decline in strength of societal
rules, aimlessness or despair that arises when we no
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longer expect life to be predictable; too little social
regulation-deviance; not knowing what to expect
Marx-society shaped by economic forces, historical
materialism. Society is always changing-focused on
capitalism and class struggle.
Conflict between social classes drove social change
throughout history; social conflict arises from how
people work within a system to produce material
goods.
Capitalism = exploitation
Class Conflict-bourgeoisie (capitalists) and proletariat
(workers)
Alienation-isolation resulting from powerlessness;
feeling unconnected to one’s work
Class Consciousness- beliefs about an individual’s social
positioning – produced when the proletariat (worker)
truly understands the workings of capitalism and their
collective role in it and their relationship to one another
as well as to the capitalists; a necessary prerequisite to
the revolutionary action.
False Consciousness an erroneous set of beliefs –
workers believe the system operates according to their
benefit, which lies in the interests of the bourgeoisie.
Max Weber-multidimensional view of societyintegrating political, economic and cultural dimensions.
Verstehan-empathic understanding.
Interpretative sociology-the study of social meaning
and the importance of ideas
Research should be value-free (free of personal bias).
Rationalization-the growth of efficient, matter of fact
ideas over tradition; bureaucracy. Rationalization can
have negative consequences as well.
Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
(see Ch. 13, pp. 434-436)
Thinking Sociologically
c.
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Sociology in the U.S.
Characterized by empirical research
The “Chicago School”-early 1900 until 1930’s-human
behavior and personality are shaped by social and
physical environments-focused on improving societyinteractionist-activist
Jane Addams-Hull House-social worker
W.E.B. Dubois-founder of NAACP-first AfricanAmerican to earn degree at Harvard; worked to develop
civil rights in the U.S.; double consciousness-two
behavioral scripts-one for moving through the world, the
other for incorporating the opinions of prejudiced
onlookers
George Herbert Mead-focused on social interaction and
the development of the “self”; the self develops as the
individual learns to take the role or point of view of
others in specific contexts
Charles Horton Cooley-focused on social interaction,
development of the “looking-glass self”
1940’s-1950”s-focused on research-more conservativeFunctionalist
Merton-manifest & latent functions; dysfunctions
C. Wright Mills-activist at this time, focused on
distribution of power in the U.S.
1960’s-1970’s-conflict-lots of social change-civil rights,
feminist movements, anti-war; sociology largest
academic major; greater influence of women and
minorities during this era
Mid-Twentieth Century-Post-Industrial Age: white collar
work, bureaucracies, growth of service sector
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Twenty-first Century-Information Age-increased
participation of women in work force, growth of unpaid
labor, effects of computer technology on society and
individuals. Focus on knowledge, information, and
technologies.
All perspectives used now-emphasis on diversity and
globalization
V.
Theoretical Perspectives
a. Structural/Functionalism-society is a complex system
whose parts work together to promote stability. (Durkheim)
People socialized to perform functions
Macro level-analysis of large scale patterns of social
dynamics (government, religion, the military, etc) across
the breath of society
Major concepts: manifest and latent functions;
dysfunctions, organic analogy-homeostasis
Criticism-too conservative-like/accept status quo
b. Conflict Theory-society is always changing; always in
a state of friction.
Based in Marx’s theory.
Macro level-analysis of large scale patterns of social
dynamics (government, religion, the military, etc)
across the breath of society
People shaped by power and authority
Critical of social structure and use of power and coercion
Social change may have positive consequences
Major concepts: competing interests, social inequality,
social class, subjugation of groups
Criticism-too radical-ignores cooperative aspects of
social life such as agreement on values-religion
c. Symbolic Interactionist Theory-focuses on everyday life
and the interaction between individuals.
Micro level-analysis-uses smaller parts of society
(individual actions and interactions between two or more
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people and their meaning and purpose) to help
understand larger features
People create their own world through interaction
Society is maintained by shared understanding of
everyday behavior.
Major concepts: symbols, small groups, nonverbal
communication, impression management, dramaturgy,
definition of the situation, looking-glass self,
ethnomethodology, exchange theory
Criticism-ignores the effect of social structure on
interaction.