Download What is sociology

from Latin: socius, "companion"; and the suffix -ology,
"the study of"
What is it?
 Sociology= the study of
the development,
structure and
functioning of human
society
 Includes the study of
how groups of people
who share common
characteristics function
What is it?
 Sociologist focus on
patterns of behaviours
shared by members of a
particular group of
society
 Study topics such as:
 Ethnic groups
 Social class
 Gender roles
 Criminology
 Deviance
 Institutions within our
society
What Sociologists Study
Area of Study
Focus of Study
Examples
Knowledge
How different social and
political ideas originate
and how they affect
people in society
Why do young people
reject or accept the ideals
of their parents?
Social Movements and
Collective Behaviour
How people gather in
groups to achieve their
goals
How can students
organize to bring lasting
changes in their schools?
Social Identities
How race, class, ability,
gender and sexual
orientation affect people’s
lives
How do differences in
your gender, race or
economic status affect
they way you are treated?
What Sociologists Study
Area of Study
Focus of Study
Examples
Culture
How social groups and
societies develop cultural
practices and institutions
How does music that
teens listen to affect their
attitudes, values, and
goals?
Economy
The structure and
influences of economic
systems
What kinds of industries
exist in your community?
Why were they built there
and what effect do they
have on the people in
your area?
Crime
Crime and crime
prevention
Do police officers treat
teen differently from
adults?
Sociological Theoretical
Perspectives
 1) Functionalism
 Every structure in
society has a vital
function
 Most aspects of society
contribute to the
society’s well-being and
survival

Ex. Family contributes to
society by reproducing
and taking care of its
members
 2) Conflict Perspective
 Society experiences
inconsistency and
change everywhere
 All societies involve
control and coercion of
some members by
others

Ex. Some people have
power over others- bosses,
police, head of the family
Sociological Theoretical
Perspectives Continued…
 Symbolic
interactionism is a
sociological perspective
that society is
constructed by people’s
interpretations of reality
(i.e. what they believe to
be true as opposed to
what is objectively true).
 Max Weber:
“ individuals act
according to their
interpretation of the
meaning of their world”
 George Herbert Mead
is credited with
introducing the
framework in the 1920’s
Sociology and AnthropologyWhat’s the Difference?
 Similarities:
 Examine the human
condition
 Examine the “big
picture”
 Examine the way society
influences people’s lives
 Overlap in the study of
culture
 Differences:
 Anthropologists study
cultures as a whole
 Sociologists study parts
of a society


Components that make up
culture
Institutions such as family,
religion or economic
system
A Brief History of Sociology
 Sociology is a young
 During the Industrial
science
 Began in the later 1800’s
Revolution society was
undergoing much
change
 People were moving
from country to city
 This had a huge impact
on the way in which
society functioned
A Brief History of Sociology
 Migration to the cities
led to problems of
pollution, poverty,
malnutrition, unemployment and crime
 Social unrest and
disorder resulted
 First sociologists studied
these problems in an
effort to help people
understand and deal
with these issues
Pioneers of Sociology
 Emile DurkheimDeveloped the theory of social
facts, which maintained that
things such as customs,
institutions and organizations
exert control over people
 Karl Marx- believed
capitalism, the economic system
that brought class differences,
would be overthrown by
communism and result in more
equality
Pioneers of Sociology
 Max Weber- believed that
human values and beliefs
affected how people acted
throughout society
 Dorothy E. Smith-
provided insight into how
women and the powerless
have been excluded from
sociological research
Agents of Socialization
 Social group,
institutions, and groups
that provide structured
situations in which
socialization takes place
 Family
 Schools
 Peers
 Mass Media
 The process of
socialization is a lifelong
process in which we learn
the rules to becoming
functioning members of
society
Institutions
 A large organization with
 Social Institutions:
a particular type of work
or purpose
 A system of organization
that has existed for a
long time
 “established sets of
norms and subsystems
that support each
society’s survival”
 * family, education,
religion, economic
systems, political
systems
Power
 Max Weber: “The ability
to control others, events,
or resources; to make
happen what one wants
in spite of obstacles,
resistance or oppostion”
 Karl Marx: “power rests
in a social classes
position in relations to
production, therefor it
does not lie with
individuals, but in a
social class”.
Talcott Parsons: “Power is not a matter of domination,
but instead a social systems potential to coordinate
human activity and resources to accomplish goals.
Topics in Sociology
 Gossip:
https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=oFDWOXV6
iEM
 Empathy:
https://www.ted.com/tal
ks/sam_richards_a_radic
al_experiment_in_empat
hy?language=en
• Violence in society
• Digital Citizenship
• Social Activism
• Teen pregnancy
• Discrimination based on
race, gender, sexuality
• Prisons and
rehabilitation
• Happiness…