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Introduction to
Sociology
Kathy Edwards
5/24/2017
Introductory Lectures
1
What is society? A population
that shares:
1. Geographical Territory
 2. Culture
 3. Identification and interaction
 4. Material and physical goods and the
way they are obtained.
 Societies interact within socially
structured relationships and share
common culture.

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Introductory Lectures
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What is a group?

A distinctive set of relationships with
interdependency, feeling of relevancy, sense
of membership, and identification with one
another.
 A particular kind of social system with two or
more people interacting in regularly patterned
ways.
 A group is a collection of people that regularly
interact with something significant in
common.
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Introductory Lectures
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The Levels of Sociological
Analysis: Macro

Macro level analysis is the analysis of
large scale patterns of society and large
scale organizations and institutions.
The analysis of the social forces which
affect societies and large groups.
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Introductory Lectures
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The Levels of Sociological
Analysis: MICRO

The analysis of social interaction, face to face
interaction between individuals, personal
exchange relations. This includes personal
interaction including language, body
language, perceptions, and interpretations of
individuals.
Rewards are given in relation to the patterned
expectations attached to each person and
their role or position in society.
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Introductory Lectures
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The Social Sciences
All include various aspects of human
society and behavior.
 Sociology, political science,
anthropology, economics, history,
geography, psychology
 Studies both theories and quantitative
analysis of data.

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3 Major Theories or
Perspectives in Sociology
Functional Theory – Macro level
 Conflict Theory – Macro level
 Symbolic Interaction and Dramaturgy –
Micro level

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Introductory Lectures
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Theories in Sociology
What do all theories ask in
Sociology?
I. What is the relation between cultural
ideas and the social structural
institutions?
 II. What are the elements that are the
most important to each theorist: culture
or social structure (meaning “ideas” or
“material-physical”)

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Culture
Culture is the way people live, behave,
adapt to their environment. Culture is
also the man made environment that is
transmitted through learning.
 The collective wisdom of a people, the
way we live, interpret our life.
 Culture is the way we create our reality.

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Culture (continued)
Culture includes ideas, customs,
knowledge, material objects, and
behavior.
 Culture includes the artifacts of a
society.

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Introductory Lectures
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Two types of Culture
Material: from the physical
environment, tools, art, music, clothing,
jewelry, symbols, architecture.
 Non-material: Ideas, beliefs, value
systems, knowledge, symbols,
language, emotions, reactions,
perceptions, attitudes.

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