Download Chapter 1: Sociology: A Unique Way to View the World

Chapter 1: Sociology: A
Unique Way to View the
World
Soc 100
Dr. Santos
What is the Social World



The social world is the totality of humanto-human relations & interactions that at
any given time in history form a selfcontained, self-suficient social system.
Prior to a few centuries ago, humanity had
a vast multiplicity of social worlds at any
given time, some large (empires), others
tiny (bands).
The “Modern World” constitutes a single
social world for all humanity: it took five
or so centuries to construct.
Why is the social world important?


Humans are fundamentally social beings
- Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)
Survival: shared expectations, social
conventions & norms help create order
and keep conflict to a minimum
• Though in the past, social worlds collided too

Individuals and the social world mutually
influence and make one another; e.g.
language, trade, writing, work, science,
faith. “No man is an island.” No individual
meaning or purpose truly possible without
reference to the whole social system.
• This has become true to all collectivities, like
national states, cultural world regions, etc.
A comparison of the social sciences

The evolution of our modern structures of
knowledge from previous unified systems:
• The great split between theology and philosophy
in the 16th century, followed by

•
•
•
•
•

Philosophy split into “science” and “humanities” and
“social sciences,” and social sciences into “disciplines”:
Cultural Anthropology
Psychology
Political Science
Economics
Sociology
The current crisis of this set up is manfiested
by the return of the various pre-modern
theologically-driven “fundamentalisms” and
the inabilities to encompass the truth, the
good, and the beautiful
What is then “sociology”?

The scientific study of social life,
social change, and the social causes
and consequences of human
behavior
• Essentially—why and how people and
groups interact with one another, are
organized, and deal with conflict and
change
• This must be approached historically,
theoretically, and empirically: this
presents formidable challenges
Sociologists study groups of all
sizes in various time frames






Dyads
Small groups
Large groups & institutions
Nations and continental cultural zones.
The global society: the capitalist modern
world system
Time frames can be now, years, decades,
centuries, or millennia
• Most, unfortunately, study only the present and
near present, and usually within their own
national state or compared to another. This is
chronocentrism & parochialism
The underlying assumptions
of sociology





People are social (cooperate, bond)
People spend most of their lives in
groups of one kind or another
Interactions between people and
groups are reciprocal and constant
Conflict and change are inevitable
All groups have certain organizing
characteristics
Groups are characterized by:




Recurrent social patterns
Ordered behavior
Shared experiences among members
Common understandings
Sociology vs. Common Sense


We all have reasonable assumptions
(common sense ideas) based on
logical deduction, past experiences,
and stereotypes
However, sociologists intentionally
set up scientific studies to disprove
common sense assumptions
True or False?

Because of the rapid rise in divorce
and unwed childbearing, more
American children live in single
parent households than ever before
FALSE

Actually, roughly the same numbers
live in single parent households
today because more parents were
widowed in the past
True or False?

Most people on welfare don't want to
work and looking for a handout
FALSE

Most people remain on welfare for less
than two years, using it to get through a
crisis. And for those on the welfare rolls,
most are children, elderly, sick or
disabled, or single mothers with infant
children. Less than 2% are "able-bodied"
males- and many of them are looking for
work. Only 1/3 of the poor are on welfare.
True or False?

Most Roman Catholics oppose birth
control
FALSE

About 80% of U.S. Roman Catholics
favor birth control.
True or False?

The civil rights laws of the 1960's
have considerably narrowed the gap
between black and white family
incomes in the United States
FALSE

The ratio of black to white family
income has consistently been around
55-60% since the 1960's. In fact,
some reports indicate a widening of
the gap. The processes of
discrimination that produce and/or
perpetuate such inequalities are
apparently more subtle than those
addressed by the laws.
True or False?

The American Dream practically does
not exist any more. It’s nearly
impossible to climb much higher on
the ladder of social status than your
parents did.
TRUE


Social mobility in the United States is
very low for a variety of reasons. Since
1980, the rich have gotten richer and the
poor have gotten poorer with even less
opportunity for movement than before.
Individuals like Oprah and Bill Gates,
however, make us think this is common.
And for immigrants, especially those that
are unauthorized or undocumented, the
going has gotten much tougher, though
the American Dream remains a potent
motivator to endure and resist
persecution, exploitiation, and oppression,
as in the past.
OTHER COMMON MYTHS




There is very little sexism in the US anymore.
This is not an issue that our generation needs
to worry about.
The world’s population is exploding
everywhere. In a few years, we’ll be in the
midst of a overpopulation crisis.
Undocumented immigrants are a net
economic drain on the receiving countries,
and are responsible for increased
unemployment, crime, and sickness.
Americans are better informed than anybody
else in the world due to its free press.
The sociological perspective

Personal experiences can be best
understood by examining them in
the broader social context
• E.g., Why do some individuals get
punished more harshly for the same
crimes than others do?
• What social factors might be related to
issues like teenage pregnancy or
marriage at a later age? Or divorce?
The sociological imagination



C. Wright Mills came up with it in 1959.
A willingness to recognize the relationship
between individual experiences (“private
troubles”) and public issues & trends.
Combine biography with history to reveal
the meaning of all social transformations
and give a proper perspective to all
individual experiences.
Questions sociologists ask




Sociologists ask questions that can be
located historically, measured objectively
and tested repeatedly
They do not study philosophical or moral
issues per se
They do not focus on moral judgments
about social issues but on their various
causes and effects.
Applied sociologists perform research to
help solve social problems in particular
contexts
Why study sociology?






Better understand social situations and
diverse perspectives
Be able to collect data and evaluate
problems
Understand the intended and unintended
consequences of social policies
Reveal the complexities of social life
Learn more about ourselves and our
biases
Develop useful job skills
The social world model



Social units—interconnected parts of
the social world
Social structure—people and groups
that bring order to our lives and hold
social units together
Social institutions—provide the rules,
roles, and relationships to direct and
control human behavior
• All are interconnected
The social world model (con’t)




Social processes—the actions taken
by people in social units
Process of socialization—how we
learn the social expectations for
members of society
Process of change—every social unit
is continually changing
The environment—the setting
surrounding each social unit
Levels of analysis

The social world can be studied from
a variety of levels
• Micro-level (individuals and small
groups)

Importance: micro interactions form the
basis of all social organizations
• Meso-level (intermediate sized units)

Importance: helps explain the processes
and institutions in a society
Levels of analysis (con’t)
• Macro-level (focus
on entire nations,
global forces, and
international
trends)

Importance: Helps
understand how
larger social forces
shape everyday life
• Each level adds
depth to a topic
Which level (micro, meso, or
macro) would you use to examine
each of the following questions?



How do couples divide housework
responsibilities?
Which factors determine the percentage of
women in political power in a certain
country?
Does the size of the sports stadium matter
for students who are choosing a college?
• Answer: All three questions could be
studies from each of the three levels
• The three levels are not truly mutually
exclusive!
Summary




Sociologists use research methods to objectively
study social interactions and organizations
The sociological perspective and sociological
imagination allow us to understand individual
situations in the context of broader social forces
All social units are held together by a social
structure, which is connected to social
institutions. These factors mutually influence one
another in a linked system from the very small to
the whole world - at least in the past couple of
centuries.
Social phenomena can be examined from multiple
levels of analysis, each re-inforces the others and
are not mutually exclusive.
Finally, where do sociologists
work?