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Introduction to Sociology
Sociology

the systematic study of human society
Purpose of Sociology

C. Wright Mills

“the sociological imagination”

allows sociologists to place personal troubles of
individuals within a framework of larger social issues
 I.e. divorce
Sociological Perspective

seeing the general in the particular (Peter
Berger, 1963)

Possible to identify general patterns in the
behavior of particular people

People are split into different categories
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men vs. women
rich vs. poor
The categories to which we belong shape
our experiences
Lillian Rubin (1976) Marriage Study
Higher income women expect their men to
be sensitive to others, to talk readily, and
to share feelings
 Lower income women look for men who do
not drink to much, were not violent, and
held steady jobs

Seeing Strange in the Familiar

People do NOT decide what to do; society
shapes our thoughts and deeds

Why do you choose a particular college?
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“I wanted to stay close to home”
“I got a basketball scholarship”
“My girlfriend goes to school here”
“I didn’t get into the school I wanted”
Doesn’t really tell you how and why people go to
college
Personal Choice

Emile Durkheim

Studied suicide figures in France and found:
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Protestants, wealthy, single, and men were more
likely to commit suicide
Catholics, Jews, poor, and women were less likely to
commit suicide
Social Integration: categories of people with strong
social ties vs. more individualistic
Living on the Margins

Outsiders- not part of the dominant
group

the greater the social marginality, the better
someone can use the sociological perspective

Need to be able to step back and observe
Crisis

Great Depression

people realized general forces were at work in
their particular lives

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Not “Something is wrong with me; I can’t find a job”
Rather “The economy has collapsed; there are no
jobs to be found”

If we can observe and learn about “the
system” we can then make changes if
necessary
Global Perspective
Global Perspective

The study of the larger world and our
society’s place in it


Our place in society shapes our life
experiences
The position of our society in the larger world
system effects everyone in the U.S.
High-income Countries


Nations with the highest overall standard of living
Includes top 60 counties

U.S., Canada, Argentina, Western Europe, South Africa,
Israel

Produce most of the world’s goods and services
Own most of the wealth

*These people are better off simply because they were
born in these countries
Middle-income Countries
Nations with a standard of living about
average for the world as a whole
 Includes 76 countries


Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia

Receive 6-8 years of schooling
Extreme social inequality (some very rich,
some very poor)

Low-income Countries

Nations with a low standard of living in
which most people are poor

Most countries are located in Africa and a
few in Asia
Some very rich
 Most lack safe housing, water, food, and
little chance to improve their lives

Comparisons to the U.S.
•
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•
•
Where we live shapes the lives we lead
Societies throughout the world are
increasingly interconnected
Many social problems that we face in the
U.S. are far more serious elsewhere
Thinking globally helps us learn about
ourselves
Applying the Sociological
Perspective
Sociological Perspective

Seeing the general in the particular

Society shapes the lives of its members
Applying the Sociological Perspective

Why it is useful:
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

Sociology guides many of the laws and policies
that shape our lives
Making use of the sociological perspective
leads to important personal growth and
expanded awareness
Good preparation for work
Sociology and Public Policy

Sociologists help shape public policy


Racial desegregation, school busing laws,
divorce
Example
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Lenore Weitzman discovered women who leave
marriages lose income
Many states have passed laws that have
increased women’s claim to martial property
and enforced fathers’ job to support women
raising their children
Benefits of Sociological Perspective
1.
Helps us assess the truth of commonly
held assumptions
-Do we decide our own fate, if so we are
likely to praise successful people as superior
-pg. 10: Seeing Sociology in Everyday Life
2. Helps us assess both the opportunities
and constraints in our lives
-we play our cards but society deals us
the hand
-helps us “size up” the world to better
accomplish our goals
3. Empowers us to be active participants in
our society
-if we do not understand how society
operates, we are likely to accept the
status quo
-pg. 7: C. Wright Mills
4. Helps us live in a diverse world
-U.S. represents 5% of the world’s
population
-95% live very differently
-everyone sees their life as “right”,
“natural”, and “better”
-helps us think more critically
about all ways of life
Origins of Sociology
Science and Sociology

French social thinker Auguste Comte
(1798-1857) first came up with the term
sociology

Described a new way of looking at society

Wanted to find out how society could be
improved and how society actually operates
Comte
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Saw sociology as the product of a 3-stage
historical development
1. Theological- thinking guided by religion
2. Metaphysical- society as a natural, not
supernatural system
3. Scientific- used a scientific approach to
study sociology
Positivism

Definition: a way of understanding based
on science

Society operates according to its laws

(much like the laws of nature)
Sociological Theory
Structural-Functional
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Definition:

Framework for building theory that sees
society as a complex system whose parts work
together to promote solidarity and stability
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Sociologists

Emile Durkheim, Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer

Points to Social Structure

any relatively stable pattern of social behavior
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gives our lives shape (families, school, work,
community)
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Examines Social Functions

the consequences of any social pattern for the
operation of society as a whole

all social structures keep society going

similar to the way the human body operates
Robert K. Merton
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Manifest Functions:


recognized and intended consequences of any
social pattern
Latent Functions:

unrecognized and unintended consequences of
any social pattern

Social Dysfunction:

any social pattern that may disrupt the
operation of society
Summary
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Main goal is to figure out “what makes
society tick”

critics say it ignores inequalities of social
class, races, and gender
Social-Conflict Theory
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Definition:

a framework for building theory that sees
society as an arena of inequality that
generates conflict and change

investigate how social class, race,
ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and
age are linked to society’s unequal
distribution of money, power, education,
and social prestige

Focus on how social patterns benefit some
while hurt others

Can be used to bring about societal
change that reduces inequality
Feminism and the Gender-Conflict
Approach
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Definition:

a point of view that focuses on inequality and
conflict between women and men
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closely linked to feminism
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support of social equality for women and men
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Helps make us aware of the ways life
places men in positions of power over
women
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at home, at work, in the media
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also, shows importance of women to the
development of society
Race-Conflict Approach
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Definition:

point of view that focuses on inequality and
conflict between people of different racial and
ethnic categories
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Points out contributions made by people of
color to the development of sociology
Review of Social-Conflict
Approaches
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Critics:
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ignores shared values and interdependence
cannot claim scientific objectivity
paints society in broad strokes
Symbolic-Interaction Approach
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Definition:

framework for building theory that sees society
as the product of the everyday interactions of
individuals

Max Weber
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understand a setting from the point of view of the
people in it
Society amounts to people interacting
 Shows how individuals actually experience
society
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Macro-level Orientation
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Definition:

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a broad focus on social structures that shape
society as a whole
Big picture
Includes the structural-functional approach
and the social-conflict approach
Micro-level Orientation
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Definition:

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a close-up focus on social interactions in
specific situations
includes the symbolic-interaction approach
Applying the Approaches:
The Sociology of Sports
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The Functions of Sports
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A structural-functional approach directs our attention to
the ways in which sports help society operate

Sports have functional and dysfunctional consequences
Sports and Conflict
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Social-conflict analysis points out that games
people play reflect their social standing.
Sports have been oriented mostly toward
males.
Big league sports excluded people of color for
decades.
Sports in the United States are bound up with
inequalities based on gender, race, and
economic power.
Figure 1.2
“Stacking” in Professional Football
Sports as Interaction
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Following the symbolic-interaction approach,
sports are less a system than an ongoing
process.
All three theoretical approaches—structuralfunctional, social-conflict, and symbolicinteraction—provide different insights into sports.
No one is more correct than the others.