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Chapter 1
The Sociological Perspective
What is Sociology?
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The 24 hour Activity:
- Do you consider yourself an individual?
1. Estimate the Number of Hours engaging in all life aspects-eg. Sleeping,
at school, work, family time, socializing, homework, alone, chores, family
time, boyfriend/girlfriend, etc.
2. Estimate the amount of control you have over your activities
3. Estimate which are set by forces other than yourself
Which activities are by personal choice and which are outside influences?
If you could, what changes would you make
Are you an individual or “social animal”?
What is Sociology?
• Draw Pie graphs of the amount of control you
have over your day!!!
• Draw a pie graph of the way you would change
your day!!!
What is Sociology?
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Social relationships upon people’s
attitudes
Social behavior and human groups
3 key sets of ideas are necessary
to exist as a Sociologist
1. Freedom of thought-still
banned in totalitarian societies, in
the U.S it is troublemaking
subject. Obstacle of the 18th
Century church
2. An Awareness of crisis-until
the general feeling there is
something wrong-little thought
given to the subject
3. Belief that something can be
done-is society too complex to
understand-eg. A person fixing a
car
What is Sociology?
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Great awareness of the
extent of social change.
Political turmoil
Karl Marx (1818-1883)Conflict Theorist
<Max Weber (1864-1920)Functionalist (Homepage)
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)Functionalist (Homepage)
others: Interactionalist
Perspective
What are your sources of
information?
Bias in the newspaper
• Read a newspaper article
and jot down the following• Who?, What?, Where?,
When, Why? Of the
Article.
• Find the Bias in the Article
Sociological Perspective
• To see through outside
appearances of peoples and
actions
• 1. Through-underlying and
recurring patterns
• 2. Through influences on
social behavior-<eg. Rock
Star
• 3. Provide explanations
for such patterns
Sociological Imagination
• <C. Wright Mills (1959)creative thinking
• an awareness of the
relationship between an
individual and the wider
society
• need to view one’s own
society as an outsider
• eg.-American cities during
the night time hours as
compared to the social life
of the old west
Sociological Imagination
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1. Population tends to be
sparse and homogeneous
2. Solitude with fewer
restraints
3. More lawlessness and
violence
4. Interest groups
you are also more apt to help
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Birthday Card Experiment:
81%-to mothers “Love”
44%-to fathers
62%-to sisters
0%- to brothers
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Sociology and the Social
Sciences
• Science-body of knowledge
obtained by methods based
upon systematic study of
phenomena in order to
enhance understanding
• Natural Sciences-study of
physical features of
nature-Biology, Chemistry,
Astronomy, Geography
• Social Sciences-study of
various aspects of human
society
Sociology and Common
Sense
• What fraction of first
marriages last until
their 20th
anniversary?
• 3/4
• Do people panic when a
natural disaster
occurs?
• No
• Common Senses is not
accepted as fact
Sociological Theory
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<Durkheim’s Suicide Theory:
Why do people kill
themselves?
1900-inherited trait
sun spots
Sociology is not interested in
why an individual commits
suicide-just people in general
Links to other information on
Durkheim
Emilie Durkheim’s Suicide
Theory-Egotistic Suicide
• occurs in societies that stress the importance of the
individual as opposed to the group
• at time of Durkheim-Protestant base more than Catholics
• rate of suicide in Bavaria-lowest rate of suicide in Germany,
highest rate of Catholics
• the tighter the social bonds that hold the individual in
society, the lower the incidence of suicide
• single people have a higher rate than married people
Altruistic Suicide
• The responsibility of the
individual to the society
• Custom of Suti-(no longer
practiced)-an Indian Hindu
wife was expected to burn
herself to death on the
funeral pyre of her
husband
• captain of the ship-when
sinking supposed to go
down with the ship
• there is a deep sense of
moral obligation-spy,<
kamikaze
Anomic Suicide
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Suicide rates rose in economic
depression
Suicide rates also rose in times of
tremendous prosperity
answer for this is in anomiesociety falls into a state of
lawlessness with every person
looking at his or her own
interests, regardless of the social
consequences
periods of sudden changeguidelines to action provided by
the stable, ordered society
disappear, leaving the individual
vulnerable and unsure
others-industrial conflict and
divorce
Other suicide and
Conclusion
• Fatalistic Suicide-The powerlessness that people
feel when their lives are regulated
• Conclusion-understanding of suicide has to start
with a social structure
Discussion of Suicide
• What problems do you have with
Durkheim’s evaluation of Suicide?
Origins of Sociology
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AnalysisMacrosociology-large scale
Microsociology-small groups
What would be the form used
in Durkheim’s Suicide Theory?
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Origins:
<Auguste Comte-(1798-1857)founder of Sociology-Names
it in Cours de Philosphie
Positive
not much else of substancelays the groundwork for
scientific rather than
philosophical study
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Origins of Sociology
• <Herbert Spencer-(18201903)-little influence nowsimilarities between
organisms and a society
• each part of society is
related
• concept of evolution to the
development of societiessurvival of the fittest
• Max Weber-(18641920)defined Sociology as
the ‘comprehensive science
of human action’
Max Weber
• Marx and Durkheim stress
the structure of society
• Weber stresses the
interrelated set of actions
• eg.-family as structuremother, father, children
(physical and legal)-Marx
and Durkheim• Weber-<family as a set of
actions-living together,
sharing certain activities
and the changes in the
typical form of social
actions
Max Weber
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Four types of actions:
1. Affective-spontaneous and
emotional
2. Traditional-that which we
do that always has been done
3. Wertrational-rational
action toward a goal
4. Zweckrational-purposeful
action to obtain a goal
need to understand the
individual’s perspective-why
he/she acted a certain way
Verstehen-action in the eyes
of the individual
Max Weber
• Ideal Type-gives clarity to
the concept
• 1. Find elements that are
usually present to a
concept
• 2. Stating them
• 3. Measuring the object to
the model
• eg.-<teenagers, beauty
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
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Most influential
19th century period of political,
social and economic turmoil
looked to the future with hope
people come together to produce
the necessities of life
the future is Communist Society
based argument on economic
production
Economic differences between
various groups in society
one group monopolized control of
the economic resources
Links page for Karl Marx
Karl Marx
• Thus gained control over
other groups and are able
to impose their values on
the whole society
• THOSE WHO HAVE THE
GOLD MAKE THE RULES!
Evan Lane (2001)
• the history of society and
changes in economic
structure in each period of
dominance equal an epoch
• <Marx and followers
• Marx Quotes and other
Marx stuff
Karl Marx
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The Communist Manifesto:
Dialectic process-series of
clashes between conflicting ideas
and forces
analysis of society as a whole
radically opposed to functionalism
all societies are controlled by
those who own the industrial and
commercial enterprises
groups use power to create a
society to their advantage
Marxists-clarify the relationship
between the structure of society
and the interests of the wealthy
eg. American Society
20th Century
Sociologists
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<Charles Horton Cooley-(18641929)-look first at smaller unitsintimate, face-to-face groups like
families, gangs, friendship
networks
Robert Merton-bring macro and
micro together-Sociologists
should avoid extremes-Middle
Range Theory
Deviant Behavior-Middle Range
Theory-some may not share the
socially agreed upon goal of
material goods or accepted means
of achieving this goal
eg- “innovators”-accept goal of
pursuing material wealth in the
US but do it illegally
Perspectives of Sociology
• Functionalism• early works of Emilie
Durkheim
• analogy between society
and physical organism
• anatomy student-studies
the body’s functions-heart
function-force blood to
circulate
• analysis-could be used on
society• Identify the institutions
of society-eg. Religion,
economics, education etc.
Functionalism
• <Talcott Parsons-(19021979)
• versions dominate society
from 1930-1960
• society has certain needs
(organisms)
• if not fulfilled-then the
society will collapse-eg.
Education system
• Functionalist Website
Functionalism
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<Robert MertonManifest Function-open, stated,
conscious function
-intended recognized consequences of
an aspect of society
eg.-University role of certifying
academic competence and excellence
Latent Function-unconscious or covert
functions
reflect hidden purpose of an
institution
eg. Meeting ground for people seeking
marital partners
dysfunction-element of process of
society that may actually disrupt a
social system or lead to a decrease in
stability-not always negative
Conflict Theorists
• Marxism and the Dialectic Materialism-or “Historical
Materialism”
• analysis of society as a whole
• radically opposed to Functionalism
• all societies are controlled-own the industrial and
commercial enterprises
• groups use power to create a society to their advantage
• beliefs and economic systems reflect their values
• Conflict Theorist website
Conflict Theorists
• Clarify the relationship between the structure of
society and the interest of society-eg. Social
class division
• children inherit jobs
• there are the rich and the rest of society
• Link to class statistics
Interactionalism
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Viewpoint of the individual
rejects any attempt to construct
an overall theory of society
relative routine, face-to-face
interaction
<George Herbert Meade-mutual
expectations and then act on
these expectations
eg.-form a social ‘type’-then act
on the basis of this definition
police officer v. parent
adjust to nonconformity
once labeled -smart stupid or
criminal-interpret future actions