Download Chapter One, Section Two

JOURNAL
Does our school have “cliques?”
 If yes, what “clique” are you in? Was it chosen by
you or for you?
 If no, if our school did have “cliques,” which one
would you want to be in?

THE BEGINNING OF SOCIOLOGY
SOCIOLOGY IS A NEW SCIENCE
Began
in late 19th Century
Europe.
The Industrial Revolution and
French Revolution brought
changes.
People were moving from farms
to factory life.
AUGUSTE COMTE (1798-1857)
French
 Father of Sociology
 If societies were going to advance, social behavior
had to studied scientifically.
 Positivism – scientific observation in the study of
social behavior.

SOCIAL STATICS VS. SOCIAL DYNAMICS
Social Statics – the study of social stability and
order.
 Social Dynamics – the study of social change.
 The distinction between social stability and social
change remains at the center of modern
sociology.

HARRIET MARTINEAU (1802-1876)
English
 Lost her sense of taste, smell, and
hearing before reaching adulthood.
 Translated Comte’s book into English.
 Wrote about the inferior position of women in
society.
 Women’s lack of economic power kept them
dependent.

HERBERT SPENCER (1820-1903)
To explain social stability,
he compared sociology to the body.
 Like a body, society is composed of parts working
together to promote its well-being and survival.
 Social Darwinism - competition among all
individuals, groups, nations, or ideas drives social
evolution in human societies.

KARL MARX (1818-1883)
VERY IMPORTANT PERSON!!
 Believed there would eventually
be two classes.
 Bourgeoisie – Those who own everything
 Proletariat – Those who work for the Bourgeoisie.
 He believed eventually the Proletariat would
overthrow the Bourgeoisie and there would be a
classless society.
 This is called “Class Conflict.”

MAX WEBER (1864-1920)
“Human beings act on the basis of
their own understanding of a
situation.”
 Therefore, sociologists must discover the personal
meaning, values, beliefs, and attitudes
underlying human social behavior.

JANE ADDAMS (1860-1935)
Focused on problems caused
by the imbalance of power among
the social classes.
 She was considered a social worker because she
did not teach at a university.
 In 1931, she became the only sociologist to win
the Nobel Peace Prize.
