Download Perspective Notes - Aurora City School District

Chapter 1
The Sociological
Perspective
Seeing the Broader Social Context
• How Groups Influence People
• How People are Influenced by Their
Society
– People Who Share a Culture
– People Who Share a Territory
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Social Location - Corners in Life
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Jobs
Income
Education
Gender
Age
Race/Ethnicity
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C. Wright Mills - History and
Biography
• History - Location in Broad Stream of
Events
• Biography - Individual’s Specific
Experiences
• External influences—our experiences—
become part of our thinking and motivation
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The Global Context and the Local
• The Global Village
• Instant Communication
– Pick up a telephone or use the Internet to
communicate instantly with people anywhere
• Sociology Studies both the Global Network
and Our Unique Experiences
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Sociology and the Other Sciences
• The Natural Sciences
– Explain and Predict Events in Natural
Environment
• The Social Sciences
– Examine Human Relationships
– Divided into specialized fields based on their
subject matter
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Sociology and the Other Sciences
• Anthropology
– Studies Culture
• Economics
– Studies the Production and Distribution of
Goods and Services
• Political Science
– Studies How People Govern Themselves
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Sociology and the Other Sciences
• Psychology
– The Study of Processes Within Individuals
• Sociology
– Similarities to Other Disciplines
• Sociologists focus primarily on
industrialized & postindustrialized societies
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The Goal of Science
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Explain Why Something Happens
Make Generalizations
Look for Patterns
Predict What will Happen
Move Beyond Common Sense
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Risks of Sociology
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Nooks and Crannies People Prefer Hidden
People Attempt to Keep Secrets
People Feel Threatened by Information
They peer behind the scenes to get past
those sugar-coated images
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Origins of Sociology
• Tradition vs. Science
– The Industrial Revolution
• Masses of people moved to cities in search of work
– Grew Out of Social Upheaval
– Imperialism of the Time
– Rise of the Scientific Method
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Auguste Comte and Positivism
• Applying the Scientific Method to Social
World
• Comte began to wonder what holds
society together
• Coined the Term “Sociology”
• “Armchair Philosophy”
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Herbert Spencer - Social Darwinism
• Second Founder of Sociology
• Disagreed sharply with Comte’s idea that
sociologists should guide social reform
• Lower and Higher Forms of Society
• Coined Phrase “Survival of the Fittest”
• Spencer’s idea that it was wrong to help
the poor offended many
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Karl Marx and Class Conflict
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Engine of Human History is Class Conflict
The Bourgeoisie vs. The Proletariat
Marxism Not the Same as Communism
Marx thought that people should try to
change society
• Marx did not think of himself as a
sociologist
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Durkheim and Social Integration
• Got Sociology Recognized as Separate
Discipline
• Studied How Social Forces Affect
Behavior
• Identified “Social Integration” - Degree to
Which People are Tied to Social Group
• Applying Durkheim
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Max Weber and the Protestant Ethic
• Religion and the Origin of Capitalism
– Disagreed with Marx’s claim that economics is
the central force in social change
– Said that role belongs to religion
• Religion is Central Force in Social Change
• Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Values in Sociological Research
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Sociology Should be Value-Free
Sociology Should be Objective
Research Should Involve Replication
Goals and Uses of Sociology
That bias has no place in research is not a
matter of debate
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Verstehen and Social Facts
• Weber
– Verstehen - “To Grasp by Insight”
– Importance of Subjective Meanings
• Durkheim
– Stressed Social Facts
– Explain Social Facts with Other Social Facts
• How Social Fact & Verstehen Fit Together
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Sociology in North America
• First Took Root in 1890 at University of
Kansas
• Spread Rapidly in Next 20 Years
• Not at Harvard until 1930
• American Journal of Sociology 1895
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Sexism in Early Sociology
• Attitudes of the Time
– 1800s Sex Roles Rigidly Defined
– Few People Educated Beyond Basics
• Harriet Martineau
– Published Society in America Before
Durkheim and Weber Were Born
– Her work was Ignored
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© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Racism at the Time: W.E.B Du Bois
• B.A. from Fisk University
• First Harvard Ph.D. for African American
• It is difficult to grasp how racist society
was at this time
• Published a Book Each Year from 18961914
• Neglected by Sociologist Until Recently
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Jane Addams: Sociologist and
Social Reformer
• Member of American Sociological Society
from Start
• Came from Background of Wealth and
Privilege
• Co-Founded Hull House
• Co-Founded American Civil Liberties
Union
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Talcott Parsons and C. Wright Mills
• Many early North American sociologists
saw society as corrupt & in need of reform
• Parsons Developed Objective Analysis
and Models of Society
• Mills Deplored Theoretical Abstractions in
Favor of Social Reform
• Continuing Tension in Sociology
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Theoretical Perspectives
• Basic Sociology
• Symbolic Interactionism
– How People Use Symbols in Everyday Life
– Applying Symbolic Interactionism
• Changing meaning of symbols affects expectations
• Public Sociology
• Social Reform is risky
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Applying Symbolic Interactionism Examples
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The Meaning of Marriage
The Meaning of Divorce
The Meaning of Parenthood
The Meaning of Love
In Sum
– Symbolic interactionists look at how changing
ideas put pressure on married couples
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Functional Analysis
• Society is a Whole Unit Made Up of
Interrelated Parts that Work Together
• Functionalism, Structural Functionalism
• Robert Merton and Functionalism
– Functions
• Manifest
• Latent
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Functional Analysis
– Dysfunctions
• Applying Functional Analysis
– Economic Teams
– Education of Children
– Teaching of Religion
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Functional Analysis
– Care of the Sick and Elderly
– A Glimpse of the Past - 1800s
– Changes in the Functions of…
• Family
• Friends
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Conflict Theory
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Karl Marx and Conflict Theory
Conflict Theory Today
Feminists and Conflict Theory
Applying Conflict Theory
Functionalists and Conflict Theorists Macro Level
• Symbolic Interactionists - Micro Level
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© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Trends Shaping the Future
• Sociology Full Circle: Reform vs.
Research
– Three Stages in Sociology
– Diversity of Orientations
• Globalization
– Application of Globalization
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