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What is Sociology ?

  Scientific study of society and human behavior (Henslin, 2007)

  Systematic, scientific study of human society (Thio, 2000; Macionis, 2003)

  Scientific study of human and social behavior (Robertson, 1989)

  The process of scientific inquiry into social attitudes and behaviors and the cultural products of those attitudes and behaviors (Lamberton, 1998)

  The scientific study of human society; the study of social behavior and the interaction of people in groups (Landis, 1980)

  Nothing less than a special form of consciousness (Berger, 1963)

Science

 Requires the development of theories that can be tested by systematic research

 A body of knowledge obtained by logical, systematic methods of research which allows researchers to form generalizations

 Places isolated, seemingly meaningless events into patterns we understand

Branches of Science

  Natural Science

  Social Science

Social Sciences

  Sociology

  Economics

  Psychology

  Political Science

  Anthropology

Subfields of Sociology

  Social Psychology

  Cultural Anthropology

  Sociobiology

  Community Medicine

Why Study Sociology?

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Perspective

A variety of points of view of any given subject.

Global Perspective

The study of the larger world and our society’s place in it.

Sociological Perspective and Sociological Imagination

C. Wright Mills

Sociological Perspective

  Learning to look at society in different ways

  Helps us see general social patterns in the behavior of particular individuals

  Encourages us to realize that society guides our thoughts and deeds

Sociological Imagination

Allows us to see the strange in the familiar.

From our limited experiences …

  Judge the greater society

  Place blinders on our views

  Develop our prejudices

  Develop our discriminations

  Develop our concepts of right and wrong

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Sociological Imagination allows us to think “globally”

 Where we live makes a great difference in shaping our lives

  Societies are increasingly interconnected

 Many US problems are more serious elsewhere

 Good way to learn about ourselves

The Development of Sociology

  Social/Political Factors of the Industrial Revolution   Rise of factory-based economy

  Emergence of great cities

  European political and social changes

  Flood of Anthropological Data

  Influences from Natural Sciences

Auguste Comte

 1798-1857

 The Father of Sociology

 French philosopher who coined the term “Sociology”

 Favored “positivism”

 Concerned with Statics and Dynamics

Herbert Spencer

 1820-1903

 Like Comte, concerned with Social Order and Social Change

 Developed “Organism” theory

 Applied Darwin’s Theories of Evolution to societies

Karl Marx

 1818-1883

 An economist, concerned with Social Change through Social Conflict and revolution

 Developed theories of Class Conflict

Emile Durkheim

 1858-1917

 French Sociologist, concerned with Social Order and Social Integration

 Pioneered sociological research with his study of suicide

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 DURKHEIM’S STUDY OF SUICIDE  MORE LIKELY TO COMMIT

  MALE PROTESTANTS WHO WERE WEALTHY AND UNMARRIED HAD HIGHER SUICIDE RATES   PROTESTANTISM AND INDIVDUALISM

 LESS LIKELY TO COMMIT   MALE JEWS AND CATHOLICS WHO WERE POOR AND MARRIED

  BEING CATHOLIC AND GROUP-ORIENTATION

 ONE OF THE BASIC FINDINGS: WHY?  THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE GROUPS HAD TO DO

WITH “SOCIAL INTEGRATION”   THOSE WITH STRONG SOCIAL TIES HAD LESS OF A CHANCE OF

COMMITING SUICIDE

Seeing the General in the Particular

0 2 4 6 8

10 12 14 16 18 20

0 2 4 6 8

10 12 14 16 18 20

African Americans Whites

10.9 20.2

6.2 12.4

1.9 4.9

Males Both Sexes Females

RATE OF DEATH BY SUICIDE

By Race and Sex

U.S. Bureau of the Census

Max Weber

  1864-1920

 German Sociologist who emphasized under- standing the social world from the viewpoint of the individuals

 Claimed that religion is a central force in social change, particularly in the advancement of capitalism in Protestant and Catholic countries.

  Stressed Value Freedom

Harriet Martineau

 1802-1876

 First woman sociologist

 Translated Comte’s work from French to English

 Studied British and American societies

Jane Addams

 1860-1935

 Key founder of American sociology

 Developed study strategies to solve social problems

 Founded the Hull House

 Instrumental in the formation of several government programs

Charles Horton Cooley

 1864-1929

 Primary Theorist Symbolic-Interaction

 “Looking-Glass self”

 There are three main components of the looking-glass  We imagine how we must appear

to others.  We imagine the judgment of that

appearance.  We develop our self through the

judgments of others.

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W.E.B. Du Bois

 1868-1963

 First African American to receive a doctorate from Harvard

 Created the NAACP

 Concerned with racial equality

 Advocated the use of force to gain equality

Robert Merton

  1910-2003

 Coined the phrases “self-fulfilling prophecy”, “role model” and unintended consequences”

 Created a theory of Deviance and applied it to the American dream.

The Work of Sociologists

  Advertising

  Banking

  Criminal Justice

  Education

  Government

  Health Care

  Public Relations

  Research

  Clinical Sociologists

Theory

 A general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work; and explanation of how two or more facts are related to one another

 A statement of how and why facts are related

 Correctly predicts future events

 Makes the facts of social life comprehensible and understandable

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Paradigm

A conceptual model that serves as a cognitive map to organize experience so that it has meaning and is comprehensible to the observer.

Theoretical Paradigm

  A basic image of society that guides thinking and research

  A model of society, or an orienting strategy guiding views of and questions about society

Analysis of Orientation

 Macro Level

 Micro Level

Major Sociological Theoretical Perspectives

 Functional Analysis

 Conflict Theory

 Symbolic-Interactionism

 Feminist perspective

Functional Analysis

A theoretical framework in which society is viewed as a whole unit, composed of interrelated parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society’s equilibrium

Also known as functionalism and structural functionalism

Functional Analysis

  Focuses on Social Structure and Social Function

  Is macro-level orientation

  Argues that Social Order is based on Social Consensus

  Originated from the work of Spencer and Durkheim

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Social Consensus

Condition in which most members of society agree on what is a “good” and cooperate to achieve it.

Social consensus is based upon:

  Mechanical solidarity

  Organic solidarity

Types of Function

  Manifest Function

  Latent Function

  Dysfunction

Critical Evaluations of Functional Analysis

 Tends to be conservative

 Tends to dismiss change

 Overlooks the negative

Conflict Theory

A theoretical framework in which society is viewed as being composed of groups competing for scarce resources.

Conflict Theory

  Focuses on Social Tension and Social Change

  Is macro level orientation

  Argues that Social Order is maintained by direct or indirect exercise of power

  Originated from the work of Karl Marx

Conflict

  Binds groups together as they pursue their own interests

  Focuses attention on social problems

  Leads to beneficial changes that might have otherwise not have occurred

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Critical Evaluation of the Social-Conflict Paradigm

 Fails to come to grips with orderly, stable, and less controversial aspects of society

 Overemphasizes the negative

Symbolic-Interactionism

A theoretical perspective that focuses on how people use symbols to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another.

Interactionism

 Focuses on details of everyday life and interaction between people, and on how meaning is assigned to human interaction

 Is micro level orientation

 Argues that society responds through symbolic interaction

 Originated from the studies of Max Weber and George Herbert Mead

Symbolic Interaction

The interaction that takes place between people through symbols.

Critical Evaluation of Symbolic-Interactionist Paradigm

 Neglects the larger social institutions and social processes

 Neglects powerful issues of stability and change

Feminist Perspective

  Focuses on inequality and conflict between women and men.

  Closely tied to Feminism points out inequities between women and men.

  Awareness of the importance of women in the development of sociology.

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Critical evaluations of Feminist perspective.

 Ignores how shared values and interdependence can unify members of a society

 Politically cannot claim scientific objectivity

 conflict paint society in broad strokes