Introduction to Sociology CLEP

Sociology

The scientific study of social life and human behavior

Compte

The founder sociology from 1798 — 1857, who claimed that the scientific method could be explain human social life the same way that it does gravity

Karl Marx

From 1818 — 1883, he created the class conflict. He proposed that our society is made up of two distinct social classes: the beauogoise and the exploited workers. He argued that eventually the exploited workers would revolt and cause revolution and class conflict

Emile Durkheim

From 1858 — 1917, he focused on suicidal rates and found consistent patterns across countries. He discovered that the more integrated a person is in society, the lower chance they have of committing suicide. These people included women, Protestants, and married individuals

Theory

Provides a conceptual framework of how facts are related to one another and makes assumptions about different aspects, such as what we see and how we behave. However, it is not a law or a casual guess

Functionalist Perspective

The idea that society is a system of interrelated parts that work together (family, religion, education, politics…)

Founder of the functionalist perspective

Durkheim. He looked to study how all of the parts that make up societal systems work together to contribute to the continuation of the system

Anomie

“Normlessness and chaos.” This was used by Durkheim to describe what things would be if there were not clear cut norms to govern moral conduct.

Merton

A part of the functionalist perspective that distinguishes between manifest functions, latent functions, and dysfunctions

Manifest functions

Obvious, intended functions or purposes

Latent functions

Are important and likely positive, but are not recognized or intended

Dysfunction

Negative functions that disrupt the system