Chapter #1

Terminology / Definition

Sociology

Scientific study of society.

• How individuals both shape and are shaped by society.

C Wright Mills

• created [Conflict Theory]

• created [Sociological Imagination/Perspective]

Personal Troubles

Problems within personal life (self or people close to self)

Public Issues

Problems in public or bigger picture that can also influence personal life

Social Location

Corners of life that people occupy because of where they are located in society

• (literal living location or social status)

Sociological Imagination

• Allow us to understand the history & biography, and relations between 2 within society.

• Ability to understand how personal experience are connected to larger society.

Anomie

• Idea that people feel left behind in society, because the societal norm changes too rapidly

• Created by Emilie Durkheim

Auguste Comte

• Father of Sociology

• created [Positivism]

Science

Disciplined marshaling of empirical data, combined with theoretical approaches and theories that illuminate or explain those data

Positivism

Application of scientific approach to the social world

• Studying society via scientific method (data, evidence, facts, etc.)

Herbert Spencer

• created [Social Darwinism]

  • Idea that society goes through natural evolution

    • lower (barbarian) → higher (civilized)

• believed & created [survival of the fittest]

  • Idea that it’s wrong to help the poor, because you are helping the “less fit” people

Emilie Durkheim

• studied [Social facts]

  • aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals

• Believed that society needed all its parts to function in harmony

Max Weber

• Believed that culture, ideas, and religions are important in shaping society.

• Believed that bureaucracy can run organizations but it’s a problem for democracy.

W.E.B. DuBois

• 1st African American to receive Ph.D. from Harvard

• Used sociology to fight against racism

Jane Adams

• Faced sexism

• co-founded American Civil Liberties Union & Hull House

Applied Sociology

Use of sociology to solve problem and create change

Basic Sociology

Knowledge of society

Karl Marx

• Class Conflict

• believed Proletariat (working class) will rise against Bourgeoisie

Proletariat

Working class

Bourgeoisie

Capitalists / upper class

Capitalism

Economic system based on private ownership or wealth, which is invested and reinvested to produce profit

Harriet Martineau

• Scholar and activist for women’s rights & end of slavery

Theory

Explanation for various social patterns in society

• Explain specific social conditions or events

Functionalism

Interdependent parts working together for the good of the whole

Conflict Theory

Society is shaped by competition between groups for power, money, resources, and opportunities.

• Some groups have more power and resources than others, creating conflict & inequality

Interactionism

Peoples patterns of behavior always changing

Micro Level Analysis

Examine individuals or small groups, and see how they interact with each other

Macro level Analysis

Examine larger groups, institutions, and society as whole.

Social Institutions

Set of statuses and roles focused around one central aspect of society

Manifest Function

Obvious, intended actions

Latent Function

Unintended actions

Dysfunction

behavioral patterns that have unintended negative consequences

Mechanical Solidarity

Whole area has certain value system, industrial

Organic Solidarity

areas where people are more independent and have different values

Self

sense of our place in society and who we are in relationship to others

Symbols

one item used to stand for or represent another

• EX: flag symbolizes a nation

George H. Mead

Valued the role of symbols and language as core elements of human interactions

Field Research

research method for observing people while joining them in their everyday activities

Experiment

research method for investigating cause-and-effect relationships under tightly controlled conditions

Content Analysis/Secondary Analysis

research method that makes use of data originally collected by others

Interviews

research method of subjects responds to questionnaire usually in face-to-face

Participant Observation

Ethnography; observe how people act and interact

Qualitative Methods

sociological research that often rely on personal or collective interviews, accounts, or observations of a person or situation

Quantitative Methods

sociological research that draw on objective and statistical data and often focus on documenting trends, comparing subgroups or exploring correlations

Hypothesis

idea or guess about given state of affairs, put forward as a basis for empirical testing

Data

factual information used as basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation

Comparative Research

draw comparison among different human societies

Informed Consent

process whereby the investigator informs potential participants about the risks and benefits involved in the study