Sociology: The Sociological Perspective

What is sociology?

Study of group and group interactions, societies and social interactions, from small and personal group to very large groups.

What is a society?

Group of people who live in a defined geographic area, who interact with one another, and who share a common culture.

Micro level study?

Study of specific relationships between individuals or small groups; examines everyday interactions.

Macro level study?

Looks at trends among large groups; examines social inequity, class, gender roles, etc — conversations between teens vs business professionals and how language has changed over time.

What is culture?

Group’s shared practices, values, and beliefs; encompasses of a group’s way of life, including any product produced within the society.

What is sociological imagination?

“Ability to understand how your own past relates to that of other people, as well as to history in general and societal structures in particular.”

Sociological persepective?

The individual and society are inseparable; impossible to study one without the other.

Seeing the general in the particular

Sociologists identify general social patterns in the behavior of individuals.

Seeing the strange in the familiar

Giving up the idea that human behavior is simply a matter of what people decide to do.

Seeing personal choice in social context

The power of society has the ability to shape even our most private choices.

Emile Durkheim’s research on suicide

He found that certain categories of people were more likely to choose to end their lives.

What is marginality?

The process by which individuals or groups are excluded from the mainstream society participation.

Examples of marginalized groups

Low income populations, people with disabilities, racial and ethic minorities, and indigenous communities.

Importance of a global perspective

Where we live shapes the lives we lead, problems we face in Canada are more serious elsewhere, societies throughout the world are increasingly interconnected, and thinking globally helps us learn more about ourselves.