UNIT 1: Intro to Sociology

Sociology - scientific and systematic study of groups and group interactions, societies and social interactions, from small and personal groups to very large groups

Micro-level - study small groups and interactions

• Ex: accepted rules of conversation amongst business professionals

Macro-level - analyze trends among and between large groups and societies

• Ex: how language has changed over time

Culture - groups shared practices, values, beliefs

• Focuses on the routines and everyday interactions of individuals

• Includes everything produced in a society; societal rules

Social imagination - C. Wrights Mills described the awareness of a relationship between a person’s behavior and experience and how culture influences our choices and perceptions (1959)

• A way of seeing our own and other people’s behavior in relationship to history and social structure

Cultural patterns - pressures that encourage us to select one choice over another

Social facts - laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, cultural rules, and rituals that govern life

• Sociological perspective is heavily influenced by the idea that the individual and society are inseparable

Figuration - explained by Norbert Elias; process of simultaneously analyzing the behavior of individuals and the society that shapes that behavior

• Ex: religion - exists as a social institution

  • An individual’s decisions are influenced by governments, holidays, educators, rituals etc.

  • These influences underscore the important relationship between individual religious practices and social pressures

• When analyzing social institutions, the individuals using these institutions need to be “figured” into the analysis

1.2: Sociological History

• Ma Tuan-Lin described the social dynamics underlying and generating historical development in the 13th century

• Ibn Khaldun proposed the theory of the social conflict and social cohesion in the 14th century

• Copernicus, Galileo, Leonardo, Newton, and Linnaeus contradicted the catholic church; introducing new knowledge and information into our society (16th century)

• Locke, Voltaire, Kant, and Hobbes wrote social passages hoping to encourage social reform (Enlightenment)

• Auguste Comte believed social scientists could study society using the same scientific methods as natural sciences

Povertism - Comte’s scientific study of social patterns

• Martineau was an early analyst of social practicies like economics, class, religion, suicide, and womens rights

  • Thought capitalism went against the foundations of the US

• Karl Marx rejected positivism and believed that societies grew and changed as a result of the struggles of different social classes over the means of production

  • Predicted that inequalities of capitalism would become so extreme that workers would eventually revolt, and capitalism would collapse

  • Communist

  • Social conflict leads to societal change

• Herbert Spencer rejected positivism and supported Marx’s communist theory

  • He favored a government that allowed market forces to control capitalism

• George Simmel was an anti-positivist who addressed topics like social conflict, function of money, individual identity; focused on micro-level theories

  • Emphasized individual culture as the creative capacities of individuals

• Emile Durkheim established sociology as an academic discipline in 1895

  • Believed people rise in society based on merit

  • Thought sociologists could study objective social facts to determine status of societies

• Max Weber believed it was difficult to use standard scientific methods to accurately predict social behavior

  • Argued that the influence of culture on human behavior needed to be addressed

  • Coined verstehen, which means to understand in a deep way

  • Described sociology as the discipline of interpreting the meaning of social action and giving a causal explanation of the way in which action proceeds and the effects it produces

  • anti-positivist

Quantitative sociology - uses statistical methods (e.g. surveys) and analyze data to uncover patterns in human behavior

Qualitative sociology - seeks to understand human behavior by learning through in-depth interviews, focus groups, and analysis of content

• W.E.B DuBois (1900) pioneered the use of empirical methodology

  • Examined african american community in Philidelphia through interviews to document familial and employment structures and assess community issues

• Thorstein Veblen researched working classes and unemployment

• Jane Addams founded Hull House which served immigrants through social and educational programs

• Charles Herbert Cooley stated individuals compare themselves in order to check themselves against societal standards and remain in the norm

  • “The looking-glass self” idea; we see ourselves based on who we interact with

  • If someone reacts positively to our behavior, we will continue doing it

• George Herbert Mead focused on the ways in which the mind and self were developed as a result of social processes

  • Agreed with ‘looking-glass’ theory; felt that positive or negative reflection depended on who the ‘other’ was

    • Significant others had the greatest impact on the attitude of individuals

• Robert E. Park is the founder of social ecology; focused on how individualslive within their environment

  • Studied ethnic minorities

  • Revealed that social chaos is prevalent in inner cities due to their environment, not the people themselves

1.3: Theoretical Perspectives

Hypothesis - testable proposition to explain different aspects of social interactions

Social Solidarity - social ties within a group

• Macro-level theories assess large-scale issues with larger groups, while micro-level look at very specific relationships between individuals or small groups

• Grand theories attempt to explain large-scale relationships and answer fundamental societal questions

Paradigms - theories that provide broad perspectives that help explain many different aspects of social life

• Philosophical and theoretical frameworks used to formulate theories, generalizations, and experiments to support them

Functionalism - views society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of individuals in societies

• Introduced by the work of Herbert Spencer, who argued the various organs of the body work together to keep the body functioning, and societies have similar attributes

Social institutions - patterns of beliefs or behaviors focused on meeting social needs

• Ex: government, education, family, religion, healthcare

Function - defined by Alfred Radcliff-Brown; any recurrent activity as the part it played in social-life as a whole, contributes to making society stable

• In a stable society, all parts work together to maintain a dynamic equilibrium

Manifest function - consequences of social processes that are sought or anticipated

Latent function - unsought consequences of social process

Ex: college education

• Manifest: gain knowledge, prepare for a career

• Latent: meet new people, extracurricular activities 

Dysfunctions - undesirable consequences for the operation of society

• Ex: getting bad grades, dropping out

Criticism of Structuralism:

1. Cannot adequately explain social change

2. Dysfunctions can persist even if they're useless or harmful

   1. Many sociologists now believe functionalism is useless

Conflict theory - views society as a competition for limited resources

• Identified by Karl Marx

• Social institutions are said to reflect competition and help maintain unequal social structure

  • Clear separation of power

• Inequalities in political power and social strucure

Critical theory - holistic theory attempting to address structural issues causing inequality

Criticisms of Conflict Theory

1. Not focused enough on regaining stability 

Symbolic interactionism - micro-level theory focused on relationships amongst individuals within society
Communication - exchange of meaning through language and symbols

• George Herbert Mead is considered the founder of this theory

• Basic premises include:

  • Humans interact with things based on the meanings they assign to them.

  • Ascribed meanings come from interactions with others and society

  • Our interpretation of things depends on the circumstances we are dealing with

Dramaturgical analysis - focus of important symbols in a society

Constructivism - reality is what humans cognitively construct it to be

• We develop social constructs based on interactions with others

• Used to examine what is defined as deviant within a society

Criticisms of Symbolic Interaction

1. Difficulty remaining objective

2. Narrow focus on symbolic interaction 

1.4: Why study sociology?

• Teaches people ways to recognize how they fit into the world and how others perceive them

• Raises awareness of how classifications affect perception

• Humans are social creatures

  • We can’t survive on our own

• Non-Western progenitors (13-1400s)

  • Ma Tuan-Lin identified the dynamics underlying social development

    • Social development can be described by evolution and modernization

    • Development becomes more sophisticated over time

  • Ibn Khaldun presented the theory of social conflict, which focused on relationship between group’s social cohesion and capacity for power

    • Ex: countries with greater social cohesion have a higher possibility of becoming more sophisticated at a quicker rate

    • Social cohesion focuses on societies ability to cooperate/conflict with one another

      • Societies with more homogeneity have better social cohesion

        • Can lead to superiority complexes

• Western Perspectives (Renissance)

  • Copernicus, Galileo, Da Vinci, Newton, and Linnaeus planted seeds for Enlightenment

    • Broke information barriers that were primarily owned by the Catholic Church; contraditiced the church

      • Da Vinci advanced art and scientific innovation

      • Galileo explored astronomy 

      • Copernicus explained that the sun was the center of the universe and that planets revolved around the sun

      • Linnaeus identified the taxonomy of living creatures

    • Locke justified private property on the basis of human labor

      • If you invest your time and effort into a piece of land, you should own and possess the land

    • Hobbes affirmed that self-interest is rational and that individual rights transferred to political authority is necessary for social order

      • Must have trust into their central political government so they’re guaranteed social protection and order

    • Smith presents a moral philosophy of how to best organize society

      • Wrote the Wealth of Nations in 1776

      • Thought normatively

        • Self-interest is in the best interest of society

• Theoretical Perspectives

Theory - tentative explanations about how some aspect of society works or should work

• Positive theory (fact-based)

• Normative theory (subjective)

  • It’s impossible to be completely neutral; we all have biases, consciously and unconsciously

Hypothesis - testable statement where we can collect evidence to accept or reject our claim

• Social theories attempt to explain social phenomena through hypothesis

• Can never prove a hypothesis 100%

• Macro-level theories relate to large-scale issues and large groups of people

• Micro-level theories look at specific relationships b/w individuals or small groups

• Grand theories attempt to explain large-scale relationships and answer fundamental questions about society

Paradigms - set of concepts and theories that frame how we see the world

• Belief systems which require faith

  • Ex: religion

    • Guides us, provides structure, requires assumptions

  • Allows us to interpret society and build our hypothesis and theories

    • What’s acceptable/unacceptable?

• 3 core paradigms of Sociology:

  • Functionalism

    • Views society as an organism

    • Objective is stability and social order

    • All social institutions have specific functions in society

      • Ex: religion, education systems, government

  • Conflict theory

    • Views the source of conflict in society

    • Splits society into different groups (class, race, gender) all competing for scarce resources

    • Conflict is the source of social change

  • Symbolic interactionism

    • Society is the product of everyday social interactions

• Functionalism

  • Macro-perspective of society as a complex system of inter-related parts that work together to promote order and stability

  • Spencer identified functionalism as a biological metaphor of society

    • Described it as an organism with a variety of social institutions that work together to maintain equilibrium by meeting societal needs

  • Merton explained manifest functions

    • Consequences of a social process which are intended

  • Latent functions

    • Unintended consequences which could be positive or negative

  • Resistant to explaining social claims

• Conflict Theory

  • Macro-level, structuralist understanding of social theories

  • Karl Marx said social life is comprised of individuals competing for scarce resources and power

  • Institutions reflect inherent competition

  • Unequal power distribution are not efficient or beneficial to society

  • Conflict theories have been criticized for focusing on conflict to the exclusion of recognizing stability

• Symbolic interactionalism

  • Micro perspective, emphasizes there is no single objective reality (Mead and Blumer)

  • Cooley identified the looking-glass self theory

    • Adjusting one’s behavior based on an interaction with another

  • Human understanding of reality is socially constructed

  • An individual’s identity is shaped by social relations and meanings are created and maintained through interaction with others

  • Critized for reliance on subjectivity and its narrow focus