Sociology

What is sociology?

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• Sociology is the systematic study of human society through groups,

  group interactions, societies, and social interactions at the micro and macro levels (individual)

  (trends).

• Society refers to people who live in a defined territory (geographical area) and a way of life, common culture

• Culture is group shared practices, values, and beliefs, groups way of life from routine to the most important part of a group member’s life, social rules 

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• Social construction

  • We tend to think that things are natural and will not change
  • We are freer than we think 
  • Those things deemed as natural are socially constructed 

• Social order

  • We develop an awareness of social norms through
  •  Behavior in the classroom vs behavior at a concert or gathering

• Social change 

  • Trends

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Three major theoretical perspectives

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• Functionalism

  • The way each part of society functions together to contribute to the whole

  • Macro level orientation

  • Complex system parts working together to promote solidarity

  • Social events can be explained in terms of the function (contribution to society) they perform

  • How these events provide continuity to society and work in harmony with each other 

  • Promotes sociology as a scientific process

  • The social process has many functions 

  • Manifest functions: the recognized and intended functions (consequences) of any social pattern

    • Sought after or anticipated by participants

  • Latest functions: unrecognized, unaware, and unintended consequences of any social pattern. It can be beneficial, natural, or harmful

  • Dysfunctions: undesirable consequences that challenge the existing social pattern

  • Weakness; it fails to address big chances in society and inequality

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• Conflict theory

  • The way inequalities contribute to social differences & perpetuate differences in power
  • Macro level orientation

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• Macro level orientation

  • See society as an area of inequality that generates conflict and change (coercion and power)
  • Competition for limited resources
  • Sociologists look at the ongoing conflict between dominant and disadvantaged categories of people 

• Social conflict approach- race-conflict theory

  • Point of view; focuses on inequality & conflict between people of different racial and ethnic categories
  • People of color important to the development of sociology

• Social conflict theory; feminism and feminist theory

  • A most prominent area of contemporary sociology and the most current movement
  • Highlighted gender relations and gender inequality as not of nature but of social construction
  • Currently focuses on the intersection of gender, race, and class
  • Influenced new fields of study in men’s studies, sexuality, and LGBTQ

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• Symbolic interactionism

  • 1 to 1 interactions and communications 

  • Micro level orientation

  • A micro-level orientation, a close-up focus on relationships among individuals within society

  • Views society as the product of everyday interactions of individuals 

  • Key elements 

  • Communication: through the exchange of symbols and language - How we make sense of our world

  • Society is complex, people are active in shaping the social world

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Research method

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• ethnography (fieldwork)
  • First-hand studies or observations
  • Uses observations, interviews, immerses themselves in the group, community… it can provide rich information on the behavior of people in groups 
  • Participant observation by direct involvement in an activity or observation at a distance
  • Must gain and sustain the cooperation of the group they are observing
  • Limited to small groups, findings limited to that group, not easy to generalize and possibly recreate
• Surveys (questionnaires)
  • It can be administered over the phone, in person, by mail…
  • Results are less detailed but they can be generalized to the specific population as a whole 
  • Standard and open-ended questions
  • Sampling; a small proportion of a large population
  • The advantage is widely used as it is more easily quantified
  • A disadvantage is not all respond to surveys
• Experiment
  • Most used in natural science or psychology 
  • People are randomly assigned to groups 
  • The researcher controls the circumstances being studied
  • The advantage is hypotheses can be tested under a highly controlled condition
  • The disadvantage is hard to duplicate the study in a natural setting, it cannot always generalize results to the larger society
  • Hawthorne effect (subject may modify their behavior)
• Comparative historical research
  • Analysis of government data 
  • Readily available previous research or sampling that assists in targeting interests 
  • The disadvantage is that information may focus more on a purpose other than what you are hoping to research
  • Data can be hard to find

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