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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