1 Introduction to Sociology

Sociology definition

The study of groups, group interaction, societies and social institutions (from small and personal groups to large groups)

Society

A group of people who live in a defined geographic area. They interact with one another, and usually share a common culture

Culture

A groups shared practices, values and beliefs

Macro sociology

Examines large scale patterns in society
Trends among and between large groups
Ex: culture, education system, political system, religious institutions

Micro sociology

Interactions between small groups and individuals
changes over time
Ex: analyzing the behaviour between two siblings

Norms

Formal and informal rules of conduct for membership in a group
They are expectations of behaviour in particular situations

What do they do?

→ They control social relationships and behaviour

There are 3 types of norms

{Folkways} {Mores} {Taboos}

Folkways

social rules/expectations that are mildly enforced (casual interactions)
Ex: waiting in line, covering mouth when coughing, wearing a school uniform

Mores

The different between right and wrong
Ex: lying, stealing, bullying, trespassing

Taboos

An act so offensive, it causes disgust by just thinking about it
Ex: Incest, cannibalism

Agency vs. Structure

Agency

1 → people’s ability to make choices

2 → those choices then have impact on other people and society

Structure

The connected relationships of various social groups and institutions that people create and become apart of
Ex: family, religion, law, economy, and status

The Sociological Imagination

Founder → C. Wright Mills (1959)
An awareness of the relationship between a person’s behaviour and experience in connection to the wider society that shaped a person’s choice and perceptions
Helps us see how society shapes our lives and how individuals can change society
Ex: obesity rate (might feel compelled to each certain foods because of society’s standards)

History of Sociology

Industrial revolution

The transition from creating goods by hand to using machines

Urbanization

The process of making an area more urban
Ex: cutting down trees to create buildings
Or → people moving from rural areas (countryside) to urban areas (towns and cities)

Population growth (Thomas Malthus)

He stated that the human population increased in a geometric progression (2, 4, 16, 132..) while food production increased in an arithmetic progression (2, 4, 6, 8..)
This means that the population grew faster than food production

Imperialism

Expanding one’s territory by taking over another country

Important people

August Comte (positivism, coined the term sociology)

Positivism → an idea that reliable knowledge can only be obtained by using scientific methods like experiments, measurements, observations, and testing

Wanted sociology to be seen as a scientific discipline like chemistry and physics

Harriet Martineau

First female sociologist
Introduced a feminist perspective in her writings
Believed in August Comte theory

Emile Durkheim (social facts, anomie)

Social facts → its not a physical thing, but a concept that society generally agrees upon

Ex: religion, currency, morals

Anomie → Normlessness: Social condition that occurs when a society’s previously common norms and values disappear

Ex: a single mother who is forced to commit crimes if she cannot get a job or social aid to pay for the expenses for herself and her child

Typically causes people to feel a lack of belonging and that they are disconnected from their society

Max Weber

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (book)

Objectivity → to be objective, a researcher must not allow their values, their bias or their views to impact on their research, analysis or findings.

Verstehen (interpretive methods) → (to understand in a deep way)

when a researcher aims to understand another person's experience, he can try to put himself in the other person's shoes.

Anti positivism → since human beings think and reflect, scientific methods are inappropriate for the study of society. Unlike objects in nature, human beings can change their behaviour if they know they are being observed.

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois

Du Bois believed that capitalism was a primary cause of racism
Fighting to end racism

Different kinds of sociology

Structural functionalism

A macro theory that looks at how all structures and institutions in society work together (how they function)
The parts of this system work together to keep society stable and its people happy.
examines large scale patterns in society

Conflict theory

A theory that society is in a state of perpetual conflict because of competition for limited resources
Originating from the ideas of Karl Marx, this theory sees societal change as the result of conflict between a dominant group and a subordinate group
The Bourgeoisie (owners of production) and Proletariat (working class)
Competition between rich and the poor for resources

Symbolic interactionism

A theory that focuses on how individuals interact
Used to analyze human interactions by focusing on the meanings that individuals assign to things in the world around them, including words and objects.
Symbols → things we attach meaning to in society
Ex: a drawing of a heart means love, a stick figure sitting in a chair with a large wheel means handicapped

Feminist theory

Feminist theory often focuses on analyzing gender inequality

Postmodern theory

It says that knowledge is always made or invented and not discovered
There is no real truth

Functions

Manifest functions → The anticipated and intended goals of an action or social structure; the reason something is done.

Ex: cell phones → Allows communication between people

Latent functions → Unanticipated and unintended consequences of an action or social structure; unknown or unacknowledged reasons something is done

Ex: In school, giving children an opportunity to socialize but that’s not the schools purpose

Latent dysfunctions

unintended and unanticipated disruptions (causes problems)

Ex: If there was a festival, people would be missing/late to work due to a traffic jam

Criticisms of structural functionalism

functionalism was criticized for being unable to account for social change, or for structural contradictions and conflict
Critics claim that structural functionalism ignores the processes of social change

Criticisms of conflict theory

encouraging oppressed groups to go against the existing power structure, rather than seeking to work within the existing system to address their concerns

Feminist perspectives

Marxist feminists

working-class women are exploited by both patriarchy and capitalism.

Liberal feminists

insist on freedom for women

Radical feminists

view society as a patriarchy in which men dominate and oppress women
They seek to abolish the patriarchy