lesson 1- the sociological perspective

sociology- the study of social structure, patterned social behavior

• the study of society

• society- territory inhabited by people who share a common culture

sociological perspective- looks at groups, not individuals

• investigates human social behavior from a group perspective

social structure- the patterned interaction of people in social relationships

other social sciences, not sociology:

• anthropology- culture, archeology

• economics- goods/services, production, consumption, transfer of wealth

• history- record of the past, events, human affairs

• human geography- where people are and why

• political science- government and politics

• psychology- mental/emotional, the mind’s function

sociological imagination- seeing the link between society and self

lesson 2- the origins of sociology

• european origins

• relatively new social science

  • late 19th century (1800s)

• brought on due to social/economic impacts of the Industrial and French revolutions

  • jobs moved from farms to factories

    • led to a change or loss in sense of community

• Auguste Comte (know what he looks like)

  • father of sociology

  • french

  • interested in the betterment of society

  • expelled from school for rebelling against social norms

  • believed that sociology could use scientific procedures to understand people groups

    • to promote social progress

• implemented 3 terms still used in sociology

  • positivism- the belief that knowledge should be derived from scientific observation

    • scientific method, empirical observation, concrete knowledge. you cannot know what isn’t observable and measurable

      implemented

  • social statics- the study of social stability and order

  • social dynamics- the study of social change

• karl marx

  • german

  • scholar, didn’t consider himself a sociologist

    • had lots of influence on the subject

  • identified these classes:

    • bourgeoisie

      • the rich, owns the means for producing wealth

    • proletariat

      • the working class, they work for the bourgeoisie

  • he wanted a classless society (communism)

    • he wrote the Communist Manifesto

• capitalist

• communism

  • political/economic system

  • classless society

  • everyone shares benefits of labor equally

  • redistributes income

  • no more private property

  • “equal”

• Emile Durkheim

  • first person to each sociology at a university

  • “society exists due to a large consensus or agreement among the members“

    • mechanical solidarity

    • widespread agreement on values/dependence on tradition and family

  • groundbreaking research on suicide

    • involves more than someone acting alone

    • suicide rates vary by group characteristics

  • organic solidarity-

    • social interdepencency is based on specialization of roles

      • every society needs roles, and people are dependent on each other

        • people need bankers, bankers need customers

• Max Weber

  • verstehen- understanding social behavior by putting yourself in the places of others

    • “to understand“, seeing a different point of view

  • rationalization- the mindset emphasizing knowledge, reason, and planning

    • taking emotion/luck out of the equation

• WEB DuBois

  • african american educator and social activist

    • first african american to graduate his high school, then Harvard

  • analyzed sophisticated social structure of african american communities

    • first in philadelphia, then the world

      • documented the experience and contributions of African people throughout the world

    • a major pioneer

• Scientific method- empirical, objective, logical, and systematic way of collecting data

  • empirical- no assumptions, seeing is believing. ex. ghosts

  • objective- do not let your values and ideas interfere. ex. homeless

  • logical- interpret facts in a reasoned way, not from emotions. ex. library

  • systematic- research done in an organized and methodical manner

• functionalism- emphasizes the contributions made by each part of society

  • ex. a family cares for a new baby, the economy deals with distribution and consumption, religion deals with…

mechanical solidarity- social dependency based on a widespread consensus of values/beliefs and dependence on tradition and family

lesson 3- theoretical perspectives

theoretical perspective- set of assumptions about an area of study accepted as true

functionalism- emphasizes the contributions made by each part of society

manifest functions- intended/recognized consequences of an aspect of society

latent functions- unintended/unrecognized consequences of an aspect of society

• ex. schools- manifest- teach math. latent- make friends

dysfunction- negative consequences of an aspect of society

theoretical perspectives

• conflict perspective- emphasizes the role of conflict, competition, and constrain in a society

• power- the ability to control the behavior of others

• symbol- stands for something, has an agreed-upon mascot

symbolic interactionism- focuses on the interactions among people, based on their mutually understood symbols

dramaturgy- approach that depicts human interactions as theatrical performances