Transcript What is Sociology?

Chapter One: Discovering
Sociology
Chapter Two: Doing Sociology
Chapter
Overview
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What is Sociology?
The Origins of
Sociology
First Sociologists
Sexism in Early
Sociology
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Theoretical
Perspectives in
Sociology
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The Sociological Perspective
 The scientific study of human behavior, groups,
and society
 Sociologists as Scientist
 Examine how social groups influence people’s lives
 Examines how people are influenced by their social
setting.
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Small group social settings
Large group social settings
The Sociological Perspective
Social Location Corners in Life
Jobs
 Income
 Education
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Gender
Age
Race/Ethnicity
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The Sociological Perspective
The Sociological
Perspective
C. Wright Mills
connect
biography &
history
personal
trouble or
public issue?
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The Sociological Perspective
GLOBALIZATION
 Global Village
 The interconnectedness among people around the world
 Social change
 Global Awareness
The Sociological Perspective
Influence of Media
Mass media oversimplify and dramatize social issues.
What about the technomedia?
Mass Media
Technomedia
traditional media forms:
Books
Magazines
Newspapers
Radio
Television
Movies
newer individualized forms:
Internet
PCs
iPods
Smart phones
Copyright (c) 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Sociological Perspective
Development of Sociology
1.
Major Social Changes in 19th
Century
a.
b.
2.
industrialization, urbanization, social
disorganization
sociology arose to understand
changes
Intellectual Climate of Historical
Period
a.
b.
age of reason/enlightenment
explanations shifted from religious to
scientific
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The Sociological Perspective
Auguste Comte:
Founder of Sociology
 Lived in France
 Positivism
 Sociology a new science
 Coined the term “Sociology” (the
study of society)
 Advocate of social reform
1798-1857
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The Sociological Perspective
Herbert Spencer:
Social Darwinism
 Lived in England
 Disagreed with Comte that Sociology should
guide reform
 Societies are evolutionary
 Evolve from lower to higher forms
 Social Reform interferes with natural process of
selection
 Social Philosopher
1820-1903
 Did not conduct scientific studies
 Only developed ideas about society
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The Sociological Perspective
Karl Marx:
Class Conflict
 Human history
 Created by class conflict
 Economics is central force for
social change
 Class Conflict
 Proletariat vs. the Bourgeoisie
 Marx’ predictions
 Marxism is not the same as
Communism
1818-1883
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The Sociological Perspective
Max Weber:
Religion
 Lived in Germany
 Disagreed with Marx
 The Protestant Ethic is tied to
the rise of capitalism
 Religion was a key factor to the rise
of capitalism
1864-1920
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The Sociological Perspective
Emile Durkheim:
Social Integration
 First to establish sociology as a separate
academic discipline; a social science
 Sociological ideas could be tested and
published
 Theory: Social forces shape human behavior
 Studied suicide rates in several
European countries
1858-1917
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The Sociological Perspective
Rural Areas
 Agricultural life
 Smaller population
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vs.
Urban Areas
 City life
 Larger population
Compared suicide rates of various groups
SOCIAL FACTORS underlie suicide
Social Integration
The Sociological Perspective
 Egotistic
 Low social integration/weak bonds
 Individualistic
 Altruistic
 High social integration/strong bonds
 Willing to die to accomplish group’s goals
 Anomic Suicide
 No integration
 Can not pursue society’s goals; no sense of norms (rules)
 Fatalistic Suicide
 No integration
 Results from strict regulation of norms(rules)
The Sociological Perspective
Sexism in
Early Sociology
 Attitudes of the Time
1800s Sex Roles Rigidly Defined
Higher education reserved for men
and the wealthy
Harriet Martineau
 Harriet Martineau
Published Society in America Before
Durkheim and Weber Were Born
Known for translating Comte’s works
from French to English
1802-1876
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The Sociological Perspective
Jane Addams
Came from a background of privilege
Social reformer
Advocate for social justice
Co-founded the Hull House in 1889
Campaigned for laws against child labor
1860-1935
Leader of women’s rights and peace movement of
World War I
Co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931
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The Sociological Perspective
W.E.B. Du Bois and
Race Relations
 1st African American to earn a doctorate
at Harvard
 Grew up within a very racist society
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Every year between 1896 and 1914 he
published a book on race relations between
African Americans and Whites
 He became active in social reform after
years of collecting and interpreting data
 Founded the N.A.A.C.P
1868-1963
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The Sociological Perspective
Three Theoretical
Perspectives
 Theory-a general statement about how some parts of
the world fit together and how they work
 Sociologists use theories to conduct sociological
research
 Allows Sociologists to view a social problem from
many different perspectives
 Symbolic Interactionist
 Functional Analysis
 Conflict Theory
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The Sociological Perspective
 Each theoretical perspective looks at statistical data in
a different light, i.e. marriage and divorce rates
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The Sociological Perspective
Symbolic
Interactionism
 Symbolic Interactionists believe that
individuals evaluate their own conduct by
comparing themselves with others
 Symbolic Interactionists study:
 How people interpret symbols
 How people interact one on one
 How people behave according to how they
define themselves and others
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
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The Sociological Perspective
Functional Analysis
 The Functional Analysis perspective views
society as a whole unit, made up of interrelated
parts that work together.
 Functional Analysists study:
 The structure of society
 How each part of society has certain functions
that must be fulfilled
 What happens to society when dysfunctions
occur
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The Sociological Perspective
 Founded by Karl Marx
 Groups competing for scarce resources
 Groups competing for power and authority
 Conflict can be positive as it can bring about positive
change
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The Sociological Perspective
Two Levels of
Sociological Analysis
 Macro Level - Large Scale Patterns in
Society
 Functional Analysis and Conflict Theory
 Micro Level-Social interactions on a
small scale
 Symbolic Interactionism
 Which level of analysis is best?
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The Sociological Perspective
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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
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The Sociological Perspective