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Chapter 1

Sociology

Perspective, Theory, and Method

Sociology

The systematic study of human society Sociologists investigate the structure of groups,

organizations, and societies, and how people interact within these contexts.

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Sociology

– Anywhere there are two or more people interacting, sociologists are there with questions:• Why do they behave the way they do & what is

the function of their interactions?• What is the meaning of their interactions? • Who do their interactions serve? Who

benefits?


Sociology

• Not only are sociologists interested in examining people, sociologists examine social issues and ask important questions about what exactly contributes to those issues


Sociology• Sociologists engage in “debunking” commonly

held assumptions in order to determine what is actually going on in society– Middle-aged men make up the fastest growing

segment of the homeless population– Most of the poor are African American– The poor could get out of poverty if only they

worked– Teenage pregnancy is on the rise– Parents today spend less time with their children

than parents did in the 1960s and 70s


Sociology

Sociologists examine diversity & what it means to be “different” in any given society

What does it mean to be white, black, rich, poor, male, female, gay, straight, etc.....

Does it mean the same thing to be poor in the United States as it does in Sierra Leone or Afghanistan?


Sociology Sociologists focus on how social relationships

influence people’s behavior Relationships between boss/employee;

husband/wife; parent/child; politicians/constituents; teacher and students, etc…

Is each relationship is different?


Sociology

Sociology focuses on how social forces shape and control our lives.

If you were born in another country, at a different time in history, how might your life be different?

If you were raised by a different family, had different friends, peers, teachers, how might your life be different? Would you beliefs be different? Would your behavior be different? Would your personality be different?


Sociology

At the heart of the discipline is a distinctive point of view called the sociological perspective


Seeing the General in the Particular

• The sociological perspective allows us to see how the general categories into which we fall shape our particular life experiences. (Berger,1963)

How are your life experiences shaped by the general categories into which you happen to fall (or have been placed into by society)?

Age, Sex, Race, Social Class, Sexual Orientation, etc…


Seeing the Strange in the Familiar

• The sociological perspective allows us to “see the strange in the familiar”• “Bizarre” practices found in some societies



• The sociological perspective allows us to “see the strange in the familiar” by encouraging us to view our culture as an outsider looking in

• Brainstorm about three “familiar” practices in the United States. – Now find something “strange” about each of the practices. – How might they seem strange now that you are using the

sociological perspective?

•



• Using the sociological perspective to “think sociologically” requires us to give up the familiar idea that human behavior is simply a matter of what people decide to do in favor of the initially strange notion that society guides our thoughts and deeds.


The Sociological ImaginationAnother term for the sociological perspective is the “sociological imagination”

•Sociological imagination: the ability to see the link between ourselves and larger society- C. Wright Mills (1959) -


Seeing Sociologically: Social Crisis


Seeing Sociologically: Social Crisis

– 1 in 4 people were out of work during the Great Depression

– The stock market crashed, banks closed their doors, and employers stopped hiring

– Do you think people blamed only themselves for their unemployment?

– We can look back on this period of crisis, using our sociological imagination, and see how large, external, social forces (forces beyond people’s control) were shaping people’s lives


Social Change and the Emergence of Sociology

• An interesting irony:

–Sociology itself is the result of powerful social forces.

–Sociology emerged during a time of significant social change


Social Change and the Emergence of Sociology

• What social forces led to the development of sociology in the latter part of the 18th century?

• The Industrial Revolution

– 3 Major Characteristics

• The rise of a factory-based industrial economy

• The explosive growth of cities

• New ideas about democracy and political rights


Science and Sociology

• Auguste Comte (1798–1857)– French social thinker who coined the term

“sociology” in 1838 to: • Describe a new way of looking at the world

– Comte’s approach is called:–Positivism – understanding the world

based on science, as opposed to mere speculation


Science and Sociology

• So, how do we use scientific principles to better understand society ?

• We begin with theory.
