An Introduction to Sociology

An Introduction to Sociology (Sociological Perspective & Theory) Sociology as a profession • Sociology is a social science. • The sociological field is primarily research-based, meaning that sociologists conduct research on people on a wide variety of topics. • The American Sociological Association has members who study in over 40 areas Sociology & Careers • Fields that Sociologists go into: – Academics – Teaching/Research – Criminal Justice – Demography & City planning – Marketing – Corporate Sociology – Research & Evaluation • Example: Health care, hospitals employ sociologists to determine… – Patterns of health and illness within a population – How factors such as race, gender, and social class affect health The Sociological Perspective • Sociology – The systematic study of human society • Human interaction • Group behavior • Trends, patterns of populations • The “nurture” of the nature/nurture debate • At the heart of the discipline is a point of view called the sociological perspective • Seeing the connection between large scale social forces and our individual behaviors • Micro – Macro link Where did this concept come from? • What striking transformations took place in 18th and 19th century Europe that drove the development of sociology? • Rise of a factory-based economy • Explosive growth of cities • Change in family structure • Health/sanitation concerns • New ideas about democracy and political rights Periods of change or crisis makes everyone feel off balance, encouraging the use of the sociological perspective to “ground” us. Sociology as a Science Auguste Comte (1798–1857) – French social thinker who is known as the founder of the term “sociology”. He wrote about Sociology in 1838 to describe a new way of looking at the world. – Comte turned to Science as a model • Positivism – understanding the world based on science. Prior to – religion or superstition often guided people’s thoughts Sociological Imagination – The unrest of the 1930’s (Great Depression) and then again in the 1960s (race relations, post-world war II) sparked sociological thinking once again. – C. Wright Mills wrote the Sociological Imagination in 1959 • Using the sociological imagination helps people understand their society and how it affects their own lives • • • • • • Personal troubles (micro) vs. Public Issues (macro) Man --- Society Biography --- History Self --- World People are falsely conscious of their social positions without understanding the societal (macro) perspective-> uneasiness Intersection of micro/macro unveils the whole picture The Sociological Perspective: Seeing the Strange in the Familiar • Looking 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 actions. • Invisible forces are at play. Invisible forces of society • Our culture teaches us what is good/bad, acceptable/unacceptable, normal/abnormal • Why do women typically shave their legs in the U.S. and not men? • Why is it unheard of to eat cats or dogs, when eating cows, pigs, lamb are quite common in the U.S.? • Why is it that the average age of marriage in the U.S. is about 26 years old, when just a few years ago the average age was 24? Questions to ponder… Even though we can act independently, invisible forces (our culture) tell us what’s appropriate. The Sociological Perspective: Seeing Personal Choice in Social Context • Durkheim’s Study of Suicide – studied records of suicide in Europe – Found higher suicide among: • whites, men, Protestants, unmarried, and wealthier people – Lower rates among: • women, Catholics, Jews, married and people of color. What do these people have in common? France, late 1800’s, govern records His conclusion: Reflects Social Integration – the degree to which people are tied to their social group. – Social Ties influence choice of suicide Reflects greater freedom  Human behavior is not as individualistic as we may think.  Why do people resist the idea that they act in socially patterned ways? Also a cultural construct Sociological Theory Sociological Theory – A statement of how and why specific facts are related – Analytical tool used to understand, explain & predict social behavior • Example: The Big Bang Theory • Example: The gym will be less busy on weekday afternoons… – “A testable statement” Theoretical Approach, Paradigm – A basic image of society that guides thinking and research; mental framework or worldview • Agreed upon by many • It serves as a roadmap/GPS. Macro-level orientation (Grand theory) Broad focus on social structures that shape society as a whole Micro-level orientation – Micro-level sociology shows how individuals construct and experience society • The difference between looking at the entire forest vs. one tree (or a few trees) This approach looks for each structure’s social patterns function to keep society going, at least in its present form The Structural-Functional Approach • Macro • • • • • A framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability Social Functions – The consequences of a social pattern for the operation of society as a whole Robert K. Merton (1910–2003) – Distinguished between kinds of functions Manifest Functions – The recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern Latent Functions – The unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social pattern Even dysfunctional things can be reframed to see the function-What are the manifest and latent functions of our poverty in our society? The Social-Conflict Approach • Macro • A framework for building theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change • Social-conflict approach is used to look at ongoing conflict between dominant and disadvantaged categories of people • Associated with Karl Marx Highlights how the following factors are linked to inequality Class, race, ethnicity, gender, age The Symbolic-Interaction Approach • MICRO • Symbolic-interaction Approach – A framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals • Associated with Max Weber – Weber was a proponent of anti-positivism, which was the belief that studying people shouldn’t be done through systematic, scientific methods, but instead through in-depth case studies Society is the reality people construct for themselves as they interact with one another. How do millions of people weave their lives together into the drama of society? Paradigm Application Religion Structural-Functional Social-Conflict Symbolic-Interactionist Structural-functionalists would see religion as a stabilizing force in society. It benefits society by teaching people to behavior in certain approved ways. Social-conflict theorists would see the inequality that occurs within the practice of religion (example: men traditionally held more prestigious roles than women, Gay men and women may not be welcomed in certain religious affiliations) and between religions (example: Some faiths are marginalized because others are more entrenched into the culture/have more power) Symbolic-interactionists would look at the interactional components of how someone learns about and practices a religion. What are the symbols involved and how does someone grown to learn what they mean? How does practicing a faith affect one’s identity or social bonds?