hm321 lecture 2,3

Copyright Allyn & Bacon 2005 1

The Sociological Perspective

Week 1: Lecture 2

How Groups Influence People

How People are Influenced by Their Society

People Who Share a Culture

People Who Share a Territory


Seeing the Broader Social Context

Jobs

Income

Education

Gender

Age

RaceCopyright Allyn & Bacon 2005 3

Social LocationCorners in Life

HistoryLocation in Broad Stream of Events

BiographyIndividuals Specific Experiences


C. Wright MillsConnection Between History and Biography

The Global Village

Instant Communication

Sociology Studies both the Global

Network and Our Unique Experiences


The Growing Global Context

The Natural SciencesExplain and Predict

Events in Natural Environment

The Social SciencesExamine Human

Relationships


Sociology and the Other Sciences

Explain Why Something Happens

Make Generalizations

Look for Patterns

Move Beyond Common SenseCopyright Allyn & Bacon 2005 7

The Goal of Science

Tradition vs. Science

Emerged mid-1800s

Grew Out of Social Upheaval

The Scientific MethodCopyright Allyn & Bacon 2005 8

Origins of Sociology

Auguste Comte ( 1798 1857)Essentials Of Sociology, 3rd Edition

Copyright 2011 W.W. Norton & Company

Applying the Scientific Method to Social

World

Coined the Term Sociology

Armchair PhilosophyCopyright Allyn & Bacon 2005 10

Auguste Comte and Positivism

Second Founder of Sociology

Lower and Higher Forms of Society

Coined Phrase Survival of the Fittest


Herbert SpencerSocial Darwinism

Karl Marx ( 1818 1883)

Engine of Human History is Class Conflict

The Bourgeoisie vs. The Proletariat

Marxism Not the Same as Communism


Karl Marx and Class Conflict

mile Durkheim ( 1858 1917)Essentials Of Sociology, 3rd Edition

Copyright 2011 W.W. Norton & Company

Got Sociology Recognized as Separate Discipline

Studied How Social Forces Affect Behavior

Identified Social IntegrationDegree to Which People are

Tied to Social Group


Durkheim and Social Integration

Social Integration


Durkheim believed that modern societies produce feelings of isolation, much of which comes

from the division of labor. In contrast, members of traditional societies, who work alongside

family and neighbors and participate in similar activities, experience a high degree of social

integration. The photo contrast a U.S. office with nomads in Mongolia who are shearing

cashmere off their goats.

Critical Thinking!

What sort of social and cultural capital do you possess?


Max Weber ( 1864 1920)

Religion and the Origin of Capitalism

Religion is Central Force in Social Change

Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism


Max Weber and the Protestant Ethic

Weber

VerstehenTo Grasp by Insight

Importance of Subjective Meanings

Durkheim

Stressed Social Facts

Explain Social Facts with Other Social Facts

How Social Facts and Verstehen Fit Together


Verstehen and Social Facts

Neglected Founders

Harriet Martineau was a scholar and activist who introduced sociology to England. Among other things, she insisted on the significance of studying domestic life to better understand a society.

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Neglected Founders

W.E.B. Du Bois was the first significant African American sociologist. He made many contributions to the field, including the notion of the double consciousness experienced by all American blacks. Du Bois was also a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

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Attitudes of the Time

1800s Sex Roles Rigidly Defined

Few People Educated Beyond Basics

Harriet Martineau

Published Society in America Before Durkheim

and Weber Were Born

Her Work was Ignored


Sexism in Early Sociology

Early History: Tension Between Social Reform

and Sociological Analysis

Jane Addams and Social Reform

W. E. B. Du Bois and Race Relations

Talcott Parsons and C. Wright Mills: Theory vs.

Reform


Sociology in North America

Symbolic Interactionism

Functional Analysis

Marxism


Theoretical Perspectives


Symbolic InteractionismHow People Use

Symbols

Applying Symbolic InteractionismChanging

the Meaning of Symbols Affects Expectations



All social interaction involves an exchange of information via symbols.

This exchange may be through language, but may also be non-verbal or may be conveyed by setting.

We learn about ourselves and the world through this meaningful interaction.

Key figure: George Herbert Mead

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Society is a Whole Unit Made Up of Interrelated

Parts that Work Together

Functionalism, Structural Functionalism

Robert MertonFunctions and Dysfunctions


Functional Analysis

Functionalism This perspective is derived from Comte and Durkheim

and emphasizes large-scale social institutions and processes.

Functionalist approaches are focus on understanding the role or contribution of some event, activity, or institution to the workings of society as a whole.

Modern figures: Talcott Parsons, Robert K. Merton

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Marxism Those working under this approach derive their

approach from Marx, most significantly as regards concerns about power, conflict, and ideology.

This perspective is most commonly applied to capitalism and economic systems.

Marxist thinkers tend to take on an activist stance in addition to a scholarly one.

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Levels of Analysis

Microsociology is the study of everyday, face-to-face interaction. Symbolic interactionists study primarily at this level of analysis.

Macrosociology is the analysis of large social systems and institutions. Functionalists and Marxists fall largely under this heading.

In practice, these two levels of analysis work best when applied in concert.

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Sociology Full Circle: Reform vs. Research

Globalization


Trends Shaping the Future

Definition of Sociology

The science of society (Ward & Graham Sumner).

The science of social phenomena (F.H.Giddings)

The science of institutions (Durkheim)

The science of studying human relationship (Simmel)

The science of social action (Weber)

The science of collective behavior (Park)

Research Methods: Questions

Sociology, as a social science, must take an empirical approach to answering questions about the world.

Sociologists ask four primary types of questions: factual, comparative, developmental, and theoretical.

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Table 1.2 A Sociologists Line of Questioning

Research Methods: Seven Steps

1. Define the research problem.

2. Review the evidencedo a literature review.

3. Make the problem precisespecify your hypothesis.

4. Work out a research design.

5. Carry out the researchcollect your data.

6. Interpret the resultsanalyze your data.

7. Report the findingspublish or present them.

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Research Methods

Ethnography, or participant observation, is a method frequently used to study people in their own settings (ethnos = folks, people, nature; grapho = I write)

Surveys are a more structured research method where specific, carefully constructed questions are asked to specific, carefully selected individuals.

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Research Methods

Sociologists occasionally use experimentaldesigns when highly controlled conditions are necessary to answer research questions.

Comparative and historical research are approaches that allow researchers to understand variations in social phenomena across both time and space.

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Research Methods: Ethics

Because sociologists are dealing with real people in their everyday lives, we must be very cautious in our work.

All research that directly involves human subjects must first be approved by an institutional review board.

Study participants must give informed consent prior to agreeing to participate and must be debriefedafter.

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hm321 lecture 2,3

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