SOCI 2013 1st Edition Lecture 3 II. Chapter 1III. A. Putting Social Life in Perspectivea. Sociology is the systematic study of human society and social interaction.b. Why study sociology?i. See how behavior is “influenced” by society.ii. Understand (global) inter-dependence.iii. See connection between self/society.iv. See “new” ways of problem solvingv. The social world has more influence on us then we thinkc. Commonsense Knowledge – guides social behavior, maybe in errord. Myth – popular, but inaccurate notion that may be used to perpetuate social action.e. Example – Why do people commit suicide?i. The relationship between the cohesiveness / connectedness in their societyii. Durkheim – “suicide” - he looked at the rates of suicide and looked at the level of connectiveness between the members of society and saw that the suicide rates were not random, they were connected. If they were loosely connected they would feel lonely and if they were too tight they felt too much pressure, resulted in suicide. iii. This is in the textbook. f. Example – Why do students NOT respond to (answer) questions, asked of the teacher, during class?i. Rebecca Nathan – My Freshman Year – went back to college to do her study. Acted as a normal student. Concluded that its not that the students aren’t uninterested, it is because of the norms which effects the behavior.IV. B. The Sociological Imaginationa. C. Wright Mills came up with Sociological Imaginationb. Sociological Imagination – link between personal experience and social context, we are embedded in society.c. Personal Troubles and Public Issuesi. PT – private, actors, and networksii. PI – affect large numbersiii. Example – if you have a heart beat, you can get a job. If you don’t have a job people might think you screwed up. (personal trouble)iv. Example – it’s 2008 and the economy is awful and there is high unemployment. It doesn’t have anything to do with you, there are no available job. (Public Issue)v. Example – obesity increased in U.S.1. Resource Rich Environment2. Daily life does not encourage effortThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.3. Rituals of Eating