SOCI 205 Lecture 1 Outline of Current Lecture What is Sociology & Sociology Theory? Current LectureThe US census:White 79.5%Asian 4.7%Native Hawaiian and other pacific islander 0.2%American Indian and Alaskan Native 1%Two or more races 1.8% **Hispanic-16%-- ethnicity not a race1. Social Place: a part of the dominant racial group (whites make up over 70% of the population) wealthy (elite) family, great school system, religious home. Social place oftentaken for granted. 2. Social location: living in an affluent neighborhood versus living in a poor neighborhood. Social location has a profound effect on our chances in life. 3. What is sociology?a. Sociology is… the study of how institutions (social structure) affect individuals!b. Sociology builds on observations that are objective and accurate to create analysis that are reliable and that can be validated by others.c. Sociology can provide the tools for testing whether the things we hear about society are actually true. d. Marked by change as well as stability in societye. Important to analyze controversial topics—Peter Berger thought of debunking and rethinking the norm. 4. What do sociologists do?a. Sociologist often study the same subjects that media examine, such as domestic violence or juvenile delinquency, but sociologists use specific research techniques and well tested theories to explain social issuesb. Some believe sociologist explain the obvious and debunk issues however, they bring a unique perspective to understanding social behavior and social change. c. Things happen in a sociological context5. Sociological Perspectivea. Sociological Perspective: the ability to see the societal patterns that influence individual and group life. The beginnings of the sociological perspective can be as simple as the pleasures of watching people or wondering how society influences people’s lives.b. C. Wright Mills: one of the first to write about the sociological perspectivei. Have to know the context in which the people you are studying lives ii. Be aware of social structure—to see linkages in different environments 6. Trouble and issues—MILLS a. Troubles: occur within the character of the individual and within the range of his immediate relations with others( Mills)b. Issues: affect large numbers of people and have their origins in the institutional arrangements and history of a society. ( mills) c. Difference: difference between an individual experience and social structured. Issues shape that context within which troubles arise e. Example: couples may have trouble in marriage but on a broader view the issue is a lot of couples get divorced or if a man is unemployed it is a trouble but on a broader view we see the issue of high unemployment rate. 7. Critical distance:a. Georg Simmel was interested in the role of strangers in social groupsb. Simmel suggests that sociological perspective requires a combination of nearnessand distancec. Most sociologists acquire critical distance through a willingness to question the forces that shape social behavior d. Need enough distance to be objective but near enough to understand e. Example: you go hang out with a group you do not know you will be able to separate yourself from the group but be able to relate 8. Diversity: is a broad concept that includes studying group differences in society’s opportunities, the shaping of social institutions by different social factors, the formation of group and individual identity, and the process of social change. a. Understanding diversity means recognizing this diversity and making it central to sociological analysisb. Shape opportunities—how the labels affect life 9. Globalizationa. The social and economic system of any one society is increasingly intertwined with those of other nationsb. Coupled with the increase ease in traveling and telecommunicating, meaning a global perspective is necessary to understand change both in the United States and in other parts of the world. 10. Social theory a. The age of enlightenment or age of reasoni. Observation replaced a belief in the supernatural b. Auguste comte: the founding father of sociology. He believed that society could be studied scientifically. This approach is known as positivism.c. Emile Durkeim: focused on the forces that hold society together in moral cohesioni. When he began studying… Hatred was brewing among Anti-Semitism (hatred of Jews) and ill feelings among other religions. ii. Studied suicide and showed abstract theories can be applied to real life problems… the more integrated one is the less likely they are to commit suicide. iii. Anomie- break down of social norms d. Karl Marx: saw social class as a fundamental dimension of society that shapes social behaviori. Used class analysis a class analysis to explain capitalism. Just sees economic ii. Haves exploit the have not’s to work. ---survival of the fittest iii. Workers sell labor for money and capitalist make certain that wages less than what the goods are worth, the system unfair because workers get less. e. Max weber: was concerned with ideas and how they shaped society i. Weber was greatly influenced by Marx’s work and build upon it. ii. 3 points are economic, political, and cultural iii. Understand how culture affects social action f. W.E.B Du Bois was deeply troubled by the racial divisiveness in societyi. Co-founder of NAACP, great writer and mindsii. Wanted to empower blacks to make a differencesg. Ida B. Wells-Barnet crusaded against lynching and for women’s rights. i. Wrote under an assumed name because afraid of being attacked 11. Sociological Theorya. Functionalism (Durkheim): emphasizes the stability and integration in order to explain society through cultural political and economic factorsi. if your ear buds go out your ipod will not work-- need all parts to functionb. Conflict theory (Marx): sees society as organized around the unequal distributionof resources and held together through power and coercionc. Symbolic interaction theory: emphasizes the role of individuals in giving meaning to social behavior, thereby creating society Textbook Notes for Chapter 1: The sociological perspective1) What is sociology?a) Sociology: the study of human behavior in society i) All human behavior occurs in societal context. 2) The Sociological perspectivea) Wright Mills: first to write about the sociological perspective in his book The sociologicalimagination. b) Sociological imagination: the ability to see the