1 23 Sociology and he field of study The systematic study of human society and social interactions Society represents a large social grouping that share same geographical area political authority and cultural expectations Social structures are enduring and regular social arrangements ones social class or occupation Social processes are human practices in the social world life habits employment tasks o Change slowly o Change more rapidly C Wright Mills We can critically question the world around us by connecting our own personal troubles to the public issues of the day The sociological imagination as critical thinking 1 28 Enlightenment Social Revolution 1 Age of Reason a Rational pursuit of truth b Knowledge is empirical NOT based on revelation or pure argument i Importance of sensory experience Scientific knowledge is cumulative and progressive c 2 French Revolution overthrown of monarchies a Rise of modern nations and democracy Industrial Revolution 1 The practical application of scientific research a Rise of capitalism b Harness energy technology and social change c Urbanization and megacities d Building of artificial words even life itself Globalization Consumption 1 Globalization is defined by increasingly fluid global flows and the structures that expedite and impede these flows 2 No contemporary change is as important as globalization 3 The butterfly effect small scale change can have far reaching implications 1 The process by which people obtain utilize goods and services a Postindustrial society and conspicuous consumption 2 Consumption and globalization are deeply intertwined a Cheap goods and exploitation but we are mired in debt i 856 9 billion in credit card debt ii Average credit card debt 15 270 iii Average student debt 32 258 iv Total American debt 11 36 trillion Sociology s Three Paths Thinking Sociologically 1 The scientific view Academic or scholarly study of the social world 2 The social reform view policy orientation toward solving social problems 3 Public sociology view Advocate for a wide audience mostly outside the academy 1 Theory a set of interrelated ideas that attempts to describe explain and occasionally predict social events a Telling the sociological story 2 Perspective a general viewpoint that allows the development of theory August Comte coined sociology seeing it as the Queen of Sciences Positivism the social world can be understood scientifically and is seem as orderly ad progressive Herbert Spencer coined survival of the fittest Argued the law of evolution organizes society o Social Darwinism only the BEST adapt Harriet Martineau Morals and manners were essential ways of understanding society In the U S women and slaves were treated the same Emile Durkheim 1858 1917 Held the first chair in society o Social facts are pattered ways of acting thinking and feeling that exist as forces outside the individual They are Sui Generis unique o Modern society is held together by a collective conscious common beliefs but social change can result in anomie loss of purpose One result was suicide Karl Marx 1818 1883 Critic of capitalism and social inequality o Society is a product of human struggle and class conflict o Conflict is between the capitalists own the means of production who exploit the Proletariat the workers Social theory should be used to promote revolutionary change 1 30 Max Weber Recognized the importance of rationality The motivations meaning for human behavior and social interaction o Verstehen empathetic understanding Believed the modern world had great promise science and reason and pitfalls impersonal business Known for his work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Other Early Theorists 1 Georg Simmel 1858 1918 German a Interested in social interaction and group dynamics 2 Thorstein Veblen 1857 1929 American a Conspicuous Consumption how the leisure class display their status to others 3 W E B Du Bois 1868 1963 American a Racism forces oppressed groups develop a double consciousness conflict being Black and American The Problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line b Sociological Perspectives Structural Functionalism 1 Society is a system made up of interrelated institutions and social structures 2 Every structure has a function a Manifest obvious and latent subtle hidden b Dysfunction results in social problems which threaten a social system s equilibrium 3 Structuralism Focus on structures which are hidden or underline the social world Conflict perspective 1 Groups in society continuously struggle for control of scare resources a Haves and have nots 2 Conflict can be organized around a Social class and power The Power Elite b Gender feminism and patriarchy c Race d Sexuality queer theory e Culture or the use of media as propaganda Culture industry Symbolic interactionism interaction 1 Focus on how people create meaning communicate and understand the world through social 2 Society is the sum of the interactions of individuals and groups Postmodern Perspective ubiquity of pop culture 1 Postmodernity is a new type of society based on rapid change hyper consumption and the 2 Recognizes that social behavior can be spontaneous irrational and diverse based on difference Jean Baudrillard Everything is a simulation Simulacra we no longer know what is real 3 a Disneyland Las Vegas Digitized Video games Sociological Theory and Sport 1 Functionalist Sport reinforces cultural values 2 Conflict Sport is big business that exploits players 3 4 Postmodern Fans loose who they are in sport Interactionist Association with sport creates meaning Research is the process of systematically collecting information for the purpose of testing an existing theory or generating a new one Doing Sociological Research Pillars of Scientific Knowledge 1 Theory 2 Research The Scientific Method Research Methods Types of Research 1 Quantitative 2 Qualitative Hypothesis variables A systematic way to find answers to questions about the world o Should be empirical gathering of information data using one s sense 1 Are specific strategies or techniques for systematically gathering data to conduct research 2 The research wheel a Theory 1 Select topic 2 Focus question 3 Design 4 Collect data 5 Analyze data 6 Interpret data 7 Inform others 1 Key to advancing scientific discovery 2 Hypotheses are conjectures or a statement of an expected relationship between two or more a Variable a concept or idea that has been broken down into measurable traits 1