Lauren Hedrick August 27th Thinking Sociologically Sociology as a Science The scientific study of social interaction and organization Rigorous and systematic A lens through which you view the world Social interaction Developing a Sociological Consciousness The ability to see private experiences personal difficulties and achievements in part as reflection of structural arrangements of society and times in which we live Suicide a deeply personal issue a big problem with depression and other mental problems o Durkheim Proposed that the strongest cause of suicide is social interactions and that everything in life has social undertones People on top of the social class are more likely to commit suicide society Weak and strong ties ties are how integrated you are to Weak social ties are linked to suicide Ties that are too strong also lead to suicide Catholics are less likely to commit suicide because of strong community ties Cults and Atheists are more likely to have higher suicide rates because of too strong and too weak social ties respectively Free Will and Determinism Social structure has am overlooking expectation of a group but each individual responds differently Provides opportunities and constraints on our behavior in a variety of ways Many assumptions guide how we investigate behavior Example Students get dressed up for class but everyone wears different clothes Theoretical Perspectives Set of assumptions about a process or how social phenomena are related Two main approaches to Sociology Macrosociology large scale long term social processes broad social Microsociology detailed study of an individual more short term goals study categories study unit groups unit individuals Two branches of theoretical perspectives with three different perspectives o Macro Perspective Functionalism Conflict Theory o Micro Perspective Symbolic Interactionism
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