SGY1000 STUDY GUIDE EXAM 1 Week 1 notes Chapter 1 Macionis first 10 pages Sociology the systematic study of human society Sociological perspective Peter Berger said its seeing the general in the particular o General behaviors in particular people o Shape people into general categories Society shapes people s ideas thoughts and feelings o Ex marrying people for looks or money Emile Durkheim found that some categories of people are more likely to commit suicide o More likely men protestants wealthy and unmarried o Less likely women Catholics Jews poor and married o Explained by social integration categories of people with strong social ties had low suicide rates and more individualistic people had high suicide rates Living through margins of society vs social crisis Global perspective the study of the larger world and our society s place in it divided into three levels o High income countries nations with highest overall standards of living generate most goods and services wealthiest lucky to be born there o Middle income countries nations with a standard of living about average for the world as a whole rural cities no cars 8 10 yrs of schooling some are extremely rich some are extremely poor o Low income countries nations with a low standard of living in which most people are poor mostly Africa bad housing bad water no food little chance to improve their lives Why we compare the U S with other nations in this book o Where we live shapes the lives we live o Societies throughout the world are increasingly interconnected o Many social problems we face in the U S are far more serious elsewhere o Thinking globally helps us learn more about ourselves Applying sociological perspective in 3 ways o Public policy laws and regulations that guide how people work and live Ex racial desegregation divorce laws o Personal growth four ways to become more active and aware in life Helps assess the truth of common knowledge richer people aren t better Helps see the opportunities and constraints in life pursue goals most effectively To be active participants in our society become more effect citizens bc we understand Helps us live in a diverse world we aren t always better than other countries Three types of social change o A new industrial economy took people away from homes into large factories and weakened traditions pollution and crime o The growth of cities land was saved for animals so people moved to cities causing more o Political change went from god or king to self interest individual rights more apparent Auguste Comte 1798 1857 coined term sociology 1838 saw it in three stages o Theological stage beginning of time to euro middle ages religious view of god o Metaphysical stage saw society as natural rather than supernatural o Scientific stage scientific approach o Positivism scientific approach to knowledge based on positive facts as opposed to mere speculations Sociological Imagination C Wright Mills mainly first three bullet points C Wright Mills 1916 1962 The ability to see connections between our personal lives and the social and historical context in which we live Personal troubles vs public issues o Trouble is a private matter values cherished by an individual are felt by him to be o Issue a public matter some value cherished by publics is felt to be threatened o Ex when one person is unemployed it is a personal trouble but when 50 million people threatened are it is a public issue Both personal troubles and public issues need to be understood at same time Week 2 Notes Applying Hip Hop to Sociological Theories Week 2 videos on blackboard are good examples of sociological theories Chapter 1 Theory a statement of how and why specific facts are related o Explain social behavior in the real world Theoretical approach basic image of society that guide thinking and research 3 types o Structural functional approach a framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability uses social structure relatively stable pattern of social behavior Shapes our lives and looks for social functions the consequences of a social pattern for the operation of society as a whole Ex handshakes religious rituals Manifest functions the recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern Latent functions the unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social pattern Social dysfunction any social pattern that may disrupt the operation of society o Social conflict approach a framework for building theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change class race gender power etc o Gender Feminist conflict approach a point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between women and men closely related to feminism support of social equality for women and men Important because it shines light on how our society places more power on men than women Going back to hip hop most stars are men Women sociologists Harriet Martineau Jane Addams o Symbolic interaction approach framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals Macro level orientation broad focus on social structures that shape society as a whole applies to functionalist and conflict theories Micro level orientation close up focus on social interaction in specific situations o See table on page 15 for overview of sociological perspectives THE REST OF CHAPTER 1 IS NOT ON POWERPOINT NOTES BELOW Race Conflict Approach a point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between people of different racial and ethnic categories Positivist sociology the study of society based on scientific observation of social behavior o Uses empirical evidence info we can verify with our senses o Three beliefs that are not supported Difference in the behavior of females and males are just human nature The united states is a middle class society in which most people are more or less equal People marry because they are in love How science works o Concept a mental construct that represents some aspect of the world in a simplified form another o Variable a concept whose value changes from case to case o Measurement a procedure for determining the value of a variable in a specific case o Correlation a relationship in which two variables change together o Cause and effect a relationship in which change in one variable causes change in o Value free when scientists do research instead of liking the topic and
View Full Document
Unlocking...