Exam 1 Study Guide Introduction issues Sociology the scientific study of human social life groups and societies o It is the business of sociology to investigate the connections between what society makes of us and what we the application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of sociological make of ourselves Sociological imagination questions o C Wright Mills Trouble private problem of the individual Issue public issue that affects society o Allows us to see that many events that seem to concern only the individual actually reflect larger social o Requires us to think ourselves away from our daily routines to look at them anew Example used in book and class The ritual of coffee drinking Sociological perspective o Understand how individuals reflect their social experience o Think beyond our personal circumstances Ex Falling in love is not an experience most people across the world have like Western culture o Question was is natural or normal Structuration our activities both structure our social world and at the same time we are structured by it o Human societies are reconstructed at every moment by the very building blocks that compose them Social structure in our lives social contexts are not random events but have distinct patterns Globalization development of social and economic relationships stretching worldwide the growth of world human beings interdependence o The global perspective helps us see that our actions have consequences for others and that the world s problems have consequences for us Sociologists must o Understand change o Collect facts create theories Changes in the past 200 years have been drastic causing the development of sociology Research and theories can never be separated Theoretical approaches broad perspectives derived from particular theoretical traditions of social life Theory involves abstract interpretations that can explain a wide variety of situations Auguste Comte Early Theorists 1700 s 1800 s Studied radical social change brought about by French and Industrial Revolutions Used scientific method instead of religion 1789 1857 Coined the term sociology Hoped to reconstruct French society Wanted the ability to control people through the use of sociology Emile Durkheim 1858 1917 Believed sociologists must study social facts aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals o Examples of social facts state of the economy influence of religion 1st Principle was to study social facts as THINGS o Meant that social life can be analyzed as rigorously as objects or events in nature Saw society as a set of independent parts which must function together in harmony o Organic solidarity the social cohesion that results from various parts of a society functioning as an integrated whole Saw division of labor as gradually replacing religion as the basis of social cohesion o He argued that as division of labor expands people become more dependent on each other because each person needs goods and services that those in other occupations supply Social constraint social structure constrains our activities limiting what we can do as individuals Identified the anomie feeling of aimlessness or despair that provokes modern suicide social norms lose their hold over individual behavior Karl Marx 1818 1883 Had a materialist conception of history according to this view it is not the ideas or values human beings hold that are the main sources of social change but rather social change is prompted by economic influences o Rich vs poor historical development Believed that under capitalism a small ruling class own capital while the majority lower class requires employment from the ruling class to survive In this situation conflict is inevitable because the ruling class will exploit the lower class and workers will always seek to overcome exploitation Max Weber 1864 1920 Studied the rationalization of social and economic life Critic of Marx Bureaucracies ex Schools hospitals military enable large organizations to run efficiently o Involves the ruling of experts who make decisions without consulting the lives of whom they affect Believe it is misleading to imagine that we can study people by using the same procedures by which we investigate the physical world Harriet Martineau 1st woman sociologist Focused on feminist perspective and gender roles within society Introduced sociology to England through her translation of Comte s Positive Philosophy Believed that in order to study sociology you must focus on all aspects including key political religious and social institutions W E B Du Bois 1st African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard University Focused on double consciousness a way of talking about identity through the lens of the experiences of African Americans and race relations o Made the claim that one s sense of self and one s identity are greatly influenced by historical experiences and social circumstances Modern Theoretical Approaches Symbolic interactionism a theoretical approach developed by George Mead which emphasizes the role of symbols and language as core elements of all human interactions o According to Mead language allows us to become self conscious beings aware of our own individuality The key element in this process is the symbol for example the word tree is a symbol by which we represent the object tree o Directs our attention to the detail of interpersonal interaction and how that detail is used to make sense of what others say and do Functionalism a theoretical perspective based on the notion that social events can best be explained in terms of the functions they perform that is the contributions they make to the continuity of society o Emphasizes the importance of moral consensus in maintaining order and stability in society Moral consensus exists when most people share the same values o Became prominent in society through the writings of Talcott Parsons and Robert K Merton o Manifest functions functions known to and intended by the participants in a social activity Ex Hopi tribe believe that a rain dance ceremony will bring the rain they need o Latent functions consequences of that activity of which participants are unaware Ex unintentionally the rain dance brings social cohesion o To look for the dysfunctional aspects of social behavior means focusing on features of social life that challenge the existing order Marxism combination of sociological analysis and political reform that lays emphasis on conflict class divisions
View Full Document
Unlocking...