FSU SYG 1000 - Developing a Sociological Perspective

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Developing a Sociological Perspective 01 25 2011 What is Sociology Sociology the study of human behavior in society Emphasizes social context which shapes attitudes behaviors health and longetivity A scientific way to think about society and its influence on humans test ideas collect data o Emphasizes systematic observation established methods and analysis o All scientists search for order regulations and patterns Goal to understand the social forces that shape our lives to understand the relationship between the individual and society to discover the underlying order of social life and the principles that explain human behavior to uncover the social patterns that influence individual and group life the task is to explore the causes of individual and collective behavior that are fashioned in the context of social interaction not in our biological makeup or psychological makeup o Forces include social relationships groups cultures institutions and social structures o Sociology enduring durable historical patterns Relationships help us feel secure and supported lead to us making compromises because having the other person is important Individual level investigates the cause and consequences of such a phenomena as conformity deviance and violence o The most common evidence of social rules occurs when the rules are broken most taken for granted There are consequences when they are broken usually emotional or psychological responses Societal level examines and explains poverty crime and racism Global level studies such phenomena as war immigration and population growth Our choices are not as free as we imagine our personal lives are very much shaped by our positions within the larger society o i e Our choice of jobs tends to be limited by education largely determined by SES and social relationships who you know o i e Romantically we end up with people who share similar backgrounds race SES and religion The Sociological Imagination Sociological Imagination the ability to see societal patterns that influence individual and group life C Wright Mills argued that the task of sociology was to understand the relationship between individuals and the society in which they lived to reveal how the context of society shapes our lives Troubles and Issues Troubles privately felt problems that spring from events or feelings in one individual s life Issues affect large numbers of people and originate in the institutional arrangement and history of a society Issues Troubles o i e Divorce rate increase You get divorced o i e Recession Unemployment Debunking Debunking the process of looking beyond the surface of everyday life Identifying patterns of behavior and studying the processes that shapes those behaviors Study actions and ideas that are usually taken for granted i e why we face front in an elevator Understanding Diversity Diversity systematic variations in the experiences of groups in society Different groups have different experiences not by accident it is a pattern Includes o Group differences in life chances o The shaping of sociological institutions i e the economy by different social factors i e gender o The formation of group and individual identity i e self esteem o The process of social change slow rate Sociology and the Enlightenment Sociology is the science of patterns Enlightenment emphasized the ability of human reason to solve society s problems and de emphasized traditional and religious explanation for natural phenomena o Began to search for natural laws and processes in society that could be used for the general good 2 Solution to urbanization poverty wars etc social i e poor sanitation in a city spreads disease Solution must be social Influential strands of thought o Positivism suggests that society can and should be studied through empirical observations Not good enough to just speculate betterment of society o Humanitarianism the principle that human reason could direct social change for the Can systematically solve the problems of society Sociologists do not solve problems social workers they only recognize them Auguste Comte French philospher Coined the term sociology believed sociology could discover laws of human social behavior and help solve society s problems Emile Durkheim Functionalism Viewed society as something more than the sum of the individuals who compose it o Society is a separate thing from people and can be studied is not tangible i e You can feel solidarity You can feel togetherness all separate from the individual Focused on the forces that hold groups and societies together i e symbols and social interaction o Why don t people just do what they want o How why is group life possible Defined Social Facts social patterns external to individuals i e suicide influenced by religion marriage etc o Social factors are external to individuals but they constrain individual behavior 3 Karl Marx Conflict Theory Interested in explaining how capitalism an economic system supported by the pursuit of profit and private property shaped patterns of behavior and thought Focused on economic forces that divide groups and societies i e social class Considered the economic organization of society the most important influence on how humans think and behave Max Weber expanded on Marx o Owners vs workers had very different ways of viewing the world Interested in explaining how the economic and cultural and political forces of society shaped patterns of behavior and thought o i e police officers and clergy don t have a lot of money but can lave a lot of power Power comes from the position not money Believed that sociology should attempt to understand behavior from the point of view of individuals with special emphasis on the meaning that behaviors have for social actors o Emphasized one on one interactions with real people interviews Key Sociological Concepts Social interaction behavior between two or more people that is given meaning The basic building block of groups and society Social institutions established and organized patters of social behavior with a recognized purpose i e family religion marriage economy government Are social forces which guide human behavior Social structure the organized pattern of social relationships and institutions that make up society The network of social forces that constrain the life chances choices behaviors and thoughts of individuals o i e black infants are more likely to die as infants than any other racial group in the USA Social change the


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FSU SYG 1000 - Developing a Sociological Perspective

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