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Sociological Perspective 06 30 2015 Sociology the systematic study of the ways in which people are affected by and affect the social structures and social processes that are associated with the groups organizations cultures societies and the world in which they exist Affects behaviors actions thoughts Also our behavior affects others behaviors actions thoughts History of sociology Developed in 19th century 4 events that lead to development of sociology o Industrial Revolution lead to social upheaval in Europe o Political revolutions in America and France o Development of imperialism o The success of the natural sciences Change in economy and environment changed how people acted in life Auguste Comte coined the term sociology Positivistic perspective believes that the only true way to gain knowledge is to use the logic of natural sciences bio chem o Distance ourselves from what we study o There is a true objective reality Interprevitism believes that the goal of sociology is to understand how people give meaning to social life objects and processes Sociology v Other social sciences Sociology engages with a broader range of concepts and theories Sociology encompasses 2 different units of analysis o Macrosociology analysis of social life that focuses on broad features of society such as social class and the relationships of groups to one another Ex Depression What social groups are more depressed Who s more depressed men or women o Microsociology analysis of social life that focuses on what people do when they are in one another s presence Ex Depression What is experience of being depressed Once diagnosed how do they interact w others how do others interact w them o We need both to gain a fuller understanding of social life Society people who share a culture and territory Social context refers to the range of social environments including economic political and cultural that surround individuals and influence our lives the things that happen that make us us Identities and Groups o Social positions Families and communities School and organizations Social and historical contexts o Ex Bill gates People say if he wasn t born when he was and the age that he made this happen that he wouldn t be as successful as he is now o Ex Gay marriage and how our kids aren t going to know how Sociological imagination is the capacity to think systematically about how things we experiences as personal problems are really social issues C Wright Mills o Sociology and imagination is the intersection of biography and it was history o What is the structure of society o What is the relation between society and history o What types of people live and succeed in society and why Social Theory 06 30 2015 Social Theory systematic ideas about the relationships between individuals and societies Grand theory v specific theories Grand theory larger social phenomenons Specific theories class race gender o Macrosociology is grand theory o Microsociology is specific theories Common Themes for social theories What is the nature of the individual How does the individual act in the context of society What are the circumstances or conditions under which societies What is the basis for social order What is it that holds societies change together Karl Marx Societies shaped by economic systems Forms of production and social relations of production Bourgeoisie owners capitalist 1 v Proletariat workers depend on wages In favor of a socialist economic system Emilie Durkheim How societies function in light of social changes His ideas o Development of social fact force rules o Analysis of roots of social solidarity similar beliefs on world o Religion as force in social life o Organic solidarity doesn t depend on others occurs in modern societies o Mechanic solidarity depend on each other to complete task for solidarity occurs in traditional family based society Max Weber His ideas Role of individual action and behavior as a foundation for social order what motivates individual s behavior o Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism people accumulate wealth capital so he made connection between protestant and spirit of capitalism o How and why people respect hierarchies and obey orders three types of authority traditional based on traditional rules example always respect elders etc charismatic given to leader who has special power or gift legal rational based on laws and explicit rules o Status groups Georg Simmel Individual stands at the intersection point of overlapping social circles and societies are built upon these social circles Concerned with the nature of relationships between individuals and within and between groups of people Two ideas groups o Social distance how do you feel having certain people in your o Network analysis looking at networks people have and how it influences people 3 types of people in social circle ex Mean girls o Insider part of inner circle Plastics o Outsider not part of group and won t be part of inner circle o Stranger people member of inner circle but not totally Janice and Damien accepted Kady Heron W E B Du Bois Developed theory of racism Structural Functionalism Racism and social structures prevented African Americans from reaching same social and economic levels as whites nothing to do with biology Argued that African Americans need to be aware of race at all times Double consciousness sense of looking at yourself through eyes of others specific to African Americans who are looking at themselves as outsiders who see themselves as Africans and Americans these two identities are at war bc they don t always match up Enduring features of society can be explained in terms of their functional purpose everything in society is the way it should be and if it breaks down then it will no longer function Individuals are heavily shaped and constrained by the social system in which they re living Conflicts are minimized by the social system Conflict Theory Integrated diverse ideas into one coherent theory o Privileges persist because powerful individuals and groups protect their privileges o Inequality inevitably produces tensions between groups and individuals o Did not develop into anything more Symbolic Interactionism o How people interact w one another and the role that symbols play into those interactions o Creation of a sense of self o Interactions with everyday world Revival of Marxism Neo Marxists wanted to update Marxism for the 20th century Developed theory of capitalist state More elaborate


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FSU SYG 1000 - Sociological Perspective

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