Chapter One: Discovering
Sociology
Chapter Two: Doing Sociology

 What is Sociology?
 The Origins of
Sociology
 Theoretical
Perspectives in
Sociology
 First Sociologists
 Sexism in Early
Sociology
 2
The Sociological Perspective

• The scientific study of human behavior, groups, and society
• Great tool for analyzing and understanding social life or the world
• Attempt to understand without judgment
• Examine how social contexts influence people’s lives
• Examines the link between what people do and the social setting that shapes behavior.
– Small group social settings
– Large group social settings
The Sociological Perspective

What is Sociology?
• Sociologists study ones social location to understand human behavior
• Jobs, Social Class, Race, Occupation, Sex,
Religion and other demographics
• Social Location can shape our ideas of who we are and what we should attain in life
 4
The Sociological Perspective

• Stresses the social contexts in which people live
• Looks at how people are influenced by their society and how social forces affect human behavior
• “
The Sociological Imagination
”
 5
The Sociological Perspective

Major social change in the
19 th century (1800’s)
• The Industrial Revolution challenged traditional ideas about social life
• Intellectual climate
– American and French
Revolution
– The scientific method, which was used in the physical sciences, led to the birth of
Sociology
 6
The Sociological Perspective

• Lived in France
• 1 st Sociologist to advocate using positivism to studying social life
– Sociology a new science
• Coined the term “Sociology”
(the study of society)
• Advocate of social reform
1798-1857
 7
The Sociological Perspective

1820-1903
• Lived in England
• Disagreed with Comte that Sociology should guide reform
• Coined the term “Survival of the Fittest”
• Societies are evolutionary
– Evolve from lower to higher forms
• Civilians (higher forms)
• Barbarians (lower forms )
– Over time societies improve and become advanced
• Social Reform interferes with natural process of selection
• Social Philosopher
– Did not conduct scientific studies
– Only developed ideas about society
 8
The Sociological Perspective

• Human history
– Created by class conflict
– Economics is central force for social change
• Class Conflict
– Proletariat vs. the Bourgeoisie
• Marx’ predictions
– Social class revolution
– Classless society
• Marxism is not the same as
Communism
• “I am not a Communist”
1818-1883
 9
The Sociological Perspective

1864-1920
• Lived in Germany
• Disagreed with Marx
– Economics is not the central force for social change
– Religion central for social change in society
• The Protestant Ethic is tied to the rise of capitalism
 10
The Sociological Perspective

Protestant Ethic and the Rise of Capitalism
• Compared Catholic religion with Protestant religion to prove this theory
• Catholic religion encourages followers to hold onto traditional ways of life and believe everyone will go to heaven
• Protestant religion encourages followers to embrace change
The Sociological Perspective

• First to establish sociology as a separate academic discipline; a social science
• Explained that Sociological ideas could be tested and published
– Theory: Social forces shape human behavior
•Studied suicide rates in several
European countries
1858-1917
 12
The Sociological Perspective

Rural Areas
• Agricultural life
• Smaller population
• Close friendships and family ties
• Great social support and social control
• People followed rules of social conduct
• Lower suicide rates
Urban Areas
• City life
• Larger population
• Individualistic: no time for social interaction or new friendships
• People work 12-16 hrs a day/ 6 to 7 days a week
• Isolated among family and friends
• Higher suicide rates
The Sociological Perspective

 Catholics and Protestants
 Married and unmarried
 Females and males
 SOCIAL FACTORS underlie suicide
 Social Integration
 The degree to which people are tied to their social group
 How closely linked people are to their social group (strong or weak bonds)
The Sociological Perspective

Types of Suicide
• Egotistic
– Low social integration/weak bonds
– Individualistic
• Altruistic
– High social integration/strong bonds
– Willing to die to accomplish group’s goals
• Anomic Suicide
– No integration
– Can not pursue society’s goals
The Sociological Perspective


Attitudes of the Time

1800s Sex Roles Rigidly Defined

Higher education reserved for men and the wealthy
 Women devoted themselves to the 4 C’s
• Church, cooking, children, and clothes

Harriet Martineau

Published Society in America Before
Durkheim and Weber Were Born
 Known for translating Comte’s works from
French to English
Harriet Martineau
1802-1876
 16
The Sociological Perspective

Jane Addams

Came from a background of privilege

Social reformer

She worked tirelessly for social justice

Co-founded the Hull House in 1889

Campaigned for laws against child labor
 Leader of women’s rights and peace movement of
1860-1935
World War I

Co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931
 17
The Sociological Perspective

• 1 st African American to earn a doctorate at
Harvard
• Grew up within a very racist society
• Every year between 1896 and 1914 he published a book on race relations between
African Americans and Whites
– Souls of Black Folk 1903
– Philadelphia Negro
• He became active in social reform after years of collecting and interpreting data
• Founded the N.A.A.C.P

•
Theory -a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work
• Symbolic Interactionist
• Functional Analysis
• Conflict Theory
 19
The Sociological Perspective

• Each theoretical perspective looks at statistical data in a different light, i.e. marriage and divorce rates
 20
The Sociological Perspective

• Symbolic Interactionists believe that individuals evaluate their own conduct by comparing themselves with others
•
Symbolic Interactionists study :
– How people interpret symbols
– How people interact one on one
– How people behave according to how they define themselves and others
 21
The Sociological Perspective

• The Functional Analysis perspective views society as a whole unit, made up of interrelated parts that work together.
•
Functional Analysists study :
– The structure of society
– How each part of society has certain functions that must be fulfilled
– What happens to society when dysfunctions occurb
 22
The Sociological Perspective

• Founded by Karl Marx
• Groups competing for scarce resources
• Groups competing for power and authority
• Conflict can be positive as it can bring about positive change
 23
The Sociological Perspective

 24
The Sociological Perspective

•
Macro Level - Large Scale Patterns in
Society
– Functional Analysis and Conflict Theory are components of Macroanalysis
•
Micro LevelSocial interactions on a small scale
– Symbolic Interactionism is a component of
Microanalysis

Which level of analysis is best?
 25
The Sociological Perspective