Unit 1: Introduction to Sociology
Chapter 1 : The Study of Sociology
What is Sociology?
– It is the study of social life, social change, and the
social causes and consequences of human
behavior.
– Sociologists investigate the structure of groups,
organizations, and societies, and how people
interact within these contexts.
Sociological Imagination
The Sociological Imagination is the ability to see
the intimate realities of our own lives in the
context of common social structures.
It is also the ability to see personal troubles as
public issues.
Examples: people who are alcoholics or addicted
to gambling.
The Study of Sociology
Most of us start the study of society with the
study of individuals.
We may wonder why Jason keeps getting
involved with women who treat him badly, why
Mike never learns to quit drinking before he gets
sick, why our aunt puts up with our uncle, and
why our brothers and sisters always take our
stuff.
The Study of Sociology
Sociologists see the individual situations and realize
that they are not isolated. There are thousands, maybe
millions of people who get into bad relationships, who
are alcoholics, and who take things that are not theirs.
But the single action does not concern the Sociologist.
Rather it is that SO many people do the same thing.
That is what Sociology questions: Why do we do the
things we do?
The Study of Sociology
Sociologists view common human situations as if they
were dramas or plays
“Boy meets Girl” is one example. Romeo and Juliet,
Sonny and Cher, or Jennifer Anniston and Brad Pitt.
It is the same story, but with different characters and in
a different time and place.
So many of our life situations have already been acted
out millions of times before.
Sociologists study how these “dramas” play out. To do
this, they look at the Role and the Social Structure.
Role and Social Structure
Role- expected performance of someone who
occupies a specific position. Each position has
an established script that suggests appropriate
line, gesture, and behavior.
Social Structure- the larger structure of the play
or drama in which the roles are being acted out.
Write two examples of each!
Conclusion
Studying Sociology should be a liberating experience:
The field enlarges our sympathies and imagination,
opens up new perspectives on the sources of our own
behavior, and creates an awareness of cultural settings
different from our own.
Sociological ideas challenge dogma, teach appreciation
of cultural variety, and allow us insight into the working
of social institutions.
The practice of sociology enhances the possibilities of
human freedom!
Sociological Perspective
I. The Sociological
Perspective
II. The Origins of
Sociology
III. Sociological Theory
I. The Sociological Perspective
A. Sociology is the scientific study of human social
activity.
B. The sociological perspective helps us to see
general social patterns in the behavior of particular
individuals.
C. It also encourages us to realize that society guides our
thoughts and deeds - to see the strange in the familiar.
D. Sociology also encourages us to see individuality in
social context.
– 1.For example, Emile Durkheim's research showed that the
suicide rate was strongly influenced by the extent to which
people were socially integrated with others. Modern scholarship
supports this thesis.
I. The Sociological Perspective
(continued)
E. Applied sociology. Sociology is more than
just a discipline for enhancing intellectual growth.
Sociology provides training for many jobs.
F. Sociologists also strive to see issues in
global perspective, defined as the study of the
larger world and our society's place in it.
II. The Origins of Sociology
A. Early social thought consisted mostly of utopian
philosophical speculation. Auguste Comte, the father of
sociology, in contrast, felt that the field should be
“scientific.” This approach has now been termed
positivism - a path to understanding based on science.
Comte believed that societies progress through three
stages.
– 1. The theological stage, in which thought was guided by
religion.
– 2. The metaphysical stage, a transitional phase.
– 3. The scientific or positive stage.
II. The Origins of Sociology
(continued)
B. Scientific sociology developed because of three
major social trends in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries.
– 1.The growth of a factory-based industrial economy.
– 2.The emergence of great cities in Europe.
– 3.Political changes, including a rising concern with individual
liberty and rights. The French Revolution embraced these
ideas.
III. Sociological Theory
A. A theory is a statement of how and why
specific facts are related. For example,
Durkheim theorized about the relationship
between suicide and social integration.
B. Theories are based on theoretical
paradigms, sets of assumptions that guide
thinking and research. There are three major
sociological paradigms.
Sociological Theory
C. The structural-functional paradigm is a framework
for building sociological theory based on the assumption
that society is a complex system whose parts work
together to promote stability.
– 1. It asserts that society is composed of social structures
(relatively stable patterns of social behavior).
– 2.Each social structure has social functions or
consequences for the operation of society as a whole.
– 3.Important figures in the development of this paradigm
include Comte, Herbert Spencer, and Emile Durkheim.
III. Sociological Theory (continued)
D. The social-conflict paradigm is a framework
for building sociological theory based on the
assumption that society is characterized by
inequalities and conflicts that generate change.
Most sociologists who favor the conflict
paradigm attempt not only to understand society
but also to reduce social inequality.
– 1. Key figure in this tradition include Karl Marx.
III. Sociological Theory (continued)
E. The symbolic-interaction paradigm is a theoretical
framework based on the assumption that society is the
product of everyday interactions between individuals.
– 1. The structural-functional and the social-conflict paradigms
share a macro-level orientation, meaning that they focus on
broad social structures that characterize society as a whole.
– In contrast, symbolic-interactions has a micro-level
orientation; it focuses on patterns of social interaction in
specific settings.
– 2. Max Weber & Erving Goffman are important theorists in
this tradition.