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1
part
SOCIOLOGY
The Sociological
Perspective
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1
chapter
The Sociological Point
of View
CHAPTER OUTLINE
•What is Sociology?
•Developing the sociological imagination.
•The Development / History of Sociology
•Major Theoretical Perspectives
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What is Sociology?
█Sociology
– The systematic study of social behavior in
human groups.
– Examines the influence of social
relationships on people’s attitudes and
behavior.
– Studies how societies are established,
change, and evolve (Welcome to the future)
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What is Sociology?
█The Sociological Imagination
– Definition: An awareness of the
relationship between an individual and the
wider society.
– It is the ability to view our own society as
an outsider might, rather than from the
perspective of our limited experiences and
cultural biases.
– “Find the F” cards
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Find the Fs
█ Count every "F" in the following text:
FINISHED FILES ARE THE
RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC
STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS...
HOW MANY ?
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Micro versus Macro
█Macro= looking at the “BIG PICTURE”
█Micro= looking at the individual parts
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What do you see?
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What is Sociology?
█Sociology is the study of
“Common Sense”
– Knowledge that relies on “common sense”
is not always reliable.
– Sociologists must test and analyze each
piece of information that they use.
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What is sociology?
Number of police in a patrol car
Which is safer?
or
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Development of Sociology
█ Impact of the Industrial Age on society
– Move to urban areas
– Less sense of belonging or
connection to society
– Changes in the workplace
– Pace of society / stress
– Small role of government
– Barter to cash
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The Development of Sociology
█Early Thinkers
– Auguste Comte 1798–1857
• --made up the term sociology as the science of
human behavior;
• “Founder/Father of Sociology”
– Herbert Spencer 1820–1903
• --Studied “evolutionary”
changes in society
• “Social Darwinism”
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Continued...
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The Development of Sociology
█Early Thinkers
– Émile Durkheim 1858–1917
• --Pioneered work on suicide
– Max Weber 1864–1920
• -- impact of our interactions on
human behavior
– Karl Marx 1818–1883
• --Emphasized the importance of the economy
and of conflict among classes in society
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Major Theoretical Perspectives
█Functionalist Perspective (Macro)
– Analyzes how parts of society are structured
to maintain its stability.
– Views society as a vast network of
connected parts, each of which helps to
maintain the system as a whole. (body)
– Each part must contribute or it will not be
passed on from one generation to the next.
Continued...
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Major Theoretical Perspectives
Functionalism:
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Major Theoretical Perspectives
█ Functionalist Perspective (related terms)
– Manifest Functions - intended, recognized,
consequence or purpose of an aspect of society.
• Ex: NPHS – receive an education
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Major Theoretical Perspectives
█ Functionalist Perspective (related terms)
– Latent Functions are unconscious or unintended
functions and may reflect hidden purposes of an
institution.
• Ex: NPHS – social interaction
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Major Theoretical Perspectives
█ Functionalist Perspective (related terms)
– A dysfunction is something in society that may
actually disrupt or lead to a decrease in stability.
(Not working as intended; broken)
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Functionalist – “trigger” words
█Function
█Purpose
█Intent
█Reason for
█Value of
█Importance of
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Major Theoretical Perspectives
█Conflict Perspective (Macro)
– Social behavior is explained best by
understanding the flaws in society &
conflict between groups / classes.
– Conflict can be social, economic, political,
etc.
– Groups that control the wealth, power, &
prestige will create a society to benefit them.
Continued...
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Major Theoretical Perspectives
█Conflict Theory:
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Titanic: Casualties by Class
Women
Children
Men
Total
1st Class
4/117 (3%)
1/7 (14%)
104/159 (65%) 119/319 37%
2nd Class
13/91 (14%)
0/25 (0%)
135/148 (91%) 152/269 57%
Steerage
91/179 (51%)
55/80 (61%)
381/740 (52%) 527/699 75%
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Major Theoretical Perspectives
█Conflict Perspective
– Karl Marx: Class conflict is a part of
everyday life in all societies.
Continued...
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Conflict – “Changes” by Tupac
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Conflict – “trigger” words &
concepts
█Inequality
█Discrimination, racism, sexism
█Unfairness
█Imbalance of power, prestige, and/or
wealth
█Class differences
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Major Theoretical Perspectives
█Interactionist Perspective (Micro)
– Studies the forms of social interaction in
order to understand society as a whole.
– Views us as living in a world of
“meaningful” objects - (material things,
actions, other people, relationships,
symbols, etc)
– Societies / groups may interpret things /
“meanings” differently.
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Interactionism
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Interactionism: Example in the news
What’s all the fuss?
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Symbolism
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Interactionist - Song
█ The house that built me
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Modern Perspectives
█Feminist Perspective
– Definition: Views inequity in gender as
central to all behavior and organization.
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Major Perspectives
█The Sociological Approach
– Sociologists make use of all the
perspectives.
– Each perspective offers unique insights into
the same issue.
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Criticism towards Sociology
█ “Left of center” politics
– Vocabulary –
• “social justice / economic justice”
• “affordable housing / affordable health care”
• “livable wage”
█ Providing information vs Activism
– Example: Inequality needs “fixing”
• Minimum wage
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