Chapter 1
Putting Social Life into Perspective
•The Social Imagination
•
Putting Social Life into Perspective
Sociology – the systematic study of
human society and social interaction
•
•Sociologists
use theoretical perspectives and
research methods to examine social
behaviour
•Sociology provides important insight on
pressing social issues in contemporary society
(eg. Suicide, homelessness, etc.)
The Sociological Imagination
The sociological imagination gives us the
ability to see the relationship between the
individual experience and the larger
society. It allows us to distinguish
between personal and public issues.
•
The Sociological Imagination
•
Public Issues
(eg. Widespread unemployment, suicide,
homelessness, etc.)
•Often
seen as personal issues, BUT there is
no private solution
•Developing a global sociological imagination
requires that we take into account
perspectives and studies other than those
developed in North America, and would
include accounts from peoples from diverse
backgrounds.
The Sociological Imagination
People in Canada differ by race and
ethnicity
•
•Race
refers to specific groups of people
distinguished by physical characteristics such
as skin colour
•Ethnicity
refers to the cultural heritage of a
group based upon factors such as language
or country of origin
The Sociological Imagination
People are also different based on class
and gender
•
•Class
refers to the relative position of a
person or group within a larger society based
upon wealth, power, prestige or other valued
resources
•Gender
refers to the meanings, beliefs and
practices associated with sex differences
The Sociological Imagination
The sociological imagination can help us
to understand the links between individual
acts of violence (eg. rape) and collective
acts of violence (eg. war)
•
Why study sociology?
Sociology helps us to see the complex
connections between our own lives and the
larger recurring patterns of society and the
world in which we live
•
Why study sociology?
Society – a large social grouping that
shares the same geographical territory and
is subject to the same political authority
and dominant cultural expectations
•
Why study sociology?
Global interdependence –
a relationship in which the lives of all
people are intertwined closely and any one
nation’s problems are part of a larger
global problem
•
Why study sociology?
Sociologists strive to use scientific
standards (not myth or hearsay) in
studying society and social interaction
•Some sociologists argue that sociology
must be objective, while others do not
believe that to be so
•
•Objective
– free from distorted bias, either
personal or emotional
Why study sociology?
Sociologists attempt to discover patterns
of commonalities in human behaviour
•
•Eg.
In studying suicide, sociologists look for
recurring patterns of behaviour, even though
individual people usually commit the acts, and
other individuals suffer because of these actions