Ch. 1 Sociology
Intro
What is Sociology?
I. Sociology
• A. Sociology is the
study of human
society, including
both social action
and social
organization
B. Sociological Imagination
• Sociology Imagination is a
way of looking at our world
in light of what is going on
in the social world around
us
• Social = two or more people
or organizations interacting
Crime? Art? How do we
decide?
II. Key Concepts in Soc
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Social Structure
Social Action
Functional Integration
Power
Culture
A. Social Structure
Def: Refers to patterns of social
relationships, social positions,
and numbers of people in a
society.
Ex. Who gets what jobs,
Size of country, # of teenagers in
this school
A. Social Structure
It’s the overarching characteristics
of an institution - details may
change, but the structure stays
B. Social Action
- Actions people consciously take in
response to, coordinated with, or
towards actions of other people
- They’re not accidental
- They must include other people
C. Functional Integration
The interdependence
among different parts of a
social system
ex. Each part of a school
working together
C. Functional Integration
A system is integrated to the
extent that all the parts provide
one another with the goods,
services, and support they need
D. Power
The capacity of one social
actor (a person, group, or
organization) to get others to
do its will, or to ensure that
it will benefit from the
actions of others
D. Power
- Conflict: A clash of powers
- Lesson for life: People or
groups with power will do
almost anything to keep
power, even if they don’t
realize they’re doing it
E. Culture
The language, norms, values,
beliefs, knowledge, and
symbols that make up a way
of life
- The distinctive life of a
nation or people
E. Culture
Subculture: A
part of a
culture that is
particularly
distinctive and
set apart from
the rest
Poster
1. This needs to be colorful, look
good, and show effort!
2. Title: Five themes of Sociology
3. Draw a picture to represent
each theme from your life
4. Label each theme (title)
5. In your own words in at least 2
complete sentences explain
each theme
History of Sociology
I. Modernism (18th and 19th
cent.)
1. It’s the idea that everything could
be figured out with science
2. Revolution: A rapid change in
society
- American and French Revolutions
- Industrial Revolution
- These led people to study the social
world scientifically
II. August Comte (1798-1857)
1. “Father of Sociology”
2. Decided to make the science
that would include and sum up
all others and came up with Soc
III. Sociology as Science
1.Empirical Evidence:
- Come up with theories
- Test theories through
observation
- Polls, Surveys, Asking
people questions, Observe
people in situations, etc
Quantitative and Qualitative
1.Quantitative Research:
- Can be measured with
math
- Uses statistics and graphs
- Measures what and where
2. Qualitative Research:
- Measures WHY
- Uses interviews, discussion
and observation
- Not easily measured with
math
IV. Sociological Theories
A. Rational-Choice Theory
1.Adam Smith (1723-1790)
- Cost/benefit thinking is
basis for decisions
- Culture can hinder
rational decisions
Rational-Choice Theory
2. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)
- People are motivated to obtain
pleasure and avoid pain
- Public Good = the greatest good
at the lowest cost for the most
people
KEY IDEA: Focuses on individual
choices
Jeremy Bentham
B. Class Conflict and Capitalism
1.Karl Marx
- Founder of Communism
- Bourgeoisie: Own
factories, exploit workers
- Proletariat: Workers, will
unite to overthrow owners
B. Class Conflict and Capitalism
- Class Conflict is the engine of
change in history
- 2 KEY IDEAS:
- Society is unequal
- People can gain power by socially
organizing
C. Max Weber (1864-1920)
1. He Focused on Social Action and
Power
2. He studies individuals instead of
society as a whole
3. He Disagreed with Marx
4. Individuals care more about
Status Groups than economic
power (I.e. people want to fit in and
be better than other groups)
Status groups
at East?
D. Functional Integration
1. Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
- Social Solidarity: Forces
that bind people together
- Functional Integration is the
key to binding people
together – each person or
group does their job
D. Functional Integration
- Mechanical Solidarity: Shared
beliefs, values, and customs in
farming communities
- Organic Solidarity:
Based on complex divisions of
labor in large societies
KEY IDEA: Functional Integration
How do these societies
function differently?
E. Symbolic Interactionism
1.George Herbert Mead
(1863-1931)
2.Interactionism: How
people communicate face
to face
E. Symbolic Interactionism
3. People construct their
own social reality
- Human behavior is not
determined by social facts, but
how they define a situation
4. We learn our place in the world
through Social Interaction
E. Symbolic Interactionism
5. Symbols: facial expressions,
gestures, etc.
6. We base our identity on what
we think others think of us
KEY IDEA: Social Interaction
How do you know what these
mean?
F. Other Important People
1. Harriet Martineau – Conducted
studies on American society
and set several standards for
sociological studies
2. W.E.B. Du Bois – Pointed out
that race was an issue that
needed to be addressed
(founded NAACP)
W.E.B. Du Bois
F. Other Important People
3. Jane Addams – believed that in
order to solve the problems of
poverty, you have to study
poverty
4. Each of these believed that
studying society should be
accompanied by action to help
society
IV. Modern Perspectives on
Sociology
1. Functionalist Perspective
- Focuses on Functional Integration
and Social Structure
- Society runs because each part
works together to produce a stable
social system
- Dysfunction: a negative
consequence an element has for the
stability of a social system
-Contributors: Durkheim
IV. Modern Perspectives on
Sociology
2. Conflict Perspective
- Focuses on competition and
change in society
- Looks at how those who have
more power exercise control over
those who have less power
- Power and conflict are key
- Contributors: Marx and Weber
IV. Modern Perspectives on
Sociology
3. Interactionist Perspective
- Focuses on how individuals
interact with one another
- Symbols are vital
- We get our identity from
what others think
- Contributors: Mead and
Weber
Poster
1. In pairs read Ch. 1.3
2. Title: Modern Perspectives on
Sociology
3. Draw a picture to represent each
perspective (3)
4. Label each perspective (title)
5. In your own words, using at least
2 complete sentences, explain
each perspective.
Skits
1. Get into 3 groups
2. Use Ch. 1 sect. 3, or your notes for
information about the 3 Modern
Perspectives of Sociology.
(Functioinalist, Conflict, Interactionist)
3. As a group, come up with a 1 minute
skit to demonstrate one of the modern
perspectives (no script needed)
Sources
• http://healeylibrary.wikispaces.com/space/sho
wimage/sociologylab.jpg
• http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/~aoki/Teaching/T
eaching%20Sociology/brain2.gif
• http://ecx.imagesamazon.com/images/I/51mgz4btqlL._SL500_
AA240_.jpg
• http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2005/06/30/
poverty_wideweb__430x387.jpg
•
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/rn_motely_060727_ssh.jpg&i
mgrefurl=http://a.abcnews.com/GMA/SummerConcert/popup%3Fid%3D2242735&h=411&w=531&sz=45&hl
=en&start=6&usg=__xv2EBS3_Jc8rYuwJLn73p-d-YoY=&tbnid=1jFRNhd-oMymM:&tbnh=102&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3D80%2527s%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26client%3
Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG
Sources
•
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://mhslibrary.org/Teacher%2520Projects/Teacher%2520Projects
/Social%2520Studies/D%27Acquisto/Industrial%2520Revolution/childworker.jpg&imgrefurl=http://mhslibrary.o
rg/Teacher%2520Projects/Teacher%2520Projects/Social%2520Studies/D%27Acquisto/Industrial%2520Revol
ution/homepage.htm&h=463&w=497&sz=38&hl=en&start=16&usg=__tH0D6cFt6A95M6FA3keDqOEaMc0=&t
bnid=ypJLTVU3GFPNuM:&tbnh=121&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dindustrial%2Brevolution%26gbv%3
D2%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG
• http://amoslanka.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/frenchrevolution-2.jpg
• http://3mpub.com/carper/images/bunkerhill-small.jpg
• http://mathmomblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/mat
h02.gif
• http://www.sil.si.edu/digitalcollections/hst/scientificidentity/fullsize/SIL14-L001-01a.jpg
• http://www.undergradcatalog.registrar.vt.edu/0607/lah
s/images/sociology.jpg
• http://geraldmassey.org.uk/jones/images/karl_marx.jpg
Sources
• http://www.essex.ac.uk/sociology/prosp
ective/research_degrees/study.jpg
• http://www.graffitiarts.cn/graffitiart/Graffit
i-design-11.png
• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co
mmons/0/01/Jaipur_inner_city.jpg
• http://homepage.newschool.edu/het//pro
files/image/bentham.jpg
Sources
• http://thebreakthrough.org/blog/2008/04/
14/steel%20workers.jpg
• http://turbo.inquisitr.com/wpcontent/2009/12/robbers.png
• http://www.marxists.org/subject/art/visu
al_arts/painting/exhibits/socialistrealism/steel-workers.jpg
• http://thundafunda.com/5/5.2/women-inlaos-green-nature-farming-clm-mindpeace-pictures.jpg
• http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/faculty/ho
dgson/Courses/so191/Projects2007/Bor
ello/October16/mexico-city.jpg
• http://www.acraftphoto.com/blogger/200
8/2008.12.19.bball.499.jpg
• http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs40/f/2009/01
7/3/f/Break_Dance_by_K_RiM_Startime
s2.jpg
• http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tA4rHG5B_Js
/SdG8L4B380I/AAAAAAAAAk4/yZptwXl
QhKA/s320/250px-Skaters1.jpg
• http://www.cornell.edu/img/studentlife/2008/breakDance510x320.jpg
• http://www.billwomelsdorf.com/Images/Baby%20Frown.jpg
• http://farm1.static.flickr.com/96/221988958_7a4cab7d9a.jpg
• http://www.mentalhelp.net/images/root/sad_black_woman.JPG
• http://www.nps.gov/hafe/historyculture/images/dubois285.jpg
• http://www.esaudio.net/Spanish/interaction.jpg
• http://www.x-factorsolutions.com/images/conflict.png
• http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/houston-city-guide-ga-1a.jpg