INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
SUMMARY COURSE OUTLINE
American Sociological Association
I. The Sociological Perspective
A. Sociology as a field of inquiry
 Sociology as the study of social behavior
 How is sociology different from other social sciences?
B. The Sociological Perspective
 The empirical basis of sociology
 The debunking tendency
C. Central Sociological Concepts
 Social interaction
 Social structure
 Social Change
D. The Emergence of Sociology
 The influence of the Enlightenment
 Classical sociological theory (Durkheim, Marx, Weber)
 The emergence of American sociology (Addams, Park, DuBois, Cooley, Mead, Thomas, Znaniecki)
E. Sociological Theory
 Functionalism
 Conflict theory
 Symbolic interaction
 Exchange-rational choice
 Feminist theory
II. Research Methods
A. The Research Process
 Scientific method
 Stages of research
 Qualitative and quantitative research
 Inductive/deductive reasoning
B. Methods of Inquiry
 Survey Research
 Interviews
 Participant observation
 Content Analysis
 Comparative and historical analysis
C. Probability and Statistical Analysis
D. Research Ethics
III. Culture
A. Group influence
 Social basis of belief – Asch experiments on social influence
 Authority and domination – Milgram experiments: obedience to authority
 Attribution theory – “fundamental attribution error” (bias towards attributing responsibility to
individuals), accounts and accountability (Garfinkel)
 Interpersonal attraction – homophily (tendency to choose similar partners)
B. The Social Construction of the Self
 The modern “self” as historical product of Christianity and the Enlightenment
 Cross-cultural variation in selves (Nisbett; Shweder)
 Selves as constructed out of situations – (Michels; Goffman, Collins)
 Rational choice – as socially constructed
C. Characteristics and Elements of Culture
 Scripts, schema, and typifications
 Language
 Norms and Values
 Beliefs
D. Cultural Diversity
 Ethnocentrism
 Subcultures and countercultures
E. Culture in Society
 Culture as cohesive, functional
 Cultural as source of improvisation, diversity, innovation
 Popular culture and the mass media
IV. Socialization
A. The Social Construction of the Self
B. Theories of Socialization
 Freud and the psychoanalytic perspective
 Social learning theory
 Cooley, Mead and symbolic interaction
C. Agents of Socialization
D. Socialization over the Life Course
 Rites of passage
 Adult socialization
 Conversion
V. Social Organization
A. Building Blocks
 Roles and Statuses
 Institutions
 Social networks
o Depicting networks
o Dimensions of networks
o Using network analysis, e.g. Getting jobs, Fighting the AIDs epidemic
B. Social Differentiation
 Size, scale, and differentiation
 Differentiation and specialization
 Changing bases of solidarity (mechanical and organic solidarity)
 Problems of cooperation and coordination in complex social systems
C. Ways of organizing cooperation
 Kinship as a basis of organization
o Historical and contemporary examples
o Weaknesses of kinship-based systems
 Bureaucracy as a solution to weaknesses of kinship-based structures
o Characteristics of bureaucracy (formal roles, specialization based on expertise, clear duties
and obligations, hierarchical command and information structures, compliance based on
career incentives, and formal records for control and planning)
o Advantages of bureaucracy (efficiency; expertise; control)
o Limitations of bureaucracy (flexibility; adaptability; power concentration)
o Varieties of bureaucracy (e.g., typical western manufacturing firm; Japanese firm;
professional nonprofit service organizations; “new economy” firms)
 Markets as social organizations (economic sociology)
o What is a market and how sociologists differ from economists in looking at them
o Markets as groups with roles and statuses
o Markets as institutions (relation to law and government)
o Virtues and limitations of markets as ways of organizing
 Informal networks
o The persistent importance of informal networks
 in bureaucracies
 in markets
o Informal networks and “social capital”
o The dark side of informal networks (e.g., criminal networks)
VI. Social Inequalities
A. Social Class and Social Stratification
 Defining and measuring social class
 The consequences of class inequality
 Models of social class
o Marx and class conflict
o Weber's multidimensional model of class
o contemporary class analyses
 The class structure of the United States
o the distribution of wealth and income inequality
o social mobility and status attainment
o intersections of race, class, gender, and age
 Class consciousness
 Poverty and welfare
 Global stratification
o rich and poor nations
o world systems theory
o international poverty
B. Race and Ethnicity
 Definitions of race and ethnicity
 The social construction of race
o racialization
o racial formation theory
 Prejudice, discrimination and institutional racism
 Consequences of racial stratification
o racial segregation
o race, ethnicity, and life chances
 Diverse group experiences
 Intersections of class and race
C. Gender
 Distinguish sex and gender; the social construction of gender
 Patterns of gender socialization
 Gender and sexual identity
 Gendered Institutions
 gender and work
 gender segregation
 The women's movement
D. Age
 Social significance of aging
 Age stereotypes and age discrimination
 Aging and the life course
 Age cohorts
 Age stratification
 The demography of aging
VII. Deviance and Conformity
A. Sociological Definitions of Deviance
 Positive deviance
 Negative deviance
 Deviance and the Deviant
 Types of Youth Deviance
B. Costs and Benefits of Deviance
 Functionalism
 Social Control
 Structural Strain
o Anomie
o Innovation
o Ritualism
o Retreatism
o Rebellion
 Conflict Theory
 Labeling Theory
C. Deviant Identities
 Deviant subcultures/communities
 Deviant careers
 Stigma
D. Measuring Crime
 Crime
o Juvenile Crime
o White Collar Crime
 Crime Control
o Deterrence
o Retribution
o Incarceration
o Rehabilitation
o Recidivism
 Terrorism
E. Race, Class, Gender, and Crime
F. Criminal Justice System
 Criminal Justice System
 Courts
 Law Enforcement
 Prisons
VIII. Social Institutions
A. Family
 Forms of kinship
 Diversity in family forms
 Marriage and divorce
 Family violence
 Families and social policy
B. Education
 The rise of public education
 Education and social mobility
 Inequality and education
o teacher expectations
o tracking
o educational segregation
o inequality and educational testing
o school funding and facilities
o the digital divide and information technology
 Education and social reform/social policy
C. Religion
 Measuring religiosity
 Influence of religion on social and political attitudes/behavior
 Forms of religion
 Diverse world religions
 Religious organizations/institutions
 Religion, secularization, and social change
D. Work/Economy
 Influence of the Industrial revolution
 Comparative economies
 The occupational system
o the division of labor
o occupational distribution
o occupational prestige
o earnings
 Work and de-industrialization
o the rise of contingent labor
o growth of the service sector
o unionization
 Worker alienation
E. Power, Politics, and Government
 Power and authority
 Theories of power
 Political participation
 Government: who rules?
 Courts and the law
 Military
F. Media and Culture
 Media conglomerates
 Studies of media effects (violence, etc.)
 Popular culture
 “High” culture
G. Health
 Inequality and access to health care
 Structure of health care institutions
 Delivery of health care
 Death and Dying
IX. Social Change
A. Population, Urbanization and the Environment
 Demographic processes
o birth rate/death rate
o migration
o population growth and composition (illustrate demographic transition theory)
 Urbanization
o the evolution of cities
o suburbanization and urban decline
o segregation
o megalopolis
o the rural turnaround
 Environment and Human Ecology
o environmental racism
o ecofeminism
o environmental policy
B. Collective Behavior and Social Movements
 Theories of collective behavior
o emergent norm theory
o competition theory
o convergence theory
 Types of collective behavior
o Crowds
 Mobs and riots. Contagion and emergence theories.
o Mass Behavior
 Rumor
 Public opinion and propaganda
 Panic and mass hysteria
 Fads and fashion
 Social Movements
o How movements develop
o Organization of social movements
o Strategies and tactics
o Theories of social movements: resource mobilization, political process, new social movement
theory.
C. Causes and Consequences of Social Change
 Demographic changes
 Collective behavior/social movements
 Technology and science
 Cultural diffusion
 War
 Modernization
D. Theories of Social Change
 World systems theory
 Dependency theory
 Evolutionary theory