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

A group of people who share a culture and a
territory
Ex. US Society
Italian Society




Depression
Loneliness
Stress/Pressure
Are some people more likely to have higher
suicide rates than others? According to Emilie
Durkheim yes






Men
Divorced and Widowed
Soldiers
Single people
Without kids
Protestants more than Catholics


Some people not tied “in” the social network
Some people are disturbed by norms that
change too quickly in a person’s life
◦ - guidance and purpose no longer there
◦ Divorce, loss of loved ones

Examine society as a whole to explain suicide
 Asking
questions
 Being open minded




Understanding the world through a new lens
“enables us to grasp the connection between
history and biography”*** History of the Civil
Rights Movement with the biography of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
See links between what people do and the
social settings that shape their behavior
(urban vs. suburban- different ways of growing
up)



Examines how group membership influences
behavior
Focus on the behavior of groups, not
individuals
How external events in our social
environment affect an individual
Baseball players taking steroids
Questions
 Why would a person take steroids?
 Does the media influence our opinion?
Weddings in America
Question:
Why do people spend so much money on
weddings?



War in Iraq and Afghanistan
Question: Why should another government
have a say in how another country operates?


Gay Marriage
Question: What’s the purpose of marriage?



The corners in life that people occupy because
of where they are located in a society
(jobs, income, family, gender)
Think of being identified by gender, how does
it influence us to identify as either male or
female?

Disciplines designed to comprehend, explain,
and predict events in our natural environment

Examines human relationships in an attempt to
objectively understand the social world


Study of politics and government
Study of how people govern themselves

Study the production and distribution of the
material goods and services of society

Study culture- the group’s artifacts (tools,
art, and weapons)



Processes that occur within the individual
Study of mental processes
Sociology stresses the understanding of
factors that are external to the individual and
how these external factors influence people’s
behavior and attitudes

Find images in the magazines that explain
the differences in the social sciences


Those things that “everyone knows” are true
Sociologists move beyond common sense



1. Explain why something happens
2. To make generalizations that go beyond the
individual case
3. To predict what will happen in the future
Move beyond common sense


Period 5
Each person reads about one Sociologist and
takes notes to share with the class

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
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
Always around- attempt to understand social
life+social problems
New Discipline- 1850s
Started during Industrial Revolution- why do
some aspects of society suffer??
New thought
Apply the scientific method to real world
problems




Apply the scientific
method to social life
Wanted to reform
society
We should observe
society to uncover flaws
Didn’t conduct scientific
studies himself





Disagreed with
Comte
no one should
intervene in
reforming society
“Survival of the
fittest”- most
intelligent members
of society survive
Social Darwinism
Didn’t conduct
scientific studies




Economics is the
central force in
social change
Class conflict“haves and havenots”
Bourgeoisie (upper
class) and proletariat
(worker)
Wanted a classless
society




Got Sociology
recognized as an
academic discipline
Studied suicide rates
Key factor= social
integration- the
degree to which
people feel a part of
social groups
Those with weaker ties
to society are more
likely to commit
suicide


Sociologists should diagnose causes of social
ills and develop remedies for them
Anomie- breaking down of the controlling
influences of society
◦ People become detached and left with too little
guidance



Translated Comte’s
work into English
Wrote about the
inferior role of
women in society
Supported the end
of slavery & rights
for women



Protestantism
encouraged change
Religion was key to
social change
Working hard would
please God



Sociology to remain value free- the
researcher’s values shouldn’t be involved in
research
Believed in Objectivity
Replication- repeating a study by other
researchers to compare results- uncover if
values have influenced research


Weber explained
Verstehen- “to grasp by
insight”
Best interpreter is
someone who “has been
there”


http://www.physiologus
.de/bilder/versteh.gif
Snoopy Comic



social reformer
Co-founded the Hull
House in city slum
Saw the effects of
industrialization on the
poor



African American
Activist
Analyzed the social
structure of the
Black community
Worked for African
American Rights

1st American woman given the Nobel Peace
Prize


Should the research be used to reform society
or used for another purpose
What do you think?

Analyze society and
publish results

The use of sociology
to solve problems
Careers in Sociology
1. Counseling
children
2. How is AIDS
transmitted
3. Analyzing the
census


Theory- a general statement about how some
parts of the world fit together
An explanation of how two or more facts are
related to one another

1. Symbolic Interactionism

2. Functional Analysis

3. Conflict Theory

Use divorce as an example- How does each
theory help us to understand why the divorce
rate in the US is so high
Usual level of Focus
analysis
Key
Terms
Applying
to Divorce
Rate
examines small
scale patterns of
social interaction
Labels
Microlevel
anaylsis
Industrialization
and marital roles
led to a redefinition
of love, marriage,
children, and
divorce
Face to face
interaction;
how people
use symbols
to create
social life




Sociologists- Charles Cooley, William
Thomas, and George Herbert Mead
Studies the use of symbols to establish
meaning, develop views of the world, and
communicate
Our behaviors depend on the way we define
ourselves and others (aunts, uncles,
boyfriends, girlfriends) these relationships
dictate how we act
Study face to face interactions and
relationships

1. Emotional Satisfaction- demand far greater than in
the past

2. The love symbol- expectation of “true love”


3. Meaning of Children- in the past mini adults, now
vulnerable and innocent
4. Meaning of parenthood- lasts longer as kids go to
college and sometimes come home




5. Marital roles- who works? Inside and outside of
home
6. Perception of alternatives- women outside of
home working, several alt. than remain in unhappy
marriages
7. The meaning of divorce- as divorce became
more common, meaning changed, personal change
and the opportunity to begin new instead of
negative
8. Changes in law- much easier to divorce
Usual level
of Analysis
Focus of
Analysis
Key Terms
Applying
the
Perspective
to Divorce
Rate
Macro level
analysis
- Examines
large- scale
patterns of
society
Relationships
among the parts
of society; how
these parts are
functional or
dysfunctional
Structure
Functions
(manifest- help
or latentunintended
consequence)
Dysfunction
Society changes
and the
traditional
functions of the
family, family
ties weaken,
divorce rate
increases



Society is a whole unit made up of interrelated parts
that work together
Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer saw society as a
living organism
If society is to function smoothly it’s parts must work
together in harmony


Robert Merton- Manifest and latent functions
Manifest functions- if an action is intended to help
some part of a system- $10,000 to a couple to
have kids to raise the birth rate

Latent Functions- unintended consequenceseconomy benefits because of diapers and cribs….

When all parts fulfill their functions, society is in
normal state







Believe that industrialization and urbanization
undermined the traditional functions of the
family
1. Economic production- family team to factory
2. Socialization of Children- education by
family now schools
3. Care of the sick and elderly- had been family
care now to hospital
4. Recreation- entertainment
5. Sexual control of membership- sex outside
of marriage
6. Reproduction- single women have children

Family has lost many traditional functions
level of
analysis
Focus
Key Terms
Applying to
Divorce
rate
Macrolevel
examines large
scale patterns of
society
•Struggle
•Inequality
When men
control
economic life,
the divorce rate
is low because
women find few
alternatives to
bad marriages;
today women
have jobs and
can leave
for
scarce resources
by groups in a
society
•how the elites
use their power
to control the
less powerful
•Power
•Conflict
•Competition
•Exploitation




States that society is composed of groups
engaged in fierce competition for scarce
resources
Karl Marx- key to human history is class
struggle- Bourgeoise and Proletariat
People in positions of authority try to enforce
conformity, which, creates resentment and
resistance
Result is a constant struggle

Focus on how men’s and women’s rel. have
changed

Men dominated women- not anymore

Women can support selves

Wives strive for more equality from husbands

Macro
◦ Functionalists and
Conflict Theorists
focus on large scale
patterns of society

Micro
◦ Symbolic
Interactionists focus
on social interaction in
small scale patterns



A. Functionalist perspective
B. Symbolic Interactionist perspective
C. Conflict theory perspective****



A. Functionalist
B. Symbolic Interactionist
C. Conflict Theory
This theoretical perspective utilizes a macro
level of understanding of human behavior

Focus on how larger components of society
interrelate and work together
◦ A. Functionalist
◦ B. Symbolic
◦ C. Conflict
This theory focuses on competition for power
and money between the haves and have nots:



Symbolic Interactionsim
Functional Analysis
Conflict Theory
According to this theory, our behavior depends
on the way we define ourselves and others:



Symbolic Interactionsim
Functional Analysis
Conflict Theory
According to this theory, when all parts of
fulfill their function; society is in a normal
state:
 Symbolic Interactionsim
 Functional Analysis
 Conflict Theory
This theory studies face to face interactions
and relationships:



Symbolic Interactionsim
Functional Analysis
Conflict Theory
This theory can be summed up by a constant
struggle:



Symbolic Interactionsim
Functional Analysis
Conflict Theory


Get into groups of three to create a group
poster that explains one of the three
perspectives
Use images and vocabulary to explain your
perspective in detail





If you were a sociologist studying the rise of
domestic violence in the 1990’s which
perspective would you use to study the topic?
Explain why.
There is no right or wrong answer.
Social Interactionism
Functionalism
Conflict Theory