Making the
Familiar
Strange
The Sociological Imagination
Chapter 1-Introduction to Sociology
Discussion Outline
• I. Thinking like a Sociologist
• II. The Sociology of Sociology
• III. Modern Sociological Theory
I. Thinking like a Sociologist…
• Sociology is…
– The systematic study of human society and the
relationship between individuals and society
• Rigorous and systematic=Powerful scientific tool
• What do sociologists study?
Why do some people refer to sociology as a “soft science”?
???
• Sociology: why is it important and beneficial?
Unveiling new levels of reality…making the familiar strange…challenging
conventional wisdom and questioning what most people take for granted
Example:???
Thinking Like a Sociologist…
• The Sociological Imagination
–C. Wright Mills
The sociological imagination helps us to
understand how the social structure affects our
lives and the lives of others
Private troubles  Public issues
Thinking Like a Sociologist:
Agency vs. Structure
– What determines an individuals behavior/ lot
in life?
• Agency-making individual choices based on freewill
• Structure-cultural and structural influences
operate in the decision making process
– Society is organized
– Society is patterned & predictable
**How does accounting for structural and cultural
influences confront the American value system?
Thinking like a Sociologist…
• Social Institutions
Thinking like a Sociologist
• The individual and the wider society
II. The Sociology of Sociology-Historical
Development
• 18th century
– Political Revolution
• -Chaos and disorder
– Industrial Revolution
• -Urbanization
– The Enlightenment
• -Rejection of traditional beliefs and authority
• Before social science and the enlightenment, who had the authority to say what was right and wrong
regarding social issues?
The Creation of Sociology: Key Figures
• Auguste Comte
– Positivism/ Empirical study of society
• Harriet Martineau
– Social methods and feminism
The Creation of Sociology: Key Figures
– The Big Three…
• Karl Marx
• Emile Durkheim
• Max Weber
– Other voices were silenced, excluded and
marginalized
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
• Society fundamentally divided between two classes
that clash in pursuit of their own interests
–Class Conflict
**What did Marx see as the solution
to the evils of capitalism?
Marx
• Industrialization leads to two classes: the bourgeoisie,
or the owners of the means of production; and the
proletariat, or the workers who earn wages.
– The bourgeoisie use their power to control the institutions of
society to their advantage.
What other institutions might those at the very top of the class structure be
able to control? How?
I.e.: The political landscape and massive donations
Max Weber (1864 – 1920)
Verstehen: study of human subjectivity
•“Understanding”; “Insight”
Importance of a “value-free sociology”?
1-14
Émile Durkheim (1858 – 1916)
•…What maintains social order?
–Division of labor
–Social Solidarity
• Cohesion and harmony
• Suicide (1897/1951)
1-15
III. Modern Sociological Theory
What is a theory?
Theory
• A theory is a set of statements that explains
why a particular phenomena happens
– Theories can be viewed as tools or lenses through
which individuals view society.
– Theories differ
The Primary Theoretical Perspectives

The Big Four: Functionalism, Conflict, Symbolic
Interactionism, Feminist
• Ask and answer the “big” questions in sociology
• Provide a lens through which to view and understand aspects
of the social world
Functionalism
• Society is a complex social system of
interdependent parts that work together to
ensure a society’s survival.
– Based off work of Durkheim
• If something exists, it has a function for society in providing
cohesion and stability
– Crime?
• Manifest Functions
• Latent Functions
» Wedding Rings? Schools?
Conflict Theory
• Conflict theory examines the ways in which
groups disagree, struggle over power, and
compete for scarce resources.
– Based off of work of Karl Marx
• Conflict, tension, and competition between groups
results from widespread economic inequality
– What groups? What resources?
• I.e.: Gang rivalries, social classes, families, etc
Feminist Theories
• Feminist theories explain the social, economic,
and political position of women in society.
Focus is on gender issues.
– Maintain that women suffer injustice because of
their sex/gender.
– Seeks to free women from traditionally oppressive
expectations and constraints.
Symbolic Interactionism
• Symbolic interactionism looks at individuals’
everyday behavior and communication
through symbols and shared meanings.
• It is a micro-level perspective.
• Interactionists see society as socially constructed
through everyday interaction
Levels of Analysis
• Macro sociology - Looks at the "big picture" of society and
suggests how society is affected at the institutional level.
• Micro sociology - Concerned with the social psychological
dynamics of individuals interacting in small groups/local level
The Primary Sociological Theories
• Functionalism
– How does structure help society work? How does structure
help maintain stability and order?
• Conflict
– How are resources distributed? Who is benefitting from
structure of society? Who is losing?
• Symbolic Interactionism
– How do we construct meaning through symbols? How are
people constructing reality and creating reality? How are
people interpreting and experiencing their environments
• Feminist
– How does life reflect gender? How is power being
distributed on the basis of gender/sex?