Chapter 1
The Study of Society
Chapter Outline
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What Is Sociology?
The Emergence of Sociology
Current Perspectives in Sociology
The Science of Society
Strategies for Gathering Data
Sociologists: What Do They Do?
Sociology
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The study of human social interaction.
Concepts of role and social structure
allow sociologists to analyze human
drama.
Sociological imagination is the ability to
see personal experience in the context
of social-structural forces
The Founders of Sociology
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August Comte - studied social order
(statics) and social change (dynamics).
Harriet Martineau - employed
sociological insight to advocate
women’s rights and oppose slavery.
The Founders of Sociology
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Herbert Spencer - saw the parts of a
complex social order as functioning like
organs in the human body.
Karl Marx - developed the concepts
and cornerstones of conflict theory.
The Dialect
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George Hegel suggested that for every
idea a counter idea develops to
challenge it.
As a result of conflict between the two
ideas, a new idea is produced.
Dialectic philosophy views change as a
product of contradictions and conflict
between the parts of society.
The Dialectic
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Change occurs
through conflict and
resolution rather
than evolution.
Sociology in the United States
Three features:
 Concern with social problems.
 Reforming rather than a radical
approach to problems.
 Emphasis on the scientific method.
Three Dominant Theoretical
Perspectives in Sociology
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Structural functionalism
Conflict theory
Symbolic interactionism
Assumptions of Structuralfunctional Theory
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Stability. How does a social structure
contribute to the maintenance of
society?
Harmony. How do the parts of a
society work for the good of the whole?
Evolution. Social structures evolve
and adapt to new needs and demands.
Structural-functional Analysis
Two important steps:
 Determine the nature of the over-all
social structure.
 Assess the consequences of various
parts of the social structure for the
social entity as a whole.
Assumptions of Conflict
Theory
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Competition. Competition over
resources is characteristic of all human
relationships.
Structured Inequality. Those who
benefit strive to maintain their
advantage.
Revolution. The process of change
may be abrupt and revolutionary.
Conflict Analysis
Two basic questions:
 Who benefits from structural inequality?
 How do they maintain their advantage?
Assumptions of Symbolic
Interaction Theory
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Symbolic meanings are important.
Meanings grow out of relationships.
Meanings are negotiated.
Symbolic Interaction Analysis
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Individuals derive their habits and their
sense of self through interactions with
others.
Interested in how individuals negotiate
their way through relationships.
Sociological Research
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State the problem.
Gather data.
Find patterns.
Generate theories.
The Wheel of Science
Strategies for Gathering Data
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Experiment - variables are manipulated
to test theories of cause and effect.
Survey research - asking a large
number of people a set of standardized
questions
Participant observation - examines
the context of human interaction.
Sociologists: What Do They
Do?
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Most are employed in college and
university settings where they teach and
do research.
Applied sociology seeks to provide
immediate practical answers to
problems.
Sociologists also work in government,
business and non-profit organizations.