A N INVITATION TO SOCIOLOGY The Sociological Perspective Study Guide – Chapter 1.
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Transcript of A N INVITATION TO SOCIOLOGY The Sociological Perspective Study Guide – Chapter 1.
AN INVITATION TO SOCIOLOGY
The Sociological Perspective
Study Guide – Chapter 1
What is Sociology?
the scientific study of social structure
Social Structure
The patterned interaction
ofpeople in social
relationships
Sociological Perspective
Looks at the behavior
ofgroups, not individuals
The Social Sciences• Sociology – investigates human behavior
from group (not individual) perspective
• Anthropology – closely related, focus on pre- literate societies
• Psychology - mental and emotional processes and functioning of the individual
• Economics – studies production, distribution and consumption of goods and services
• Political Science – organization, administration, history, and theory of government
• History - past events in human societies
Sociological Imagination
The ability to se
e the link
between society and se
lf
C. Wright M
ills
Who was August Comte, and why does he matter?
1798-1857
• Frenchman
• Father of Sociology
• 1st to advocate scientific study of society (positivism)
Positivism: the belief that knowledgeshould be derived from scientificobservation
Believed people’s behavior within a group cannot be predicted by theirpersonal characteristics (bronze)
Comte’s Big IdeasSocial Statics: the study of social stability and order
Social Dynamics: the study ofsocial change
Harriet Martineau… the first feminist?
1802-1876
• Englishwoman
• Popular writer, Society in America
• drew link between slavery and oppression of women
• inspired future feminist theorists
Herbert Spencer and Darwinism
1820-1903
• Social Darwinism
• natural social selection and survival of the fittest society
• opposed social reform – to interfere would be harmful to society in long run
Karl Marx & class conflict
1818-1883
• German scholar
• poverty and inequality of the working class
• bourgeoisie: class owning the means for producing wealth (capitalists)
• proletariat: working class, those who labor for bourgeoisie
Class Conflict• eventually wage workers would overthrow capitalists
• result in communistic society (one without classes)
Emile Durkheim• Frenchman
• Consensus (solidarity) of society
• mechanical solidarity
• organic solidarity
• Studied Suicide: believed suicide is related to the strength of shared beliefs among group members
(solidarity)
1858-1917
More About Durkhiem
First to stress statistical techniques
Anecdotal vs. Scientific Data
Suicide studies and mechanical solidarity
Verstehen
!
Who was Max Weber?
1864-1920
• German law & economics professor
• verstehen: understanding others by “putting yourself in their shoes”
• rationalization: mindset that emphasizes knowledge, reason, and planning (preindustrial societies stressed tradition, emotion and superstition)
McDonaldization Reading p. 20(efficiency, calculability, predictability, control)
Jane Addams and Hull House
1860-1935
• American social reformer
• poor, immigrants, sick, aged
• believed society should help the less fortunate
W.E.B. Dubois’ Contributions
1868-1963
• African American social activist
• doctorate degree from Harvard
• used science and sociology to disprove racist assumptions about African Americans
Theoretical Perspective
• a set of assumptions accepted as true
• in sociology, assumptions about the workings of society
• viewed as true by its supporters
• helps them to organize their
research
What is a Theoretical Perspective?
Theoretical Perspective: a set of assumptions accepted as true
FunctionalismSymbolic InteractionismConflict Perspective
video clip
FUNCTIONALISM
• Society is seen as a system whose parts work together in order to promote solidarity and stability. There are stable patterns of social behavior, and all structures have consequences which serve a function for society.
Emphasizes the contributions (functions) of each part of a society
Functionalists: See parts of a society as an integrated whole
• a change in one part of society leads to changes in others (ie. roles of women
• Example: pre and post-Industrial Revolution
What do functions do?
Most functions exist to promote a society’s survival and
welfare(like family, economy, religion)
…If they didn’t, they would disappear.
Manifest and Latent Functions
Robert Merton
Manifest functions: intended and recognized
Q: Manifest function of school?
A: Education
Latent Functions: unintended and unrecognized aspects of society
Q: Latent Function of School?
A: development of close
friendships
Dysfunctions: negative consequences of an aspect of society
Consensus of society that these two aspects were dysfunctional
CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE
•Society is seen as a structure that is full of inequality. This massive inequality generates conflict and is the motivation for change.All social structures benefit the elite (the wealthy)And further deprive the poor.
Conflict Perspective
Conflict Perspective: approach emphasizing the role of conflict,
competition, and constraint within a society
Conflict and Constraint
Who gets
what?
Who has the POWER?
Those with the most power are able to constrain (or limit) the less powerful.
Functionalism Conflict Perspective
A society is an integrated whole
A society tends to seek relative stability
A society rests on the consensus of its members
A society experiences inconsistency and conflict everywhere
A society is continually subjected to change
A society involves the constraint and coercion of some members by others
Symbolic Interactionism
Focuses on the actual interaction among people throughthe use of shared symbols
Symbol: anything that stands for something else and has an agreed upon meaning attached to it
aunts, uncles, brothers, sistersemployers, employeesteachers, students
Three Assumptions About Symbolic Interactionism
1.
We learn the meaning of a symbol by the way we see others reacting to it.
For example: teacher
2.
Once we learn the meanings of symbols, we base our behavior (interaction) on them.
3. We use the meaning of symbols to imagine howothers will respond to our behavior
We have “internal conversations”that help us to visualize how others
will respond to us before we act
We guide our interactions withpeople according to the behaviorwe think others expect of us andwe expect of others
Dramaturgy• approach that sees human interaction as theatrical performances
Erving Goffman
Assumptions of the Major Theoretical PerspectivesFunctionalism Conflict Perspective Symbolic
Interactionism
1. A society is a relatively
integrated whole.
2. A society tends to seek relative stability.
3. Most aspects of a society contribute to a society’s well-being and survival
4. A society rests on the consensus of its members
1. A society experiences inconsistency and conflict everywhere.
2. A society is continuously
subjected to change.
3. A society involves
the constraint and
coercion of some members by
others.
1. People’s interpretations of symbols are based
on the meanings they learn from others.
2. People base their interaction on their interpretation of symbols.
3. Symbols permit people to have internal conversations, behaving the way they think others expect of them and the behavior they expect of others.
Comparing Theoretical Perspectives
Functionalist Perspective
ConflictPerspective
Symbolic InteractionistPerspective
Emphasisis on…
Society is viewed as…
Key questionis…
Major criticismsare that…
order and stability
a system ofinterrelated parts
How does a partcontribute tooverall functioningof a society?
it defendsexisting socialarrangements
conflict over scarceand valued resources
dominant andsubordinate groupsin conflict over scarceand valued resources
Who benefits from apattern or socialarrangement, andat whose expense?
it exaggeratestension anddivisions in society
shared meaning ofsymbols
a series ofinteractionsdependant onshared symbols
How are symbolicmeanings created?
it offers no systematic explanation for how meanings persistor change