Sociology: An Introduction



TOPIC: Sociology, an Introduction

UNIT 1: Sociological Foundations

Sociology (Fall 2012)

Silverman

1. Basic Sociological Understandings

a. What is Sociology?

i. Definition: ____________________________________________________________________________

ii. Two Primary Questions:

1. _______________________________________________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________________________________________

b. Sociological Perspective

i. Definition: _____________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

ii. Peter Berger

1. “Seeing the general in the particular…”

2. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

iii. C. Wright Mills,

1. “Seeing the strange in the familiar…”

2. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Society shapes our lives

iv. Sociological Imagination

1. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Connection between “history” and “biography”

3. (Photographic examples of Sociological Imagination)

v. Benefits of Sociological Perspective

1. _______________________________________________________________________________

2. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________________________________________

4. _______________________________________________________________________________

2. Historical Origins

a. Historical Background

i. Developed as an academic discipline during the mid-19th century

ii. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

iii. Change in Focus:

1. _______________________________________________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________________________________________

b. Historical Timeline

i. Enlightenment (late 1600s to late 1700s)

ii. _______________________________________________________________________________________

iii. _______________________________________________________________________________________

3. Who’s Who in Sociology

| |Nationality |Major Beliefs/Contributions |

|Auguste Comte | | |

|(1798-1857) | | |

|Herbert Spencer | | |

|(1820-1903) | | |

|Karl Marx | | |

|(1818-1883) | | |

|Emile Durkheim | | |

|(1858-1917) | | |

|Max Weber | | |

|(1864-1920) | | |

4. Sociological Theory

a. Importance of Theory

i. Theory attempts to explain social behavior in terms of the “real world”

ii. Three Major Theoretical Perspectives:

1. _______________________________________________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________________________________________

iii. Each approach provides a set of fundamental assumptions that help guide sociological understanding

iv. _______________________________________________________________________________________

b. Macro-Level

i. Structural-Functionalism

1. Guiding Question: ______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

2. Key Players: Comte, Spencer, Durkheim

3. Assumptions:

a. Society is an organism comprised of interrelated parts; known as subsystems

b. ________________________________________________________________________

c. ________________________________________________________________________

4. Major Emphases:

a. ________________________________________________________________________

b. ________________________________________________________________________

c. Evolution

5. Key Criticism:

a. ________________________________________________________________________

b. Subjective & unclear

ii. Conflict Theory

1. Guiding Question: ______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

2. Key Players: Marx, Weber, Mills

3. Assumptions:

a. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b. ________________________________________________________________________

c. The “Haves” v. the “Have-Nots”

4. Major Emphases:

a. Competition over scarce resources

b. ________________________________________________________________________

c. ________________________________________________________________________

5. Key Criticisms:

a. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b. Too heavily focused on economy & class; neglects the cultural aspects of society

c. ________________________________________________________________________

c. Micro-Level

i. Symbolic Interactionism

1. Guiding Question: ______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

2. Key Players: Weber, Mead, Cooley

3. Assumptions:

a. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b. ________________________________________________________________________

c. Meanings guide action & reaction

4. Major Emphases:

a. Language & symbols are the building blocks of society

b. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

c. Socialization

5. Key Criticisms:

a. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In Review…

Using today’s lecture notes, determine whether the following statements represent Structural-Functionalism (SF), Conflict Theory (C) or Symbolic-Interactionism (SI).

1. ______ Societies are in relative balance

2. ______ Power is one of the most important elements in social life

3. ______ Religion helps hold a society together morally

4. ______ Symbols are crucial to social life

5. ______ Many elements of a society exist to benefit the powerful

6. ______ Segments of society compete to achieve their own self-interest rather than cooperate to benefit others

7. ______ Social life should be understood from the viewpoint of the individuals involved

8. ______ Education is a necessary aspect of social harmony

9. ______ Social change is constantly occurring

10. ______ Conflict is harmful and disruptive to society

d.

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