CH # 1, Sociological Perspective

1
Chapter
A Down-to-Earth Approach 10/e
Slides by Dan Cavanaugh
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Seeing the Broader
Social Context
 How Groups Influence People
 How People are Influenced by
Their Society

 People Who Share a Culture

 People Who Share a Territory
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective 2
Social Location -
Corners in Life
 Jobs  Gender
 Income  Age
 Education  Race/Ethnicity
C. Wright Mills -
History and Biography
 History - Location in
Broad Stream of Events
 Biography - Individual’s
Specific Experiences
The Global Context
and the Local
 The Global Village
 Instant Communication
 Sociology Studies both the

Global Network and Our
Unique Experiences
Sociology and the
Other Sciences
 The Natural Sciences

 Explain and Predict Events
in Natural Environment
 The Social Sciences

 Examine Human
Relationships
Sociology and the
Other Sciences
 Anthropology
 Studies Culture

 Economics
 Studies the Production and

Distribution of Goods and
Services
 Political Science
 Studies How People Govern

Themselves
Sociology and the
Other Sciences
 Psychology

 The Study of Processes
Within Individuals
 Sociology

 Similarities to Other
Disciplines
The Goal of Science
 Explain Why Something

Happens
 Make Generalizations
 Look for Patterns
 Predict What will Happen
 Move Beyond Common
Sense
Risks of Sociology
 Nooks and Crannies

People Prefer Hidden
 People Attempt to
Keep Secrets
 People Feel Threatened
by Information
Origins of Sociology
 Tradition vs. Science
 The Industrial Revolution
 Grew Out of Social Upheaval
 Imperialism of the Time
 Rise of the Scientific Method

Auguste Comte
and Positivism
 Applying the Scientific
Method to Social World
 Coined the Term
“Sociology”
 “Armchair Philosophy”
Herbert Spencer -
Social Darwinism
 Second Founder
of Sociology
 Lower and Higher
Forms of Society
 Coined Phrase “Survival
of the Fittest”
Karl Marx and
Class Conflict
 Engine of Human History
is Class Conflict
 The Bourgeoisie vs. The
Proletariat
 Marxism Not the Same
as Communism
Durkheim and
Social Integration
 Got Sociology Recognized as
Separate Discipline
 Studied How Social Forces
Affect Behavior
 Identified “Social Integration” -
Degree to Which People are
Tied to Social Group
Source: By the author. Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2007x, and earlier years
Suicide Patterns Consistent

 Can Predict the Number
 Can Predict the Ways
Max Weber and the
Protestant Ethic
 Religion and the Origin
of Capitalism
 Religion is Central Force
in Social Change
 Protestant Ethic and
Spirit of Capitalism
Values in Sociological
Research
 Sociology Should be
Value-Free
 Sociology Should be
Objective
 Research Should Involve
Replication
 Goals and Uses of
Sociology
Verstehen and
Social Facts
 Weber
 Verstehen - “To Grasp by Insight”

 Importance of Subjective Meanings


 Durkheim
 Stressed Social Facts

 Explain Social Facts with Other


Social Facts
 How Social Facts and Verstehen
Fit Together
Sociology in
North America
 First Took Root in 1890 at
University of Kansas
 Spread Rapidly in Next 20 Years
 Not at Harvard until 1930
 American Journal of Sociology

1895
Sexism in Early Sociology
 Attitudes of the Time
 1800s Sex Roles Rigidly

Defined
 Few People Educated

Beyond Basics
 Harriet Martineau
 Published Society in

America Before Durkheim
and Weber Were Born
 Her Work was Ignored

Racism at the Time:
W.E.B Du Bois
 B.A. from Fisk University
 First Harvard Ph.D. for
African American
 Published a Book Each
Year from 1896-1914
 Neglected by Sociologist
Until Recently
Jane Addams: Sociologist
and Social Reformer
 Member of American
Sociological Society from Start
 Came from Background of
Wealth and Privilege
 Co-Founded Hull House
 Co-Founded American Civil
Liberties Union
Talcott Parsons and
C. Wright Mills
 Parsons Developed Objective
Analysis and Models of Society
 Mills Deplored Theoretical
Abstractions in Favor of Social
Reform
 Continuing Tension in Sociology
Theoretical
Perspectives
 Symbolic Interactionism - How
People Use Symbols in
Everyday Life
 Applying Symbolic
Interactionism -
Changing the Meaning of
Symbols Affects Expectations
Theoretical
Perspectives
Applying Symbolic
Interactionism - Examples
 The Meaning of Marriage
 The Meaning of Divorce
Applying Symbolic
Interactionism - Examples
 The Meaning of Parenthood
 The Meaning of Love
Functional Analysis
 Society is a Whole Unit

Made Up of Interrelated
Parts that Work Together
 Functionalism, Structural
Functionalism
Robert Merton and
Functionalism
 Functions

 Manifest

 Latent
 Dysfunctions
Applying Functional
Analysis
 Economic Teams
 Education of Children
 Teaching of Religion
 Care of the Sick and Elderly
Applying Functional
Analysis
 A Glimpse of the
Past - 1800s
 Changes in the
Functions of…

 Family

 Friends
Conflict Theory
 Karl Marx and Conflict

Theory
 Conflict Theory Today
 Feminists and Conflict
Theory
 Applying Conflict Theory
Levels of Analysis
 Functionalists and
Conflict Theorists -
Macro Level
 Symbolic
Interactionists -
Micro Level
Trends Shaping
the Future
 Sociology Full Circle:
Reform vs. Research -
Three Stages
 Diversity of Orientations
 Public Sociology
 Globalization

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1

A Down-to-Earth Approach 10/e

Slides by Dan Cavanaugh

 How People are Influenced by

Broad Stream of Events

 Sociology Studies both the

 Explain Why Something

 Nooks and Crannies

 Tradition vs. Science

 The Industrial Revolution

 Grew Out of Social Upheaval

 Imperialism of the Time

 Rise of the Scientific Method

Suicide Patterns Consistent

 Importance of Subjective Meanings

 Explain Social Facts with Other

 Not at Harvard until 1930

 American Journal of Sociology

 The Meaning of Marriage

 The Meaning of Divorce

 The Meaning of Parenthood

 The Meaning of Love

 Society is a Whole Unit

 Care of the Sick and Elderly

 Karl Marx and Conflict

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