Outline Notes: Introduction to Sociology

Define: perspective

The way we see things

I. What is sociology?

Study of society and its institutions and how people react with them (race, social class, government, crime, cultures)

II. Why study sociology?

Happier when you can understand others, predict behaviors, get what you want from people!, etc (ask for more answers?)

III. Sociological perspective and ways it can be helpful:

A new perspective of the world around you (not just yours)

You can look beyond what you just see and understand more!

“The eyes are blind if the mind cannot see”

IV. Studies that fall under sociology: (some of these are both psychology and sociology, depending on whether or not you study the individual or their reactions with society)

Anthropology: comparative study of past and present cultures

Economics: Superfreakonomics! Study of choices people make to satisfy wants and needs in a world with scarcity

Political science: organization and operation of governments

History: past events

V. Sociological imagination

Seeing the connection between you and the larger world is what C Wright Mills called this. When you can see another perspective besides your own!! (example: day care in Isreal, fine the parents $3 for being late to pickup their child every 10 minutes, lateness went up, why?)

VI. Types of Sociological Perspectives

  1. Functional Perspective: Comte, Spencer, Durkheim

The world is interrelated and works together, people decide what works best for society and society evolves in that way. (examples: education should be free and provided for people, families that do certain things will raise either good or bad kids) Some things are labeled dysfunctional

Functions can be manifest or latent (cars manifest function is to get us places, latent function is to show social status). Unintended consequences! Standardized tests scores give rankings to teachers and schools. That’s good, right? What could be some unintended consequences? (how could teacher s cheat?)

  1. Conflict Perspective Karl Marx

Focus on forces in society that promote change and competition, focuses a lot on power and how that changes people with or without the power (racial issues, employee/employer relationships, families)

Fast food workers striking, what for?

  1. Symbolic Interactionist Perspective: George Mead, Blumer

How individuals interact with each other, especially with regards to symbols. People act towards things based on the meaning they have. (what if I destroy a flag?) (child development, ie how toys might influence behavior, kids making a “camera” motion with their hands in villages that never saw a camera)

How do children react to the color red when things are graded?

Drunk tank pink! How does that work!? People always take the North direction in American cultures, in Southern cultures, the South…wtf?

Why do we find calm in water, especially rivers?

  1. Which is right?

Any other these, all of these

VII. Historical Origins of Sociology

Early 1800s in France, Germany and England. Industrial revolution influenced how we saw humans and society interact. First sociology school in America was 1889 at U of Kansas

VIII. Famous Sociologists and their Importance

Auguste Comte: French, founder of sociology

Herbert Spencer: thought of society like the biology of a human (fuctionalists) Social Darwinism!

Karl Marx: economist, two classes (proletariat and bourgeoisie or capitalists) Inbalance of this power leads to conflict, a classless society would be utopia

Emile Durkheim: German, social order was his focus, first study of suicide and its causes

George Herbert Mead: American, came up with the idea of pragmatism: how the actor interpets the world and then reacts to it. Symbols!