UNIT OUTLINE: THE SOCIOLOGICAL VIEW/ SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
A. What is Sociology?
i. Definition
ii. The Sociological Imagination
iii. Sociology vs. Commonsense
B. The Development of Sociology
i. The Origins of Sociological Thinking
ii. Major Thinkers and their contributions
- Auguste Compte
- Harriet Martineau
- Herbert Spencer
- Emile Durkheim
- Max Weber
- Karl Marx
C. The Major Theoretical Perspectives
i. The Functionalist Perspective
ii. The Conflict Perspective
iii. The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
D. Conducting Sociological Research
i. The Scientific Method
ii. Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research
ii. Research Designs
- Experiments
- Surveys
- Secondary Analysis
- Field Research
iii. Ethics in Research
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TERMS TO KNOW:
Alienation
Bourgeoisie
Class conflict
Commonsense Knowledge
Conflict Perspectives
Dysfunctions
Functionalist Perspectives
Global Interdependence
Industrialization
Latent Functions
Macrolevel analysis
Microlevel analysis
Means of Production
Perspective
Positivism
Power Elite
Proletariat
Social Darwinism
Social Facts
Social Solidarity
Societal consensus
Society
Sociological Imagination
Sociology
Symbolic Interactionist Perspectives
Hypothesis
Objective
Theory
Deductive Approach
Descriptive studies
Explanatory Studies
Inductive Approach
Independent Variable
Dependant Variable
Experimental Group
Control Group
Survey
Questionnaire
Interview
Secondary Analysis
Field Research
Complete Observation
Participant Observation
Ethnography
FEBRUARY 2011~ SOCIOLOGY
Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday2
Welcome to Sociology
Course Outline
Expectations
Reading:
Why Study Sociology? / 3
What is Sociology??
Notes
Exercise: Thinking Sociologically
Video:
Why Sociology? / 4
The Origins of Sociological Thinking
Handout/Lecture
Notes
Worksheet
7
The Sociological Perspectives
Notes
Video:
Sociological Perspectives
Textbook Assign.
The Perspectives / 8
Perspectives continued…
Reading:
What kind of social scientist are you?
Group Work:
Exploring the Sociological Perspectives / 9
Sociological Research
Notes
Introduction/
Explanation: Reading
Assignment #1:
An Idea Whose Time has Come / 10
Research continued…
Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research
Notes
Video:
Sociological Research / 11
Research continued…
Worksheet
14
Ethical Issues in Research
Reading
Video:
The Milgram Experiment
Discussion
Review:
Quiz #1 / 15
Quiz- Unit 1
DUE: Reading Assignment #1
Intro. to:
“THE SEMINAR” / 16
Seminar
Topic Selection
Presentation
Date Selection
UNIT # 1 / the sociological perspective: theory and methods
STUDENT OUTCOMES / a) Define sociology and outline its contributions to social understanding.
b) Describe the sociological imagination; explain its importance in understanding people’s behaviour.
c) Explain what Mills meant by the sociological imagination, how private troubles are linked to public issues, and why it requires us to include many points of view and experiences in our thinking.
d) Using references, explain why sociologists need to develop a Global Sociological Imagination.
e) Define race, ethnicity, class, sex, and gender, and explain why these terms are important to the development of our sociological imaginations.
f) Discuss industrialization and urbanization as factors that contributed to the development of sociological thinking.
g) Identify Auguste Comte, Harriet Martineau, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber and explain their contributions to early sociology.
h) Outline the major assumptions, and key contributors, of functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism.
i) Distinguish between microlevel and macrolevel analyses and state which level of analysis is utilized by each of the major theoretical perspectives.
j) Distinguish between the quantitative and qualitative research models.
k) Identify the research methods employed by sociologists, their advantages as well as their limitations.
m) Distinguish between common sense knowledge and
fact.