SOCL 2001 ~ Chapter 1 Notes | Study notes Social structure and social organization

CHAPTER 1

What is Sociology?

● Sociology is the scientific study of human social life groups and societies.

● Sociology shows us that social and historical forces influence aspects of life we consider

natural or take for granted.

● Sociology is a discipline that insists on studying people and their social contexts.

The Sociological Imagination:

● C. Wright Mills (1959) coined this phrase, which explained the need to move away from

viewing problems as personal troubles and toward recognizing them as public issues.

● An important part of learning to think sociologically is to gain and utilize the sociological

imagination.

○ Personal Troubles and Public Issues:

■ Example: unemployment affecting an individual (personal trouble) versus

understanding it as part of a large economic recession (public issue)

○ Cultural Relativism:

■ Example: understanding cultural practices from different perspectives,

such as viewing rituals or customs through the eyes of another culture.

○ Social Institutions:

■ Example: analyzing the role of education as a social institution and how it

impacts individuals’ life chances and opportunities

○ Social Stratifications:

■ Example: examining the effects of social class on access to resources,

education, and healthcare within a society

○ Globalization:

■ Example: investigating how the interconnectedness of economics and

cultures globally influences local communities and individuals

○ Gender and Intersectionally:

■ Example: exploring how gender roles intersect with social categories like

race and class, affecting an individual's experiences and opportunities

○ Social Change:

■ Example: studying historical movements, such as civil rights or feminist

movements to understand their impact on societal norms and structure

○ Deviances and Social Control:

■ Example: Analyzing the labelsing of certain behaviors as deviant and

understanding how societies enforce norms through mechanisms like law

and punishment

○ Media and Mass Communications:

■ Example: investing how media representations shape public perceptions

and contribute to the construction of social reality

Social Structure:

● Goal of sociology: to understand the connections between what society makes of us and

what we make of ourselves

● What we do both gives shape to and is shaped by society. That is we structured society

and at the same time are structured by society

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CHAPTER 1

What is Sociology? ● Sociology is the scientific study of human social life groups and societies. ● Sociology shows us that social and historical forces influence aspects of life we consider natural or take for granted. ● Sociology is a discipline that insists on studying people and their social contexts. The Sociological Imagination: ● C. Wright Mills (1959) coined this phrase, which explained the need to move away from viewing problems as personal troubles and toward recognizing them as public issues. ● An important part of learning to think sociologically is to gain and utilize the sociological imagination. ○ Personal Troubles and Public Issues: ■ Example: unemployment affecting an individual (personal trouble) versus understanding it as part of a large economic recession (public issue) ○ Cultural Relativism: ■ Example: understanding cultural practices from different perspectives, such as viewing rituals or customs through the eyes of another culture. ○ Social Institutions: ■ Example: analyzing the role of education as a social institution and how it impacts individuals’ life chances and opportunities ○ Social Stratifications: ■ Example: examining the effects of social class on access to resources, education, and healthcare within a society ○ Globalization: ■ Example: investigating how the interconnectedness of economics and cultures globally influences local communities and individuals ○ Gender and Intersectionally: ■ Example: exploring how gender roles intersect with social categories like race and class, affecting an individual's experiences and opportunities ○ Social Change: ■ Example: studying historical movements, such as civil rights or feminist movements to understand their impact on societal norms and structure ○ Deviances and Social Control: ■ Example: Analyzing the labelsing of certain behaviors as deviant and understanding how societies enforce norms through mechanisms like law and punishment ○ Media and Mass Communications: ■ Example: investing how media representations shape public perceptions and contribute to the construction of social reality Social Structure: ● Goal of sociology: to understand the connections between what society makes of us and what we make of ourselves ● What we do both gives shape to and is shaped by society. That is we structured society and at the same time are structured by society

● Our lives are structured or patterned, in particular, nonrandom ways ● Social structures are dynamic. Societies are always in the process of structuration , which means are constantly being affected by human actions ● Sociology was born during the upheaval that accompanied industrialization in Western Europe ● Many early social thinkers dedicated their research to better understanding the massive social change they witnessed ● The discipline developed with an eye toward understanding history and change Contemporary Social Change: ● Social change continues for most of human history, the vast majority of people lived in small, isolated groups. By 2050, nearly 70 percent of all people will live in urban settings ● The development of technology and communications capabilities continue to alter the way humans live Digital Life: ● Social Life has “gone viral”, which included both positive and negative behaviors Social Theory: ● Social theories do not intended to explain what is happening but rather why it is happening ● There are many theoretical approaches in sociology: sociologists do not all agree on any given topic, but theories must be based on facts ● Research and theory cannot, and should not be separate enterprise Auguste Comte: ● French philosopher who is credited with giving the disciplines its name ● Believed in creating a science of the social would to be used for improving people’s life Emile Durkiem: ● Drawing on Comte’s notion of sociology as a science, Durkhiem set out to study social facts. These are those aspects of social life– for example, religion and the economy— that shape individuals actions ● He saw society as a body that needed all its parts to function in harmony Karl Marx: ● In seeking to explain social changes Marx looked primarily to the economy ● Developed what is called a materialist conception of history, whereby the economy, and not values, culture, or ideas, drives social changes ● Focused primary on the ills of capitalism and its class system ● Famous work - Das Kapital ● Thoughts he, too was interested in explaining social change, Weber sawe power not only in the economy but also in ideas and values ● In particular, Weber argues that Christianity is the form of the protestant work ethic, played an important role in the development of capitalism ● Famous work - the protestant ethic and spirit of capitalism Modern Theoretical Approaches: ● Symbolic Interactionism: ○ All social interaction involves an exchange of information via symbols

○ Comparative and historical sociology are approaches that allow research to understand variations in social phenomena across both times and space ● Ethics: ○ Because sociology are dealing with real people in their everyday lives, we must be very cautious in our work ○ All research that directly involves human subjects must first be approved by an Institutional Review Board ○ Study participants must give informed consent prior to agreeing to participate and must be debriefed afterward ● How Sociology affects our lives:

Enhances our awareness of cultural differences and of social structure
Improves our ability to assess the success or failure of public initiatives and policies
Offers us knowledge and enlightenment that we can use to direct our choices
Teaches us analytical skills that are important in many future careers

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CHAPTER 1