Chapter 1 An Introduction to Sociology in the Global Age Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Sociology The systematic study of the ways in which people are affected by, and affect, the social structures and social processes that are associated with the groups, organizations, cultures, societies, and world in which they exist. Sociology is the scientific study of social behavior and human groups. Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

The Butterfly Effect The idea that a relatively small change in a specific location can have far-ranging, even global effects, over both time and distance. Example: the Arab Spring revolutionary social movements beginning in Tunisia with the action of one individual, and spreading across the Middle East. Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

The Changing Nature of the World –and Sociology 18 th and 19 th centuries: Industrial Revolution Sociologists focused on factories, production, and blue collar workers. Mid-20 th century: Post-Industrial Age Sociologists focused on offices, bureaucracies, and white collar workers. Present day: The Information Age Sociologists focus on knowledge, information, and technologies. Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Central Concerns for a 21 st -Century Sociologist: Globalization No social change today is as important as globalization. Globalization is arguably the most important instigator of social change and affects all aspects of the social world. Globalization is a central issue in sociology as well as the social world. Globalization is defined by increasingly fluid global flows and the structures that expedite and impede these flows. Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Central Concerns for a 21 st -Century Sociologist: Globalization Positives Greater access to goods, services, and information throughout the world Negatives Undesirable things (diseases, illegal drugs) flow more easily around the world. Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Central Concerns for a 21 st -Century Sociologist: Consumption The process by which people obtain and utilize goods and services As consumption increased so did the proliferation of credit cards and, predictably, credit card debt. Consumption and globalization are deeply intertwined. Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

The McDonaldization of Society The process by which the rational principles of the fast- food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of society and more societies throughout the world. McDonaldization leads to the creation of rational systems that have 4 defining characteristics: Efficiency Calculability Predictability Control Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Central Concerns for a 21 st -Century Sociologist: The Digital World Sociologists have always been interested in the social aspects of technology. Technology: the interplay of machines, tools, skills, and procedures for the accomplishment of tasks Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Central Concerns for a 21 st -Century Sociologist: The Digital World Sociologists have tracked the evolution of technology, from assembly lines to automated factories to the digital world (computers, cell phones, and the Internet). Social networking and multitasking are social phenomena of particular interest to sociologists. Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Globalization, Consumption, the Digital World and You College students have fellow students and professors from other parts of the world. You shop on the Internet. An increasing portion of your education is obtained through the Internet. Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Sociology: Continuity and Change The Sociological Imagination says that sociologists have a distinctive way of looking at the world. C. Wright Mills (1959) argued that sociologists have a unique perspective. Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

The Sociological Imagination C. Wright Mills (1916–1962) described this type of creative thinking as the ability to view one’s own society as an outsider. It demonstrates the connection between history and biography, connects personal experiences – “troubles” – to larger social patterns – “social issues.” Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

The Sociological Imagination The sociological imagination allows us to look beyond a limited understanding of things and people in the world, and allows for a broader vision of society. Private Troubles and Public Issues Increasing levels of consumption and debt (private trouble) morphed into a near collapse of the global economy (public issue). Will fleeting electronic social relationships (via Facebook and Twitter) lead all types of social relationships in the future? Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

The Sociological Imagination: The Micro Relationship Micro-small scale Individual thoughts and actions and small group interactions Macro-large scale Groups, organizations, cultures, society, and the world, as well as the interactions between these large structures The Micro-Macro continuum has roots in the American perspective on social interaction and social structure Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

The Sociological Imagination: The Micro Relationship Karl Marx ( ) was interested in what workers thought and did (micro-scale phenomena) and the capitalist economic system (macro-scale phenomena). Randall Collins (2009) has sought to develop a theory of violence that deals with individuals skilled in violent interactions (micro-scale phenomena) and material resources used by violent organizations (macro-scale phenomena). Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

The Sociological Imagination: The Agency-Structure Relationship Agency is the micro level; structure is the macro level. The agency-structure relationship has its roots in the European sociological perspective. Agency gives priority to the agent having power and a capacity for creativity. Agents both create and are constrained by social and cultural structures. Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

The Agency-Structure Relationship Structures are autonomous and able to sustain themselves over a long period of time without disruptions from individuals. They are long-term, often society-wide patterns of relationships, norms, values, and other social phenomena that include the family, education, media, the state, and the economy. Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

The Social Construction of Reality This approach argues that agents (people at the micro level) create social reality which takes on a life of its own and becomes a structure within which those who create the structure exist. It is a process of human creation that becomes invisible and relatively unquestioned the deeper it is embedded in peoples’ social practices. For example, designers (agents) create the world of fashion. Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Structure and Process Social structures are enduring and regular social arrangements such as the family or the state, or even shopping malls. These change very slowly. Social processes are aspects of the social world such as shopping and childrearing practices. These change rapidly. Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Sociology’s Purpose: Science or Social Reform? The scientific view states that examining the relationship between structure and process should be a purely scientific endeavor. The social reform view states that as these relationships are discovered, this knowledge should be used to solve social problems. Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

Sociology, the Other Sciences, and Common Sense Sociology, with its emphasis on studying various aspects of the social world, is one of the social sciences. Sociology, generally speaking, is the broadest of these fields. Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

The Other Sciences and Globalization Anthropology: studies cultural aspects of societies around the world Communications: studies mediated and nonmediated communication across the globe Economics: examines production, distribution, and consumption of resources through markets across the globe Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.

The Other Sciences and Globalization Geography: mapping of spatial relationships on a global scale Political Science: nation-states Psychology: ways in which individual identities are shaped by awareness of the rest of the world Copyright 2014, SAGE Publications, Inc.