Introduction to Sociology

What is the role of the individual in society? What is the role of the family in society? How would your answer change for people living… 100 years ago? 1,000 years ago? 10,000 years ago?

What are some of the basic rules and societal expectations at school? For Students? For teachers? For parents?

What does it mean to “see the “strange in the familiar?” Watch Crash Course What is your personal definition of sociology? “Human society and social behavior” What does it mean to “see the “strange in the familiar?” What does it mean to “see the general in the particular?”

Create a Society Working with a group (2-3) you will create your ideal society Create a system of governance Democracy, Autocracy, Theocracy, etc… How is power divided Who makes decisions? What major laws will be present in your society? Concerning individuals Concerning groups Economic system What work will your people do? How will they find jobs? How will you take care of people who can’t work? How will healthcare be handled?

Sociology Other Fields Psychology – Behavior of thinking organisms Economics – Study of choices people make to satisfy their needs and wants History – Study of past events Anthropology – Comparative study of past and present cultures Which of these fields should be required in school?

History of Sociology Sociology as a scientific discipline emerged in the 19th century Industrial Revolution Urbanization Problems in urbanized society Poor sanitation Unemployment and poor working conditions Lack of quality housing

August Compte Compte was a French philosopher working in the mid 1800s He focused on two major ideas Social Order Social Change Believed scientific principles could be used to understand society

Herbert Spencer Spencer was an Englishman who inherited a fortune He retired from work to study sociology Spencer studied the works of Charles Darwin and used biological principles to study society

Social Darwinism Spencer saw social change and unrest to be natural and part of a process towards stability He was against fixing social problems They would die out over time as society eliminated the weak Coined the term “survival of the fittest” Only the fittest societies and individuals would survive This idea lost credibility following the second world war when modern scientific understanding disproved its biological claims

What would a social Darwinist believe about the following? Free market capitalism Government provided healthcare Social welfare programs Communism High School education

Karl Marx Karl Marx was a German academic and writer He believed society was defined by class conflict Bourgeoisie– Wealthy factory owners Proletariat – Workers who own nothing and sell their labor Marx argued that conflict arose between these classes and would result in a workers’ revoultion

Emile Durkheim Durkheim believed that many different parts worked together to make society work He explored the “function” or effect of each of these parts He particularly studied the function of religion and its effect on creating unity and cohesion Restricted his study to things that were directly observable

Max Weber Weber studied individual groups instead of society as a whole He coined the term “verstehen” or understanding the meaning people place on actions Seeing the world through someone else’s eyes Ideal Type – The essential characteristics of a thing School – students, teachers, classrooms, library, athletic facilities

Crash Course – Major Sociological Paradigms What is the difference between micro / macro What are the three major paradigms

Modern Perspectives There are three major theoretical perspectives on sociology today What is a theoretical perspective?

Functionalist Perspective Functionalists view society as a set of interrelated parts working together to produce stability Functionalists view most things as functioning to make society work Schools Family Some things produce dysfunction What are some examples?

Functions Functions can be Manifest or Latent A manifest function is the intended consequence A latent function is an unintended secondary effect Ex. Automobiles enabled people to get to work faster, Automobiles helped create youth culture Give two examples of a manifest and latent function

Conflict Perspective View society through the lens of competition and conflict All conflicts are based on the economic problem of scarcity Men and women Various racial group interactions Labor and ownership

Interactionist How individuals interact in a society as opposed to the big picture Symbols – Interactionists pay close attention to symbols and the values given to them American flag Hand shake Salute

Which perspective would be best for studying each of the following? Labor strike

Children in a refugee camp

Family at crosswalk

For each perspective state which sociologist would value this perspective and why You will use the sociological decision making process to study an issue at school 1. Choose a topic (problem or function at school) 2. Gather information – What is this problem, what does it focus on, What are positives and negatives? 3. Identifying options Which of the three perspectives would work best to study the issue? 4. Make predictions about consequences How would each theory view this issue? Take action How would your theory apply a solution to the problem?

What are some