BEGINNINGS OF SOCIOLOGY

SOCIOLOGY Def: study of social structure—the patterned ways in which ppl interact in social relationships Sociological Perspective: how we are influenced by society and culture

GROUP VS. INDIVIDUAL Individuals make up groups but groups can not be predicted by individual’s characteristics Groups encourage conformity

SOCIAL IMAGINATION Def: ability to see the link between society and self You must step out of your own beliefs and values and see the world through other perspectives

ORIGINS Industrial and French Revolution shook the world

AUGUSTE COMTE Father of Sociology Wanted to improve society Introduced Positivism: knowledge should be obtained through scientific observation Distinguished btwn social statistics (study of social stability and order) and social dynamics (study of social change)

HARRIET MARTINEAU Mother of Sociology Translated Comte’s work into English Saw link btwn slavery and oppression of women Inspired feminist theory

Herbert spencer Compared society to the human body Introduced theory of social Darwinism

Karl marx Said industrialized societies would have 2 social classes: 1)Bourgeosie: those who own the means of production 2)Proletariat: working class Class conflict would lead to a classless society (communism) Believed capitalism would self- destruct

Émile durkheim Believed society exists b/c of a broad consensus among members Mechanical solidarity: social dependency based on widespread consensus of values and beliefs and dependence on family and tradition Organic solidarity: social interdependency based on high degree of specialization of roles Introduced use of statistics to soc.

MAX WEBER Wrote Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Believed humans act on the basis of their understanding of a situation Sociologists must discover personal meanings, beliefs, and attitudes underlying social behavior

SOCIOLOGY IN AMERICA

Jane addams Focused on imbalance of power among social classes Cofounded Hull House 1st sociologist to receive Nobel Peace Prize

W.E.B. Du bois 1st African-American to receive doctorate from Harvard (1895) Studied racial discrimination and segregation Fought for civil rights and racial equality

ROBERT EZRA PARK Specialized in race relations and human ecology (relationship btwn individuals, social groups, and environment) Wanted to know how groups are organized in different ways to enable them to compete and cooperated

GEORGE HERBERT MEAD Believed our sense of self develops as we interact with our world Laid foundation for symbolic interactionism

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES Def: a set of assumptions about an area of study accepted as true

5 key concepts In all perspectives 1) Functional Integration: interdependence among parts 2) Social Structure: pattern of social behavior 3) Power: ability of one party to get other parties to do its will or that it will benefit from actions of other parties 4) Social Action: actions coordinated with environment 5)Culture

FUNCTIONALISM Emphasized contributions made by each part of society Assumes: a change in one part affects the other parts societies seek stability Consensus on values

Types of functions Manifest functions: intended and recognized Latent functions: unintended and unrecognized

CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE Emphasizes role of conflict, competition, and constraint within a society Assumes: Groups compete and try to preserve and promote own values Power is important Central question is “Who gets what?”

Symbolic interactionism Focus on interactions among ppl based on mutually understood symbols Assumes: We learn symbols through how we see others reacting to them We base our behavior on our understanding of those symbols We use meaning of symbols to imagine how others will respond to our behavior

DRAMATURGY Human interaction is theatrical performance We have images of ourselves that we present to others We play different roles Front stage and back stage