Sociology

What is sociology?

Step Two Step One Step Three Title goes here Step Two Key Words Essential Questions Headings Step One Don’t copy word from word off of slides You can use diagrams, charts, lists, etc. It does not have to look exactly like the slide Step Three In 3-5 sentences, summarize the main idea of the notes

“No Man is an Island.” (John Donne)

The Role Of Influence In Our Lives How are individuals treated according to: Age Sex Race Religion Education Nationality Economic Background The Role Of Influence In Our Lives

What is Sociology? The social science discipline that looks at the development and structure of human society and how it works Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior.

Sociology Subject Matter: Sociologists investigate the structure of groups (NOT individuals), organizations, and societies, and how people interact within these contexts. The individual parts create a new whole.

All human behaviour is social so the subject matter of sociology ranges from the intimate family to the hostile mob; from organized crime to religious cults; from the divisions of race, gender and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture; and from the sociology of work to the sociology of sports. (ASA)

The Roles we Play We all play certain roles in our society – Social Scientists refer to this as status Status is the term used to describe our position within an institution

For eg. Erindale SS – There are many positions at Erindale ranging from teacher, vice-principal, guidance counselor, principal, student and superintendent – Can you put them in order on the hierarchy?

Hierarchy Hierarchy is the ranking system used in any particular environment based on authority of power. All groups encourage conformity e.g. Mean Girls is an excellent example of cliques. Each position or role requires a certain type of expertise which is valued by society. Other roles may not be valued but are still useful to society according to a certain Sociological school of thought. Do you know the school of thought that believes that everything in society serves a purpose?

Hierarchy continued… In order to distinguish between these roles people are expected to dress and act in a certain way On any given day we can play many different roles in society – eg. A parent can drive their kids to school and then go to work and teach their students

Rules, Norms and Values Values – Society carries with it a system of values. A particular set of values are assigned to each role. The practitioners of these roles are expected to accept and internalize these values. Norms – These are rules set out for a particular role that are considered standard behaviour (eg. Catholic Priests are expected to be celibate) Rules – These are developed by cultures based on their system of values

Deviance Deviance – Any behaviour that is different from the societal norm. It is deviant because we, as a society, do not accept it Deviance can range from simple eccentricities to behaviour that harms society or is considered disreputable

Rehabilitation Sociology has formed a strong link with the justice system A fundamental component of modern imprisonment is rehabilitation, or trying to re-educate and resocialize inmates so that they can grow to accept society’s values and norms

Schools of Thought in Sociology Sociologists have debated among themselves about the real nature of society As societies change and become more diverse sociologists need to consider cultural diversity when considering sociological issues

Origins of Sociology

August Comte French philosopher Founder of sociology Coined the term “sociology” Tried to find solutions to the chaos caused by the French Revolution Influenced by the scientific method Believed that sociologists should concern themselves with the problems of order and change Improvement of society Never completed college Suffered from depression August Comte

Emile Durkheim French Taught philosophy Taught first social science course in France Systematically applied methods of science to the study of society Developed the idea of a function-positive consequence that an element of society has for the maintenance of a social system Study only aspects of society that are directly observable First sociologist to test theories through statistical analysis Argued agreement among citizens for conformity and dependence Emile Durkheim

Karl Marx Born in Germany to middle-class parents Received doctorate from the University of Berlin Worked as a writer and editor for a racial newspaper Believed that overall structure of a society is influenced by how the economy is organized Thought that people who own the means of production control society Stated that imbalance of power leads to conflict between owners and laborers Was deeply troubled by social conditions produced by capitalist system Believed that the task of social scientist was to transform society Emphasized that conflict is the primary cause of social change Karl Marx

Herbert Spencer English Worked as a civil engineer for a railway Received large inheritance in his thirties Was influenced by views of Charles Darwin Viewed society as a system of interdependent parts that work together to maintain system Believed that social change and unrest were natural occurrences in society’s evolution toward stability and perfection Asserted that the fittest societies would survive over time Believed in “Social Darwinism” Herbert Spencer

Max Weber German with middle-class parents Received doctorate from University of Berlin Founded the German sociological society in 1910 Was interested in groups within a society more than in society as a whole Believed that sociologists should uncover the feelings ands thoughts of the individuals Verstehen-sociologist places himself/herself in the place of others and attempts to see things through their eyes humans act on basis of own understanding of a situation (walk mile in my shoes) Max Weber

Origins of Sociology… American Sociologists Jane Addams: social problems created by imbalance of power w/in social classes W.E.B. DuBois: focused on race, racial discrimination, and segregation

Schools of Thought in Sociology

Sociological Theories

Structural-Functionalism According to structural-functionalism, each society should provide its members with the fundamental requirements for functioning A system must have a way of fulfilling material needs, a system for socializing and educating the young, a way of regulating human reproduction (usually marriage)

Structural-Functionalists believe their role is to try to explain the role of society’s systems in enabling human society to function Structural-Functionalists do not concern themselves with change but instead with how society works to meet their needs

Emphasizes the contribution (function) of each part of society Basic agreement on values within a society People typically cooperate to reach common goals

Different kinds of functions Manifest function (recognized functions) Example: learning math at school Latent function (unrecognized functions) Example: forming friendships at school Dysfunction (negative consequences)

Famous Practitioners Talcott Parsons Bronislaw Manolinski

Criticisms… Too much emphasis on harmony Downplays forces that divides people

Sociological Theories

Symbolic Interactionism Focuses on the actual interaction among people based upon mutually understood symbols Symbols have assigned meanings to them This perspective in on micro-level whereas the other to are macro perspectives. Instead of concentrating on large social structures, they recognize the way people interact with one another. Groups exist only because individual’s influence one another’s behavior Symbol: something chosen to represent something else. The meaning of a symbol is not determined by its own physical characteristics, but rather we assign meaning to them. This perspective is on a micro level whereas the others are macro perspectives. Instead of cnoncentrating on large social structures, they recognize the way people interact with one another. Groups exist only because individuals influence one another’s behaviour. Symbol: something chosen to represent something else. The meaning of a symbol is not determined by its own physical characteristics, but rather we assign meaning to i.

It is essentially how we as individuals process and interpret what we observe in society, not society’s institutions, that form the core of our value system Understand societies by understanding how the human mind intervenes between what we observe and how we act For this reason, Symbolic Interactionists focus their research on the human mind rather than on structures in society

Symbolic Interactionism Dramaturgy: approach that depicts human interaction as a theatrical performance Like actors, we present ourselves through dress, gestures, and tone of voice Social life as drama; actors performing roles Impression Management- act in particular way to attract attention

Focuses on the actual interaction among people based upon mutually understood symbols Symbols have assigned meanings to them

Symbolic Interactionism Symbolic Interactionists believe humans have complex brains and little instinctive behaviour This means they can interpret for themselves the stimuli they receive in their daily life and attach their own meanings to them Eg. One person might pursue fame and fortune while a sibling might dedicate his or her life to charitable work in a developing country

Three Assumptions of Symbols We learn the meaning of a symbol from the way we see others react to it Once meaning is learned, we base our behavior (interactions) on them Imagine how others will react to our behavior -we guide our interactions with people according to the behavior we think others expect from us

Cat Dog Colors, Words

Criticisms… Ignores structures’ influence on how we interpret experiences How can we be sure that our interpretations are not influenced by class?

Sociological Theories

Conflict Theory Emphasis on power and competition Groups compete to promote their special interests and values Example: use of political groups

Conflict Theory… Focuses on disagreements among various groups in a society Social living is a contest Who gets what People with power get large share of what’s considered valuable

Neo-Marxism Based on ideas originally proposed by Karl Marx (1818-1883) Marx believed that economic power led to political power. This is the key to understanding societies The struggle for economic power means that society is not static but ever-changing – social change is the result of a change made to the economic system

Therefore, if we want to understand society, we must understand the economic system in place Neo-Marxists believe the economic system creates a rich class of owners and a poor class of workers They also believe that social institutions (churches, schools, prisons, family etc.) have been created to perpetuate the division between the powerful and the powerless

Criticisms… Too limited Ignores some good aspects of capitalism Constant downplays people’s attempts to bring harmony

Feminist Theory

Feminist Theory Feminist Theorists focus on sex and gender issues, believing that women have traditionally been disadvantaged in society because men have discriminated against them They believe that men have made the decisions in society and that they tend to favour men.

Criticisms… What about race and class? Not the only factor in who has power

Inclusionism Inclusionists recognized that conflict could take place in a society between ethnic, racial and religious groups as well as between economic classes Before WWII, most sociologists took an assimilationist view of race believing the cultural majority would eventually absorb the minority (melting pot)

In the late 1960s however, changing immigration policies changed all this as large numbers of immigrants moved to places like Canada to live

Theory Puzzle Practice

Theory Puzzle Practice

Theory Puzzle Practice

Activity In pairs, empty your pockets/bag and analyze the objects according to the following: Aesthetics (beautiful? Pleasant?) Utility (Purpose? Worth? Usefulness? Values (Your beliefs? Morals? Background?) Technology (Advanced? Tech. savvy?) What do these items say about our society?