CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

The Sociological Imagination in Action Sociological imagination —enables individuals to understand how broad features of society and the times in which they live affect and describe them. How society is structured How and why it seems to be changing How these affect people SI= H+B+SS and how these are related

PERSONAL TROUBLES AND PUBLIC ISSUES Assigned Reading Chapter 1. C PERSONAL TROUBLES AND PUBLIC ISSUES Assigned Reading Chapter 1. C. Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination Nowadays men/women often feel that their private lives are a series of traps. They sense that within their everyday worlds, they cannot overcome their troubles, and in this feeling, they are often quite correct….. (C. Wright Mills)

Ordinary men/women are bounded by the private orbits in which they live They are vaguely aware through ambitions and threats of the external society wide environments that transcend their lives. Why is that? What is so revealing in ‘ambitions and threats’. They lack the quality of mind that sees their personal traps in terms of 1). society wide institutions and spheres, 2). the interplay of man/woman within a society, i.e. their biography, and 3) its origins in historical developments- e.g. industrialization, world system etc.

The Sociological Imagination Is the quality of mind needed to understand history and personal biography and the relationship between the two within a society. That is its task and its promise. It helps us form LUCID SUMMATIONS of what is happening in the world and within us. 1•What is the structure of society. Its institutions and the relationship between them. 2• What period of history is it in and how is it changing. 3• What kind of men/women inhabit this society- what is the nature of “human nature” in this society To be able to look at structural/institutional origins of problems, relating it to your private lives, means possessing the sociological imagination.

(Public) Issues and (Private) Troubles Troubles: occur within the limited social life of the individual and involve his or her character and local environments. What are your “local environments”? Issues: are matters that transcend local environments but affect individuals personally nonetheless. An issue involves a crisis in the institutional arrangements- a contradiction or antagonism in the way society is structured, between ideals and actualities. Examples of Issues vs. troubles 1.unemployment 2. War 3. Marriage and divorce

Well being: When people possess cherished values and don’t feel them threatened Crisis: When people possess cherished values but feel some of them threatened. Panic: If all their values are threatened then its total threat or panic Indifference: When people aren’t aware of any cherished values and don’t feel any threat, they are INDIFFERENT. Indifference results in political apathy, the “I don’t care attitude”, usually occurs in periods of rapid social change Anxiety and Uneasiness: When people aren’t aware of any cherished values but feel a vague sense of threat, they experience uneasiness and anxiety. OURS IS A TIME OF UNEASINESS (i.e. anxiety) and INDIFFERENCE.

Psychological Explanations versus the Sociological Imagination Mills says: “Many great public issues as well as many private troubles are described in terms of ‘the psychiatric” – often in a attempt to avoid the larger issues and problems of modern society (and to push drugs manufactured by the pharmaceutical companies)…: it (also) arbitrarily removes individual life from the larger institutions within which life is enacted and which many times bear with greater pressure upon the individual than the personal environments.”

At the start of the 20th century there were only a dozen recognized mental illnesses. By 1952 there were 192 and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) today lists 374 Point to think about: Instead of dealing with the structure of societies that produce all the problems, psychologists and psychiatrists keep inventing new labels for mental illnesses and keep pushing drugs that are profitable for pharmaceutical companies but eventually harm a lot of people- yet the problems they label never get fixed, why do you think that is?

Problems of the Physical Sciences Paradigms: In every age some trend of thinking becomes Dominant (C. W. Mills, page 13 & Thomas Kuhn) In our age the physical sciences biology, physics etc, have been dominant in shaping thought. Their method of inquiry, the experiment has become the dominant mode and has entered social science as well. It has been assumed that physical sciences are more certain and more concrete than the social sciences And hence sociology has become subordinate to them. This is not so..

The Problems created by the physical sciences cannot be solved by physical science alone, take the example of nuclear weapons Take the example of modern technology It is being used to ruin the earth’s environment and for the sake of profit and war. These problems that the physical sciences have created cannot be solved by the physical sciences. Hence there is a need for social science to solve problems that people face Not only that, the physical sciences are by no means certain, they are extremely limited.

Intellectual Limitations of the Physical Sciences 1. Biology: 99 % of DNA codes for no protein so its function cannot be determined out of the 1% that does, 99% is repetition. All biologists know is (a part of) the 1% 2. There are over 100,000 confirmed deaths due to medical malpractice every year, the real number is much higher. Remove antibiotics, which were discovered by accident (the discovery of penicillin), and a few basic surgical procedures that date back to antiquity and you remove a significant portion of the benefits of ‘modern’ medicine.

. Physics: Only 5% of the universe is visible 33% is dark matter and 62% dark energy which cannot be observed except indirectly through its gravitational effect And by mathematical calculations The point being that: However little, sociologists might know, they still know more than 5% of a society’s structure. Often their picture of the makeup of society is much more “real” than the picture of the universe presented by physicists. Therefore, sociology is not subordinate to the physical sciences .

Physical sciences are not the key to human betterment because: i) without understanding the social structure within which our lives are enacted, we can never solve the problems faced by people, also ii) because the type of social structure you have determines scientific research. If you have a militaristic social structure (as in the US) most scientific research will be concentrated in the military field. To uncover this BIG picture we need SOCIOLOGY and the SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

The Sociological Imagination in Action Core concepts — fundamental ideas helpful in analyzing features of society Derived from major intellectual traditions that historically shaped the discipline of sociology. European roots in early industrial society 18th and 19th centuries.

Sociology: Intellectual Traditions and Core Concepts Social facts — social and cultural features of a society, existing independently of individuals who make it up, which influence people’s behavior- the “extrinsic coercion” that guides behavior. Sum total of social facts= collective conscience Durkheim talked about division of labor and society based on either 1. Mechanical or 2. Organic Solidarity.

1. Mechanical Solidarity: like a machine, each part useless without the others Small rural communities with little division of labor Strong group relations, individual non existent outside the group. Individual conscience is the same as the collective conscience People interested in each other because of the group and common values Repressive law, punishment for the sake of preserving group values, eliminating the individual for the sake of the group .

-City communities, high level of division of labor Organic Solidarity: like organs of a body, each organ autonomous but depends for its functioning on other organs as well -City communities, high level of division of labor -Weak group relations. People interested in each other only because of functions each can perform for them “ what can he or she do for me” -Individual conscience not the same as collective conscience Restitutive law: for the purpose of restoring the individual so he continues functioning for society.

Sociology: Intellectual Traditions and Core Concepts The Conflict Perspective Social divisions and struggles characterize society; also belief that social change is result of conflict

Sociology: Intellectual Traditions and Core Concepts Karl Marx: Proponent of Radical Change Marx concluded industrial capitalism—an economic system in which the means of production were owned by relatively few (thesis)—produced class inequalities (antithesis) that led to the system’s downfall and a new system based upon socialism- (synthesis) Believed that social progress required conflict

Sociology: Intellectual Traditions and Core Concepts Symbolic Interactionism: People Constructing Social Reality Contemporary sociologists may disagree over the degree people are pushed to behave in certain ways by prevailing features of society and the degree to which they create their own reality.

Sociology: Intellectual Traditions and Core Concepts Human agency — ability of humans to react to and change the social conditions surrounding them Social determinism — broad features of society are important determinants of what happens to individuals and how they behave and act.

Different Perspectives, Different Voices Sociologists commonly borrow core concepts from different intellectual traditions Sociology studied, and used for betterment of humanity- the classical tradition is a humanistic endeavor. Unfortunately most sociologists today work for corporations or the government and hence lose the “humanistic” part of their field. Describing the main trends of a capitalistic society they concentrate on how they can help corporations make greater profit or maintain the class structure. This is the “official default” of sociology in our times.

Polls survey people’s opinions about what they consider social problems: What people consider social problems vary based on history and time They go through a cyclical ebb and flow, being considered important at one time only to collapse in importance What causes something to become a social problem? Who gets to term phenomenon as ‘social problems’?

Traditional Approaches to the Study of Social Problems The Social Pathology Approach Popular during the 19th and early 20th century Concerned with individuals’biological or psychological pathologies The Social Disorganization Approach: Took a more structural view, social problems result from the environment in which individuals live

The Social Pathologists: Conceived of society as an organism Just like an organism society is subject to disease and illness Cast blame for problems on the individual and their character flaws Concluded that criminals or norm violators were biologically or genetically inferior. (immigration laws that restricted certain groups immigrating) Since causes were considered personality flaws cures were individualistic as well, counseling, moral guidance and education Q. Did social pathologists consider social problems to be public issues or personal

The Social Disorganization Approach Instead of focusing on individual character flaws these people looked at the immediate environment within which problems were found This interest developed in the post WW1 period when sociologists wanted to establish credibility for themselves as ‘scientists’- so they had to separate their study from social moralizing and explanations that seemed ‘religious’. Social Problems were the result, according to them of social disorganization. Tried to understand basic social laws underlying the organization of society in order to understand ‘disorganization’. Studied the urban phenomenon. People overwhelmed by social change Normlessness (anomie) and Social Disorganization- past norms no guidance and so deviance would occur

Social norms: ideal and expected behavior Social roles: standards of behavior and sanctions for violating those standards Merton’s Anomie Theory: Mismatch between cultural goals and means of attaining those goals:++ conformists +- innovators -+ ritualists, --retreatists, -- and ++ rebels Uneven workings of the social opportunity structure, industrialization, urbanization and immigration

Social Disorganization and the Ideal Society: Behind the claims of social problems due to social disorganization were the standards of an ‘ideal society’- assumptions that were moralistic and not scientific They took the dominant culture to be ‘normal’ and those that violated it to be ‘deviants’ even though their deviance was blamed on social change, and society and not on the individual. Solutions to social problems depend on how you think they are caused, so the question is social pathologists would fix social problems by “fixing” the individual, how would social disorganization theorists “fix” social problems?: Answer: social reform, fixing segments of the structure that was ‘disorganized’ based on the standards of organization that the sociologist though was ‘normal’ or in organization or equilibrium. They would prevent social change to maintain the status quo, even when it harmed the many. The Moynihan Report.

Both approaches failed to see the organization of society itself as the problem and the role of elites in defining what gets considered as ‘normal’ and what is problematic! 1. Problems are always judged based on deviation from an ideal 2. When you think of an ideal you are using your values 3. The point is what values should we use and who defines them? 4. Without the concept of ‘ideal’ values social problems cannot be defined. You cannot therefore state that such and so is a social problem intrinsically by itself. The so-called ‘objective’ definition of social problems as conditions by themselves has values hidden behind the definition usually the values of the social scientist who is working to maintain the power status quo.

A Critical Approach to Social Problems Macro Problems (public issues) Micro Problems (personal problems)

Macro Problems Societal problems: affect the life chances of people living in a society Group problems: based on ascribed status. What is the difference between ascribed and achieved status? Institutional problems: social institutions do not address the needs of a society- what are social institutions

The Life Cycle (or natural history)of Social Problems 1. Awareness 2. Communication 3. Debate 4. Action Defining a Social Problem: interest groups/elites define conditions and make people become aware of an objective condition that in their estimation is problematic Transformation into a Public Issue Debating Causes and Solutions (Systemic or personal) The Role of Power in political outcomes

Methods of Research Experimental Research- Natural Experiments Survey Research Field Research Historical/ Comparative Analysis Secondary Data Analysis

RESEARCH METHODS Research Methods: Procedures designed to establish facts about the social world. Please Note: This section is not from the book. Take Notes.

SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE 1. Tradition: Received Wisdom, part of cultural heritage; Common sense, “gut feeling” 2. Authority: Speaking as a result of status as “expert” Guard against, the “expert” speaking outside his or her Area of expertise. The “expert” is not infallible. 3. Personal Experience: It must be true because “I experienced” such and so. VERSUS

SCIENCE Systematic+ Logical framework+ Empirical Evidence+ Falsification A system of checks and balances to extract truth.

Fallacies of Thinking 1. Inaccurate Observation 2. Over-generalization Casual versus systematic Observation Using instruments that guard against inaccuracy 2. Over-generalization One or a few cases is representative of the whole Choose large sample, randomly; replicate study 3.Selective Observation Observation that fits in with your biases

4.Ecological Fallacy (Ecological refers to things bigger than the individual, like groups and systems) Concluding what is characteristic of a group is characteristic of every single individual 5.Reductionism Explaining a variety of complex events or behaviors by a single or narrow set of causes E.g.: Psychiatric Reductionism

Scientific Generalizing VS Stereotype Scientific Generalizing is: Systematic Logical Empirical Falsifiable Stereotyping is: Casual Doesn’t guard against fallacies of thinking.

Types of Research 1. Cross Sectional Covers the entire spectrum at one point in time. E.g. US Census Data 2. Longitudinal Studies changes in a population over time Trend Studies: Changes in the population over time Cohort: Changes in a cohort (sub population over time. Panel Studies: Changes in the same sample of the population (the panel) over time.

Quantitative VS Qualitative I. Quantitative: measuring with numbers Used in the Positivistic school in sociology: A school that seeks scientific measurement to extract laws about the social world- numbers are then used with statistical techniques II. Qualitative: your interpretation/description of what you observe Max Weber: Versthein: understanding Understanding why a behavior occurred from the perspective of the actor.

PURPOSE OF RESEARCH Exploratory: To find out more about something Descriptive: Detailed description of a social phenomena (who, what, where, when, how) Explanatory: To establish causation, one thing causing another- answers the question WHY.

Types of EXPLANATION Idiographic Nomothetic (from Idio meaning unique e.g. idiosyncrasy) Seeks to explain a social event by an exhaustive set of unique causes- seeks total explanation, all causes Nomothetic Seeks to explain a social event by narrowing down causes to a few.

Social Research is Probabilistic Social Empirical Research does not establish 100% causation, rather it is PROBABILISTIC i.e X does not cause Y 100%; Rather we say X will probably cause Y, other things being equal (Ceteris Paribus) Causation is probabilistic because it depends on many factors and their combination

Objectivity VS. Subjectivity Max Weber: Value-Free social research. Objective: Uniform application of standards to phenomena. Inter-subjective- shared understanding Subjective: Arbitrary application of standards to phenomena. Subjectivity reveals Ulterior Motive. Subjectivity and Propaganda.

The Research Process in Brief 1. Interest 2. Reviewing existing scholarly literature to learn more about the phenomenon. 3. Framing hypotheses or research question that, if addressed, will generate valuable new knowledge and understandings. 4. Selecting an appropriate research method (or methods). 5. Gathering data that will address the hypotheses or research questions 6. Analyzing the data gathered 7. reaching conclusions based on the findings 8. Write report or present findings using other media.

Types of Research Methods Experimental Research Research conducted to determine how a particular organism or object (or group) is affected by different types of treatment selected by the researcher

Types of Research Methods Establishing Experimental and Control Groups Experimental group —group of subjects that receives special treatment designed by the researcher so that effects of that treatment may be studied Control group —subjects that do not receive special treatment designed for an experimental group. The control group serves as a baseline of comparison for the experimental group

Types of Research Methods Bias — Unwanted influences that can produce research results which are invalid or without foundation Sample — Set of subjects representative of the total population of subjects Random — System of sample selection in which every individual in the total population has an equal chance of being selected

Advantages and Disadvantages of Experimental Research Demonstrate causal links Sometimes experimental settings are artificial Provide high degree of control over independent and dependent variables People aware of their involvement in an experiment may adjust their behavior. Hawthorne effect Practical limits to the size of samples for many experiments, can’t be generalized much

Types of Research Methods Field Research Research conducted through first-hand observation

Types of Research Methods Making Field Observations Passive observations —researcher observes the group and records the events for later analysis and interpretation Participant observation —researcher plays an active role in the group to the point where he or she becomes an active participant

Advantages and Disadvantages of Field Research Ability of researchers to observe behavior as it occurs Difficulty in gaining entry to and cooperation from a group Ability to be flexible in determining what to consider as data i.e data flexibility Personal limitations or prejudices may affect researcher’s observations In depth and not artificial like an experiment very costly and labor intensive.

Types of Research Methods Survey Research Survey — research in which questions are administered to a sample of participants, either written or in the form of an interview.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Surveys Lower costs Limited to a given point in time Reaches a population that is widely dispersed geographically Quality and dependability of results hinge on representativeness of sample and questions Sampling and data analysis accomplished quickly and efficiently with computer technology and wide generalization possible.

Types of Research Methods Historical Research Historical research —concerned with establishing facts about the past Primary sources — Sources that are original documents , like diaries, notes etc that have not been interpreted by others. Secondary sources — Sources that have been interpreted, evaluated, or analyzed by others, for example, publications of scholars

Types of Research Methods Analyses of Existing Data Secondary Data Analysis —analysis of data already gathered by others, often for totally different purposes e.g. population data collected by the census bureau. Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Existing Data Saves a great deal of time and money Data not always the best fit with the research questions All data might not be available for public use.

Research Ethics and Politics The Ethics of Research American Sociological Association Code of Ethics Informed consent Confidentiality/anonymity No harm to the subject No deception of subject Reveal funding sources The Politics of Research Understand the interest of the sponsor Know the implication of the research questions Be true to the humanistic part of your field, i.e no harm direct or indirect to the subject. E.g.: Project Camelot- sociologists hired by the government to help keep the powerful in Latin American countries in power, i.e. friendly dictators to exploit the resources of those countries and keep them subordinate in the global system. (one question on project Camelot on your exam).