SS310 Unit 1 Seminar Exploring the 1960s: An Interdisciplinary Approach Prof. Erica Arnold-Wyche

Seminar Agenda Introduce Ourselves Seminar Ground Rules Course Overview Social Science? Unit 1 Key Concepts: Three Sociological Concepts Functionalism Conflict Theory Symbolic Interactionism Unit 1 Discussion Unit 1 Assignments Q & A

Let’s Introduce Ourselves! Please tell us a little bit about yourself … Where is one place you would like to visit and why?

Seminar Ground Rules Focus on Topic Arrival time Respect Question: “//” Participate

What to Expect in SS310? This course will take an in-depth look at the 1960s as a significant era in American history.  Adopting multiple perspectives, we will explore the societal impact of such issues as the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War, the Countercultural, Civil Rights and Feminist Movements, the advent of the birth control pill, and many others. Through exploring the music, political climate, and advancements in technology and medicine of this historical era, we will discover how our individual lives and society as a whole were forever changed.

What to Expect in SS310? UNIT 1: Setting the Stage UNIT 2: The Cold War and Vietnam UNIT 3:  The Camelot Years:  Creation of a National Culture UNIT 4:  The Civil Rights Movement UNIT 5: The Counter Culture Movement UNIT 6: Gender Movements UNIT 7: Science and Technology UNIT 8: The Face of Government UNIT 9: Loss of Leaders UNIT 10: Wrap Up

What to Expect in SS310? Assessments Number Total Points Seminars 9 Ungraded Discussions 360 Unit 1 Quiz 1 30 Unit  2 Assignment (essay) 120 Unit  4 Assignment (photo essay in PPT) Unit 5 Quiz 100 Unit  6 Assignment (timeline) Unit  9 Final Project (essay) 150   1000 Points

social Science? //What does social science mean to you?

social Science? Social science – the intellectual and academic disciplines designed to understand the social world objectively by means of controlled and repeated observations.

Interdisciplinary study The use of theory, methods, and findings from more than one social science. Anthropology Archaeology Economics History Political Science Psychology Sociology

Anthropology : The study of people and their ways of life Archaeology : The study of the physical and cultural characteristics of peoples and societies that existed prior to recorded history Economics : The study of the production and distribution of scarce goods and services History: The recording, narrating, and interpreting of human experience Political science : The study of government and politics Psychology: The study of the behavior of people and animals Sociology: The scientific study of society and human behavior

social Science? //What do you want to do at “Place” you want to visit (mentioned in our introduction)?

social Science? //How can the “Place” that you mentioned in our introduction actual be a “Social Science” learning opportunity?

Sociological Perspectives The “big three” The purpose of this first mini-lecture is to introduce the three major sociological perspectives that we will be looking at throughout the rest of the course.

The “Big Three” Functionalism Conflict Theory Symbolic Interactionism The three perspectives that we will be covering over the course of this lecture and using throughout the class are functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism.

The “Big Three” Sociologists today employ three primary theoretical perspectives: the symbolic interactionist perspective, the functionalist perspective, and the conflict perspective. These perspectives offer sociologists theoretical paradigms for explaining how society influences people, and vice versa. Each perspective uniquely conceptualizes society, social forces, and human behavior The three perspectives that we will be covering over the course of this lecture and using throughout the class are functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Three-Major-Perspectives-in-Sociology.topicArticleId-26957,articleId-26837.html#ixzz0ogLWtEc1

1. Symbolic Interactionism Micro Sociological Perspective Level of Analysis Focus 1. Symbolic Interactionism Micro Use of symbols; Face- to-face interactions 2. Functionalism Macro Relationship between the parts of society; How aspects of society are functional (adaptive) 3. Conflict Theory Competition for scarce resources; How the elite control the poor and weak http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Three-Major-Perspectives-in-Sociology.topicArticleId-26957,articleId-26837.html#ixzz0ogLWtEc1

functionalism We will start first with functionalism, which was the first of the three perspectives to be conceptualized. This perspective was developed in the late 1800s. At this time, scientists were working on classifying the natural world into kingdoms, phylum, and class. With this classification in mind, the social scientists became interested in classifying the social world around them as well.

Old Dead Guys of Functionalism Three of our most well-known functionalist theorists are Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, and Robert Merton. Emile Durkheim Talcott Parsons Robert Merton

What is Functionalism? Just as a human body has many parts which function together, so does the society have many parts These institutions work together to promote the stability of the society Keeping in mind again that the functionalist theorists were trying to categorize our social world, they used as their model the human body. Just as our human body has many parts working together to keep us alive, so does our society have many parts working together to promote the stability of the society.

Economy Family Education Religion The parts of the body that work together are called organs and systems, the parts of society that work together are called institutions. These institutions are such entities as the family, the education system, the economy, religious belief systems, etc.

Functions Each Institution has FUNCTIONS: the consequences of people’s actions which have benefits to the system Manifest function: the action is intended Latent function: the action is unintended DYSFUNCTIONS: consequences of people’s actions with hurt the system Latent dysfunction Just as the organs and systems in the human body have jobs to perform to keep the human body alive, so do the institutions of the social world. In the social world these jobs are called functions. Manifest functions are intended functions of the institution, while unintended functions are called latent functions. In addition there are things that can hurt the social system, those are called dysfuntions.

Education Socialization Cultural innovation Social integration Manifest function Latent Functions Socialization Primary schooling Basic language and mathematical skills Secondary schooling Expansion of basic skills to include the transmission of cultural values and norms Cultural innovation Educational systems create as well as transmit culture Social integration Brings a diverse nation together Social placement The enhancement of meritocracy Schools as child-care providers Schools consume considerable time & energy- activity thus fostering conformity Engages young people at a time in their lives when jobs are not plentiful Sets the stage for establishing relationships & networks Link between particular schools and career opportunities To illustrate how these functions work, let’s look at the education system. Some of the things that the education system was developed to do included socialization, cultural innovation, social integration, and social placement. The socialization function serves to train individuals to step into certain needed roles in our society. Cultural innovation includes the research done in education systems that creates new knowledge to pass on to the next generation. The social integration function was very important at the turn of the last century are our highly immigrant population needed its children to be taught the language and ideas and skills needed to integrate them into the larger culture. Lastly, the social placement function is realized when students leave the system with various credentials which put them into various income levels in our larger society. In addition to these four manifest functions, or purposeful functions of the education system, we need to also look at the other things, those unintended things, that our education system does for us as well: the public school system provides free child care services along with education, keeps young teens busy and out of trouble, moderates the unemployment numbers by providing the opportunity to come back to school during slow economic times, provides us with a rich social network, and provides an inside track to certain careers, depending on which schools we choose.

Conflict Theory

Old Dead guys of conflict Theory Some of our more well-known conflict theorists included Karl Marx, Max Weber (pronounced Vayber) and Georg Simmel (pronounced in the German gayorg zimmel) Karl Marx Max Weber Georg Simmel

Conflict can be viewed as a continuum When we think of conflict we often first think of physical conflict or fighting, or even think of war. For conflict theorists, this thing called conflict can include anything along a continuum from war to indifference. War on the one side Indifference on the other

Conflict Theory Institutions in conflict over power and resources Conflict between institutions as well as within institutions Main question is “who benefits?” Determine the dominant and subordinate groups and the ways in which the dominant group maintains their dominance These are some of the major themes of conflict theory: The idea that the institutions are in conflict over power and resources, with the end result being that some institutions have more while others have less. Yet at the same time this inequality does not impact the balance that the functionalists are so proud of. There is conflict between institutions, and there is conflict between individuals and groups within institutions The main question of conflict theorists is “who benefits?” Conflict theorists are in a constant search for inequalities, and when they find one, they want to see who or what is benefitting as a result of this inequality. Once the “who benefits” question is answered, the conflict theorists has usually found out who the dominant and subordinate groups are. The conflict theorist wants to name those groups, and most importantly, find out how the dominant group has been able to maintain its dominance over time.

Symbolic Interactionism

Old dead guys of symbolic interactionism Some of our more influential symbolic interactionist theorists include George Herbert Mead and Herbert Blumer George Herbert Mead Herbert Blumer

Symbolic Interactionism Focuses on how people use “symbols” Establish meaning Develop their views of the world Communicate with one another

Symbolic Interactionism Micro verses Macro view Just as money is the currency of our economic system, symbols are the currency of our social system. They are those things in our society that we give names, meanings, and values. We use those symbols (words, gestures, etc) to establish a system of meaning that helps us develop our own cultural ways of looking at the world and communicate with each other. //Example?

Social Construction of Reality One of the ideas of symbolic interactionism is the idea that our world is socially constructed. Just as the scaffolding and cranes are equipment are putting this building together piece by piece by piece, so do our words and communications with each other build those institutions that make up our social world.

So now what…… Using the perspectives So…. How do we use these perspectives when talking about the social world?

The lowly automobile Let’s look at something we all have some experience with.. The car

Functionalism and the car If we are going to look at the car from a functionalist perspective, we need to focus on the purpose the car provides in maintaining the stability of the larger society. Those functions it performs, both the obvious and less obvious.

//What is the obvious (manifest) function of the car? The obvious function of the car is that it gets us from point A to point B. It allows large numbers of people to power themselves to work and school and everywhere else they need to go every day.

Latent function of the car—determining social class A latent, or less obvious function of the car is that it allows us to determine social class. Before you choose to move into an apartment or house, you can check out the cars in the parking lot or in the driveways and get a pretty good feeling for the social class of the neighborhood. A parking lot filled with Lexus’s and Mercedes and BMW’s is going to reflect a higher social class than a parking lot filled with old Ford Taurus’s and beat-up pickup trucks.

Conflict theory and the car What inequalities are present when we look at the car? Which would be the dominant group? The subordinate group? Does any dominant group use the car to keep the subordinate group in its place? If you are looking at the car from a conflict theory perspective, you will be in search of inequalities. What inequalities are reflected as we look at the car? What would be the dominant group? The subordinate group? Does any dominant group use the car as a way to keep a subordinate group in its place?

What are your options if you have no car? What about the group that has no car?

Americans spend nearly 20 percent of their income on transportation – second only to housing as an overall portion of income – and are punished heavily by volatile swings in the oil market. For many working households, the goal of affordable living is becoming less attainable as fuel prices and trip lengths increase due to a lack of transportation options and worsening sprawl. If you have no car, what are your options for employment? For education? For transportation to and from the grocery store? Data courtesy of Transportation for America

Symbolic interactionism & the car What larger social meanings can be ascertained by looking at: //What do we do with our cars? //What do our cars say about us? Symbolic interactionism and the carWhat do our cars say about us?

Our cars can have a certain “coolness” factor, and give the world a sense of who we are.. Perhaps this young man would be more comfortable and feel his sense of self more accurately portrayed in our next vehicle

The muscle car.. The bastion of hard-drinking, fast-driving, drag-racing young American men. Or at least the young American men I grew up with ;o) When we see a muscle car we think of a blue-collar young man or an older professional man getting back in touch with his blue-collar youth. This car reminds me of the Hardees commercial where the young man is learning the hard lesson that dating two or three young women at the same time can be hard not only on his car but also his wallet.

Who do we imagine when we see this hybrid Who do we imagine when we see this hybrid? Perhaps a young urban professional who is concerned with his or her carbon footprint.

Who do we imagine is in this car? We can look at the humble automobile through the lenses of the three theoretical perspectives and get a glimpse of our larger society as well. The theoretical perspectives are tools that we will be using throughout the rest of the course as we further examine the social world we live in.

3 primary theoretical perspectives Q & A Symbolic interactionist perspective Functionalist perspective Conflict perspective

Poll

Unit 1 Assessment //Based upon your readings, what was the cultural mindset of the 1950’s that set the stage for the tremendous changes that were to come during the 1960’s?

Unit 1 Assessment //What were the “seeds of discontent” that were taking root during the 50s. What were some of the elements that contributed to the 50s being labeled “The Wonder Years”?

Unit 1 Assessment What were some of the elements that contributed to the 50s being labeled “The Wonder Years”?

Unit 1 Assignments Readings Web Resources Introductions Discussion Board Seminar Quiz

Q&A?

Thanks for coming!