Goal 1

Auguste Comte Father of Sociology Intrigued by the causes of the French Revolution Social Statics-Processes which hold society together Social Dynamics- Processes in which society changes

Herbert Spencer Comes up with “Social Darwinism” Very Political-Despises early welfare programs Dislikes the lower class, thinks those who will not prosper will eventually “die out”

Karl Marx Most of his ideas and intellect were not recognized until after his death Communist (Writes Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts-Foundation for Communism) Social change is needed for a better society

Karl Marx and Conflict Theory Social Change Necessary! History is a continuous clash between conflicting ideas and forces Economics is more important! Class conflict between capitalist class (bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat) We need a Classless Society in order to succeed!

Emile Durkheim France’s first Sociology Professor Concerned with Social Order “Shared beliefs are the glue that hold society together”

Durkheim and Functionalist Perspective Society has different parts that are all related. Each part has some sort of control over another, which is their function. Functions are the purposes of each part, contribute to the success of the society “Dysfunctionals” try to throw off the balance Durkheim focused on factors such as religion.

Max Weber “Put yourself in my shoes”. How would that make you feel? “Verstehen”- Understanding individuals and their actions “Ideal Type”-Parts of society that contribute to its success

Symbolic Interactionist Examines people’s day-to-day interactions with each other Society is the sum of the interactions of individuals and groups Subjective Reality Each person’s interpretation or definition of a given situation (shared or not shared symbols) Symbols: What people use to study societies

Society Today Existing theories have not successfully explained social life in a contemporary society Society focused on a shift from production to consumption Postmodern Society Information explosion Rise of a consumer society Global Village

Research Methods Historical: Examining sources from past that relate to the study Content Analysis: Counting the number of times a particular word, phrase, idea, event, symbol, etc. appears in a context. Survey Questionnaires and Interviews Observation Detached (distance) vs. Participant (directly involved)

Continued… Case Study Intensive Analysis of a person, group, event, or problem. Statistical Analysis Analyzing data to determine the relationship strength of 2 or more variables