Welcome to this course! I. Three Goals of this Course II. This Course ’ s Online Syllabus and Requirements III. Three Visions of Sociology: Science, Social Reform, Interpretation

Three Goals of this Course 1) Introduce you to sociology as a way of better understanding yourself and others 2) Prepare you to be better consumers of sociological information so as to be better citizens 3) Teach you specific observational and data analysis skills

This Course ’ s Online Syllabus: Please check it regularly for updates and announcements

Social Reform 사회개혁 Science 과학 Interpretation 해석 Three Early Visions of Sociology 사회학의 초기 3 비젼

Sociology as Science 과학으로서의 사회학 A belief that a science of society is possible same kinds of observational methods as natural sciences same goal of discovering universal laws a belief shared by conservative Comte and radical Marx Auguste Comte: positivism 실증주의 but controversy remains about the scientific aspirations of sociology Auguste Comte Karl Marx

Sociology as Social Reform Making the world a better place Early sociologists believed that a scientific analysis of society would provide the tools to improve society But they varied significantly in their conclusions about what changes were scientifically shown to be necessary Auguste Comte Karl Marx Emile Durkheim

Sociology as Interpretation Making sense of the world Describe and interpret social life (rather than explain it) Focus on understanding the particular rather than searching for the universal Skepticism about the possibility of a science of society Inevitably a personal perspective Max Weber

Social Reform ScienceInterpretation Sociology contains diverse perspectives Many intermediate positions are possible But most sociologists share elements of all three of these visions of sociology