1. January 17, 2017

2. Word Plays Sociology Sociological Imagination Microsociology
Macrosociology
Theory
All must have…
1 definition
2 pictures
3 crosswords

3. Sociological Imagination

4. Auguste Comte (KONT)
Coined the term “sociology” & thought of as father of sociology
Decided the study of society must be empirical
Empirical – based on observations, experiments, or other forms of data collection
Saw sociology as the scientific study of social statics and social dynamics
Social statics – investigates how principles of social order explain a particular society, as well as interconnections between institutions (ex: education, political affiliation, social class, religious groups,)
Social dynamics – explores how individuals and societies change over time
Emphasized social order and change within and across societies

5. Harriet Martineau
English author, published first sociology research methods textbooks
Translated and condensed Auguste Comte’s work for larger audiences to comprehend
Emphasized importance of data collection through observation/interviews and objective analysis of data to explain events/behavior

6. Emile Durkheim
Saw societies as characterized by unity and cohesion because members are bound by common interests and attitudes
Studied suicide through analysis of statistics
Concluded that suicide is not an isolated, individual act
Suicide is often based on relationships and social integration
Studied social facts, division of labor and social integration

7. Emile Durkheim
Social facts – aspects of social life, external to the individual, that can be measured
Material facts – demographic info; age, location of residence, population size
Non-material facts – communication processes, social movements, collective behavior
Division of labor – questioned how people can be autonomous and individualistic while also being integrated into society
Social solidarity is held together by a division of labor
Social integration – meaningful social relationships (families, social groups, communities) help people feel important, like they belong, etc.

8. Karl Marx
Tried to explain the societal changes taking place during the Industrial Revolution
Thought that economic issues produced issues in society
Capitalism – an economic system in which the ownership of the means of production is in private hands
Saw society as composed of 3 social classes
Capitalists – the ruling elite who own the means of producing wealth (ex: factories, machines, raw resources)
Petit Bourgeoisie – small business owners/workers who still have their own means of production
Proletariat – the masses of workers who depend on wages to survive, have few resources and make up the working class

9. Karl Marx (continued)
Class conflict – Marx believed that society is divided into the “haves” (capitalists) and “have-nots” (proletariat)
Capitalists make money by taking advantage of the proletariat
This is allowed because the proletariat has to give in to the capitalists in order to survive
Argued that there’s a close relationship between inequality, social conflict and social class
Saw history as a series of class struggles between capitalists and workers
Think about the “1%” and the “Occupy Wall Street” movement
Foresaw a violent revolution of the proletariat overthrowing the capitalists
Never happened in US
Alienation – the feeling of separation from one’s group or society
Common in all social classes

10. Max Weber (VAY-ber)
Focused on social organization, a subjective understanding of behavior, and a value- free sociology
Believed ideas, religions, values, ideologies, and charismatic leaders to be as important as Marx believed economic situations to be
Emphasized subjective understanding – verstehen (fer-shtay-en)
2 types of verstehen
Direct observational understanding – the social scientists observe a person’s facial expressions, gestures and listens to his/her words
Ex: A person bursts into tears and the observer knows what that person is feeling because of DOU (anger, sadness, etc.)

11. Max Weber (VAY-ber) 2 types of verstehen
Explanatory understanding – social scientists tries to grasp the intention and context of a behavior
Ex: After that person starts crying, a sociologist using the EU approach theorizes about WHY he/she started crying (break up, dog died, embarrassed, failed test, etc.)
Value-free sociology/a value-free sociologist – one who separates his/her personal values, opinions, ideology and beliefs from scientific research
Encouraged individuality but thought educators/scholars should be as objective as possible to ensure they’re teaching knowledge and not opinion
Objective = unbiased, fair

12. Jane Addams Social worker
Co-founded “Hull House” (one of the first community centers to help the poor)
Leader in women’s suffrage
First American woman to be awarded the Novel Peace Prize
Advocated negotiation, not violence, to settle disputes and disagreements
Much of her work contributed to help develop the “symbolic interaction” theory and the idea of applying knowledge to everyday problems
Helped map criminology in Chicago

13. W.E.B. Du Bois (Do-Boice)
Prominent black sociologist, writer, editor, social reformer and orator (speaker)
1st African American to receive a PhD from Harvard
Helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
Believe race problems stemmed from ignorance and advocated “cures” for racism
Cures included promoting black political power and civil rights and providing blacks with higher education
Examined oppressive side effects of race, class and gender issues; advocated for women’s rights and help reshape black-white relations in America