1. Introduction to Sociology

2. What is Sociology?
The scientific study of people in groups, the relationships between people and the social structures they develop.
“is the study of human groups and societies, including their behaviours, relationships and social structures”
Look at structure and function of society as system, the fundamentals of human interactions with their environment, and how our social world affects us

3. What Do Sociologist Study?
Sociologists are interested but not limited to the following:
Social groups such as family and peers. They focus on how social groups are organized, function and change
Social change focuses on the way societies and institutions change over time through technical inventions, conflict or social movements
Social Problems which are social conditions that cause difficulty for a large group of people or society such as crime, prejudice, poverty, abuse, addictions etc.
Social Organization which focuses on various institutions such as education, government, law an how they form, change & function with relation to the individual & each other. n

4. What do sociologist study?
Social behaviours: how people act
Social interactions: the relationships between groups, how they interact with each other, etc
Social structures: organization of society/groups including their rules, beliefs, actions, etc

5. The Sociological Imagination
“ability to see connection between personal troubles and social structures”
Example:
Suicide and social solidarity (amount that groups share beliefs/values and amount that members of those groups interact with each other)

6. Branches of Sociology
There are many areas of specialization. A few are:
Criminology
Social Psychology
Urban Sociology
Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
Sociology of Education
Medical Sociology

7. Where are Graduates with a Sociology Degree Employed?
Independent research consultants who examine trends in human behaviour for a variety of clients
Administrative positions in government and public agencies
Counselling/Social Work
Market Researchers who study consumer trends

8. Approaches to Sociology
1. Structural Functionalism:
Sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to serve a purpose for society as a whole (e.g. Family has the task of raising children)
Emile Durkheim ( )
Father of modern Sociology
Believed individuals identify with society as a whole and see themselves as part of a large picture

9. 2. Conflict Theory Power not function holds a society together
Sees society in a framework of class conflicts and focuses on the struggle for scarce resources by different groups in a given society
Karl Marx ( )
Studied class conflict through history

10. 3. Symbolic Interactionism
Stresses the analysis of how our behaviours depend on how we define others and ourselves
Focuses on the way people give meaning to the world around them through symbols, words, gestures. These evolve from their interactions with people and their environment
Max Weber ( )
Believed sociologists must put themselves in the place of the people being studied to understand how they think and why they act the way they do

11. 4. Feminist Sociology
Feminist sociology focuses on the particular disadvantages, including oppression and exploitation faced by women in society