1. Sociology

2. What is Sociology? Key Terms p. 92
Spotlight on Sociology: Energy Drinks and Risky Behaviour p.94 Q 1,2
Sociologists study how groups and societies shape who you are
Sociology was heavily influenced by:
The Industrial Revolution:
In England at the end of the 18th century, the economy changed from farming and small scale production to large-scale manufacturing.
People left farms and small industries and obtained factory jobs in cities.
This migration led to problems like pollution, malnutrition, disease, unemployment and crime.

3. The Political Revolution:
The American Revolution (1775) and the French Revolution (1789) changed the world.
Key People: Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Dorothy Smith, Max Weber, George Herbert Mead and Charles Cooley, C. Wright Mills.
Read section on values, norms and role on page 98.
In Focus: Sociologists and the Fall of the Berlin Wall p.99 Q 1,2

4. Sociological Schools of Thought and Theorists

5. Auguste Comte: 1798 – 1857

6. First person to study sociology and invented the term.
Originated scientific methods like observation and analysis.
Believed that societies change over time and changes = difficulties.
Social statics: study of society’s customs, institutions, laws, and interaction.
Social dynamics: stages societies must go through as they experience change.
Natural tendency for equilibrium or balance.
Most important contribution was POSITIVISM: the insistence on the rigid application of scientific method in order to arrive at the truth.
He thought sociologists should make all decisions about society because they had a better understanding than church or politicians.

7. Structural Functionalism:
Society functions like a body; each part works independently to benefit the whole.
Is the sociological theory that attempts to explain how a society is organized to perform its required functions effectively
Is the oldest sociological theory, and also used by anthropologists
Ex. Law, political system, family (called institutions)
Uses a macro approach that assumes the organization of society is based on a consensus about what is functional.

8. Functionalists:
Examine the roles that individuals play within an institution such as the family
Ex. Students attend class, ask questions…
Make observations about role behaviour and determine the rates at which various behaviours occur.
The most prevalent behaviours are norms.
Ex. A husband who stays at home is abnormal.
A problem is that functionalists sometimes go beyond explaining how a society is organized and tells it how it should behave.

9. Emile Durkheim ( )

10. French philosopher
Founder of modern sociology.
Believed in applying scientific method to study society.
Concentrated on the changing nature of society (he lived during the Industrial Revolution = big change)
Relationship between sociology and criminal justice system.
First to argue that reform of criminals was more effective than vicious punishment (at his time, barbaric punishments for lawbreakers).
Best remembered for studies on suicide (1897) Why Do People Kill Themselves

11. 3 Major Types:
1. EGOISTIC suicide:
individual shares none of the values or goals of society.
2. ALTRUISTIC suicide:
a person deliberately enters into an impossible situation, sacrificing him/herself to protect others.
3. ANOMIC suicide:
Person overwhelmed with sudden change in society and could not cope with social breakdown.
Founder of functionalism: society works in a logical manner and protects members’ interests.
Society will survive, dealing effectively with forces of change.

12. Talcott Parsons (1902 – 1978)
Examined social behaviour as a single entity or mass.
All social phenomena and relationships can be explained through their functions in society.
Individuals and groups can be defined by the purpose they serve.
If something exists, then it must serve a necessary purpose.
Even negative aspects of society serve a purpose (discrimination, homelessness, etc)

13. Conflict Theory
Karl Marx
(1818 – 1883)

14. German scholar
Wrote the Communist Manifesto
Lived through the Industrial Revolution (factories replacing small shops)
Why had the few become fabulously wealthy while the majority had nothing?
Uneven distribution of wealth was a normal condition of society.
Struggle between rich and poor for wealth and power= class conflict
bourgeoisie: wealthy, owned factories and machinery
proletariat: poor, sold their labour to survive

15. Founder of conflict school: struggle for power and wealth is driving force behind society.
Capitalism left people with no control over their own destiny; needs a redistribution of power among the people.
Revolution! only way to bring about change.
Communism in theory:
everyone equal. Everyone gets same amount of pay, resources and power.
Communism in practice:
A leader emerges to enforce equality. “Equality” means everyone gets basic amounts. Needs are barely met. Leader is rich and powerful.

16. Landmark Case Study: William Foote Whyte and the Street Corner Society p.106 Q1,2
In focus Herbert Spencer ( ) and Social Darwinism p.104 Q1-4
In focus M.N. Srinivas p.108 Q1

17. Symbolic Interactionism:
Symbolic Interactionism:
Is a psychological theory that attempts to explain how individual choose how they will act based on their perceptions of themselves and of others.
It is based on 3 concepts:
1. a self has 2 parts:
“me” self: self that is shown to the outside world
“I” self: true self, self that is who are on the inside
the closer the two selves are to each other, the happier the individual will be.
2. role-taking: the basis for human interaction
anticipate what the other will do and decide based on that how they will respond
3. people need a common language to communicate
a limitation is the possibility that because the researcher uses perceptions and interpretations, the observations could be influenced by the researcher’s personal beliefs and self-image.
“I am not who I think I am, I am not who you think I am, I am who I think you think I am.”

18. Max Weber (1864 – 1920)

19. German sociologists modified Marx’s conflict approach
German sociologists modified Marx’s conflict approach
Much emphasis on economic factors
Power differences among social groups also had to do with:
Religion, education, politics, family structure = values
Power came in many forms
Belonging to political parties or elite status groups
wealth not everything for power
What about growing middle class? (they owned property and had skills)
Armed revolution NOT the way to bring about change.
Rationalization: social actions motivated by efficiency or benefit, rather than morality, custom, or emotion. It helps society run more efficiently.
Government bureaucracies would create social services (safe drinking water, sewage disposal, schooling)
bureaucracies would solve problems and avert revolution
Society could be reformed and improved. Sociology is a solution!

20. The Chicago School
p.110 – 111
Read the section on the Chicago School and answer the question posed in Figure 3-20.
Charles Cooley, George Herbert Mead, and the Looking Glass Self
p.111
1. Be sure to define Primary group and socialization in your notes.
2. How do Cooley’s and Mead’s theories highlight the role of the individual in sociology? What are the benefits of including the individual perspective when trying to understand an entire society?
C. Wright Mills and Sociological Imagination
Read the section on page 112.
What is Sociological Imagination?
What was the rivalry between Mills and Parsons about? Explain in your own words.