1. Sociology – Welcome Back!
Collection of Signed Forms

2. Welcome (back) to Sociology!!!
Think about this: A man has to take a wolf, a cat, and a mouse across a stream. He can only carry one at a time. If he takes the mouse, the wolf is left alone with the cat, and will eat it. If he takes the wolf, the cat will eat the mouse. How does he get them over the river?

3. What is Sociology anyways?

4. Isn’t it just common sense??
“After September 11, 2001, Americans became more patriotic”
Some Americans are more or less likely than others to proclaim extreme pride in their country….but why?? THAT’S SOCIOLOGY!
Who bought a flag? Who joined the army? Why didn’t I?

5. Lets start at the beginning….
Social Science: The study of the social features of humans and the ways in which they interact and change
Divisions of Social Science:
Anthropology
Psychology
Economics
Political Science
History
Sociology

6. How did Sociology emerge?
People have been trying to figure out how social life works since ancient times
Emerged in the 1800s
Rapid social and political changes b/c of Industrial Revolution
Rapid growth of urban populations = social problems
Focus on liberty and individual rights in political movements
Attempts to prove beliefs through observations and experimentation

7. What is Sociology?
Definition: The scientific study of social behavior and human groups
Focuses on social relationships
How those relationships influence people’s behavior
How societies develop and change
What is a society?

8. Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills)
An awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society, both today and in the past
Key element: Gives us the ability to view one’s own society as a outsider would, rather than only from the perspective of personal experiences and cultural biases

9. Sociological Imagination
Ability to see relationship between individual experience and larger society
Personal troubles – private problems (losing a job)
Social issues – public issues, problems, trends (high unemployment)

10. Why do people only have two children?
Cost
Tired from one child
Want more freedom
Overpopulation
Why do individuals join gangs?
Your thoughts?
Think outside factors!!!

11. 2 major questions we ask
two basic questions that sociologists ask about human behavior: the descriptive question (What do people do?) the explanatory question (Why do people do what they do?)

12. Let’s try something
List 6 reasons why someone might seriously consider suicide

13. For your 6 reasons…
Tell me the feelings that go along with each reason
In other words: what feelings would such a person experience that would lead him or her to consider suicide

14. Look at your list of feelings
How are they alike?
What are the sociological factors?
Psychological factors?

15. Why is the rate of suicide higher in Oregon than it is in Pennsylvania?

17. What factors did you list?
How are they similar?

18. The difference between the “thinkings”
“sociological thinking” considers external factors
non-sociological (or individualistic) consider internal factors