1. The Sociological Perspective 'The Sociological Perspective 'Applying the Sociological Perspective 'Sociological Theory

2. §Sociology is the systematic study of the human society. §Sociology is a social science that is concerned within the systematic study of human society. Auguste Comte (1798-1857) attempted to to outline a new discipline modeled on the natural sciences. §Auguste Comte, The Grand Father of Sociology, believed that all existing sciences could be ranked in a hierarchy, and idealized sociology as the crowning glory of human intellectual achievement.

3. §Empirical Generalizations- usually based on a few observations. §Middle-Range Theories- that interrelate two or more of there empirical generalizations. §Grand Theories- into which all concepts, generalizations, and middle-range theories can be fitted. §A social theory that is at a a very high level theory of generalization and abstraction. Social theory is usually considered as falling into one of three types:

4. §Karl Marx (1818- 1917) §Emile Durkhiem (1858- 1917) §Max Weber (1864- 1920) Other Grand Theorists in the field of Sociology are:

5. Emile Durkhiem §Was concerned with social order, which he believed to be the product of a cohesion stemming from a common system of values and norms. §He studied suicide rates in France and found that… Men protestants, wealthy people, and the unmarried had higher suicide rates than did Catholics, Jews, poor, and married people. He found that people with strong social ties had low suicidal rates, whereas more individualistic people had high suicide rates.

6. §The economic, political, and social thinker whose ideas provided the inspiration for modern communism. §Analyzed bureaucracy in society and did massive comparative studies on the interrelationship of ideas and material conditions in several societies, Karl Marx Max Weber

7. Global Perspective §1. Your place in society affects your individual life experiences. §2.Your position in society affects everyone in the U.S. It is with this global perspective that drives individuals to make changes in society. §Example: Social worker, global strategist, and individuals who devote part of their lives to making the world a better place. §High Income Countries- nations with a low productive economic system. §Middle Income Countries- nations with less productive economic settings. Very rich & very poor. §Low Income Countries- A few people are rich, but most are very poor. Industrialized Nations

8. Time Perspectives §Humans- 2 million years ago. §Cave Drawings- 30,000 years ago. §Hunting and Gatherers- till 12,000 years ago. §Writing- 5,000 years ago. §Industrialization- 200 years ago. §The birth of sociology came form the changing of society. §Industrialization changed the system of production. §People moved to cities to find work. Cities began to experience growth. §These changes brought new political ideas. §Awareness of Society

9. §The Structural-Functional Paradigm- A theological framework of society that uses a complex system containing parts that are interconnected to promote solidarity and stability. Each part functions as part of a whole. §This paradigm specifically looks at… §Social Structure- Patterns of behavior that shape lives, such as family, work, school, and entertainment. §Social Functions- That occurs between individuals in society. §This includes simple gestures such as hand shakes, waves, gestures of acknowledgement as well as religious rituals.

10. Robert Merton (1910- ) §A contemporary sociologist studied social institutions, bureaucratic structures, and personalities. Merton’s work reveals that people rarely perceive all functions of a social structure. §Manifest Functions- he says are the recognized and intended consequences of a social action or pattern. §Latent Function- he explains is the unintended and unrecognized effect of social action. §Social Dysfunction- The undesirable consequences of any social pattern for the operation of society.

11. Orientations §Macro-Level Orientation- The broad pattern that shapes society as a whole. It is the big picture. §Micro-Level Orientations- A close-up focus on social interactions in specific situations. Observing to small parts of the picture. Such as the interactions between individuals are continually changing.

12. §Social Conflict Paradigm- A framework for building theory that sees society as an arena for inequality that generates conflict and change. Conflict occurs within as well as between all types and sizes of groups. (Clans, tribes, families, cities, nation-states, etc.) It is a prime ingredient in politics and in social change.

13. W.E. Du Bois §Was the first black man to receive a Ph. D. from Harvard. This brought sociology into the black colleges in the U.S. and into many areas of research. He studied racial discrimination and was a founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. (NAACP) He was a very critical thinker.

14. §The Structural Functional and Social Conflict paradigm share common ground. By looking at the two through the same perspective (macro and micro) helps researchers to compare them.

15. §Symbolic-Interaction Paradigm- A framework for a theory views society as the product of the interactions between people. The interactions are continually changing. §Human beings are creatures who live in a world of symbols, who attach meaning to virtually everything. “Reality” therefore, is how we define our surroundings, our obligations toward others even our identity.

16. Symbolic Interaction was Discussed in the Writings of… §Max Weber, who emphasized the need to understand and individual point of view. §George Herbert Mead (1863- 1931) Who studied individual personalities and the social experience. Erving Goffman (1922- 1982) Who wrote the Dramaturgical Analysis that describes how individuals resemble actors on a stage, playing out various roles.