1. The Sociological Point of View

2. Key Things in Sociology
People are first and foremost a social being.
Live in groups
Constantly exposed to social interaction with others

3. SOCIOLOGY
Is best defined as the scientific study of social interaction

4. OBJECTIVES
To enable people to live intelligently in their social world
To deal with social problems they encounter, especially conflict and social change.
Examples: survivor series, big brother

5. Shipwreck Activity

6. Situation
Assume that your are part of a 10-member group that is shipwrecked on a deserted tropical island. The island has a plentiful supply of wild fruits and plants, insects birds, fish, and hardwood trees. Some fresh water can be found in small island pools, but the bulk of the water is contaminated b salt from the ocean. Your group had time to rescue the following items.

7. Items 2 large fishing knives 4 plastic gallon jugs of water
1 25 foot rope
1 large plastic tarp
1 set of binoculars
1 can opener
20 cans of fruit and vegetables

8. What to do
Establish a list of rules, procedures, and task assignments that would allow the group to survive on the island indefinitely.
Each group will share their list in class and explain how they came to agree on their list and whether they encountered any problems in reaching a consensus.

9. Remember
For society to operate efficiently, members must work together toward common goals. To ensure that most people cooperate for the common good, societies establish rules of conduct and expectations for behavior.

10. The Sociological Point of View

11. Section #1: Examining Social Life

12. Definitions
Sociology: is the science that studies human society and social behavior.
Social Interaction: how people relate to one another and influence each other’s behavior.
Phenomenon: is a observable fact or event

13. The Sociological Perspective
Gain a new view or perspective for looking at ourselves and the world.
Common sense vs scientific fact
Sociological Perspective helps us see better (objectively)
Gives us insight
The world as a whole
Connection between the larger world and our personal lives is called Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills)
Read aloud page 21

14. Sociology’s Place in the Social Sciences
Social Science: disciplines that study various aspects of human social behavior
Anthropology: study of various aspects of past and present cultures.
Psychology: study of the mind and the individual.
Social Psychology: study of how an individual behavior and personality are affected by the social environment.
Economics: study of the choices people make in an effort to satisfy their wants and needs.
Political Science: study of government.
History: study of past events.

15. Question
Why is studying groups important?

16. Question
Why is important to have a sociological imagination?

17. Sociology: Then and Now

18. What created Sociology?
19th Century
Rapid social and political changes in Europe during the 17th Century (Industrial Revolution)
Growth of Cities and the problems it created (SOCIAL PROBLEMS)
Housing, crime, relationships,
Let to the American and French Revolution
Need for Study

19. Early Years France, Germany & England (19th Century)
Several key individuals surfaced

20. Auguste Comte French philosopher
Photo
Auguste Comte
French philosopher
Founder of Sociology (1st to use the term)
Approve life after the French Revolution
Wanted to use Scientific Method to discover problems and find solutions
Social Status: the society stay the same
Social Dynamics: elements w/I society that created change

21. Karl Marx Germany Believed society is influenced by the economic.
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Karl Marx
Germany
Believed society is influenced by the economic.
Created the idea of “Have and Have Nots”
Focus on material and production
Developed the idea of Communism (Dialete Theory)
Lived during the beginnings of a “Capitalistic Society”

22. Herbert Spencer England Influenced by Charles Darwin
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Herbert Spencer
England
Influenced by Charles Darwin
The idea that society was a live
Believed that social change occurred through problems therefore no attempt to resolve the problem should be taken.
That the best for society will survive

23. Photo
Emile Durkheim
France
First to apply the methods of science to the study of society
Should only study what can be seen (no study of feelings for example)

24. Max Weber German More interested in the study of Groups
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Max Weber
German
More interested in the study of Groups
How society affects the individual
Verstehen: the idea of placing yourself in that person place and seeing it through their eyes.

25. Current Perspectives

26. More Definitions
Theory: is a systematic explanation of the relationship among phenomena.
Theorectical Perspective: is a general set of assumptions about the nature phenomena.

27. Three broad theorectial perspectives in modern sociology

28. Functionalist Perspective
View society as a set of interrelated parts that work together to produce a stable social system.
Society lead together through consensus.
What functions for example exist in a family, church, place of work.
Dysfunction: is the negative consequence an element has for the stability of the social system. (crime)
Manifest function: is the intended function
Latent function: is the unintended function

29. Conflict Perspective
Focus on those forces in society that promote competition and change
Class Struggle Theory

30. Interactions Perspective
Focus on how individual interact with one another in society
Look at the individual and how the individual see themselves
Symbol: anything that stands for something else.
Symbolic Interaction: used to study topics like child development, relationships within groups and mate selection.

31. Applying Sociology
Collecting Data (scientific information) is important to sociologist
Six Methods or techniques

32. Six Methods Historical Method - examining any materials from the past
Tools, clothes, pictures, documents, etc.
Content Analysis - counting the number of times a particular word, phrase, idea, event, symbol or other element appears in a given context.
TV, radio, recordings, photographs, art, newspapers, magazines, books, etc.

33. Six methods continued Survey Method -
Random Survey (???)
Two techniques used to find out information
Questionnaire
Interviews
Observation - observe the behavior of individuals in actual social settings
Controlled environment
Uncontrolled environment

34. Six methods continued
The Case Study - Observational techniques, researcher of past
Statistical Analysis - using mathematical data
Using Variables - (a characteristic that can differ from one individual to another).

35. Key to Research Analyzing the data Making ASSUMPTIONS (NOT FINDINGS)
Reporting mistakes in research

36. Question
How has Sociology evolved?