1. The Sociological Perspective Chapter 1

2. Concepts to Know (p1-5)  Culture  Beliefs  Social Order  Scientific Method  Positivism  Capitalism  Social Change  Weberian Theory  Value Consensus  Traditional Society  Mechanical Solidarity  Organic Solidarity

3. What is Sociology  The study of how membership of social groups, from families to schools and workplaces influences people’s behavior.  Sociologists are interested in how facts: - are created - connect to one another to create “social reality” - theories explain how facts are connected

4. Auguste Comte (1798-1857) Positivism – it is possible to study the social world in the same way that scientists have studied the natural world (Scientific Revolution)  All human societies pass through 3 stages 1. theological – based on religious beliefs and controls 2. metaphysical – “transition” where religion is challenged by science 3. positive – science and reason have replaced religion  Social order is created and maintained through cooperation (consensus)

5. Karl Marx (1818-1883)  Order is created and maintained through conflict  4 time periods of human history 1. primitive communism 2. ancient society – kings/pesants/slaves 3. feudal societies (pre-industrial) – lord/serf 4. capitalist / industrial societies – bourgeoisie/proletariat  Force / Persuasion characterize relationships  Social Classes based on inequality – wealth / power / influence  Occupy Wall Street  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSQgCy_iIcc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSQgCy_iIcc

6. Max Weber (1864-1920)  Social Change – A major shift in a political, economic, or cultural order.  Process of Modernization - industrialization, urbanization, rationalization (bureaucratic organization) - comes from charismatic leaders – Jesus, Mohammed, Calvin  Unlike Marx – Weber says that political struggles, ideas, beliefs, science, forms of government may all transform a society https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICppFQ6Tabw

7. Emile Durkheim (1857-1917)  Followed Comte’s consensus tradition  Societies are understood through their relationships between institutions - school, work, religion, education  Societies exist because of “value consensus” - agreement about the things that people in a society think are important  Traditional Societies – “mechanical solidarity” – kinship groups, clans  Modern Societies – “organic solidarity” – industrial societies where people are bound together by what they do.  Behavior can be scientifically studied - suicide has social causes, not just biological or psychological causes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9W0GQvONKc

8. Concepts to Know (p6-10)  Hypothetico-deductive method  Hypothesis  Falsification  Researcher bias  Interperitivism  Value-freedom  Postmodernism  Objectivity

9. Sociology as Science  Scientific Approach - reliable – results can be replicated - valid – measures what is claimed to be measured (crime statistics, but 90% of crimes go unreported)  “hypothetico-deductive method” – method of systematically testing hypotheses  “hypothesis” – statement that is being tested

10. Scientific Ethics  1. Universal – knowledge is evaluated using universally agreed criteria. Personal values play no part. Focus is “falsification” – trying to identify weaknesses in process.  2. Communal – scientific knowledge is public. Peer-review used in process, not trust.  3. Disinterested – main responsibility is the pursuit of knowledge. No personal gain in outcomes. (pharmaceutical trials?) Or you may have “researcher bias” where validity is questioned.

11. Positivism  Positivism - It is possible and desirable to study the social world in the same way as the natural scientists.  Positivism should have “value freedom” (values of researcher not bias the process)  Positivism (scientific knowledge) – Factual, Objective, evidence-based, testable  Non-scientific - opinion, guesswork, untested assumptions, faith

12. Interpretivism  Interpretivism (anti-positivism) – different people in different situations understand the social world in different ways. “to truly understand what it is like to be homeless, one should become homeless”  Method (does not go from hypothesis to conclusion) 1. Planning 2. Data Collection / Data Analysis 3. Evaluation  Qualitative Research – experiences and feelings of respondents

13. Post-Modernism  Not a scientific method  Post-Modernism – people construct narratives (stories) to make sense of the world. - Buddhism - Communist Manifesto  “objectivity” – freedom from personal or institutional bias  “respondent” – a person who is the subject of research Qualitative Questions / Quantitative Questions – which perspectives would use which questions

14. Concepts to Know (p10-12)  Feminism  Gender  Social Policy  Social Program  Social Control

15. Feminism and Gender  More recent social issue  Often involves equal pay, sexual discrimination  Gender – feeling masculine or feminine  Sex – biological characteristics

16. Social Policy  Social Policy – ideas or actions pursued by governments to meet a particular objective.  Can you think of 3 examples?  Intended and Unintended consequences.

17. Problems  Social Problem – public outcry to fix something  Sociological Problem – try to understand behavior  These can be the same or different.

18. Welfare

19. Why We Need Socialized Healtcare

20. Why We Don’t Need Socialized Healthcare  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPq6_7AFsp4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPq6_7AFsp4

21. Social Problem / Sociological Problem  Social Problems – crime, poverty, unemployment - only considered a problem when the dominant group in society deems so  Sociological Problems - fundamental problems – food, shelter, socialization - the nature of social order - focus – how and why behavior comes about

22. Social Control  Social control – rewards and punishments that societies use to maintain order  Can you list 3 examples of social controls?  List positives and negatives of each.

23. Research Presentation for Next Class  Welfare  Medicare  Social Security  Education  Be READY to present for 10 minutes.

24. Concepts to Know (p14-20)  Modern Industrial Society  Manifest Functions  Latent Functions  Globalization

25. Cross-Cultural / Intra-Cultural Diversity  Cross-Cultural Diversity – Between different societies - same sex - holding hands - personal space  Intra-Cultural Diversity (found in modern industrial societies) - class - age - gender - ethnicity - religion - global culture  Modern Industrial Society – type of society characterized by particular forms of political, economic (mass production), and cultural (science and reason) beliefs

26. Functions  Manifest Functions – intended consequences  Latent Functions – unintended functions (think of government)  Globalization – economic, political, and cultural processes that occur on a worldwide basis

27. Concepts to Know (p20-26)  Functionalist Theory  Marxist Theory  Structuralist  Macrosociology  Determinism  Economic Determinism  Relations of Production  Forces of Production  Ideology  Liberal Feminism  Marxist Feminists  Radical Feminism

28. Functionalist Theory v. Marxist Theory  Functionalist Theory – society functions mainly because of consensus - focus on institutions, government  Marxist Theory – based on Marx’s ideas – class conflict  Structuralist – Focus on analyzing society through institutional relationships - both Functionalist and Marxist theories are structuralist.  Structural Determinism –families -governments -economies determine how we view the world and behave

29. Macrosociology / Determinism  Macrosociology – Large scale approach focused on social structure and institutions  Determinism – human behavior is shaped by forces beyond our immediate control (social structure or society) - things we do, by class, age, gender?

30. Social Sub-Systems  Systems solve problems  Economic - physical survival (relationships to get what you need)  Political – governing, maintaining order, creating rules  Family – socialization, function as adult members of society  Cultural – social integration, common values and norms - school, churches, media

31. Conflict  Conflict Structuralism – societies are generally considered stable because powerful groups impose order on less powerful groups.  Conflict w. feminism – struggle between men and women  Economic Determinism – economic relationships - lord/serf, employer/employee - work is especially important to Marx b/c it provides the resources for us to survive

32. Marxism + Conflict  Relations of Production – social relationships people must enter in order to survive.  Capitalism – hierarchy (within companies) - to control those lesser down the hierarchy  Workplace as an area of conflict - the majority have little of nothing and are forced to sell their labor power (ability to work)  Marx argues that the economically powerful are also politically powerful  Private ownership allows higher classes to control the media + influence  Media, Education, Religion support the status quo to keep lesser people in line.

33. Feminism  Many types of feminism, but they all share the idea of patriarchy (men are more important than women).  Liberal Feminism – promotes gender equality  Marxist Feminism – challenging capitalism to promote gender equality, and free women from oppression.  Radical Feminism – sees female oppression in terms of patriarchal relationship. - public – women paid less, less career mobility - private – women doing most of unpaid work at home

34. Approaches and Change  Action Approach – people create and re-create society on a daily basis through their routines.  Social Change - Marxism – conflict and clash - Feminism – anti-discriminary laws in US - Marxist Feminism – Men are class enemies - Radical Feminism – Men must be overthrown and matriarchy established (goes further than Marxist)