1. SOC 312: American Society Section 1: What is Sociology?

2. What is Sociology? a discipline a profession a field of study a department –in college of liberal arts –in the social sciences

3. Sociology versus Other Social and Behavioral Sciences anthropology political science economics psychology

4. Max Weber: the topic behavior subjectively meaningful –not instinctual –not impulsive –not biologically or psychologically determined social action: takes others into account –social psychological: face to face, group –organizational and institutional

5. Levels of Analysis Macro –institutions: relatively enduring organizations –organizations: deliberately created positions and relationships Micro –groups: individuals with routine access to each other –categories of individuals: men and women, blacks and whites, students and teachers

6. Bridging Levels of Analysis Most interesting questions –what types of orgs are institutionalized? How? Why? So what? –what types of groups become organized? How? Why? So what? –what categories of individuals form groups? How? Why? So what?

7. Realms of Social Action Culture (traditional focus of Anthropology) –passed down or diffused Economy (Economics) –produce and distribute necessities of life Politics (Political Science) –power:ability to get what you want despite resistance Society (Sociology) –acted out

8. Sociological Map Realms Levels of Analysis CulturalSocialEconomicPolitical Institutiondenominations public schools cities neighborhoods banking collective bargaining elections bipartisanship Organizationlocal church local school Lions Club Neighborhood Watch firm union Young Republicans NOW Groupdiscussion group lunch friends neighbors chatting kids playing co-workers at coffee break Labor Day picnickers meeting CategoryBaptists students Residents immigrants Workers Managers Republicans Democrats

9. What is in the Boxes? - social action - stuff that sociologists study - Why impose the structure? –- descriptive –- heuristic - So what? - can our map help us understand the world? - what is missing?

10. Why Do People Smoke? because they are nervous because they feel anxiety differently because they are neurotic because their friends smoke because smoking is fun because smoking has become a habit Psychology Social Psychology

11. More Macro Political Economy Organizations promote smoking for profit –tobacco companies –mass media Organizations that combat smoking –medical industrial complex: monopolize legal drugs and crush the competition –government: determines legality and regulates drugs (Why?)

12. Why Are We Losing the War on Drugs? Drugs provide jobs for poor people –hippies/college students –ghetto residents Drugs provide cash crop for poor nations –Colombia Drug Cartel –Taliban in Afghanistan

13. Conclusion There are many different ways to explain social action. Psychologists reduce it to individual/personality disorders (e.g., neurotic). Social psychologists tend to focus on the social aspect—subjective meaning for individual entails taking others into account: e.g., smoking is cool More macro orientation looks at organizations and institutions (e.g., republican capitalism and political economy of drugs) Macro orientation might focus on any realm (or set of realms)—cultural analysis of smoking as religious ritual for Native Americans and its commercialization by the colonizers. Sociological analysis answers question but generates more questions: e.g., What is the interest of government in regulation? Why are poor people the criminals?