© copyright cengage learning. all rights reserved. chapter 1 the sociological perspective

© Copyright Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 1The Sociological Perspective


Chapter Outline

• Putting Social Life into Perspective• The Importance of a Global Sociological

Imagination • The Origins of Sociological Thinking• The Development of Modern Sociology• Contemporary Theoretical Perspectives


Putting Social Life Into Perspective

• Sociology is the systematic study of human society and social interaction.

• Sociologists study societies and social interactions to develop theories of:o how human behavior is shaped by group lifeo how group life is affected by individuals


• Society is a large social grouping that shares the same geographical territory and is subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.

o Commonsense Knowledge versus Myth


• The sociological imagination is the ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and the larger society.

o personal troubles: private problems that affect individuals and the networks of people with which they regularly associate

o social/public issues: problems that affect large numbers of people and often require solutions at the societal level


Discussion

• In what ways has society shaped who you are today?

• How can overspending be analyzed with the sociological imagination?


The Importance of a Global Sociological Imagination• High-income countries: nations with highly

industrialized economies (ex: United States, Canada, Japan, western Europe)

• Middle-income countries: nations with industrializing economies (ex: eastern Europe, Brazil, Mexico)

• Low-income countries: nations with little industrialization (ex: African and Asian countries)


The World’s EconomiesMap 1.1


The Origins of Sociological Thinking• Sociology and the Age of Enlightenment

o emphasis on individual’s possession of critical reasoning and experience

o science versus religion

o the philosophes: if people were free from the ignorance and superstition of the past, they could create new forms of political and economic organization, such as democracy and capitalism


• Sociology and the Age of Revolution, Industrialization, and Urbanization

o revolutions: intellectual, political

o industrialization: the process by which societies are transformed from dependence on agriculture to manufacturing

o urbanization: the process by which an increasing proportion of a population lives in cities rather than in rural areas


Discussion

• How have historical events influenced current society?


The Development of Modern Sociology

• Early Thinkers: A Concern with Social Order and Stabilityo Comteo Martineauo Spencero Durkheim

• Differing Views on the Status Quo: Stability versus Changeo Marxo Webero Simmelo The Chicago Schoolo Adamso Du Bois


August Comte (1798-1857)

• coined “sociology”• societies contain social statics and social dynamics

• positivism: belief that the world can best be understood through scientific inquiry


Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)

• translated Comte’s works

• Society in America• advocate of racial and gender equality


Herbert Spencer (1920-1903)

• evolutionary perspective

• social Darwinism: belief that species of animals best adapted to their environment survive and prosper


Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• people are the product of their social environment

• Rules of Sociological Method

• social facts• anomie• suicide


Karl Marx (1818-1883)

• history is a continuous clash between conflicting ideas and forces

• economic systems• class conflict – bourgeoisie versus proletariat


Max Weber (1864-1920)

• The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

• research should be value-free

• rationalization


Georg Simmel (1858-1918)

• group size• formal sociology


Jane Addams (1860-1935)

• founded Hull House• Nobel Prize


W.E.B. Du Bois (1968-1963)

• The Philadelphia Negro


Contemporary Theoretical Perspectives

• A theory is a set of logically interrelated statements that attempts to describe, explain, and predict social events.


• Functionalist Perspectives are based on the assumption that society is a stable, orderly system.

o Society is composed of interrelated parts (institutions), each of which serve a function and contributes to the overall stability of the society.

o Institutions include education, family, government, religion, the economy, among others


• Talcott Parsons – division of labor

• Robert K. Merton – manifest and latent functions

o Manifest functions are intended and/or overtly recognized.

o Latent functions are unintended functions that are hidden and remain unacknowledged.

o Dysfunctions are the undesirable functions of any element of a society.


• Conflict perspectives belief that groups in society are engaged in a continuous power struggle for control of scarce resources.

o Karl Marx – bourgeoisie versus proletariat

o Max Weber - power

o C. Wright Mills – power elite


• The feminist approach stresses the importance of gender as an element of social structure.

o Patriarchy is a system in which men dominate women.


Symbolic interactionist perspectives

• Symbolic interactionist perspectives argue that society is the sun of the interactions of individuals and groups.

o Macro-level analysis: examines large-scale social structureso Micro-level analysis: focuses on small groups

o interaction – communication between two peopleo symbols – something that meaningfully represents something else

o subjective reality- acquired and shared through agreed upon symbols, especially language.

o Thoughts and behavior shaped by social interaction


Symbolic interactionist perspectives …cont• How do sym interactionists view social

organization and the larger society?o Social organization and society are a result and only

possible because of people’s day to day interactionso Life takes its shape as people interact with one anothero Macrolevel institutions (economy, education) can

constrain and define these day to day interactions, but reality is dynamic and always changing

o Roles that we play in dtd interactions are based on previous situations


• Postmodern perspectives argue that existing theories have not successfully explained social life in postindustrial societies.


Discussion

• How can each theory be applied to understanding shopping and consumption?

• Which theoretical perspective do you find more compelling? Why?


Quick Quiz


1. Sociology is the systematic study of:a. intuition and commonsense knowledge

b. human society and social interaction

c. the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services in a society

d. personality and human development

Answer: bSociology is the systematic study of human society and social interaction.


2. _____ stressed history is a continuous clash between conflicting ideas and forces.

a. Auguste Comteb. Harriet Martineauc. Herbert Spencerd. Emile Durkheime. Karl Marx

Answer: eKarl Marx stressed that history is a continuous clash between conflicting ideas and forces.


3. _____ perspectives are based on the assumption that society is a stable, orderly system.a. Functionalist

b. Interactionist

c. Conflict

d. Feminist

Answer: aFunctionalist perspectives are based on the assumption that society is a stable, orderly system.


4. The idea that research should be conducted in a scientific manner and would exclude the researcher’s personal values and economic interests was emphasized by:a. Jane Addams

b. Karl Marx

c. Georg Simmel

d. Max Weber

Answer: dThe idea that research should be conducted in a scientific manner and would exclude the researcher’s personal values and economic interests was emphasized by Max Weber.


5. The early social thinker who coined the term sociology and whose philosophy became known as positivism is:

a. Karl Marx

b. Emile Durkheim

c. Auguste Comte

d. Harriet Martineau

Answers: cThe early social thinker who coined the term sociology and whose philosophy became known as positivism is Auguste Comte.

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