I signed up for sociology because my

counselor told me I should…

(and Mrs. Heilander is an awesome

teacher)

What did I sign up for?

What is Sociology?

• The study of human society and social behavior.

What is Sociology?

• Think about our class as a “society” – our “Sociology Society”

Contradiction

• We are all individuals -unique and different in some ways,

but • We live in groups -

some pre-existing and some we develop

What is Sociology?

• The study of social groups.• The study of how group membership

shapes us (identity) and how we shape the behavior of others.

• The study of social order.

Groups of Three

1. How are we different?

Did you get the following?

• Class differences - Rich and poor• Age – young and old• Gender – male and female• Ethnicity – different cultures• Nationality – different nations, regions of the same

country• Family differences -divorced parents, single-parent

families…• Educational differences -are some people more

intelligent?• Religion – differences in faith / beliefs• Lifestyle differences – do we have different tastes?

2. What do we have in common?

• If we are so different / individual / unique how are we able to live together?

Behavior – the rights and obligations- expected of someone occupying a particular status.

Roles

Shared beliefs about what is good or bad, right or wrong, desirable or undesirable.

Values

Shared rules of conduct that tell people how to act in specific situations

Norms

The position or rank of a person or group within the society

Social Status

Rewards or punishments used to enforce conformity to norms

Sanctions

3. How is our “Sociology Society” possible?

• How is it possible for our society to function?

• Relationships, rules, responsibilities

4. How do we learn the rules?

• Experience

• Observation

• Teaching

That is a bite-size intro to Sociology but we will cover other topics

Culture

• Language – slang

• Norms and values

• Beliefs

• Diversity

Deviance

Race and Ethnicity

• Discrimination

• Prejudice

Gender and Age

• Gender Roles

• Women’s movement

• Ageism

Family

• Marriage patterns

• Child rearing

And so much more……