mcgraw-hill © 2005 the mcgraw-hill companies, inc. all rights reserved. 1 the sociological...
TRANSCRIPT
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
1
The Sociological Perspective
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
2
The Sociological Perspective
THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
part
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
1
chapter
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
•What is Sociology?•What is Sociological Theory?•The Development of Sociology•Major Theoretical Perspectives•Applied and Clinical Sociology•Developing the Sociological Imagination•Appendix: Careers in Sociology
1UNDERSTANDING SOCIOLOGY
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
4 What is Sociology?
█Sociology– The systematic study of social behavior in
human groups.
– Examines the influence of social relationships on people’s attitudes and behavior.
– Studies how societies are established and change.
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
5 What is Sociology?
█The Sociological Imagination– Definition: An awareness of the
relationship between an individual and the wider society.
– It is the ability to view our own society as an outsider might, rather than from the perspective of our limited experiences and cultural biases.
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
6 What is Sociology?
█Sociology and the Social Sciences– In contrast to other social sciences,
sociology emphasizes the influence that groups can have on people’s behavior and attitudes and the ways in which people shape society.
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
7 What is Sociology?
█Sociology and Common Sense– Knowledge that relies on “common sense”
is not always reliable.
– Sociologists must test and analyze each piece of information that they use.
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
8 What is Sociology?
█ Figure 1.1: Race of Victims in Death Penalty Cases
Source: Death Penalty Information Center 2003
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
9 What is Sociological Theory?
█ Theory: An attempt to explain events, forces, materials, ideas or behavior in a comprehensive manner.
█ Sociological Theories: Seek to explain problems, actions, or behavior.
█ Effective theories should explain and predict.
█ Sociologists employ theories to examine the relationships between observations or data that may seem completely unrelated.
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
10 The Development of Sociology
Continued...
█Early Thinkers– Auguste Comte 1798–1857
• --Coined the term sociology as the science of human behavior
– Harriet Martineau 1802–1876• --Studied social behavior in England and the
United States
– Herbert Spencer 1820–1903• --Studied “evolutionary” change in society
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
11 The Development of Sociology
█Early Thinkers– Émile Durkheim 1858–1917
• --Pioneered work on suicide
– Max Weber 1864–1920• --Taught the need for “insight” in intellectual
work
– Karl Marx 1818–1883• --Emphasized the importance of the economy
and of conflict in society
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
12 The Development of Sociology
█Modern Developments– Charles Horton Cooley 1864–1929
• --Pioneered work on small groups within society
– Jane Addams 1860–1935• --Combined sociological study with activism
– Robert Merton 1910–2003• --Works on deviant behavior and crime
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
13 The Development of Sociology
█Merton’s Micro and Macro Approaches to the Study of Society– Macrosociology: Concentrates on large-
scale phenomena or entire civilizations.
– Microsociology: Stresses the study of small groups and often uses experimental study in laboratories.
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
14 The Development of Sociology
Source: Figure 1-2 (p.15) in Richard T. Schaefer and Robert P. Lamm, Sociology: An Introduction. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Auguste Comte1798 1857
1802 1876Harriet Martineau
1820 1903Herbert Spencer
Karl Marx
Émile Durkeim
Jane Addams
George Herbert Mead
Max Weber
Charles Horton Cooley
W.E.B. Du Bois
Talcott Parsons
Robert Merton
C. Wright Mills
Erving Goffman
1818 1883
1858 1917
1860 1935
1863 1931
1864 1920
1864 1929
1868 1963
1902 1979
1910
1916 1962
1922 1982
The “time lines” shownhere give an idea ofrelative chronology.
█ Prominent Contributors to Sociological Thought
2003
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
15 Major Theoretical Perspectives
Continued...
█Functionalist Perspective– Emphasizes the way that parts of a society
are structured to maintain its stability.
– Views society as a vast network of connected parts, each of which helps to maintain the system as a whole.
– Each part must contribute or it will not be passed on from one generation to the next.
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
16 Major Theoretical Perspectives
█ Functionalist Perspective– Manifest Functions of institutions are open,
stated, conscious functions. They involve the intended, recognized, consequences of an aspect of society.
– Latent Functions are unconscious or unintended functions and may reflect hidden purposes of an institution.
– A dysfunction is an element or a process of society that may actually disrupt a social system or lead to a decrease in stability.
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
17 Major Theoretical Perspectives
Continued...
█Conflict Perspective– Assumes that social behavior is best
understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups.
– Conflict is not necessarily violent.
– Conflict can be over economics or over competing values.
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
18 Major Theoretical Perspectives
Continued...
█Conflict Perspective– The Marxist View: Conflict is seen not
merely as a class phenomenon but as a part of everyday life in all societies.
– This view emphasizes social change and redistribution of resources, making conflict theorists more radical than functionalists.
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
19 Major Theoretical Perspectives
Continued...
█ Conflict Perspective– A Racial View: W. E. B DuBois: Encourages
sociologists to view society through the eyes of those segments of the population that rarely influence decision making.
– Sociology, contended DuBois, had to draw on scientific principles to study social problems such as those experienced by Blacks in the United States.
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
20 Major Theoretical Perspectives
█ Interactionist Perspective– Generalizes about everyday forms of social
interaction in order to understand society as a whole.
– Interactionism is a sociological framework for viewing human beings as living in a world of meaningful objects. These “objects” may include material things, actions, other people, relationships, and even symbols.
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
21 Major Theoretical Perspectives
█Feminist Perspective– Definition: Views inequity in gender as
central to all behavior and organization.
– Unlike conflict theory, with which it is sometimes allied, the feminist perspective often focuses on the micro-level relationships of everyday life, just as interactionists do.
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
22 Major Theoretical Perspectives
█ Table 1.1: Comparing Major Theoretical Perspectives
View of society Stable, well integrated Characterized by tension Active in influencing andand struggle between affecting everyday social groups interaction
Level of analysis Macro Macro Micro analysis as a way emphasized of understanding the
larger macro phenomena
Key concepts Manifest functions Inequality Symbols Latent functions Capitalism Nonverbal communication Dysfunction Stratification Face-to-face interaction
View of the People are socialized to People are shaped People manipulate individual perform societal functions by power, coercion, symbols and create their
and authority social worlds through interaction
Functionalist Conflict Interactionist
Continued…
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
23 Major Theoretical Perspectives
█ Table 1.1: Comparing Major Theoretical Perspectives
View of the Maintained through Maintained through Maintained by shared social order cooperation and force and coercion understanding of
consensus everyday behavior
View of social Predictable, reinforcing Change takes place all Reflected in people’schange the time and may have social positions and their
positive consequences communications with others
Example Public punishments Laws reinforce the People respect laws or reinforce the social order positions of those disobey them based on
in power their own past experience
Proponents Émile Durkheim Karl Marx George Herbert Mead Talcott Parsons W. E. B. Du Bois Charles Horton Cooley Robert Merton Ida Wells-Barnett Erving Goffman
Functionalist Conflict Interactionist
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
24 Major Theoretical Perspectives
█The Sociological Approach– Sociologists make use of all four
perspectives.
– Each perspective offers unique insights into the same issue.
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
25 Applied and Clinical Sociology
█ Applied Sociology: The use of the discipline of sociology with the specific intent of yielding practical applications for human behavior and organizations.
█ Clinical Sociology: The use of the discipline of sociology with the specific intent of altering social relationships and facilitating change.
█ Basic Sociology: Seeks a more profound knowledge of the fundamental aspects of social phenomena.
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
26Developing a Sociological Imagination
█Theory in Practice
█Research in Action
█The Significance of Social Inequality
█Speaking Across Race, Gender, and National Boundaries
█Social Policy Throughout the World
McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
27 Social Inequality
Video © NBC News Archives.
(Click inside frame to start video)
█ Barbara Ehrenreich discusses her book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America