1. “Sociology is the objective study of human behaviour in so far as it is affected by the fact people live in groups”: Sugarman (“Sociology”, 1968)
“Sociology may be defined as the study of society - the web of human interactions and relationships”: Ginsberg (“The Study of Society”, 1939)
“Sociology is the study of individuals in a social setting…Sociologists study the interrelationships between individuals, organisations, cultures and societies”: Ritzer (“Sociology”, 1979)
“The purpose of Sociology is the scientific study of human society through the investigation of people’s social behaviour”: Giner (“Sociology”, 1972)
What Is Sociology?
“Sociology is the study of human social life, groups and societies. It is a dazzling and compelling enterprise, having as its subject matter our own behaviour as social beings. The scope of sociology is extremely wide, ranging from the analysis of passing encounters between individuals in the street up to the investigation of world-wide social processes”: Giddens (“Sociology”, 1989)
“Sociology is the study of individuals in groups in a systematic way, which grew out of the search for understanding associated with the industrial and scientific revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries”: Lawson and Garrod (“The Complete A-Z Sociology Handbook”, 1996)

2. Identify some of the ways sociologists study social life
Examples
Two major themes
Identify some of the things sociologists study
Identify some of the ways sociologists study social life

3. Identify some of the ways sociologists study social life
Two major themes
Identify some of the things sociologists study
Identify some of the ways sociologists study social life
Sociologists study social behaviour - people and their patterns of behaviour. The focus is on the way people form relationships and how these relationships, considered in their totality, are represented by the concept of a “society”.
The definitions included words like “scientific”, “systematic” and “objective” - ideas that tell us something about how sociologists study behaviour and the kinds of knowledge they are trying to produce to explain such behaviour.
Sociologists create knowledge that is factual, rather than simply based on opinion. Systematic ways of studying social behaviour are used - sociologists test their ideas about social behaviour using evidence drawn from their observations.
The focus of attention is group behaviour – how the groups people join or are born into (family, work, education and so forth) affect their development and behaviour.

4. “Sociology is a social science concerned with the study of social relationships and the various ways these relationships are patterned in terms of our membership of social groups”.
This being the case, we need to look a little more closely at the concepts of social groups in order to understand how the relationships we form shape our behaviour…

5. A Friendship Group
Includes people who hang around together because they like each other
A Work Group
Might include people who do the same type of job.
A “social group” is a collection of individuals who interact – both formally and informally – with each other.
A Peer Group
Includes people of roughly the same age
An Educational Group
Might include people studying together in the same school / college or class.
A Family Group
People who are related by birth, marriage, etc.

6. Social Groups… Structure Society Institutions Small Groups Individuals
Our relationships are based on (or structured by) both formal and informal rules. “Society” therefore, represents a totality of relationships that imposes rules upon our behaviour.
Structure
Society
The largest group to which we usually belong…
Institutions
Small Groups
Individuals
Groups, such as families, peer and friendship groups, etc.
Action
Institutions are stable patterns of group behaviour that persist over long periods of time
The main types of institutional groups in our society are:
Family and Kinship, Government, Work and cultural institutions such as the media, education, and religion.

7. That is, the way our individual lives are built around social relationships and the rules we have developed to govern such relationships.
One of the main things sociologists investigate are “social structures”
Sociologists argue that our individual choices of behaviour are shaped by the relationships we form (or have imposed on us).
In the following screens, therefore, we need to investigate some of the ways our behaviour is constrained, formally and informally, by social structures…

8. Identify some of the ways your behaviour is influenced by:
Society
The Media
Language…
Lifestyle
Laws
Advertising

9. Identify some of the ways your behaviour is influenced by:
School
Your Family
Respect for authority
Right and wrong behaviour
What you are taught
Language

10. Identify some of the ways your behaviour is influenced by:
Your Peers
Your Friends
Fashion
Self-perception
Gender behaviour

11. If Sociology is the study of social relationships and the way in which our lives are structured by rules, it follows that the initial answer to the question
“What is Sociology?”
is that it is the study of Social Order…
In other words, Sociology explains how order is:
Created
Maintained
Reproduced
This being the case, the next step is to examine these ideas, beginning with the concept of culture…

12. The End?
The next Presentation examines
Culture and Identity

13. Sociology 11
Sociology 11
Mr. Bausback
Class Notes
Chapter 1&2

14. A word to strike fear into the hearts of Sociology teachers and students alike…
It’s going to be complicated – I’ll never understand it…
It’s complicated – how can I teach it so they’ll grasp it?
“Theory!”
However, as with everything in life, theory is as complicated as you want to make it.
And besides – (sociological) theory is Important.
And as with most things, if you understand the basics, it’s much easier to grasp the harder bits…
If we grasp the theory behind something, everything else is much easier to understand…

15. “Theory” A suggested explanation for something…
A systematic and general attempt to explain something…
“Theory”
“Why do people commit crimes?
“Why do people get married?”
“How does the media affect us?”
“Why do kids play truant from school?”
“Why do some people believe in God?”
“How is our identity shaped by culture?”

16. “Theory” …is something we use all the time in our everyday life
“Why do I feel unwell?”
We all use theory to construct explanations about the social world in which we live…
Which, in a way, is what Sociologists also try to do…
“Why are my friends behaving oddly?”
In a slightly different way, of course…
“Why do I have to go to school?”

17. Sociological Theory High-Level Theories Functionalism…
Comes in a variety of shapes and sizes…
Sociological Theory
High-Level Theories
Focus on trying to explain how and why society is ordered
Functionalism…
Mid-Range Theories
Marxism…
Focus on trying to explain some general aspect of social behaviour
Interactionism…
Feminism…
Low-Level Theories
Focus on trying to explain a specific aspect of social behaviour.
Why do girls achieve higher educational qualifications than boys?
Why do I always fall asleep in Psychology lessons?

18. If you understand the basic principles of High-level theories you will find it easier to understand other types of theory.
This is because Mid- range and Low-level theories are often based on the principles underpinning High- level theories.
High level theories are usually known by their more-common label of “Sociological Perspectives”
A “perspective”, for our current purposes, is simply a way of looking at and understanding the social world.
Different sociologists, working within different perspectives, construct different theories about the nature of that world…

19. Sociological Perspectives…
The following slides are designed to help you understand the basic themes / principles of a range of sociological perspectives
Sociological Perspectives…
They do this by using analogies…
In other words, they help you to decide “what society is like” (from different sociological perspectives) by asking you to compare “society” to something familiar…
Part of your task in the following screens, therefore, is to use a variety of different analogies to develop a picture of how the concept of “society” is seen and explained by different sociological perspectives…

20. “Society Is Like”: A Human Body
Functionalism…
“Society Is Like”: A Human Body
Characteristics of human body…
Characteristics of society…
Each part of the body works in harmony with all other parts
Each part of society works in harmony with all other parts

21. “Society Is Like”: A League Table
Marxism…
“Society Is Like”: A League Table
Characteristics of league table…
Characteristics of society…
A league is characterised by competition between teams
Society involves competition between social groups / classes

22. “Society Is Like”: A Play
Interactionism…
“Society Is Like”: A Play
Characteristics of a play…
Characteristics of society…
A play has actors who play their individual roles
Society consists of individual actors who play a variety of roles

23. “Society Is Like”: A League Table
Feminism…
“Society Is Like”: A League Table
Characteristics of league table…
Characteristics of society…
A league is characterised by competition between teams
Society involves competition between men and women

24. “Society Is Like”: A Theme Park
Post-Modernism…
“Society Is Like”: A Theme Park
Characteristics of theme park…
Characteristics of society…
A theme park has numerous different rides
Society is characterised by a multiplicity of choices (work, education, leisure, etc.)

25. “...THE SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF HUMAN SOCIETY ”
SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINE THAT FOCUSES ATTENTION ON PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR
HUMAN SOCIETY
GROUP BEHAVIOR IS PRIMARY FOCUS; HOW GROUPS INFLUENCE INDIVIDUALS AND VICE VERSA
AT THE “HEART OF SOCIOLOGY”
THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE WHICH OFFERS A UNIQUE VIEW OF SOCIETY 1 1 2 2 2 2 2

26. REASONS FOR TAKING SOCIOLOGY
EDUCATION AND LIBERAL ARTS
WELL-ROUNDED AS A PERSON
SOCIAL EXPECTATIONS
MORE APPRECIATION FOR DIVERSITY
THE GLOBAL VILLAGE
DOMESTIC SOCIAL MARGINALITY
ENHANCED LIFE CHANCES
MICRO AND MACRO UNDERSTANDING
INCREASE SOCIAL POTENTIALS

28. OTHER WAYS SOCIOLOGY ALLOWS US TO SEE ANEW
ADVANTAGES OF A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL MARGINALITY
ALLOWS US TO NOTICE DIVERSITY IN AMERICA
SOCIOLOGY DRAWS ATTENTION TO SOCIAL CRISIS
IMPORTANCE OF THESE ITEMS
THEY ALLOW US TO SEE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN MICRO AND MACRO SOCIAL ELEMENTS

29. GLOBAL LINKAGE
SOCIOLOGY OFFERS STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND THE GLOBAL VILLAGE
ALL SOCIETIES ARE INCREASINGLY CONNECTED THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMICS
INTERDEPENDENCY OF NATIONS
MANY SOCIAL PROBLEMS FACED BY AMERICANS ARE MORE SERIOUS ELSEWHERE
MORE AWARENESS
UNDERSTANDING GLOBAL ISSUES AND THE WORLD AROUND AMERICA ALLOWS STUDENTS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THEMSELVES
FEWER ETHNOCENTRIC TENDENCIES

30. The Sociological Perspective
OBSERVATIONS ARE CERTAINLY IMPACTED BY THE PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES THROUGH WHICH PEOPLE COME TO VIEW THE WORLD 2 2 3 3 3 3 3

31. THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: PETER BERGER
SEE THE GENERAL IN THE PARTICULAR
GENERAL SOCIAL PATTERNS IN THE BEHAVIOR OF PARTICULAR INDIVIDUALS
INDIVIDUALS ARE UNIQUE…BUT
SOCIETY’S SOCIAL FORCES SHAPE US INTO “KINDS” OF PEOPLE
CONSIDER THESE
PEOPLE MORE LIKELY TO KILL THEMSELVES
PEOPLE MORE LIKELY TO GO TO AND SUCCEED IN COLLEGE AND ENJOY A FAVORABLE QUALITY OF LIFE 7 10

32. Seeing the General in the Particular2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
African Americans
Whites
10.9
20.2
6.2
12.4
1.9
4.9
Males
Both Sexes
Females
RATE OF DEATH BY SUICIDE
By Race and Sex
U.S. Bureau of the Census
WHAT SOCIAL FORCES ARE
AT WORK HERE?
PER 100,000 PERSONS 9 12

33. DURKHEIM’S STUDY OF SUICIDE
MORE LIKELY TO COMMIT
MALE PROTESTANTS WHO WERE WEALTHY AND UNMARRIED HAD HIGHER SUICIDE RATES
PROTESTANTISM AND INDIVDUALISM
LESS LIKELY TO COMMIT
MALE JEWS AND CATHOLICS WHO WERE POOR AND MARRIED
BEING CATHOLIC AND GROUP-ORIENTATION
ONE OF THE BASIC FINDINGS: WHY?
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE GROUPS HAD TO DO WITH “SOCIAL INTEGRATION”
THOSE WITH STRONG SOCIAL TIES HAD LESS OF A CHANCE OF COMMITING SUICIDE

34. COLLEGE BOUND? A COLLEGE DEGREE IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN AMERICA
WHAT IS IT ABOUT SOCIETY THAT MAKES THESE PEOPLE MORE OR LESS LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE A COLLEGE EDUCATION?
BLACKS: 60 PERCENT
HISPANICS: 66 PERCENT
WHITES: 68 PERCENT
ONLY PART OF THE STORY…
COLLEGE DROPOUT RATES ARE VERY HIGH AMONGST BLACKS AND HISPANICS

35. SOCIOLOGY ASKS STUDENTS TO:
SEEING THE STRANGE IN THE FAMILIAR PETER BERGER: “THINGS AREN’T ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM”
SOCIOLOGY ASKS STUDENTS TO:
GIVE UP FAMILIAR ASSUMPTIONS
KNOW THAT SOCIETY INFLUENCES PEOPLE BY GUIDING THOUGHTS AND BEHAVIORS
ANY DOUBTS???
TO WHAT REAL EXTENT DID YOUR OWN “FREE WILL” ENTER INTO YOUR DECISION TO ATTEND COLLEGE?
WHAT ABOUT EXTERNAL SOCIAL FORCES? 10 14

36. EXTERNAL FORCES SIT RIGHT ON TOP OF US!!!
REWARDS &
PUNISHMENTS
SOCIETY
COMMUNITY
& NORMS
DYADS
GROUPS
ORGANIZATIONS
AND NORMS
NORMS
NORMS
SOCIETY
SOCIAL
EXPECTATIONS
NORMS
& NORMS 11 15

37. SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION
C. WRIGHT MILLS’ SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION
SOCIETY IS OFTEN RESPONSIBLE FOR MANY OF OUR PROBLEMS
WE NEED TO LEARN TO SEPARATE THINGS THAT HAVE TO DO WITH
PERSONAL TROUBLES, OR BIOGRAPHY
SOCIAL ISSUES, OR HISTORY
EXAMPLES:
WOMEN’S OPPORTUNITIES AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY AND THESE DAYS
LIFESTYLES OF THOSE WE LABEL DISABLED IN THE 1950’S AND NOW 16 16

38. THINK IN TERMS OF FAMILY, THE ECONOMY, RELIGION, THE
LEGAL SYSTEM, AND SCHOOL
THINK IN TERMS OF LAWS,
VALUES, NORMS, TRADITIONS,
SOCIAL EXPECATIONS, ROLES,
STATUSES, AND BELIEF
SYSTEMS.

39. STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE
TO SEE THE CONNECTION
BETWEEN BIOGRAPHY AND
HISTORY!

40. THE DISCIPLINE’S ORIGINS
SOCIOLOGY SPRANG FROM THREE SEPARATE, YET INTERDEPENDENT REVOLUTIONS
THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
A BELIEF IN SCIENCE BEGAN TO REPLACE TRADITIONAL FORMS OF AUTHORITY
THE ECONOMIC REVOLUTION
INDUSTRIALISM AND CAPITALISM WERE CHANGING ECONOMIC PATTERNS
THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION
MORE DEMOCRATIC VALUES AND STANDARDS WERE BEING ADOPTED 6 6 7 7 7 7 7

41. PERSONALITIES AUGUSTE COMTE (1798-1857) KARL MARX (1818-1883)
POSITIVISM; LAW OF THREE STAGES; THE “TWIN PILLARS”
KARL MARX ( )
CLASS CONFLICT/STRUGGLE
HERBERT SPENCER ( )
SOCIAL DARWINISM
EMILE DURKHEIM ( )
GROUP FORCES; SOCIAL SOLIDARITY
W.E.B. DU BOIS ( )
PLIGHT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS
PERSONALITIES 7 7 8 8 8 8 8

42. WOMEN IN SOCIOLOGY HARRIET MARTINEAU (1802-1876)
TRANSLATED THE WORKS OF AUGUSTE COMTE
FOCUSED ON ISSUES SURROUNDING
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
SLAVERY
THE WORKPLACE AND FACTORY LAWS
JANE ADDAMS ( )
SOCIAL WORKER
DEVELOPED PLAN TO HELP IMMIGRANTS NEW TO CITY LIFE IN AMERICA
HULL HOUSE IN CHICAGO
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER, 1931

43. SOCIAL PARADIGMS THEORY: A STATEMENT OF HOW AND WHY FACTS ARE RELATED
PARADIGM: A SET OF FUNDAMENTAL ASSUMPTIONS THAT GUIDES THINKING
DOWN
WITH
PEOPLE
PEOPLE HOLD DIFFERING OPINIONS ABOUT THEIR SOCIAL WORLD
WE ALL COME FROM
DIFFERENT SOCIAL
EXPERIENCES AND THEY
BIAS OUR ASSUMPTIONS
UP WITH
PEOPLE 8 9 9 9 9 9 9

44. STRUCTURAL -FUNCTIONALISM
THE BASICS
A MACRO-ORIENTED (LARGE-SCALE) PARADIGM
VIEWS SOCIETY AS A COMPLEX SYSTEM WITH MANY INTERDEPENDENT PARTS
THE PARTS WORK TOGETHER TO PROMOTE SOCIAL STABILITY AND ORDER
MAJOR CHANGES TO THE SYSTEM’S PARTS IS NOT REQUIRED OR DESIRED; SYSTEM SEEKS TO MAINTAIN IT EQUILIBRIUM
KEY ELEMENTS:
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
REFERS TO RELATIVELY STABLE PATTERNS OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR FOUIND IN SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
SOCIAL FUNCTION
REFERS TO THE CONSEQUENCES OF SOCIAL PATTERNS FOR SOCIETY
THE WORK OF ROBERT K. MERTON ON SOCIAL FUNCTION 9 10 10 10 10 10 10

45. THE BASICS: KEY ELEMENTS: A MACRO-ORIENTED PARADIGM
VIEWS SOCIETY AS A STRUCTURED SYSTEM BASED ON INEQUALITY
SOCIAL CONFLICT BETWEEN GROUPS OVER SCARCE RESOURCES IS THE NORM
KEY ELEMENTS:
SOCIETY IS STRUCTURED IN WAYS TO BENEFIT A FEW AT THE EXPENSE OF THE MAJORITY
FACTORS SUCH AS RACE, SEX, CLASS, AND AGE ARE LINKED TO SOCIAL INEQUALITY
DOMINANT GROUP VS. MINORITY GROUP RELATIONS
INCOMPATIBLE INTERESTS AND MAJOR DIFFERENCES 10 11 11 11 11 11 11

46. THE CONFLICT
PARADIGM

47. SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
SYMBOLIC INTERACTION IS A MICRO-ORIENTED PARADIGM,
WHICH MEANS IT IS EFFECTIVELY USED WHEN ATTEMPTING
TO UNDERSTAND SMALLER-SCALE SOCIAL PHENOMENA
THE BASICS:
THE VIEW THAT SOCIETY IS THE PRODUCT OF EVERYDAY INTERACTIONS
PRINCIPLES:
SOCIETY IS A COMPLEX MOSAIC OF UNDERSTANDING THAT EMERGES FROM THE VERY PROCESS OF INTERACTING
GOFFMAN’S DRAMATURGICAL ANALSYIS
THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY 11 12 12 12 12 12 12

48. BURGER AND LUCKMANN’S IDEAS
THINK OF LANGUAGE AS A CONSTANT PROCESS THAT INVOLVES
EXTERNALIZATION
CREATION OF INSTITUTIONS AND RULES THAT GOVERN INTERACTION
OBJECTIFICATION
PEOPLE BEGIN TO SEE SUCH ARRANGEMENTS AS DO NOT HAVE A HUMAN CONNECTION - REIFICATION
INTERNALIZATION
WE INTERNALIZE A SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED REALITY AS WE LEARN TO ADAPT TO SOCIETY ON OUR WAY TO BECOMING A “NORMAL HUMAN”
EXAMPLE: THE PROCESS BY WHICH A TECHNICAL COLLEGE IS TRANSFORMED INTO A COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY COLLEGE