Chapter 2 Sociology’s Family Tree: Theories and Theorists 1

What is Theory?  Plausible explanation  Cause-and-effect  Among observed phenomenon 2

What is Theory?  Common-sense theories  Everyone creates theories  Make sense of world 3

Common Sense Theories  Examples:  How to make friends?  How to succeed in college?  How to get a job? 4

Sociological Theories Not just how things happen, but  Why? 5

Theory  Vital to making sense of social life  Facts make sense because we interpret them using  Categories  Assumptions 6

Categories  Class of people or things  Particular shared characteristics 7

Assumptions Beliefs we hold to be true  Often with little or no evidence 8

Assumptions About Human Nature 1.Selfish or Selfless 2.Aggressive or Compassionate 3.Competitive or Cooperative 4.Basic needs:  Food / Water  Companionship  Perception of control 9

Formal Sociological Theory  Assumptions and categories explicit  Open to examination  Scrutiny, and  Reformulation 10

Sociological Theories  Explain social world  Make predictions->Future 11

Sociological theory  Where did it come from?  Theories and theorists  Current theoretical approaches  Sociology as science

Where did it come from?  18 th & 19 th century  New system of production:  Industrial revolution  Capitalism  Colonialism

Where did it come from?  Enlightenment: New Ideas  Humanism  Importance of human rather than divine matters  Science  Knowledge of physical world by observation & experimentation  New political forms  Democracies 14

Auguste Comte (1798–1857)

Theories and theorists  Auguste Comte  Coined term “Sociology” (1839)  Also called “Social Physics”  Assumption:  Society=Organism  Categories:  Social Statics  Social Dynamics 16

Theorist: Auguste Comte  Sociology-> Similar to biology  Groundwork-future sociologists  Helped build the discipline 17

Harriet Martineau ( ) Categories:  Gender  Politics  Race Assumptions:  Equality  Belief in science

Theorist: Harriet Martineau  Social activist  Labor unions  Abolition of slavery  Women’s suffrage  Traveled to United States  Translated Comte’s work from French to English 19

Theorist: Herbert Spencer ( ) The Greatest Individual of the 19 th Century

***Theorist: Herbert Spencer  Categories:  “Fit” and “Unfit”  Men and Women  Rich and Poor 21

Theorist: Herbert Spencer  Assumptions:  Society=Organism  Societies adapt to changing environment  “Survival of the Fittest” 22

Theorist: Emile Durkheim ( )

Theorist: Emile Durkheim  QqMyMIAhI QqMyMIAhI  Sociology->Academic discipline  Taught courses  Research—”Suicide” 24

Theorist: Emile Durkheim  Categories:  Social facts (Material & Non- material)  Types of social solidarity  Mechanical solidarity— Similarities  Organic solidarity— Differences 25

Theorist: Emile Durkheim  Assumptions:  Society studied as science  Social factors hold society together 26

Karl Marx ( )

Theorist: Karl Marx  German philosopher  Political activist  Contributed to Conflict Theory 28

Theorist: Karl Marx  Categories:  Social Class  Proletariat  Bourgeoisie  Modes of Production 29

Theorist: Karl Marx Assumptions  Humans want to work  Humans are creative  Humans are social  Society is shaped by “mode of production” 30

Videos about Marx  re=related re=related  Marxism made simple  4&feature=related 4&feature=related  The Communist Manifesto Cartoon

Max Weber ( )

Theorist: Max Weber  Categories:  Types of societies  Traditional  Modern industrial  Social Class  Class  Status  Party 33

Theorist: Max Weber  Assumptions:  Modern societies-> Dehumanizing  Increasing bureaucracy  D0&feature=related D0&feature=related  Social institutions=“Iron cage” 34

Theorist: W.E.B. Du Bois ( ) 35

Theorist: W.E.B. Du Bois  Categories:  Race  African American perspective: “double consciousness”  Education  Industrial  Higher

Theorist: W.E.B. Du Bois  Assumptions:  History influences self  “The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line.” 37

Modern Schools of Thought Structural Functionalism  Society as:  Stable  Ordered system  Interrelated parts 38

Structural Functionalism  Social institutions:  Family  Education  Politics  Economy  Meets need of society  Function 39

Conflict Theory  Social conflict basis:  Of society and  Social change  Source of Conflict:  Inequality 40

Conflict theory  Conflict and tension  Basic to social life  Disagreements over goals & values  Sources of Conflict  Scarce resources  Power 41

Conflict theory  Focus:  Dominance  Competition  Social change 42

Conflict theory 1.Materialist  Labor and Economic reality 2.Critical-> existing arrangements 3.Dynamic historical change  Inevitable 43

Symbolic Interactionism  Interaction  Symbols  Shared meaning  Social creation of reality 44

Feminist Theory  Gender inequalities  Nature  Source  Gender structures social world  Remedies to inequalities 45

Queer Theory  Sexual identity is social construct  No sexual category fundamentally deviant or normal 46

Postmodernist Theory  Social reality is:  Diverse  Changing  No truth, reason, right, order, or stability  Everything is relative & temporary 47

Theory in Everyday Life

Perspective Level of Analysis Focus of Analysis Case Study