1. THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS
Sociology
THE STUDY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS

2. 1. The Sociological Point of View: Examining Social Life
We are surrounded by the subject of sociology every single day.
Newspapers, TV News, internet, etc.
How many of you spend at least 5 hours online a week?
Studies show that 13% of people who spend 5+ hours a week, spend less time with family and friend

3. TRUTH OR FICTION The key focus of sociology is the individual.
Sociology has little in common with other social sciences.
All sociologist are in broad agreement of the nature of social life.

4. 2 QUESTIONS TO ANSWER…
1. What is sociology, and what does it mean to have a sociological imagination?
2. How is sociology similar to and different from other social sciences?

5. SNOWFLAKES What do you believe has helped shape you?
Experiences, beliefs, values, lifestyles, historical events, etc.
All of our different view points gives us a rich diversity. It is what makes us unique individuals (we are all snow flakes!)
Despite all that, we share many of the same characteristics and ideas as well.
This is the primary interest of sociologists.

6. SO WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?
Sociology: is the social science that studies human society and social behavior.
Social Sciences: are the disciplines that study human social behavior or institutions and functions of human society in a scientific manner.
Social Interaction: how people relate to one another and influence each other’s behaviors.
Tend to focus on the group, not the individual.
Social Phenomena: observable facts or events that involve human society.
Example of social phenomena; Civil War, WWI, WWII, 9/11, Columbine shooting, etc.

7. The Sociological Perspective
Why should we study sociology?
Gain a new perspective/view, of yourself and the world around you.
Sociological Perspective: a viewing of the behavior of groups in a systematic way.
You can look beyond commonly held beliefs to the hidden meanings behind human actions.

8. The Sociological Perspective
Is your behavior learned or are you born with it?
It helps tell you that your behaviors are influenced by social factors and that you learned behaviors from others.
Viewing the world through others eyes (walking in someone else’s shoes)
Helps you balance what society demands of you.
Can you always do what you want? What will happen if you do? What happens if you always do what others want you to do?
Gives you insight on how your social environment helps shape you and how you can shape your social environment.

9. The Sociological Perspective
Sociological Imagination: the ability to see the connection between the larger world and your personal life. (C. Wright Mills)
“The capacity to range from the most impersonal and remote topics to the most intimate features of the human self-and to see the relations between the two.”

10. Sociology’s Place in Social Sciences
Can anyone name some other social sciences?
Anthropology: the comparative study of past and present cultures
Most similar to Soc.
Traditionally concentrates on past cultures and present less advanced societies
. Now anthropologists study complex societies as well; neighborhoods and large modern cities.

11. Sociology’s Place in Social Sciences
Psychology: science that deals with the behavior and thinking of organisms.
Focuses on the individual rather than the group behavior.
Interested in personality, perception, motivation, and learning.
Social Psychology: the study of how the social environment affect an individual’s behavior and personality

12. Sociology’s Place in Social Sciences
Economics: the study of the choices people make in an effort to satisfy their needs and wants.
Examine the process by which goods and services are produced, distributed, and consumed.
Political Science: the examination and operation of governments.
Areas of mutual interest are voting patterns, concentration of political power, and formation of politically based groups.
History: study of past events.
Look at the past to explain social behaviors and attitudes.

13. Questions to answer… 1. How did the field of sociology develop?
2. In what ways do the three main theoretical perspectives in sociology differ in their focus?

14. 2. Sociology: then and now
How would the development of the Industrial Evolution in Europe lead to the development of Sociology as a distinct field of study?
Went from a rural economy to an industrial
Farms and cottages shifted to city dwelling
Factories replaced the home as a site of manufacturing
SO WHAT?

15. Sociology: then and now
Rapid growth of urban populations led to a plethora of social problems, can you name some?
People seeking jobs outpaced job availability
Housing shortages (population increases)
Crime increases
City life was much different then rural farming communities, cities were less personal than people were used to.

16. Sociology: then and now
Individual liberty and rights became the focus of a wide variety or political movements.
American and French Revolutions
The social, political, and economic changes caused scholars to question the traditional explanation of life.
Attempt to prove that the social world was based on a set of basic principles that could be studied through research methods

17. The Early Years
Sociology took its roots primarily in France, Germany and England
Why? Think back here…
Most influential men on early Sociology are!?

18. Founders of Club Auguste Comte (French)
Coined the term sociology and considered to be the founder
Focused on social order and social change
Suffered from depression
Many of his ideas regarding society of been refuted, but is basic issues of order and changed are still concerns today.

19. Founders of Club Herbert Spencer (English) Influenced by Darwin
Biological view of society; a living organism
A set of interdependent parts that work together to maintain the system over time.

20. Founders of Club Herbert Spencer Continued… Evolutionary view as well
Social change and unrest are natural in order to create stability and perfection
The best aspects of society would remain over time, the fittest societies would survive over time.
Coined “survival of the fittest” not Darwin
Coined Social Darwinism: perspectives that holds that societies evolve toward stability and perfection.

21. Founders of Club Karl Marx (German)
Radical political views prevented him from jobs and expelled him from Countries.
Writing influenced generations of scholars and social critics

22. Founders of Club Karl Marx Continued…
Society divided into two: bourgeoisie (capitalists) and the proletariat (workers)
Bourgeoisie owned the means of production: materials and methods of production and service
Proletariat owned nothing but provided the services
He believed this imbalance would lead to conflict.
The proletariat had to unite and overthrow the capitalists to end it. They would then build a classless system where everyone would contribute “according to his ability” and rewarded “according to his needs”

23. Founders of Club Émile Durkheim (French)
Concerned with social order (Comte)
Saw society as a set of interdependent parts that maintain a system (Spencer)

24. Founders of Club Émile Durkheim continued...
Functions: the consequence that an element of society produces for the maintenance of its social system.
Particularly interested with religion.
Believed that shared beliefs and values were the glue that held society together.
Functionalist view has been very influential in modern American sociology

25. FOUNDERS club
Believed that sociologist should only study features of society that are directly observable; suicide
Studied the suicide rates in several European countries. (First true sociological study)

26. Founders club Max Weber (German)
Unlike the others, Weber was interested in separate groups within society rather than the whole.
Focused more on the effect of society on the individual.
Believed sociologists should go beyond studying what can be directly observed (uncover thoughts and feelings)

27. Founders club
Verstehen: attempt to understand the meanings individuals attach to their actions. (someone else’s shoes)
Ideal type: essential characteristics of a feature of society.
Constructed by examining many examples of a feature then find essential characteristics
Public School: may not look exactly like SMHS but you know its functions and purpose.

28. Current perspectives
Theory: explanation of the relationship among a particular phenomena
Theoretical perspectives: general set of assumptions about the nature of things
3 broad perspectives

29. Current perspectives
Functionalist Perspective: a view that society is a set of interrelated parts that work together to produce a stable society.
Not everything in society runs smoothly, therefore it is…?
Dysfunctional

30. Current perspectives
Conflict perspective: forces in society that promote competition and change
Power, wealth, age, sex, race, ethnicity
How can ^^^these^^^ lead to conflict?
Once a group establishes power/wealth, we tend to do what?
Best interest

31. Current perspectives
Interactionist perspective: how individuals interact with one another in society (every day situations)
What is a symbol?
How do we use symbols to interact (symbolic interaction)?

32. EARLY SOCIOLOGISTS
TOPICS OF INTEREST
THEORETICAL APPROACH
Comte
Social order and social change
Functionalist
Spencer
Social Darwinism
Durkheim
Function of different elements of society in maintaining social order
Marx
Social effects of economic power imbalances and class conflict
Conflict
Weber
Effect of society on the individual and the meanings individuals attach to their actions
Interactionist

33. Time to write
Based on the two issues I will show you next, you are to choose one and write a brief essay that describes how adopting each of the three theoretical perspectives might affect your view of the chosen issue.
Consider:
What functionalists might focus on
The interests of conflict theorists
The interests of interactionists

34. The average age at which people in the U. S
The average age at which people in the U.S. first marry has risen steadily for several decades. Resulting, single people are a rapidly growing segment of our population. In 2000 there were more than 26M Americans 25 or older who had never been married.
Approximately 26M Americans were victims of crime in On average, there was one violent crime every 22 seconds, one property crime every 3 seconds, and one murder every 34 minutes