1. Introduction to Sociology Sociology 120
Napa Valley College
Social Sciences Division
Glen Bell
Office 1030 E Office Phone

2. The Sociological Perspective
The sociological perspective - opens a window onto unfamiliar worlds, and offers a fresh look at familiar worlds.
It enables one to gain a new vision of social life.
It examines how group membership influences behavior.

3. Sociological Perspective
“Reflective skepticism”- asking important questions before accepting the propositions asserted; what data (facts?) do you base your statements on? What interests are being served if this assertion is accepted? What do you mean by….? (concept clarification, operational definitions)
Debunking – looking behind what is typically seen and accepted in everyday life. What are the range of behaviors, goals, and interactions in the classroom besides teaching and learning a subject matter?
Examples: whose interests does the curriculum serve?
why is there a 5’10’’ height requirement to be a cop?

4. The Sociological Perspective
This perspective allows us to examine society - a group of people who share a culture and a territory.

5. 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

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

7. Sociology and the Other Sciences
Science- systematic methods used to study the social and natural worlds.
Sociology- the scientific study of society and human behavior.
A useful way of comparing these sciences is to divide them into the natural and the social sciences.

8. Sociology and the Other Sciences
Natural Sciences-
the intellectual and academic disciplines designed to comprehend, explain, and predict the events in our natural environment.
Social Sciences- examine human relationships in an attempt to objectively understand the social world.

9. The Goals of Science 3- To predict what will happen in the future.
Scientists rely on systematic studies to move beyond common sense- those ideas that prevail.
1- To explain why something happens.
2- To make generalizations that go beyond the individual case.

10. The Origins of Sociology
Sociology is a very new discipline.
It grew out of upheaval during the Industrial Revolution.
The American and French Revolutions encouraged new thought.
Scientists began applying the scientific method to real world problems.

11. 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

12. Auguste Comte “The Father of Sociology”
Positivism proposed the idea of applying the scientific method to social life.
Comte called this new science “sociology” - the study of society.
His aim for sociology was to reform society.
Comte believed we must observe society in order to uncover it’s fundamental laws.

13. Herbert Spencer “Social Darwinism”
Spencer disagreed with Comte that reform should be the goal.
Spencer believed no one should intervene in the evolution of society.
Over time, societies improve.
The fittest members will produce an advanced society.

14. Karl Marx
Marx stated that the engine of human history is class conflict.
He claimed there is a strong conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
The struggle between the classes would end only when the proletariat revolted.
The result would be a classless society.
Marxism is not communism.

15. SOCIETY AND PRODUCTION
SOCIETY IN CONFLICT
SOCIAL CONFLICT
STRUGGLE BETWEEN GROUPS OVER SCARCE RESOURCES
SOCIETY AND PRODUCTION
CAPITALISTS AND THE PROLETARIAT
SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUPERSTRUCTURE
FALSE CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS
ACCEPTING A NEGATIVE STATUS AS AN INHERENT TRAIT; “ATTRIBUTION ERROR”

16. Karl Marx Emphasized the importance of socioeconomic classes:
Capitalists- ones who owned the “means of production”
Bourgeoisie – small business owners
Proletariat – working class
Lumpenproletariat – (scum class) useless excess of humanity discarded by capitalist societies; “the poor who serve no purpose”.

18. Emile Durkheim
Durkheim’s goal was to recognize sociology as an academic discipline.
He studied suicide rates.
The key factor in suicide is social integration.
Those with weaker ties are most likely to commit suicide.

19. RATE OF DEATH BY SUICIDE
Seeing the General in the Particular 2 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

20. 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

21. Copyright (c) 2003 by Allyn & Bacon
High
Altruistic
Low
High
Anomic
Fatalistic
Social Integration
Low
Y-axis
Egoistic
Social Regulation
X-axis
A Normative Theory of Suicide: Durkheim
Copyright (c) 2003 by Allyn & Bacon

22. Emile Durkheim
Two types of social solidarity: mechanical solidarity, present in traditional societies where there is a simple division of labor and a communal spirit; and organic solidarity, in which more modern societies have a complex division of labor, and an organizational interdependence; if one fails, all fail in a modern business enterprise.
Anomie – the social condition in which norms and expectations are in conflict, or absent, leaving one adrift; the solution is to seek equilibrium and re-establish oneself into the stability of a culture and it’s supportive belief systems.

23. Emile Durkheim
Durkheim focused upon large social processes and institutions (structure), and the way that these institutions and processes operate to maintain social order (functionalism).
Sui generis – Durkheim argued that society was a “thing-in itself” and had an existence independent of the individuals who populate it, just as a forest is something different and unique from the mere collection of individual trees.

24. DURKHEIM’S VIEWS ON SOCIETY
MORE THAN INDIVIDUALS
SOCIETY HAS A LIFE OF ITS OWN - BEYOND OUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
SOCIAL FACTS
ANY PATTERNS ROOTED IN SOCIETY RATHER THAN THE EXPERIENCE OF INDIVIDUALS
SOCIETY HAS AN “OBJECTIVE EXISTENCE” BEYOND OUR OWN SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTIONS OF THE WORLD
EXAMPLES: NORMS, VALUES, RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, AND RITUALS
POWER TO GUIDE OUR THOUGHTS/ACTIONS

25. EXAMINING SOCIETY THREE ASPECTS OF DURKHEIMIAN THOUGHT:
EVER FEEL LIKE YOU’RE
A PUPPET ON A STRING?
THREE ASPECTS OF DURKHEIMIAN THOUGHT:
SOCIETY HAS A STRUCTURE AND ITS VARIOUS PARTS EXISTS IN AN ORDERLY RELATIONSHIP
SOCIETY HAS POWER THAT IS DEMONSTRATED IN HOW IT SHAPES OUR THOUGHTS AND ACTIONS
SOCIETY HAS AN OBJECTIVE EXISTENCE AS IT OPERATES APART FORM ANY INDIVIDUAL’S SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE

26. Max Weber
Weber did not believe the economy was the force of social change.
Religion was the key.
The Protestant ethic - the belief that working hard would please God.
Weber found that Protestant beliefs led to the growth of Capitalism.
Religion was the central factor in the rise of Capitalism.

27. Max Weber
Identified rationalism as a key influence in the transition from pre-industrial to modern society; over-rationalization)
Stressed a value-free sociology by recognizing that we all have a “world view” that must be suspended in order to see as much as possible in human interaction.
Stressed the importance of power in both maintenance of, and in changing, social institutions and society as we perceive it.
Attributed power to other institutions as well as economic, and also pointed out the interdependence of belief systems and economic systems; The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, 1904.
Ideal Type – identifying the role of abstract ideas as heuristic tools for discussion; problem of reification.

28. RATIONALISM, CALVINISM, AND INDUSTRIAL CAPITALISM
THE HISTORICAL CHANGE FROM TRADITION TO RATIONALITY AS THE DOMINANT MODE OF HUMAN THOUGHT
RATIONALISM, CALVINISM, AND INDUSTRIAL CAPITALISM
PREDESTINATION AND GOD’S FAVOR
FROM A RELIGIOUS TO A WORK ETHIC
RATIONAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
DISTINCTIVE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT SEE TO MEETING THE DEMANDS OF A GROWING, COMPLEX SOCIETY

29. The Role of Values in Social Research
Weber claimed sociology should remain value free - when values should not affect research.
Sociologists stress replication- repeating a study by other researchers to compare results.

30. Weber Verstehen and Social Facts
Verstehen- “to grasp by insight.”
The best interpreter of human action is someone who “has been there.”
Social Facts- patterns of behavior that characterize a social group.
Each pattern reflects some condition of society.

31. The Debate Over Basic Versus Applied Sociology
Some sociologists believe their role is to analyze society and publish results.
Others feel sociologists have an obligation to make society a better place.
Somewhere between we have applied sociology - the use of sociology to solve problems.

33. SOCIAL PARADIGMS
THEORY: An Explanation of the relationship between specific facts.
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

34. Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology
Theory - a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together.
An explanation of how two or more facts are related to one another.
Sociologists use three main theories:
1) symbolic interaction
2) functional analysis
3) conflict theory

35. Symbolic Interactionism
Studies how people use symbols to establish meaning, develop views of the world, and communicate.
Our behaviors depend on the way we define ourselves and others.
Symbolic Interactionists study face to face interactions and relationships.

36. 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

37. “The Looking Glass Self”
Charles Horton Cooley
“The Looking Glass Self”
The process through which we imaginatively assume the reactions of other people.

38. George Herbert Mead
Role taking allows us to learn the values, norms, and behaviors associated with those roles. This is critical for the process of socialization.

39. 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 WITHOUT 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 WE BLAME GOVERNMENT AND INSTITUTIONS FOR OUR PROBLEMS; WHAT ARE SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS?

40. Sociological Nomenclature
Ethnocentrism – the belief that our culture is is superior to others. It also includes the concept of “world view”, meaning that we view the world through a very distinct cultural lens. A perspective often affects perception.
“It is more comfortable for our eye to react to a particular object by producing again an image it has often produced before than by retaining what is new and different in an impression” Friedrich Nietzche
A multiculturalism approach, or cultural relativism, allows one to observe the cultures of others without the interferences of bias which is pervasive in most humans. We must not confuse modernization and progress with good, and traditional with bad.
Not all progress is good! Nor were the “good old days” bucolic.

41. Functional Analysis
The central idea is that society is a whole unit, made up of interrelated parts that work together.
Like an organism, if society is to function smoothly, its parts must work together in harmony.
When all parts fulfill their functions, society is in a “normal” state of equilibrium.

42. FUNCTIONALISM THE BASICS KEY ELEMENTS:
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 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

43. Conflict Theory
States that society is composed of groups engaged in fierce competition for scarce resources.
People in positions of authority try to enforce conformity (status quo), which, in turn, creates resentment and resistance.
The result is a constant struggle. The operations of power is central.

44. THE CONFLICT
PARADIGM

45. Levels of Analysis: Macro and Micro
Functionalists and Conflict theorists focus on the macro level - large scale patterns of society.
Symbolic Interactionists focus on the micro level - social interaction in small scale patterns.

46. Types of Societies Hunting & Gathering Horticultural & Pastoral
Agrarian
Industrial
Postindustrial
Transitional

47. The Idea of Social Transformation
Communal Societies – small-scale social units that foster closeness and intimacy.Personalized relationships extend throughout the community. Tradition and norms are important.
Associational Societies – social relationships are highly impersonalized. Characterized by acquaintances and co-workers, rather than friends and family. Our reasons to interact are based more upon self-interests than community bonds.

48. Catalysts for Change Human agency Revolution and War
Cultural Processes
Population Changes
Natural Catastrophes
Technology

49. Trends Shaping the Future of Sociology
One major trend occurred post World War II, when it became obvious that sociology greatly impacted education.
A second trend, globalization- the breaking down of national boundaries, will force us to recognize global issues.