Unit 1: Sociological Perspective

• Sociological Perspective 


  Understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context
• Society 


  A group people who share a culture & territory
• Social Location 


  Located within society, group memberships
• What is the systematic method used to obtain knowledge?

  Science
• Diversity of Social Sciences:


  Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Psychology
• Sociology: How it is different and similar

  Culture (Ant, Sim) Goods & Services (Eco, Sim), Focused primarily on industrial sciences & external factors
• Three steps of Science

  Explain, Generalizations, Predict
• Generalization 


  A statement that goes beyond that individual case (looks @ patterns)
• Explain 


  Why something happens
• Predict 


  Specify what will happen later based on current knowledge
• Why do Sociologist use the Scientific Method?

  In order to move beyond COMMON SENSE
• What four factors lead to the development of Sociology?


  Superstition, Social Upheval, Imperialism, Success of Natural Sciences
• Auguste Comte

  Positivism - Coined the term 'Sociology' - Founder
• Herbert Spencer

  Social Darwinsim - 'Survival of the fittest',
• Karl Marx

  Class Conflict - Capitalist & Workers - Great Modern Thinker
• Emile Durkheim

  Social Integration - made Sociology a school subject, suicide rates
• Max Weber

  Protestant Ethnic - Econ is Central Force behind social change
• Harriet Martineau

  Early Social Research - ignored since a woman
• Jane Addams

  Social Reform - most successful - social justice
• W. E. B. Du Bois

  Race Relations - Social Action - Racism ain't cool
• What does it mean to be Value Free?

  To be unbiased and not influenced by personal values or beliefs.
• What does it mean to have an objective?

  To have a specific goal or purpose.
• Why should sociological research be done over again and again by different people?

  To see if any bias is involved in the results
• What is the goal & purpose of sociological research?

  To advance the understanding of social life. (SOCIAL FACTS)
• Describe Verstehen?

  Insight to someone's social situation
• Why was the field dominated my men first?

  Gender norms and societal expectations limited women's access to education and professional opportunities. (Should be devoted to the "4 K's")
• What is Sociology?


  Study of human society & human behavior
• What is Sociological Imagination?


  Unique way to look at the world
• What is a theory?


  General statement about how facts are related to each other
• What are the three major theories in sociology?

  Functionalism, Conflict, Symbolic Interactionism
• What is Functionalism?


  Interrelated parts, social stability, all parts of some type of benefit (whether positive or negative) but society overcomes the challenge,
• What is social structure?


  Parts fitting together, stable patterns
• What is a function?


  How each part contributes to society
• Manifest Function?


  Intended, Beneficial actions
• Latent Functions?

  Unintended, Beneficial actions
• Dysfunction?

  Negative (Off of Latent Functions), not intended, society overcomes the challenge
• What is the Conflict theory?

  Groups competing for scarce resources
• What are the "scarce resources" of the Conflict theory?

  Power, Money, Time
• What is in the Conflict theory?


  Societal inconsistency, constraint & coercion, societal inequalities
• What is the Symbolic Interactionism Theory?


  Symbols are the basis for Social Life, peoples interpretations & beliefs.