Ch. 1 - What Is Sociology?

Transcription

1 Ch. 1 What Is Sociology? Friday, August 25, :59 AM Chapter 1 We exist in a social world both inside and outside of us We take social patters for granted as routine, ordinary, expected Without socially shared expectations life would be chaotic Individuals impact society, and vice versa What we want is externally informed Want a boat to hang out on the water Wants to just hang out on the water, boat is enabled by society Sociologists ask questions like: Why and how do people and groups interact with one another? How are different groups or societies organized? How do they deal with conflict and change? Sociology is a soft science Everything changes, isn't proven, not hardened Groups Dyad (e.g. a couple) Small groups (e.g. a family) Large groups (e.g. the auto industry) Nations (e.g. USA) The global society (e.g. The world as one entity) People live most of their lives in groups People and groups influence each other Conflict and change are inevitable Sociology VS Common sense Common sense ideas seem sensible, they are taken for granted Common sense can lead to the idea of ranking/dominance leading to genocide for example Common sense contradicts itself (Two is company, three is a crowd/the more, the merrier) Sociology VS Belief Differences in men and women are "human nature" and rooted in biology As countries develop, the lives of their female citizens improve Divorce stats demonstrate marriage is in trouble Rejection of partner, not institution Sociological imagination Understanding individual problems to be rooted in a broader social or public issues Social factors influence layoff rates and personal experience of unemployment Questions sociologists do and don't ask None require philosophical or moral judgment Ask questions that can be studied objectively and scientifically Conduct research to create change Related fields Cultural anthropology: the culture or way of life Psychology: individual behavior and mental processes Political science: government systems/power Economics: economic conditions, how people organize/produce Sociology: human interactions, groups, social structures Important skills Ability to observe what is happening in the social world Help us be more effective in carrying out our roles Desire to understand and explain why it is happening Rewards of it Selfawareness/improvement Better understanding of social situations Ability to assess the impact of social policies Appreciation of the complexities of social life Uses almost every useful skill in many different ways and situations to analyze society Social World Model What is it? Levels of analysis by groups Micro, Meso, Macro Micro Me (friends and family) Can't step in the same river twice 4 degrees of separation between everyone in the world (bacon number) We live in nesting dolls SOC Page 1

2 Local organizations/communities Meso National Organizations, institutions, ethnicities Macro Society Global community Environment Each unit has its own distinctive environment, which is adjusted To understand a social unit, we must consider not only the structure and processes, but also interactions with the environment Levels of Analysis Microlevel (individuals and small groups) Importance: micro interactions form the basis of all social organizations Mesolevel (intermediate size units) Importance: helps explain relations among institutions, organizations, and large groups Macrolevel (nations, global &international trends) Importance: helps explain how larger social forces shape everyday life Each level adds depth to a topic Questions Which level of analysis would be used? How do couples divide house work responsibilities? Microlevel Which factors determine the percentage of women in political power in a certain country? Macrolevel Does the size of a school's sports stadium matter for students who are choosing a college? Mesolevel SOC Page 2

3 Ch. 2 Examining the Social World: How Do We Know? Monday, August 28, :59 AM Chapter 2 How do we know? Sociology uses scientific methods to expand knowledge of the social world The Systematic use of theories and research methods makes sociology much more tan guesswork or opinion Social thought before sociology: strongly influenced by religion and philosophy Modern sociology arose in nineteenthcentury Europe, influenced by several conditions August Comte & the science of society Coined the term sociology in 1838 Thought society's problems could not be understood by philosophical or religious speculations Scientific knowledge was needed Two main concerns What holds society together? Why is there change in society? Sociology after Comte Focus on massive social and economic change brought by Industrial Revolution Focus on relationship between micro, meso, macrolevel processes Use of scientific method to test ideas Theoretical perspective A basic view of society that Guides sociological research and analysis Provides an overall approach to understanding social behavior Micro to Meso level theories Symbolic interaction theory People interact on the basis of shared symbols to construct a meaningful worldwhich then serves as a basis for further interactions Some emphasize agency, individuals' active role in constructing their social environments, or how their social positions shape their constructions George Herbert Mead ( ) Mind, Self, & Society (934) How we define ourselves and our situations Significant gestures, Language Looking Glass self I am how I think you think I am Tenets We (re)create society through interaction We communicate thru shared symbols We learn who we are thru interaction with others Main criticisms Neglects macrostructures Difficult to study concepts like "mind" and "self" Micro to Meso level Theories Rational choice theory People act by making rational, selfinterested decisions that will maximize their rewards and minimize cost Cesare Beccaria & Jeremy Bentham Main criticisms Neglects macrolevel processes and microlevel mental processes Cannot easily explain altruistic behavior People do not always act rationally or accurately assess their selfinterest Meso to Macro level Theories Structural functional theory How are all the different parts related and apart of the whole Each part of society has a necessary function Parts fit together into a stable, orderly whole Functions may be planned or unintended; some may be dysfunctional Emile Durkheim ( ) Division of Labor in Society (1893), Elementary Forms (1912), Suicide (1897) Society is made up of parts that fit together into a working whole We conform to rules of society because part of the collective consciousness Shared knowledges and beliefs (cognitive) Internalized thus right and proper (emotional) Selves are different parts of our individual I am how I think you think I am Sociologists find support or lack of support SOC Page 3

4 Later Structural Functionalists Manifest Functions Planned outcomes of interactions, organizations, or institutions Latent Functions Unplanned/unintended consequences Dysfunctional Actions that undermine the ability to fulfill functions e.g. College Some claims are abstract, difficult to test Can't easily explain social change Assumes conflict is harmful, which isn t always true Assumes stability is good, ignores inequities Meso and Macro level theories Conflict theory : Inequalities in resources and power create conflict, which underlies all social relations The powerful impose their values and beliefs on weaker groups Change leading to greater equality is desired Karl Marx ( ) Capitalism An economic system where individuals own and control the means of production Means of production The material and nonmaterial resources that are part of the production Land, factory, IP Relations of production Class Cleavage Relationship to the means of production Owner Worker Harriet Martineau ( ) Basis in Kant ( ) Immanent Critique What is v. What is said America failed to live up to democratic principles Especially for women Measure the margins! Dostoyevsky prisons Marx Workers DuBois African Americans Martineau Women WEB DuBois ( ) 1st African American Ph.D. from Harvard Goal of social research should be improvement African Americans integral part of American society but not fully accepted Explained how the exploitation of brown bodies was always part of capitalism Ralf Dahrendorf ( ) Society is always in the process of change and impacted by the forces that bring about change Capitalism survived despite labor revolts Unions, labor laws, workplace regulations Division not based on ownership, but authority Those with lower statuses form groups to challenge those with higher statuses Interest groups/conflict groups Not simply bourgeoisie/proletariat but Old/you, rich/poor, religions, religion/sectarian, etc. Cleavage is not singular but multiple Lewis Coser ( ) Conflict can be strengthening Warning (canary in a coal mine) Pressure cooker if ignored explodes Conflicts signals a wrongness Resolving it meets the needs of society members, thus increasing loyalty to the group Key ideas of conflict Conflict and its potential underlie all social relations Groups look out for their own interests Social change is desirable, especially for greater equality The existing social order reflects the powerful Neglects the microlevel Difficult to test empirically SOC Page 4

5 Cannot easily explain cohesion and cooperation Rests on assumption of selfinterest Multilevel analysis Max Weber's ( ) contributions Verstehen (understanding): emphasized the importance of interpreting the meanings people give to their actions (microlevel) Focused on bureaucracy guided but rationality as key element of modern organizations (mesolevel) Examined how history has been shaped by politics, economics, religion, psychology, and ideas (macrolevel) Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Provides and explanation for how capitalists view the world Feminist Sociological Theory : Rooted in conflict theory, symbolic interactionism Social hierarchies disadvantage women and advantage men Sociology has traditionally been male dominated, resulting in an incomplete view of the world Theory should address the intersection of gender, race, class, and other inequalities Intersectionality How various dimensions of social variables can play out Using different theoretical perspectives No theory is right or wrong; each has advantages and disadvantages for studying particular levels or aspects of society Macro analysis Micro analysis Humans viewed as cooperative StructuralFunctional Theory Symbolic interactionism theory Humans viewed as competitive Conflict theory (group interest) Rational choice theory (individual interest) If the data does not support the theory, the theory should be rejected Ideas underlying science There are real physical/social worlds that can be empirical studied There is a certain order to the world that results from a complex series of cause and effect The way to gain knowledge is to subject the world to empirical testing God/Devil, Heaven/Hell, the Soul cannot be observed/measured, thus outside. Usually dealt with by Religion, But religion can be empirically studied How sociologists study the social world The research process Planning a research study Designing the research plan and method for collecting data Making sense of the data Planning a step Steps in planning a study 1. Define the problem clearly i. The question must be specific and precise 2. Find out what is already known about topic i. Review existing theory and research 3. Formulate hypotheses and define variables i. Hypothesis: educated guess about the relationship between two variables, which can be tested ii. Variable: concept that can vary in frequency of occurrence across person, places, or time iii. Operationalizing a variable Design How data will be gathered Select a sample Collect data Making sense of the data Analyze the data Draw conclusions Write up, present for peerreview, publish Planning a study Research aims to find casual relationships Ways that two variables can be related Correlation: variables change together Causation: one variable causes another to change Spurious relationship: Independent variable and dependent variable change together due to effects of a third variable; not a causal relationship Control variables help eliminate effects not related to the hypothesis Students with larger shoe size read better Age is the confounding variable SOC Page 5