SOCIOLOGY – What is it?

1. SOCIOLOGY – What is it?

2. Bell Work/Notes – Examining Social Life – 1/30/14 This is your header! You should write it at the top of the page • Take out the reading from yesterday & your note book! ( if you don’t have one yet, use a sheet of notebook paper & staple it in once you get it) • Quickly skim read the article ( the 1st and last paragraphs will do) and then compare your answers with the person sitting next to you… come up with a statement that encompasses what both of you thought of the article & write it in your notebook • According to Allan Johnson, what does sociological practice offer? • What does Johnson say we must do before we can eliminate the unnecessary suffering in the world?

3. What did you think?

4. That’s why:

5. Notes – Examining Social Life – 1/30/14 Can you define…. • Psychology? • The study of behavior and mental processes • History? • The study of past events in human societies • Economics? • The study of productions, distribution & consumption of goods and services • Anthropology? • The comparative study of past and present culture • Sociology? • The study of human social behavior from a group perspective

6. Notes – Examining Social Life – 1/30/14 How do you think sociologically? • You have to ask the right questions, sociologists are concerned with a variety of things, some examples? • Race • gender, • Socioeconomic status (how much $$$ someone makes) • Age • Occupation • Political Preference • Etc…

7. Notes – Examining Social Life – 1/30/14 • After reading the text answer the following questions: • Why can’t Andre get a job? • Why did Carole break up with Michael?

8. Questions to ask yourself following your observations • (1) What is the structure of this particular society as a whole? What are its essential components, and how are they related to one another? How does it differ from other varieties of social order? Within it, what is the meaning of any particular feature for its continuance and for its change? • (2) Where does this society stand in human history? What are the mechanics by which it is changing? What is its place within and its meaning for the development of humanity as a whole? How does any particular feature we are examining affect, and how is it affected by, the historical period in which it moves? And this period - what are its essential features? How does it differ from other periods? What are its characteristic ways of history-making? • (3) What varieties of men and women now prevail in this society and in this period? And what varieties are coming to prevail? In what ways are they selected and formed, liberated and repressed, made sensitive and blunted? What kinds of `human nature' are revealed in the conduct and character we observe in this society in this period? And what is the meaning for 'human nature' of each and every feature of the society we are examining? • Once you’ve reflected on your observations, write a short paragraph and be prepared to share it with the class on Monday.

9. Notes – Examining Social Life – 1/30/14 • Write down some questions you have about society and life in general. Remember think sociologically • For instance, • why are do so many people getting tattoos? • What effect does fast food have on the American family? • Does class and geographic location of a teen impact their decision about premarital sex? • Has the recent boom in cell phones and texting affecting communication in American familes?

10. Weekend Activity – DOING Sociology – • Over the weekend, your task is to practice some sociology. • You are to go to a public place and simply observe & take notes for at least an hour • Take notes on the people you see • Are they alone or with other people? • Describe their behavior/how they are communicating with others • Take note on sources of mass media, clothing, music etc.. • BE SURE TO RECORD THE TIME OF EACH OBSERVATION

11. Weekend Activity – DOING Sociology – Set up your notebook • Location:______________ • Time Observations • Summary of observations – 1 paragraph

12. Things to take note of while observing • Different groups of or individual people • Clothing, the way people carry themselves in public • Sources of mass media, music • Race, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, occupation • Activities people are engaged in • Topics of conversation

17. Notes – The development of Sociology – 1/31/14 • Sociology as an academic discipline began in the 1800s • What was going on in the 1800s that could have led to the development of sociology? • Why sociology is a subject: • 1. The industrial revolution • Rapid growth of urban populations leads to many social problems • 2. American & French Revolutions • People could no longer question the effect of society on the individual • 3. The Enlightenment/Renaissance • Rejection of religious explanations & adoption of the scientific method

18. Early European Sociologists • Auguste Comte 1798-1857) • Sort of looks like Hannibal Lecter • Considered the father of sociology • Lived through the French Revolution • Focused on two areas • Social order & Social change • Also coined the term “Sociology”

19. Harriet Martineau 1802-1876 • British author • Wrote Society in America in 1837 • Looked at marriage. The family, race relations, education and religion • Basically established the focus of sociological study • Argued that scholars should advocate change for the problems they studied • Spoke in favor of women’s rights, religious tolerance & abolition of slavery

20. Herbert Spencer 1820-1903 • Thought of society as an organism w/ a set of interdependent parts that worked to maintain the system over time • STRONGLY influenced by Charles Darwin • Came up with Social Darwinism – coined the term “survival of the fittest”

21. Karl Marx 1818-1883 • Father of Socialism • Divided society into two parts • The bourgeoisie (boozh-wah-ZEE) • They own the means of production • & the Proletariat or workers • Believed that the majority of social issues were an outcome of the conflict between these two groups

22. Emile Durkheim 1858-1917 • Like Comte, Durkheim was concerned with social order • Like Spencer, he saw society as a set of interdependent parts that served different functions • Particularly interested in religion – he believed that shared beliefs were the glue that held society together • Wrote one of the 1st true sociological studies – Suicide

23. Max Weber 1864-1920 • Interested in separate groups within society rather than society as a whole • Thought that sociologists should go beyond observable facts and work to uncover peoples feelings and thoughts by using the principle of VERSTEHEN (fer-SHTAY-en) • Verstehen involves an attempt to understand the meanings individuals attach to their actions

24. Bell Work & Notes MODERN PERSPECTIVES – 2/3/14 • What is VERSTEHEN & how does it apply to what you guys did over the weekend? • Once you’ve answered the question, go over your observations & be prepared to share what you saw with the class

25. Take 5 minutes to answer these questions in your notebook • 1. What do you see in this picture? • 2. How does this picture tell you about the society that these individuals are a part of? • 3. What types of questions do you think sociologists would ask upon seeing a picture like this?

26. What sociologists see: • An orderly world where all involved are fulfilling a role. The young people are preforming their role- that of a student & the school is performing its task of preparing students to be productive citizens in society • Others would see a setting where there is competition for resources, they would be curious about the power relationships involved in this picture and how those relationships affected the distribution of resources • Still others would see a setting made up of small groups. They would have to know how relationships among these groups affect what foes on in school

27. Notes MODERN PERSPECTIVES – 2/3/14 • Major Theoretical Perspectives • Sociologists develop theories or explanations of relationships among particular phenomena to better understand the world • There are 3 major Theoretical Perspectives, or schools of thought in sociology • Each one is a lens that presents a slightly different image of society or focuses on different aspects

28. Functionalist Perspective • Society is a set of interrelated parts that work together to produce a social system. • Primarily focuses on the functions of things like, family, religion, education and economy • To functionalists society is best compared to the human body – a variety of systems work together to ensure the bodies survival

29. Functionalist Perspective • Realizing that not everything element of society is functional functionalists are also concerned with • Dysfunction or the negative consequence an element has for the stability of society • Functions can be either positive or negative, they can also either be a • Manifest function – the intended and recognized consequence of some element in society Or • Latent function – unintended or unrecognized consequence of an element of society

30. Bell Work & continued Perspective notes – 2/4/14 • Identify something in your life (other than school or a car) that you interact with on a daily basis and describe its manifest & latent functions • Identify and describe the two groups the conflict perspective primarily concerned with

31. Conflict Perspective • Focuses on the forces in society that promote competition and change • Particularly interested in the family, racial groups, gender & the relationship between the workers and employers • The basis of social conflict is the competition over scarce resources • When a group obtains those resources they generally protect them through laws, social programs or violence • Examples?

32. How would a conflict theorist break down this story?

33. Symbolic Interactionist Perspective • Focus on small groups and how individuals interact with one another in society • Interested in the ways individuals respond to one another in everyday situations • Interested also in the symbols (a symbol is anything that represents anything else) that play a part in our daily lives • 3 basic parts of symbolic interactionism • Meaning • Language • Thought

34. Levels of analysis • Microsociology- small group settings and the everyday face to face interactions • Macrosociology – study of large scale systems or society as a whole • Globalization – the development of economic political sand social relationships that stretch world wide

35. Perspectives Practice • Use your notes, your neighbor and a book if necessary, to complete the sociological perspectives worksheet.

36. Note Book ChecksThe following should be in your notebook for tomorrow • Bell Work/Notes – Examining Social Life – 1/30/14 • Weekend Activity – DOING Sociology – • Notes – The development of Sociology – 1/31/14 • Bell Work & Notes MODERN PERSPECTIVES – 2/3/14 • Bell Work & continued Perspective notes – 2/4/14 • Homework – Research Methods

37. Sociological Experiments Objectives: I can describe the process of Sociological research and the scientific method I can Apply the different types of Sociological research

38. Bell Work • Write down the steps of the scientific method!! • Can you think of a time when you have used the scientific method in your life? Discuss with a partner on a possible scenario where you have and report back to the class • - Debating what movie to see or where to eat • - Figuring out how to act on dates • “If I open the door for her and listen to her stories, then the I will get another date” • - If your TV gets fuzzy or Xbox won’t work, you experiment with different knobs and buttons until it does!

39. Since the first step to research is to ask a question…. • Brainstorm 4 questions you have about human behavior/ social interaction! • For Example: Mr. K wonders why the same students seem to be consistently late to class

40. Naturalistic Observation • A study method that involves covertly or overtly watching subjects' behaviors in their natural environment, without intervention

41. Case Studies • Research method that involves an intensive investigation of one or more participants

42. Surveys • Research method in which information is obtained by asking many individuals a fixed set of questions

43. Longitudinal Studies • Method of research where data is collected about a group of participants over a number of years to asses how characteristics change or remain the same during development

44. Cross-Sectional Study • Method of research in which data is collected from groups of participants of different ages and compared so that conclusions can be drawn about differences due to age

45. Statistical analysis/ Correlational Studies • The measure of a relationship between two variables or sets of data • How does time spent studying psychology correlate to a students’ final grade? Final Grade in Sociology Final Grade in Sociology Final Grade in Sociology Days Absent Time Spent Brushing Teeth Time Spent Studying

46. Correlation DOES NOT prove Causation!!!!

47. Experiments • Allow the researcher to control the situation and reduce the influence of outside influence • Hypothesis-educated guess about the relationship of 2 variables • Variable- any factor capable of change • Experimental group-the group to which an independent variable is applied • Control group- the group that is treated the same way as the experimental group except that the independent variable is not applied

48. Activity • With the person next to you try to match your 8 questions (4 each) about human behavior to the method of study that would be most effective. Once you’ve matched them, talk to Mr. K and come to write your questions on the different pieces of paper around the room

49. Which perspective does the following description, topics, individuals or terms apply to? • Weber • Interactionism • When a group attains power over another group, they will make laws and ruels to protect their position of power • Conflict • Family, automobiles, education, crime • Functionalism • Dating/marriage tradition, development of children, group relationships • Interactionism • Interested in those who have power and those who do not • conflict

50. This theorist was interested in groups and individuals within society and how they interacted with one another • Weber • This theorist was interested in how different parts of society work together to create agreement • Durkheim • This theorist believed society was created by competition for power and control of resources • Marx • He was also interested in the jobs different groups performed and if the groups were functioning correctly • Durkhiem • This theorist studied why thins in society stay the same and or change • Comte