1 / 17

Sociology

Sociology. Definition - The systematic study of human society and social interaction. A society is a large social grouping that shares the same geographical territory and is subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Sociological Imagination.

jessie
Download Presentation

Sociology

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Sociology Definition - The systematic study of human society and social interaction.

  2. A society is a large social grouping that shares the same geographical territory and is subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.

  3. Sociological Imagination • The ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and the larger society. Private v. Public Issues

  4. Key People&Contemporary Perspectives

  5. What is the “glue” that holds societies together? What provides people with a sense of belonging? Why are these bubbles coming out of my head?

  6. Emile Durkheim • Concerned with social order and stability • People are a product of their social environment • Human potential is socially based, not biologically based • Societies are built on social facts • Rapid social change produces social strain

  7. Key Terms for Durkheim • Social Facts • Patterned ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that exist outside any one individual but that exert social control over each person. • Anomie • Social control becomes ineffective as a result of the loss of shared values and a sense of purpose in society

  8. Social Facts Anomie Provide Some Examples

  9. Conflict is necessary to produce social change and a better society I think today I will establish a free and classless society I, too, have these bubbles popping out my head!

  10. Karl Marx • History is a continuous clash between conflicting ideas and forces • Economic changes are most important • Class conflict between capitalist class (bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat) • Alienation • Fetishism of Commodities • Society should be changed • Criticized for too much emphasis on class struggle

  11. Sociology should be value-free – it should exclude the researcher’s personal values and economic interests It really isn’t possible for sociologists to be value-free is it? Then, we need to gain the ability to see the world as others see it

  12. Max Weber • Bureaucracies – determines the social relationships among people • These are destructive to human vitality and freedom • Rationalization – the modern world has become dominated by structures devoted to: • Efficiency • Calculability • Predictability • Technological Control • Emphasized the goal of value-free inquiry & necessity of understanding how others see the world

  13. Structural Functionalist • Based on the assumption that society is a stable, orderly system (Durkheim) • Societal Consensus • Common set of values, beliefs, behavioral expectations • Society composed of inter-related parts • Social structures and institutions persist because they help society persist • Strains

  14. Functionalism & Merton • Manifest Functions • Intended or overtly recognized by participants in a social unit • Examples • Latent Functions • Unintended functions that are hidden and unacknowledged by participants • Examples • Dysfunctions • Undesirable consequences • May threaten a society’s capacity to adapt and survive

  15. Conflict Perspective • Groups in society are engaged in continuous power struggle for control of scarce resources (Marx, Weber) • Encompasses several branches: • Neo-Marxist (class struggle) • Racial-Ethnic (exploitation) • Feminist (gender issues)

  16. Symbolic Interactionist • Examines people’s day-to-day interactions and their behavior in small groups (micro-level) • Society is the sum of the interactions of individuals and groups • Subjective Reality • Each person’s interpretation or definition of a given situation (shared or not shared symbols)

  17. Post-Modern • Existing theories have not successfully explained social life in a contemporary society • Society focused on a shift from production to consumption • Postmodern Society • Information explosion • Rise of a consumer society • Global Village

More Related