Sociology

1. Sociology

2. Warm up What is Sociology? Why do you think studying Sociology is important?

3. Sociology Sociology is the social science that studies humans society and social behaviors. Social Sciences are the disciplines that study human social behaviors or institutions and functions of human society Social interaction- is how people relate to one another and influence each other’s behaviors Sociologist do this by examining groups and social phenomena's

4. The Sociological Perspective • Sociological Perspective helps you gain a new view on yourself and the world around you. It helps you look beyond commonly held beliefs and hidden meanings behind human actions • People are social beings • Behavior is influenced by social factors • Broaden your view of the social world • Helps you find a balance between your personal desires and the demands of your environment • Show you how the social environment shapes your individuality

5. The Sociological Perspective • Sociological perspective give you the ability to see the connection between the larger world and your personal life, this is called sociological imagination (called this by C. Wright Mills) • How the larger world effects your personal life • “the capacity to range from the most impersonal and remote to the most intimate features of human self and to see the relation between the two” • Reconcile the individual and society

6. Sociological Imagination Example #1We will start with a simple and common example. Imagine there is a girl who wishes to look thin and fair but somehow she cannot achieve this look. Now this girl goes into a chronic depression and suffers from inferiority complex. In order to be thin she becomes anorexic and faces severe health problems. Now, if we see this case in isolation, we will think that its her personal problem and she is spoiling her life on her own. But if we apply sociological imagination, we would realize that it's the obsession of society in general for the fair skin and thin body that has indirectly affected this girl. It is the media, that represents society, portrays beautiful and desirable girls as thin and fair. This kind of representation affects many people directly or indirectly, as it happened in case of this particular girl. If only few girls suffered from anorexia in society then we could have called it individual or personal problem. But, when there are many girls suffering from the similar problem then it becomes a social issue where stereotypical attitude towards women and social media needs to be scrutinized. Example #2Let's take one of the other prominent examples. Suppose, there is a boy who is not getting a job and is burdened with loan that he needs to pay back. He tries very hard to get a job but fails. Now he joins the underworld gang and engages in illegal and criminal activities. If you analyze this case individually, then you may say that this boy did not try hard enough to get a job and performed illegal activities to get easy money. But if you see this case with the sociological imagination perspective, then you would see that the larger forces such as, economic meltdown, unemployment, and the lack of regulation in the sub prime mortgage industry, etc. had a direct impact on the life of this guy. We could have blamed the personal character of the individual if very few guys went through the similar situation. But when there is a significant number of youth facing the same problem then it becomes a social or public problem where government policies about employment and banking needs to be looked at. Similarly, you can take any individual problem or situation and try to trace the root cause of the problem in the society and find how this particular issue developed. Increasing number of divorce cases, many farmers committing suicide, children becoming delinquent due to poverty, etc., are some of the classic examples. You would also realize that many of the so-called personal problems are directly or indirectly affected by the large-scale social forces, be it government policies or regulations, globalization, or consumerism. It is clear from the examples of sociological imagination that this concept tries to study how large social forces influence the individual behavior and actions of people living in that society. Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/sociological-imagination-examples-of-sociological-imagination.html

7. Sociological Imagination Draw an example of sociological imagination in American culture. Make it colorful!

8. 1.2 Sociology Then and Now Read page 9-14 (stop at current perspectives) and take notes on each Sociologist. 5 complete sentences for each Sociologist

9. Current Perspectives • A theory is an explanation of the relationship among particular phenomena • Sociologist adopt broad theoretical perspectives to provide a foundation for their inquiries, which is a general set of assumptions about the nature of things. • Three main theoretical perspectives in sociology • Functionalist perspective • Conflict perspective • Interactionist perspective

10. Functionalist Perspective • Functionalist Perspective- view society as a set of interrelated parts that work together work together to produce stable social system • Most people agree on what is best for the society and work together to make sure the society runs smoothly • Typically study family and education • Dysfunctional is when things do not run smoothly in society. Ex: crime • Manifest function- an intended and recognized consequence Ex. MF for a car is that it can go dangerously fast but it gets you from one place to another • Latent Function- unintended and unrecognized consequence. Ex: LF for a car is that you can gain social standing through the display of wealth

11. Conflict Perspective • Conflict Perspective- focuses on the forces in society that promote competition and change. • How those who possess more power in society exercise control over those with less power • Study violent conflicts, nonviolent competition between various groups- men and women, different age groups , different ethnicities • Research decision making in families, racial relations, and disputes between co-workers • Competition over scarce resources is at the basis of all social conflicts • Those who have control of those resources tend to make the rules and will protect their own interests • Conflict leads to social change which is an inevitable feature of society

12. Interactionist Perspective • Interactionist perspective- focuses on how individuals interact with one another in society • Interested in ways in which individuals respond to one another in everyday situations. And the meanings that they attach to their actions • Very interested in symbols- anything that represents something else. • A symbol most be agreed upon by a society. It could be a physical gesture, object, words or events. • Interactionist study how people use symbols which is called symbolic interaction

13. Assignment • Assignment 1- Based on what you learned about the three theoretical perspectives, complete the following. • Write 5 questions that sociologists of each type of theoretical perspective might ask when studying a classroom of high school students. • Ex. Conflict theorists might consider the differences in power between the teacher and students or among students of different genders • Assignment 2- Think of 10 symbols we use in American cultures. Label and illustrate ( must be school appropriate)