The Importance of the Global Perspective

1. The Importance of the Global Perspective • Global Perspective: the study of the larger world & our society’s place in it. • 3 Reasons Why Global Thinking is Important To The Sociological Perspective • 1st: Societies all over the world are increasingly interconnected, making traditional distinctions between “us” and “them” less and less valid. • Technology is key in this regard – air travel, internet, and e-mail. • The emergence of a global economy – economic activity has leaped beyond political borders.

2. #2. A global perspective is important because many human problems that we face in the U.S. are far more serious elsewhere. • The environment: pollution and global warming • Diseases: AIDS, SARS, Bird Flu, TB

3. #3. Thinking globally is important because studying other societies is an excellent means to learn more about ourselves. • The question is not whether we should study ourselves or people who live elsewhere. In a world increasingly linked with each passing year, we can understand our society only to the extent that we comprehend our nation’s place in the larger world.

4. The Sociological Perspective in Everyday Life • Sociological thinking often fosters social change. The more we learn about the operation of “the system,” the more we may wish to change it is some way. As women and men have confronted the power of gender, for example, many have actively tried to reduce the traditional differences that set men apart from women. • In short, an introduction to sociology is an invitation to learn a new way of looking at familiar patterns of social life.

5. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITSOF THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE? • 1. The sociological perspective challenges familiar understandings of ourselves and of others, so that we can critically assess the validity of commonly held assumptions. Thinking sociologically, in other words, we realize that certain ideas we have taken for granted are NOT entirely true. Question! Question! Question!

6. 2. The sociological perspective allows us to recognize both the opportunities and the constraints that characterize our lives. • 3. The sociological perspective, therefore, empowers us to be active participants in our society. Without an awareness of how society operates, we are likely to accept the status quo. The greater our understanding of the operation of society, however, the more we can take an active role in shaping social life.

7. The discipline of sociology advocates NO one particular political orientation, and sociologists themselves weigh in at all points across the political spectrum. But evaluating any aspect of social life – whatever one’s eventual goal – depends on the ability to identify social forces and to assess their consequences. • 4. The sociological perspective helps us to recognize human diversity and to confront the challenges of living in a diverse world.