SOC 110 - Essay - 1000 words

Why Americans care more about money that the French

· The American government provide much less for its people. In France, th government provide basic needs for its people, such as health care insurance. They also provide, or subsides, housing.

· In America, the notion of being rich does not trace back a lot generations. People are more likely to show off that they have money.

· Americans tend to care less about culture, history, art. In France, going to museums, concerts, and cultural consumption are subsidized by the government.

· Moral boundaries. The Americans care more about whether their friends are nice, honest. They seem nicer in public, and are more likely to start small conversations.

· Americans are more anxious, stressed out about money.

Michele Lamont's book

· Using the right method can illuminate very powerful findings across different cultures.

· Theoretically, we can explain social life across different groups of people in different countries and how they behave.

· people's very trivial and mundane behaviours reflect macro conditions of teachers societies they live in.

· Americans in generally are more competitive than the French. The French reward people much less based on achievement.

How do we study people?

· Two important aspects of sociology

· Theory.

· Methods

The two major issues

· How do sociologists conduct research?

· What I the worst consequences of work and class stratification today?

Four different kinds of research

· Descriptive. Designed about a culture, that if sociologists don't do it, no nobody will know. In Singapore, sex trade is recognized as an occupation. People can actually get a license and rights are protected. Describe what kind of young men go to sex workers.

· Explanatory. Explain the causality of something. Would we expect that less Singaporeans go to sex workers because it is regulate by the government

· Emancipatory. Give a voice to people to improve their lives.

· Non-emancipation. Simply to understand something that sociologists may be interested in.

Major sociological research methods

· surveys—most prominent until recent decades.

· Ethnography (participant observation) observe people over a certain time. At least 18 months. Follow them in their everyday routine.

· Interviews. In-depth and unstructured.

· Experiments. The most expensive type of research.

Surveys

· Study a very large population of people. Data is generalized.

· Ask forced choice multiple choice questions. Answer question anonymously.

· Predict the causality

· More likely to reach saturation.

· American Couples by Pepper Schwartz. A very famous book that studied sex using survey data. Sex was the primary reason that people get a divorce.

Ethnography

· The second shift.

· Observing people in their natural behaviours

Interviews

· Allows you to talk to people, and share feelings.

Experiments

·