sociology essay
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what_is_sociology_-_witt_1.pptxWhat is Sociology?
The scientific study of human – social activity.
The systematic study of the relationship between the individual and society.
Study of society.
What is Sociology?
The scientific study of human – social activity.
Scientific/systematic
Humans
Social Activity
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Quantitative (numerical) & Qualitative – (field & naturalistic studies) research…
Scientific/systematic represents methods. There are 4 major methods in sociology:
Surveys
Experiments
Participant Observation or observation
Existing Resources or secondary analysis
What is Sociology?
Humans
Social Activity
Sociologists are interested in Humans: Groups and individuals (students, police officers, criminals, doctors, judges, nurses, etc).
Social Activity: What are people doing. How are they arranged? Who is the leader? Structure with the group?
Roles and Statuses
Role: Behaviors and expectations connected to social positions (what do students do? What do professors do? What do coaches do?).
Status: Social Positions that we occupy in relations to others (student and professor are statuses). Put simply: socially defined position.
Social Structure
Social structure guides our behavior.
Social structure is connected to order, organization and patterned relationships.
Structure gives shape to family life, college class rooms, court rooms, restaurants, etc.
Theory Sociological Theory
A theory is a statement of why and how specific facts are related.
Theories help explain certain social phenomena, like crime, self esteem, isolation, suicide, homelessness, etc.
The job of theory is to explain.
Provide an explanation of some social phenomena under study…
Emile Durkheim: Theory of Social Integration
Durkheim’s classic theory of social integration as it relates to suicide.
Social bonding.
Theoretical Paradigms or Sociological Perspective
Theoretical Paradigm: a set of fundamental assumptions about the operation of society.
Paradigms may also be viewed as an image of society --- a view of society.
The assumptions guide our:
Thinking &
Research
There are 3-major assumptions (paradigms) in sociology:
Structural Functional or Functionalist Perspective
Social Conflict or Conflict Perspective.
Symbolic Interaction or Interactionist Perspective.
Functionalist Perspective
Functionalist assume that society is a complex system, whose parts work together – to create stability for the whole of society.
Parts refer to institutions.
What is the function of:
Family
School
Religion
Functionalist Perspective
Functionalists are interested in balance & equilibrium.
Social Dysfunctions: social patterns that have undesirable consequences for the operation of society.
Another institution would develop to combat crime: the Criminal Justice System (CJS)
Family
Crime
(dysfunctional)
Politics
Social Conflict
Social Conflict assumes that society is a complex system; it is characterized by inequality and conflict --- inequality and conflict are designed to generate social change.
Society is not stable; it is full of contradictions, inequalities and conflicts.
Social Conflict Perspective
Conflict theorists investigate how race, gender, religion, class, age, etc. are (all) linked to an unequal distribution of resources.
By resources we mean: wealth, power, prestige, schooling, land, etc.
Generally, some group has more than another (men have more than women, whites have more than Latinos).
Social systems benefits some (rich) while depriving and exploiting others (poor)…
Social Conflict Paradigm
Change: How does change occur?
For Marx, change occurs by protest, strikes, revolutions, war, etc.
Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955): Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks.
Symbolic Interaction
Symbolic Interactionist assume that society is a product of everyday interactions among individuals.
So, what is being produced?
The product becomes “the definition of the situations.”
Symbolic Interaction Paradigm
Focus: How people act towards one another, and how they make sense of those interactions.
People create & change their social world through symbols
Symbols are anything that carry meaning (signs, gestures, pictures, etc)
Joy
Pain
Flirt
Secret
Levels of Analysis
Macro Level of Analysis:
Functionalist Perspective --
Social Conflict --
Micro Level of Analysis:
Symbolic Interaction --
