AN INVITATION TO SOCIOLOGY

The Sociological Perspective

Study Guide – Chapter 1

What is Sociology?

the scientific study of social structure

Social Structure

The patterned interaction

ofpeople in social

relationships

Sociological Perspective

Looks at the behavior

ofgroups, not individuals

The Social Sciences• Sociology – investigates human behavior

from group (not individual) perspective

• Anthropology – closely related, focus on pre- literate societies

• Psychology - mental and emotional processes and functioning of the individual

• Economics – studies production, distribution and consumption of goods and services

• Political Science – organization, administration, history, and theory of government

• History - past events in human societies

Sociological Imagination

The ability to se

e the link

between society and se

lf

C. Wright M

ills

Who was August Comte, and why does he matter?

1798-1857

• Frenchman

• Father of Sociology

• 1st to advocate scientific study of society (positivism)

Positivism: the belief that knowledgeshould be derived from scientificobservation

Believed people’s behavior within a group cannot be predicted by theirpersonal characteristics (bronze)

Comte’s Big IdeasSocial Statics: the study of social stability and order

Social Dynamics: the study ofsocial change

Harriet Martineau… the first feminist?

1802-1876

• Englishwoman

• Popular writer, Society in America

• drew link between slavery and oppression of women

• inspired future feminist theorists

Herbert Spencer and Darwinism

1820-1903

• Social Darwinism

• natural social selection and survival of the fittest society

• opposed social reform – to interfere would be harmful to society in long run

Karl Marx & class conflict

1818-1883

• German scholar

• poverty and inequality of the working class

• bourgeoisie: class owning the means for producing wealth (capitalists)

• proletariat: working class, those who labor for bourgeoisie

Class Conflict• eventually wage workers would overthrow capitalists

• result in communistic society (one without classes)

Emile Durkheim• Frenchman

• Consensus (solidarity) of society

• mechanical solidarity

• organic solidarity

• Studied Suicide: believed suicide is related to the strength of shared beliefs among group members

(solidarity)

1858-1917

More About Durkhiem

First to stress statistical techniques

Anecdotal vs. Scientific Data

Suicide studies and mechanical solidarity

Verstehen

!

Who was Max Weber?

1864-1920

• German law & economics professor

• verstehen: understanding others by “putting yourself in their shoes”

• rationalization: mindset that emphasizes knowledge, reason, and planning (preindustrial societies stressed tradition, emotion and superstition)

McDonaldization Reading p. 20(efficiency, calculability, predictability, control)

Jane Addams and Hull House

1860-1935

• American social reformer

• poor, immigrants, sick, aged

• believed society should help the less fortunate

W.E.B. Dubois’ Contributions

1868-1963

• African American social activist

• doctorate degree from Harvard

• used science and sociology to disprove racist assumptions about African Americans

Theoretical Perspective

• a set of assumptions accepted as true

• in sociology, assumptions about the workings of society

• viewed as true by its supporters

• helps them to organize their

research

What is a Theoretical Perspective?

Theoretical Perspective: a set of assumptions accepted as true

FunctionalismSymbolic InteractionismConflict Perspective

video clip

FUNCTIONALISM

• Society is seen as a system whose parts work together in order to promote solidarity and stability. There are stable patterns of social behavior, and all structures have consequences which serve a function for society.

Emphasizes the contributions (functions) of each part of a society

Functionalists: See parts of a society as an integrated whole

• a change in one part of society leads to changes in others (ie. roles of women

• Example: pre and post-Industrial Revolution

What do functions do?

Most functions exist to promote a society’s survival and

welfare(like family, economy, religion)

…If they didn’t, they would disappear.

Manifest and Latent Functions

Robert Merton

Manifest functions: intended and recognized

Q: Manifest function of school?

A: Education

Latent Functions: unintended and unrecognized aspects of society

Q: Latent Function of School?

A: development of close

friendships

Dysfunctions: negative consequences of an aspect of society

Consensus of society that these two aspects were dysfunctional

CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE

•Society is seen as a structure that is full of inequality. This massive inequality generates conflict and is the motivation for change.All social structures benefit the elite (the wealthy)And further deprive the poor.

Conflict Perspective

Conflict Perspective: approach emphasizing the role of conflict,

competition, and constraint within a society

Conflict and Constraint

Who gets

what?

Who has the POWER?

Those with the most power are able to constrain (or limit) the less powerful.

Functionalism Conflict Perspective

A society is an integrated whole

A society tends to seek relative stability

A society rests on the consensus of its members

A society experiences inconsistency and conflict everywhere

A society is continually subjected to change

A society involves the constraint and coercion of some members by others

Symbolic Interactionism

Focuses on the actual interaction among people throughthe use of shared symbols

Symbol: anything that stands for something else and has an agreed upon meaning attached to it

aunts, uncles, brothers, sistersemployers, employeesteachers, students

Three Assumptions About Symbolic Interactionism

1.

We learn the meaning of a symbol by the way we see others reacting to it.

For example: teacher

2.

Once we learn the meanings of symbols, we base our behavior (interaction) on them.

3. We use the meaning of symbols to imagine howothers will respond to our behavior

We have “internal conversations”that help us to visualize how others

will respond to us before we act

We guide our interactions withpeople according to the behaviorwe think others expect of us andwe expect of others

Dramaturgy• approach that sees human interaction as theatrical performances

Erving Goffman

Assumptions of the Major Theoretical PerspectivesFunctionalism Conflict Perspective Symbolic

Interactionism

1. A society is a relatively

integrated whole.

2. A society tends to seek relative stability.

3. Most aspects of a society contribute to a society’s well-being and survival

4. A society rests on the consensus of its members

1. A society experiences inconsistency and conflict everywhere.

2. A society is continuously

subjected to change.

3. A society involves

the constraint and

coercion of some members by

others.

1. People’s interpretations of symbols are based

on the meanings they learn from others.

2. People base their interaction on their interpretation of symbols.

3. Symbols permit people to have internal conversations, behaving the way they think others expect of them and the behavior they expect of others.

Comparing Theoretical Perspectives

Functionalist Perspective

ConflictPerspective

Symbolic InteractionistPerspective

Emphasisis on…

Society is viewed as…

Key questionis…

Major criticismsare that…

order and stability

a system ofinterrelated parts

How does a partcontribute tooverall functioningof a society?

it defendsexisting socialarrangements

conflict over scarceand valued resources

dominant andsubordinate groupsin conflict over scarceand valued resources

Who benefits from apattern or socialarrangement, andat whose expense?

it exaggeratestension anddivisions in society

shared meaning ofsymbols

a series ofinteractionsdependant onshared symbols

How are symbolicmeanings created?

it offers no systematic explanation for how meanings persistor change