C01 Introduction by Mrs. Rosemary Fernandez

8/6/2019 C01 Introduction by Mrs. Rosemary Fernandez

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Prentice Hall

Introductory Sociology

PowerPoint Slides, Version 2.0

Prepared by

Roger J. Eich, Ph.D.

Hawkeye Community College

Waterloo, Iowa



• “...THE SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF HUMAN

SOCIETY ”

– SYSTEMATIC

• SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINE THAT FOCUSES

ATTENTION ON PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR

– HUMAN SOCIETY

• GROUP BEHAVIOR IS PRIMARY FOCUS; HOW

GROUPS INFLUENCE INDIVIDUALS AND VICEVERSA

– AT THE “HEART OF SOCIOLOGY”

• THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE WHICH OFFERS

A RATHER UNIQUE VIEW OF SOCIETY



The Sociological Perspective

OBSERVATIONS ARE CERTAINLY

IMPACTED BY THE PERSONAL

PERSPECTIVES THROUGH WHICH

PEOPLE COME TO VIEW THE WORLD



• THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

– ALLOWS YOU TO START SEEING THE

GENERAL IN THE PARTICULAR

• GENERAL CATEGORIES HELP SHAPE

INDIVIDUALS’ LIFE EXPERIENCES

• THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

–

ALLOWS YOU TO START SEEING THESTRANGE IN THE PARTICULAR

• SOCIAL FORCES GUIDE HUMAN THOUGHT AND

BEHAVIOR



• COMPELLING EVIDENCE OF SOCIAL FORCESACTING UPON HUMAN BEHAVIOR

– DURKHEIM’S STUDY OF SUICIDE

• MORE LIKELY TO COMMIT

– MALE PROTESTANTS WHO WERE WEALTHY

AND UNMARRIED HAD HIGHER SUICIDE RATES

• LESS LIKELY TO COMMIT

– MALES JEWS AND CATHOLICS WHO WERE

POOR AND MARRIED

• ONE OF THE BASIC FINDINGS: WHY?

– THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE GROUPS

HAD TO DO WITH “SOCIAL INTEGRATION”

• THOSE WITH STRONG SOCIAL TIES HAD LESS

CHANCE OF COMMITING SUICIDE

WOW! NOW THAT ISCOMPELLING!



OTHER WAYS SOCIOLOGY

ALLOWS US TO SEE ANEW

• SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL MARGINALITY

– SOME PEOPLE CAN BE REFERRED TO AS “OUTSIDERS”

• NOT PART OF THE DOMINANT GROUP

– THE LARGER THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE DOMINANT GROUP AND A

MARGINAL GROUP

• EASIER TO NOTICE MARGINALITY AND SUFFER FROM IT

• SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL CRISIS

– CONFRONTING SOCIAL PROBLEMS ALLOWS PEOPLE TO LOOK BEYOND

THEIR OWN LIVES AND SEE HOW VARIOUS SYSTEMS IMPACT THEM

• IMPORTANCE OF THESE ITEMS

– THEY ALLOW US TO SEE BOTH THE SMALL AND THE LARGE PICTURE

• WE BEGIN TO APPRECIATE THE INTERACTION BETWEEN MICRO AND MACRO

ELEMENTS OF SOCIAL LIFE



GLOBAL LINKAGE• SOCIOLOGY OFFERS STUDENTS THE

OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND THE GLOBALVILLAGE

– ALL SOCIETIES ARE INCREASINGLY CONNECTED

THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMICS

–

MANY SOCIAL PROBLEMS FACED BY AMERICANS AREMORE SERIOUS ELSEWHERE

• IMMIGRANTS STILL SEE AMERICA AS A VISION OF HOPE AND

A LAND OF GREAT OPPORTUNITIES

– UNDERSTANDING GLOBAL ISSUES AND THE WORLD

AROUND AMERICA ALLOWS STUDENTS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THEMSELVES

• LEARNING TO SEE THE MANY SIMILARITIES

• ACCEPTING AND APPRECIATING THE DIFFERENCES



• CHALLENGES FAMILIARITY

– IDEALISM VERSUS REALITY OF SITUATIONS FOR

PEOPLE

•

BROADENS PERSONAL VIEWS – SEE OUR INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS AND POWERFUL

CONSTRAINTS

• EMPOWERS PEOPLE

– FORCES STUDENTS TO ENGAGE THE WORLD

• RECOGNIZES SOCIAL DIVERSITY

– UNDERSTANDING CAN LEAD TO ACCEPTANCE AND

TOLERANCE



THE DISCIPLINE’S ORIGINS• EARLY IN THE 19TH CENTURY, WESTERN

EUROPEAN SOCIETY EXPERIENCED MAJOR

CHANGES IN MANY SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS

• SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

– SCIENCE REPLACING TRADITIONAL FORMS OF AUTHORITY

• GREAT AMOUNT OF CONFUSION, FEAR, AND CHAOS

• ECONOMIC REVOLUTION

– CAPITALISM CHANGING THE FACE OF ECONOMIC SYSTEMS

• EXTREME CHANGES IN FAMILY FORM; URBAN GROWTH

•

POLITICAL REVOLUTION – LIBERTY, EQUALITY, AND BROTHERHOOD

• VIOLENCE, DISORDER, AND POLITICAL FIGHTS FOR CONTROL



P E

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• AUGUSTE COMTE (1798-1857)

– POSITIVISM; LAW OF THREE STAGES

• HARRIET MARTINEAU (1802-1876)

– FOCUS ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS

• KARL MARX (1818-1883)

– CLASS CONFLICT; HUMAN STRUGGLE

• HERBERT SPENCER (1820-1903)

– SOCIAL DARWINISM

• EMILE DURKHEIM (1858-1917)

– GROUP FORCES; SOCIAL INTEGRATION

•

JANE ADDAMS (1860-1933) – HULL HOUSE; SOCIAL WORK

• W.E.B. DU BOIS (1868-1963)

– PLIGHT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS



SOCIAL PARADIGMSSOCIAL PARADIGMSSOCIAL PARADIGMSSOCIAL PARADIGMS•

THEORY: A STATEMENT OF HOW AND WHYFACTS ARE RELATED

• PARADIGM: A SET OF FUNDAMENTAL

ASSUMPTIONS THAT GUIDES THINKING

PEOPLE HOLD

DIFFERING OPINIONS

ABOUT THEIR SOCIALWORLD

WE ALL COME FROM

DIFFERENT SOCIAL

EXPERIENCES AND THEYBIAS OUR ASSUMPTIONS

U P W I T H

P E O P L E

D O W N W I T H P E O P L E



STRUCTURAL

-FUNCTIONALISM

• ASSUMPTION:

– MACRO-ORIENTED (LARGE-SCALE) PARADIGM

THAT VIEWS SOCIETY AS A COMPLEX SYSTEM

WHOSE PARTS WORK TOGETHER TO PROMOTE

SOCIAL STABILITY

• PRINCIPLES:

– SOCIAL STRUCTURE REFERS TO RELATIVELY

STABLE PATTERNS OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR – SOCIAL FUNCTION REFERS TO THE CONSEQUENCES

OF SOCIAL PATTERNS FOR SOCIETY• ROBERT K. MERTON’S THOUGHTS:

– MANIFEST, LATENT, AND DYSFUNCTIONS



• ASSUMPTION:

– ANOTHER MACRO-ORIENTED

PARADIGM, BUT THIS ONE VIEWS

SOCIETY AS A SYSTEM BASED ON

INEQUALITY AND CONFLICT

• PRINCIPLES:

– FACTORS SUCH AS RACE, SEX,

CLASS, AND AGE ARE LINKED TO

SOCIAL INEQUALITY – DOMINANT GROUP VS. MINORITY

GROUPS

• INCOMPATIBLE DIFFERENCES

• SETTING UP “SOCIAL

ROADBLOCKS” FOR OTHERS



• ASSUMPTION:

–

THE VIEW THAT SOCIETY IS THE PRODUCTOF EVERYDAY INTERACTIONS

• PRINCIPLES:

– SOCIETY IS A COMPLEX MOSAIC OF

UNDERSTANDING THAT EMERGES FROMTHE VERY PROCESS OF INTERACTING

• GOFFMAN’S DRAMATURGICAL ANALSYIS

• THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY

SYMBOLIC INTERACTION

SYMBOLIC INTERACTION IS A MICRO-ORIENTED PARADIGM,

WHICH MEANS IT IS EFFECTIVELY USED WHEN ATTEMPTING

TO UNDERSTAND SMALLER SCALE SOCIAL PHENOMENA

C01 Introduction by Mrs. Rosemary Fernandez

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