CHAPTER 1 SOCIOLOGY

•THE SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF HUMAN SOCIETY.

•SOCIOLOGY TEACHES THAT THE “SOCIAL WORLD” GUIDES ALL OUR LIFE CHOICES.

•IS THE SOCIAL WORLD THEN A COLLECTION OF THE NORMS, VALUES, AND “MORAL COMPASS” THAT WE ARE

EXPOSED TO?

THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

• 1963 PETER BERG• LOOKING FOR GENERAL PATTERNS IN THE

BEHAVIOR OF A PARTICULAR PEOPLE.(CATEGORIES--Adults, children, gender, wealth, etc)

• “SEEING THE GENERAL IN THE PARTICULAR” OR SPECIFIC. (“expectations”)

• A SOCIETY SHAPES THE LIVES OF PEOPLE WITHIN A CATEGORY.

EXAMPLES OF THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE• WHAT DICTATES PURPOSE OF

MARRIAGE?– MARRIAGE BASED ON EMOTION– MARRIAGE BASED ON PURPOSE– WHO DO YOU CHOOSE AS A MATE?

• Does this choice differ based on social expectations?

EXAMPLES OF THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

• DOES PRIVILEGED SOCIAL BACKGROUND CREATE PEOPLE MORE CONFIDENT OF THEIR FUTURE?– DEFINE PRIVILEGED?– MORE AND BETTER OPPORTUNITIES

EXIST FOR THE “PRIVILEGED”.

EXAMPLES OF THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE• THE CHOICE OF COLLEGE.

– COSTS, CURRICULUM, DISTANCE– SOCIETY INFLUENCES YOUR CHOICE OF

COLLEGE AND ABILITY OR CHANCE TO GO– THE AVERAGE STUDENT WILL CHANGE

THEIR MAJOR 3-4 TIMES

EXAMPLES OF THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

• THE SIZE OF THE FAMILY -THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN. (DEFINITELY INFLUENCED BY SOCIETY)– IN AMERICA THE AVERAGE IS 2 CHILDREN.

• AMERICAN WOMEN TEND TO FOCUS ON CAREERS.

– IN POORER COUNTRIES THEY HAVE MORE CHILDREN.

• SEEN AS A SIGN OF WEALTH AND MORE WORKERS

DOES A SOCIETY SHAPE WHO YOU ARE?

• SOCIAL INTEGRATION-PEOPLE WITH STRONG SOCIAL TIES.

• EMILE DURKHEIM--STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PEOPLE WITH STRONG SOCIAL TIES AND SUICIDE RATES.

• SOCIETY HAS AN EMPHASIS ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT:(Marriage, amount of education, religion,)

HOW DOES SOCIETY SHAPE INDIVIDUAL LIVES?: The way to

observe the sociological perspective. • LIVING ON THE MARGIN--AN “OUTSIDER IN

SOCIETY”(WHO ARE THE OUTSIDERS?)– THOSE IN MINORITY SEE THEMSELVES AS

OUTSIDERS ALL THE TIME– DOMINATES THEIR THINKING – LIVES ARE SHAPED BY THIS THINKING

• LIVING THROUGH A SOCIAL CRISIS– DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A VICTIM OR A

CAUSE OF THE SOCIAL CRISIS?

SOCIETY AND SOCIOLOGY--”A GLOBAL

PERSPECTIVE”• THE STUDY OF THE WORLD AND “OUR”

INDIVIDUAL PLACE WITHIN THE WORLD.

• EXPLAINS HOW WE ENVISION THE REST OF THE WORLD.

• EXPLAINS OUR ACTIONS IN AREAS OF POLITICS AND ECONOMICS.

THE WORLDS NATIONS AND THEIR OWN SOCIAL INFLUENCE

• HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES– HIGHEST OVERALL STANDARD OF LIVING– PRODUCE AND OWN A MAJORITY OF WEALTH– FORTUNE BASED MORE ON WHERE THEY LIVE

• MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES– AVERAGE STANDARD OF LIVING--BUT SOCIAL INEQUALITY– LACK OF MANY LARGE “CITIES”– AVERAGE TO ABOVE AVERAGE EDUCATIONAL ACESS 6-8

YRS.

• LOW INCOME COUNTRIES– LOW STANDARD OF LIVING--LACK THE BASIC NEEDS– LIMITED EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

COMPARING THE U.S. TO OTHER NATIONS.

• WHERE WE LIVE SHAPES OUR LIVES.• CHANGE NOW CONNECTS US TO THE ENTIRE

WORLD--GLOBALIZATION.– TECHNOLOGY

• U.S. MINOR SOCIAL PROBLEMS ARE HUGE WORLDWIDE. (ILLITERACY, POVERTY, ETC.)

• UNDERSTANDING GLOBAL LIFESTYLES HELP US UNDERSTAND OURSELVES!

THE GLOBAL VILLAGE SCENARIO

• IF A VILLAGE OF 1000 REPRESENTS THE WORLD.– 610 ASIANS (200 CHINESE)– 140 AFRICANS, 110 EUROPEANS– 85 LATIN AMERICANS, 5 AUSTRALIANS AND SOUTH

PACIFIC– 50 NORTH AMERICANS (45 FROM U.S.)

• ECONOMIC DIVERSITY– 80% OF TOTAL INCOME EARNED BY 200 PEOPLE– 50% OF PEOPLE DO NOT GET ENOUGH TO EAT.– POOREST 20% AT RISK OF DISEASE

• EDUCATION– 5% HAVE A COLLEGE DEGREE– 33% HAVE A DEGREE OF ILLITERACY– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B2xOvKFFz4

APPLYING THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

• HELPS SOCIETY ESTABLISH LAWS AND POLICIES THAT SHAPE PEOPLES LIVES.– (Right and wrong behaviors)

• HELP PEOPLE BECOME MORE AWARE AND TO THINK CRITICALLY.

• EXCELLENT WAY TO PREPARE FOR THE WORLD AT WORK.

• Read “Nickel and Dimed” page 10. • DISCUSSION--WHAT INSIGHTS HAVE WE

LEARNED?

SOCIOLOGY AND PERSONAL GROWTH.

• ASSESS THE TRUTH OF “COMMON SENSE.”– TAKING THINGS FOR GRANTED IS NOT

ALWAYS THE CORRECT MANNER.• EXAMPLE: LOW WAGE JOBS ARE HELD BY

UNEDUCATED LAZY PEOPLE.

– SOCIOLOGY SHOULD HELP US SEARCH AND DETERMINE THE VALIDITY OF PREDETERMINED IDEAS.

SOCIOLOGY AND PERSONAL GROWTH.

• SEEING OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS IN OUR LIVES.– “SOCIETY DEALS THE HAND”– INDIVIDUALS DETERMINE “HOW TO PLAY

THE CARDS!”– BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

AND HOW PEOPLE LIVE WILL HELP US REACH BEST GOALS.

SOCIOLOGY AND PERSONAL GROWTH.

• THE MORE WE KNOW ABOUT SOCIETY, THE MORE “ACTIVE” WE ARE IN THAT SOCIETY.

• UNDERSTANDING LIVING IN A “DIVERSE WORLD”.– 95% OF PEOPLE LIVE DIFFERENTLY THAN

WE IN THE U.S. – YET WE SEE OURSELVES AS “RIGHT” OR

“BETTER” THAN THE REST OF THE WORLD.

THE ORIGINS OF SOCIOLOGY• THREE EVENTS INFLUENCED THE

DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGY AS A FIELD OF STUDY.

• 1) NEW INDUSTRIAL WORLD– WEAKENS THE TRADITION OF COMMUNITY AND

FAMILY

• 2) GROWTH OF CITIES– INCREASE OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS

• 3) CHANGE IN POLITICAL IDEALS– POLITICS BASED ON SELF INTEREST AND NOT AN

OBLIGATION TO GOD.

AUGUSTE COMTE-French Socialist

• INITIATED THE TERM SOCIOLOGY• SAW SOCIOLOGY AS A 3 STAGE HISTORICAL

DEVELOPMENT:• 1) Theological stage-Life based on religious

beliefs(beginning of human history thru early middle ages)

• 2) Metaphysical stage--Life seen as natural occurrence, the failings of man.(Renaissance period)

• 3) Scientific stage--Use of science to study the actions of society.(Comte called this “positivism”)

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Sociological Theories

• A Theory is a a statement of how and why facts are related.

• Theory helps guide thinking and research.

• Research shows 3-5 “Theories” to explain social behavior.

STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONAL APPROACH

• REFERS TO THE RELATIVELY STABLE TYPE OF BEHAVIOR.--PURE NON CONFLICT

• 1) MANIFEST FUNCTIONS RECOGNIZED AND EXPECTED

CONSEQUENCES OF A BEHAVIOR• 2) LATENT FUNCTIONS UNEXPECTED RESULTS OF A

RECOGNIZED BEHAVIOR 3) SOCIAL DYSFUNCTION--BEHAVIOR THAT

IS COUNTER TO EXPECTED BEHAVIOR

SOCIAL CONFLICT APPROACH• SEES SOCIETY AS AN ARENA OF INEQUALITY

THAT GENERATES CONFLICT AND CHANGE. • HOW DO FACTORS WHICH SEPARATE

PEOPLE(RACE, SOCIAL CLASS, GENDER) LEAD TO DIFFERNCES IN POWER, WEALTH, EDUCATION, ETC.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4Bn52yuKy4&feature=related

FEMINISM AND THE GENDER-CONFLICT APPROACH

• FOCUS ON THE INEQUALITY AND CONFLICT BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN.

• SOCIETY PLACES MEN IN POSITIONS OF POWER IN THE:

• 1) HOME--HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD

• 2) AT WORK--INEQUAL INCOMES

• 3) IN MASS MEDIA--MEN’S DOMINANT ROLES IN TV, MOVIES, MUSIC, ETC.

THE RACE CONFLICT APPROACH

• POINT OF VIEW THAT FOCUSES ON THE INEQUALITY AND CONFLICT BETWEEN PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT RACIAL/ETHNIC BACKGROUND.

• POINTS OUT THE CONCEPT THAT THE CAUCASIANHAVE BETTER AND MORE OPPORTUNTIES THAN MOST MINORITIES.

THE SYMBOLIC INTERACTION APPROACH

• SEES SOCIETY AS A PRODUCT OF THE INTERACTION OF INDIVIDUALS.

• 1) MACRO LEVEL ORIENTATION--sees all interaction overall.

• 2) MICRO LEVEL ORIENTATION-sees specific types of interactions

• MOST INTERACTIONS INVOLVE SYMBOLIC COMMUNICATION.

LABELING IN OUR SOCIETY

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJr1mr8oYMA&feature=related

APPLICATION--THE SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS

• STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONAL APPROACH• MANIFEST FUNCTION--PROVIDES

RECREATION, TEACHES PHYSICAL FITNESS, EMOTIONAL RELEASE

• LATENT FUNCTION-- BUILDS RELATIONSHIPS, CREATES JOBS, ENCOURAGES SUCCESS

• DYSFUNCTIONAL--SCHOOLS BECOME SO INTENT ON WINNING THAT THEY “RECRUIT BASED ON SKILL-AND NOT ACADEMIC ABILITY.

• “WIN AT ALL COST MENTALITY”

APPLICATION--THE SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS

• THE RACE AND / OR GENDER CONFLICT APPROACH.

• SOME SPORTS REFLECT SOCIAL STANDING(TENNIS, GOLF, SKIIING)

• SOME SPORTS ARE MALE DOMINANT– BASED ON STEROTYPING

• SOME SPORTS DISCRIMINATE BY POSITION OR DUTY.– POSITION OF LEADERSHIP OR AUTHORITY

APPLICATION--THE SOCIOLOGY OF SPORTS

• THE SYMBOLIC INTERACTION APPROACH• SPORTS IS A COMPLEX FACE TO FACE

CONTEST.• 1) POSITIONS AND RULES DICTATE THE

ACTIONS OF THE PLAYERS• 2) PLAYERS ARE SPONATNEOUS AND WILL

EXPRESS EMOTION DURING CONTESTS.• 3) PLAYERS ATTITUDE AND COMFORT LEVEL

CHANGES AS THEY INTERACT AND EVOLVE INTO THE GAME.

EMILE DURKHEIM--HOW DOES SOCIETY SHAPE OUR SUB

CONCIOUS?• HIS STUDY WAS CALLED SOCIAL INTEGRATION.• PEOPLE WITH STRONG SOCIAL TIES, (CLOSE

FAMILIES, ACTIVE SOCIAL LIFE) HAD A LOWER SUICIDE RATE THAT PEOPLE WITH A MORE INDIVIDUALISTIC LIFESTYLE.

• THORLINDSON & BJARNSON STUDY OF 2003 SUPPORTS PART OF THIS THEORY– WHITE SUICIDE RATES HIGHER THAN BLACK’S

SUICIDE RATES.– WHITE MEN SUICIDE RATES HIGHER THAN WHITE

WOMEN