Essentials of Sociology Chapter One: The Sociological Perspective A. Seeing the Broader Social Context a.

Sociological Perspective stresses the social contexts in which people live i. How do groups influence people? ii. How are people influenced by society? b. Society a group of people who share a culture and a territory. c. Sociologists look at social location to answer core questions i. Why do people do what they do? d. Social Location the corners in life that people occupy because of where they are located in society. i. Sociologists look at how jobs, income, gender, race-ethnicity, and age affect peoples behavior. e. C. Wright Mills (1959) The sociological imagination [perspective] enables us to grasp the connection between history and biography. i. History each society is located in a broad stream of events, giving each society specific characteristics. ii. Biography our experiences within these historical settings give us our orientations to life. People dont do what they do because they inherited internal mechanisms. iii. The society in which we grow up, and our particular location in that society, lie at the center of what we do and how we think. B. Tradition versus Science a. The birth of sociology i. People based methods on myths and superstitions. ii. Science requires theories that can be tested by research. iii. Sociology emerged in the 1800s when scientists started testing their ideas through the scientific method. iv. Scientific Method using objective, systematic observations to test theories. b. Auguste Comte (1798-1857) i. Credited as the founder of sociology ii. Positivism apply the scientific method to the world iii. Sociology the study of society iv. Purpose: to discover social principles and apply them to social reform v. Sociologists would reform society, making it a better place to live. vi. Did not conduct studies despite his preaching; work discarded. c. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) i. The second founder, but disagreed sharply with Comte. ii. Believed in survival of the fittest between humans; social Darwinism. iii. Also did not conduct studies; work discarded. d. Karl Marx (1818-1883) i. Agreed with Comte and was in favor of change; proposed revolution ii. Class Conflict the engine of human history

iii. Bourgeoisie/Capitalists own the capital, land, factories, and machines iv. Proletariat exploited workers v. Workers would join together and form a bloody revolution, and usher a classless society free of exploitation. e. Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) i. Major professional goal was to have sociology recognized as a separate academic discipline. 1. Achieved this goal in 18887 when the University of Bordeaux awarded him the worlds first academic appointment in sociology. ii. Conducted rigorous research to achieve second goal; to show how social forces affect peoples behavior. 1. Compared suicide rates in different countries; rates stayed the same year after year 2. Other rates that stayed constant: a. Males more likely to commit than females b. Protestants more than Catholics or Jews c. Unmarried more than married 3. Individuals take their lives due to underlying social factors rather than for personal reason iii. Durkheim found that one of the key social factors in suicide was social integration. 1. Social Integration the degree to which people are tied to their social group 2. People who have weaker social ties are more likely to commit because they have fewer social bonds; less social integration iv. Human behavior cannot be understood only in terms of the individual; we must always examine the social forces that affect peoples lives. f. Max Weber (1864-1920) i. Left a profound impression upon sociology ii. Used cross cultural and historical materials to trace the causes of social change and to determine how social groups affect peoples orientations to life iii. Focused on the origin of capitalism; found it was brought about through changes in religion iv. Protestant ethic Protestants, who were taught that they wouldnt know until they were saved until Judgment day, concluded that financial wealth was a blessing from God, and saved money and made investments in order to be in Gods favor. v. Spirit of Capitalism the desire to invest capital in order to make more money C. Sexism and Early Female Sociologists a. 1800s Women assigned roles as wife and mother, expected to devote themselves to Kirche, Kchen, Kinder, und Kleider (church, cooking, children, and clothes) b. Marion Talbot (1858-1947) i. Associate editor of The American Journal of Sociology for 30 years c. Grace Abbott (1878-1939)

i. First chief or the U.S. governments Childrens Bureau d. Frances Perkins (1880-1965) i. First woman to hold a cabinet positions, serving twelve years as the Secretary of Labor under President Franklin Roosevelt e. Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) i. Studied sociology of the U.S. as well as Great Britain ii. Published Society in America, in which she analyzed 1. Family 2. Race 3. Gender 4. Politics 5. Religion iii. Research ignored until recently iv. Primarily known for translating Comtes ideas into English f. For the most part, early female sociologists views sociology as a path to social reform i. Focused on ways to improve society 1. Stop lynching 2. Integrate immigrants 3. Improve workers conditions D. Racism at the Time: W. E. B. Du Bois a. Racism just as normal as sexism in this time period b. W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963) i. First African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard, ii. Studied at the University of Berlin, attended lectures by Max Weber iii. Went to Atlanta university in 1897, where he remained for most of his career iv. One of the founders for NAACP c. Jane Addams (1860-1935) i. The only sociologist to be awarded Nobel Prize for Peace ii. Co-founded Hull-House in Chicago, open to people who needed refuge iii. Also one of the founders for NAACP iv. Co-founded American Civil Liberties Union v. Two major campaigns: 1. Eight hour work days 2. Laws against child labor E. Talcott Parsons and C. Wright Mills: Theory versus Reform a. Sociologists start working towards social theory rather than the reform of society in 1940s. b. Talcott Parsons (1902-1979) i. Developed abstract models of society c. C. Wright Mills (1916-1962) i. Deplored Parsons theoretical abstractions and analyses ii. Urged sociologists to shift focus back on social reform iii. Claimed our freedom to be threatened by the power elite 1. Power Elite - the tops leaders of business, politics, and the military

F. The Continuing Tension: Basic, Applied, and Public Sociology a. Basic Sociology analyzing some aspect of society, with no goal other than gaining knowledge b. Applied Sociology using sociology to solve problems c. Public Sociology a middle ground between research and reform d. Social reform is risky, especially when working with oppressed people to demand social change G. Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology a. Theory a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work; how two or more facts are related to one another H. Symbolic Interactionism symbols are the key to understanding how we view the world and communicate with one another a. Symbols things to which we attach meaning b. Theory developed by Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929), William I. Thomas (18631947), and George Herbert Mean (1863-1931) c. Symbols define relationships (friends, parents, teachers, employees) d. Wouldnt know who we owe respect and obligations, or from whom we can expect privileges i. These two elements lie at the essence of human relationships e. Symbolic integrationists analyze how social life depends on the ways we define ourselves and others. They study face-to-face interaction, examining how people make sense out of life, how they determine their relationships. I. Functional Analysis society is a whole unit, made up of interrelated parts that work together. a. also known functionalism and structural functionalism b. rooted in the origins of sociology c. observe structure (how the parts of a society fit together to make the whole) and function (what each part does and how it contributes to society) d. Robert Merton (1910-2003) i. Dismissed organic analogy, but maintained an essence of functionalism ii. Functions the beneficial consequences of peoples actions 1. help keep a group (society, social system) in balance 2. Can be manifest (intentional) or lament (unintentional) iii. Dysfunctions harmful consequences of peoples actions 1. Undermine a systems equilibrium 2. Usually lament (unintentional) e. Society is a functioning unit, with each part related to the whole. Sociologists examine smaller parts by identifying functions and dysfunctions to see how it is related to the larger unit. This basic approach can be applied to any social group, from entire societies to small families. J. Conflict Theory society is composed of groups that are competing with one another for scarce resources a. Karl Marx i. Founder of conflict theory ii.