THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGY

FIELDS OF STUDY IN SOCIOLOGY Wide range of topics studied in

sociology, including:Relationships between ethnic groupsRelationships between social classesGender roles and expectationsThe familyCriminology and devianceStructure of the workplace

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ETHNIC GROUPS

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SOCIAL CLASSES

THE FAMILY

GENDER ROLES

GENDER ROLES

GENDER ROLES

CRIMINOLOGY

SCHOOL OR WORKPLACE ORGANIZATION

SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT IN SOCIOLOGY

Functionalist School Conflict School (aka neo-Marxist) Symbolic Interactionist School

FUNCTIONALISM Believes that society is best studied as

an organic system – like the human body

When all the parts of society work together as they should, the interests of each individual member are protected

Analyzes: large scale patterns of societyRelationships among parts of society

FUNCTIONALIST: HOW DO ALL THE PARTS OF SOCIETY FIT TOGETHER AND WORK?

THE CONFLICT SCHOOL Believe that the most significant characteristic

of human beings is their ability to produce goods to meet their needs and wants

Therefore, interested in how the forces of production operate, and in the social structures, and relationships that are created from these forces (aka, the economy) Different groups compete/struggle for resources and

power, creating conflicts and different social classes – with some classes having power over others

Analyzes: Large-scale patterns of society Struggles and conflicts between social classes for

resources and power

CONFLICT SCHOOL: CLASS STRUGGLE

DOES HAVING THE MONEY FOR THE “BEST” EDUCATION MEAN YOU HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHANCES FOR SUCCESS THAN OTHERS?

SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM Focuses on small-scale patterns in the

interactions between individuals, unlike other two schools that look at broad patterns

Believe that the most significant characteristic of human beings is their ability to reason abstractly and think symbolically, giving us a sense of ‘self’ and a sense of “others” This is used in our face-to-face interactions to

create the patterns, roles and rules of behaviour… ‘society’

Analyzes: Small-scale patterns of social interaction Symbols people use to create social life

SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

OUR BEHAVIOURS ARE BASED ON WHAT WE THINK IS IMPORTANT BASED ON OUR INTERACTIONS WITH OTHERS.

APPLY WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED

Identify a sociological question, issue or problem at Aldershot, our community or the world

RECALL Sociologists study the organization,

institutions, and development of society, especially changing relationships between individuals and the collective behaviour of groups

How Movies Teach Manhood

A SOCIOLOGIST’S TOOLBOX

Rely heavily on information they get from

QUESTIONNAIRES PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION

SURVEYSEXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

TWO QUESTION TYPES Open: Do not have a yes no answer

How does conflict affect student relationships? How do different societies respond to changes

in technology? Why do some students skip classes

Closed: Have a yes, no or straight ahead answer. Where do you live? How many male students are at your school? What are the consequences for skipping

school at your school?

APPLY YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Come up with three survey questions to answer your sociological question/problem/issue.

Bullying Teacher(s) have difficulty hearing

student’s voices.

CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS OF SOCIETIES Shared symbols and learned behaviours

that everyone in the society recognizes and understands

Values – shared ideas and standards that are considered acceptable and binding

Norms – expectations about how people should behave

Role - expected behaviour of a person in a particular social position

PERSONAL APPLICATION

What are the norms, roles and values in Aldershot (home and community) and at Aldershot school?

OBJECTIVITY AND UNIVERSALITY Important for researchers to set aside

beliefs, judgements and personal views – they must remain objective

Also important to look for elements of universality of their research – break down cultural and geographic boundaries Ie: a study on parenting in a remote African

village can give insight to a large NA city

NOTABLE SOCIOLOGISTS Emile Durkheim Karl Marx Max Weber Talcott Parsons George Murdock Wallace Clement John Porter Jay Goldstein and

Rita Bienvenue David Lyon Edna Einsiedel

Marc Raboy Reginald Bibby Marlene Mackie Charles Cooley &

George Herbert Mead

Irving Goffman William Foote

Whyte Dorothy Smith C. Wright Mills

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE? Task

Groups of two or three Pick a sociologist Research! Find out:

Who they were/are When and where they lived Three different issues that they were interested

in/concerned about/important contributions Relevance/helpfulness of their focus to modern

problems in society Make a poster of your findings!

8.5 x 11 inch paper Include the above data and a picture Don’t forget your works cited!

SOCIALIZATION AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT – HOW ARE WE SOCIALIZED? Socialization – process where someone

learns the attitudes, values and behaviours that are valuable and necessary for the society in which they live Happens from infancy to death Begins in the family, but many other

influencing forces• Peers/

social influence

• School• Work• Media

• Religion• Gender• Culture

CATEGORIES OF SOCIALIZATION – THE PROCESS Primary socialization – the process of

learning the basic skills needed to survive in society

Secondary socialization – learning how to behave appropriately in group situations

Anticipatory socialization – learning how to plan the way to behave in new situations

Resocialization – the process by which negative behaviour is transformed into socially acceptable behaviour

HOW DOES SOCIETY INFLUENCE BEHAVIOUR? Social influences on our behaviour

FamilyGenderCultureMedia

Application question: How do movies teach gender roles?

(Disney Princesses overhead)http://www.ted.com/talks/colin_stokes_how_movies_teach_manhood.html

CONT’D: HOW DOES SOCIETY INFLUENCE BEHAVIOUR? Social influence – the effect of other

people on a person’s thoughts and actions Direct and indirect influence

Ex: you join your friends for sushi, even though you really want a burger

Ex: Not dating someone you’re interested in because of the reactions you think you’ll get from your family

Social expectations can differ even between subcultures Who’s expected to clear their plates at dinner? City to country and country to city

APPLICATION QUESTION

What are the risks of not conforming to expectations? (Family, gender, cultural…)

SOCIALIZATION AND GENDER ROLES http://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/

2011/05/24/star_readers_rage_about_couple_raising_genderless_infant.html

Margaret Mead examined a number of distinct features about American and Samoan adolescent girls and concluded that gender roles are socially constructed and relative to the culture in which they are exhibited That is – North American, Canadian,

Burlingtonian culture roles are distinct to our culture – they’ll be similar within our overarching culture, but dissimilar from other cultures

DIFFERENT CULTURES, DIFFERENT GREETINGSCulture Greeting

Polynesian Place the other person’s hands on your face and stroke

Tibetan Stick your tongue out at the person you wish to greet

Inuit Rub noses with the other person

Western European Kiss the other person on the cheek

Massai (tribe in Kenya) Spit on the other person, and when greeting an elder, spit in your hand before you offer it up to be shaken

North America Handshake

ABNORMAL SOCIALIZATION – SOCIALIZATION GONE WRONG Can result because of

NeglectAbuseAbandonment

Feral children Deserted at a young age and raised by

animalsThey appropriate the behaviours of the

species that raise them. Can perfectly imitate their gestures and sounds

FERAL CHILDREN http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=STn3bpTTU6c

Sociologists realized from studying these children that need to learn social skills at a young ageThis is a critical period for developing and

internalizing social behaviours