-
Why study sociology:To develop sociological imagination or
consciousnessTo develop and understand different perspectives on
issuesTo go beyond commonly accepted ideas and notionsUnderstanding
for its own sake: value free, objective, critical perspectiveTo
identify trends and issues19th century origins of sociology:
industrialization, urbanization, rapid technological
progressFounders: Comte, Mill, Marx, Durkheim, Weber
-
Sociological Imagination and Sociological Perspective
Looking at an issue from multiple perspectivesNot accepting
commonsensical explanationsGoing beyond commonly accepted
understanding
THESE ARE THE HALLMARKS OF A SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION AND
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVEWhat is Sociology? What do sociologists do?
What is a sociological question? What is sociological
consciousness?
-
How does an IIT student get into an IIT: the link between
biography and history? Time and place of birth Coaching Parental
and peer pressure Gender Social Status, employment opportunities,
high incomes
-
Mass Shootings in the United States: Guns and Violence Psychos?
Loners? Why is it more of a problem in the US / Europe? Do / can
guns kill people? The NRA and the self-defense argument
Not a terrorist incident?
What is and is not terrorism?
Senseless and Evil?
Collateral Damage?
-
What is sociology?Study of the connections between personal
experiences and social life: Personal troubles and social issues:
Homelessness: is it a choice for people? is poverty a choice? Do
people love to live on the streets or in poverty?Lack of affordable
housing , unemployment / underemployment, government policies, lack
of decently paid jobs, lack of educational opportunitiesPrivate
matters and public matters: how PRIVATE are private
matters?Personal characteristics and social environmentPersonal
connections with others and social forces
-
Sociologists ask certain questions regarding the relation
between individual and society: How do groups influence individual
human behaviour? What are the causes and consequences of a
particular social system? What social factors contribute to
particular social changes?Scientific study of social behaviour and
human societySociology is descriptive and interpretativeGain an
understanding of the larger scene: what is going on in the
world
-
Sociological Imagination: Ability to see, understand and explain
the connection between the lives of individuals and cultural,
social and economic context in which they live.
Max Weber: Sociology is a science which attempts the
interpretative understanding of social action in order to thereby
arrive at a causal explanation of its causes and effects.
-
Peter Berger: Invitation to SociologySix images of
sociologists-----A. as a social worker-----B. as a theoretician for
social work -----C. as a social reformer -----D. as a gatherer of
statistics -----E. as a scientist -----F. as a socialist
-
What is PRESUPPOSED to ask sociological questions? ---1.
"interested in looking some distance beyond the commonly accepted
or officially defined goals of human actions" ---2. "a certain
awareness that human events have different levels of meaning, some
of which are hidden from the consciousness of everyday life" ---3.
"a measure of suspicion about the way in which human events are
officially interpreted by the authorities, be they political,
juridical, or religious in character"
-
THUS: Sociology is most likely to develop in a context of
questioning self-conceptions -----official and authoritative ones
-----essential nature of "society" is "hidden" by
authoritative/cultural factorsa "seeing through"a "looking
behind"the "art of mistrust" ---a "problem" for the PUBLIC doesn't
equal a "problem" for the SOCIOLOGIST
-
What is a `problem to one social system is the normal routine of
things to the other system, and vice versa.
-
-----PUBLIC: "SOCIAL PROBLEM" is "when something in society does
not work the way its supposed to according to the official
interpretations" ---------i.e. Crime ---------i.e Divorce
---------i.e Worker efficiency ---------i.e. Soldier behavior
-----SOCIOLOGIST: "SOCIAL PROBLEM" is "what goes on in terms of
social interaction" ---------NOT why things go wrong (from
authorities or "ideal" point of view) ---------RATHER: How the
whole system works in the first place ------------its
presuppositions ------------by what means it is held together THUS:
"the fundamental sociological "social problem" is: ------------NOT
crime, but the LAW ------------NOT divorce, but MARRIAGE
------------NOT racial / caste discrimination, but a RACIALLY or
CASTE DEFINED STRATIFICATION SYSTEM------------NOT revolution, but
GOVERNMENT
-
A sociologist tries to be objective, to control her/his personal
preferences and prejudices, to perceive clearly rather than to
judge normatively. This restraint, of course, does not embrace the
totality of the sociologists existence as a human being, but is
limited to her/his operations qua sociologist. (Peter Berger)
-
C. Wright Mills: The Sociological Imagination"The sociological
imagination enables its possessor to understand the larger
historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the
external career of a variety of individuals. Ask three kinds of
questions:1. What is the structure of this particular society as a
whole? What are its essential components? How does it differ from
other varieties of social order? Within it, what is the meaning of
any particular feature for its continuance and for its change?
2. Where does this society stand in human history? What are the
mechanics by which it is changing? What is its place within and its
meaning for the development of humanity as a whole? How does any
particular feature we are examining affect, and how is it affected
by, the historical period in which it moves? And this period what
are its essential features? How does it differ from other periods?
What are its characteristic ways of history- making?
-
3. What varieties of men and women now prevail in this society
and in this period? And what varieties are coming to prevail? In
what ways are they selected and formed, liberated and repressed,
made sensitive and blunted? What kinds of human nature are revealed
in the conduct and character we observe in this society in this
period? And what is the meaning for human nature of each and every
feature of the society we are examining?Intersection of biography
and history
Distinction between 'the personal troubles of milieu' and 'the
public issues of social structure' - an essential tool of
sociological imagination.
Troubles and Issues: individual and societyExamples:
Unemployment, War, Marriage, Urbanization
Look beyond personal milieux: structural changes To be aware of
the idea of social structure and to use it with sensibility is to
possess the sociological imagination.
-
Sociological ConceptsConcept of Society web of social
relationships An organization that guides and controls behaviour A
complex of groups and institutionsWhy does society exist? How does
it come into existence? What is its role and importance? How is
society possible?
-
Characteristics of society:Division of labour: Interdependence
and specialization, productionSocial relationshipsSocial
structureSolidarity and its function
-
Concept of social structureStable Relationship and ability to
bear load Permanent and important relationships and groups
Systematic interrelation Complex of groups and institutions
Institutionalized arrangements
All Social behaviour is structured
-
Social Relations / relationshipsFeelings of
belongingnessMotivated towards interests
Range of social relationsopen and closedprimary and
secondaryMother-child: physical / emotionalEmployee employer:
economic interestsTeacher-student: social / economicFriends: social
/ cultural
