Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, 8/emisswisner.weebly.com/uploads/6/1/8/4/6184131/chapter_1.pdfTitle Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, 8/e Author James Henslin Subject Chapter

Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective

Warm-Up

1. How would you define sociology?

2. What does sociology mean to you?

3. How would you describe your “place/role in

society”? Be as specific as possible.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 1


Objectives Identify, understand, and make distinctions between the

natural sciences and the social sciences.

Explain how sociology views and studies human behavior, and

how its particular areas of focus are similar to and different

from each of the other social sciences


Agenda 1. Warm-Up

2. What is Sociology?

3. Chapter 1 Notes (pgs. 2-6)

4. Quiz (p. 7)

5. Mills Reading & Protocol

6. Closing Questions

Chapter One: The Sociological Perspective



How Groups Influence People

How People are Influenced by Their Society People Who Share a Culture

People Who Share a Territory

Sociological Perspective – understanding human

behavior by placing it within its broader social context

C. Wright Mills

Society – people who share a culture and a territory

Seeing the Broader Social Context



Social Location – the group memberships that

people have because of their location in history

and society

Examples

Jobs

Income

Education

Gender

Age

Race

Social Location - Corners in Life



C. Wright Mills proposed a connection

between these two concepts

History is the location in broad stream of

events

Biography is an individual’s specific

experiences

History & Biography



The Global Village

Interdependence among countries

Example: Clothes made in China

Instant Communication

Internet, cell phones, economics

Sociology studies both the global network and

our unique experiences

The Growing Global Context



The Natural Sciences

Explain and predict events in natural

environment

Divided into fields (i.e. biology, chemistry)

The Social Sciences

Examine human relationships

Divided into fields (i.e. economics, political

science, sociology, psychology)

Sociology and the Other Sciences



Psychology

The study of processes within individuals

Sociology

Similarities to other disciplines such as

anthropology, economics, political science,

and psychology

Psychology v. Sociology



The Other Disciplines Anthropology

Sister discipline of sociology

Chief concern is the study of culture

Economics

Concentrates on a single social institution

Studies the production and distribution of goods and

services

Political Science

Focuses on politics and government

Studies how people govern themselves



Where Does Sociology Fit? Sociologists…

Like anthropologists, study culture

Like economists, are concerned with the

distribution of goods and services in society

Like political scientists, study how people

govern one another and how governments affect

people’s lives

Like psychologists, are concerned with how

people adjust to the difficulties of life



Explain Why Something Happens

Make Generalizations

Go beyond the individual case and make

broader statements that apply to groups

Must look for patterns

Predict What will Happen

How the future could be shaped based on

current knowledge

The Goal of Science



1. How would you describe the sociological

perspective in your own words?

2. Do you think it would be possible for the

United States to withdrawal from the Global

Village? Why or why not?

3. Are natural or social sciences more important

to the study of sociology? Explain.

Closing Questions


Warm-Up Read the Old Elephant Story on page 5 of your

textbook.

1. What is the story saying about sociology?

2. What is the story saying about the other

disciplines?

3. How can this story help in our study of

sociology?



Objectives Discuss the social changes and the changing social conditions

that fostered the development of sociology as a distinct academic

discipline in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Identify and critique the sociological contributions of the

following mid-to-late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century

European thinkers.


Agenda 1. Warm-Up

2. One Pager Activity/Mini-Presentations


4. Helping Experiment Overview

5. Chapter 1 Vocab List




In groups you will complete the following:

1. Complete a One Pager (mini-poster) on legal size paper.

2. Your One Pager will include the following:

Name of your sociologist

Their background

Pertinent Information

3. The only words you can use are the name of your sociologist.

Everything else must be a visual representation.

4. You must also answer the questions provided to you on a

separate piece of paper to turn in with your one pager.

5. You will only have 40 minutes to complete this before

presenting to the class.

One Pager Activity!



Tradition vs. Science

Originally based their questions on myth & superstition

Emerged mid-1800s

Social observers began using the scientific method to test their ideas

Grew Out of Social Upheaval

Industrial Revolution

Rethinking of Social Life

Success of American & French Revolutions

Imperialism

The Success of Natural Sciences

Tradition was breaking down

Use of the scientific method was used in chemistry & physics

Resulted in the birth of sociology

Origins of Sociology



Credited with being the founder of sociology

Positivism

Applying the scientific method to social world

Coined the term “sociology”

He claimed was the “study of society”

New science would discover social principles but

also apply them to social reform

Sociologists would reform all of society

“Armchair Philosophy”

Idea of drawing conclusions from informal

observations of social life

Auguste Comte and Positivism



Second founder of sociology

Disagreed with Comte that sociology should

guide social reform

Lower and Higher Forms of Society

Societies evolve from chaos and barbarism to

calm and civilized

Coined Phrase “Survival of the Fittest”

Believed that overtime societies improve

Fittest members will create a more advanced

society

Herbert Spencer - Social Darwinism



Like Comte, he believed people should try to

change society

Engine of human history is class conflict

The Bourgeoisie vs. the Proletariat

Bourgeoisie = owners of means of

production; middle class

Proletariat = exploited workers

Marxism not the same as Communism

Marx did not develop the political system

even though he supported it

Karl Marx and Class Conflict



Got sociology recognized as separate discipline

Studied how social forces affect behavior

Studied suicide rates in European countries

(Figure 1.1 on page 11)

Conclusions?

Identified Social Integration

The degree to which people are tied to social

group

Strong social bonds decrease likelihood that

someone will commit suicide

Emile Durkheim and Social Integration



Religion and the Origin of Capitalism

Disagreed with Marx that economics is the central

force in social change

Believed religion is central force in social change

Protestant Ethic and Spirit of Capitalism

Protestant Ethic was the self-denying approach to

life

Spirit of Capitalism is the readiness to invest capital

in order to make more money

Max Weber and the Protestant Ethic



1. Do you agree or disagree with Herbert

Spencer’s idea of only “the fittest members of

society being able to create an advanced

society”? Explain your answer.

2. Weber argued that religion was the central

force in social change. Do you agree or

disagree? Explain.

Closing Questions


Warm-Up Read the Old Elephant Story on page 5 of your

textbook.

1. What is the story saying about sociology?

2. What is the story saying about the other

disciplines?

3. How can this story help in our study of

sociology?



Objectives Explain the role of values in social research as prescribed by

Max Weber.

Distinguish between “Verstehen,” as envisioned by Max

Weber, and “social facts,” as defined by Emile Durkheim.


Agenda 1. Warm-Up


3. Excerpt from The Tipping Point Discussion

4. Work on Vocabulary or Essay




Sociology Should be Value-free

Weber’s view that a sociologist’s personal

values/biases should not influence social

research

Sociology Should be Objective

Weber’s view that total neutrality is the

“hallmark of social research”

Research Should involve Replication

Sociologists should repeat studies in order to

compare results with the original findings

Values in Sociological Research



Goals &

Uses of

Sociology



Weber

Verstehen – means “to grasp by insight”

Best interpreter of human behavior is someone who

“has been there”

Importance of Subjective Meanings

Ways in which people interpret their own behavior

Durkheim

Stressed Social Facts

Group patterns of behavior (p. 13)

Explain Social Facts with Other Social Facts

Each pattern explains some condition of society

“Patterns that hold true year after year indicate that as thousands

and even millions of people make their individual decisions, they are

responding to conditions in their society.” (p. 13)

Verstehen and Social Facts



They go hand-in-hand

Example: Why is Tuesday a popular Birth-day? (p.14)

Four Relevant Social Facts:

1. Due to technology, the hospital is a dominate force in the

US medical system.

2. Medical technology has made delivery by cesarean section

safer.

3. Doctors took over the delivery of babies.

4. Medicine in the US is a business with profit as a primary

goal.

As a result of the above facts, C-sections are 26% of all births

Add Verstehen to this equation and it is easier for doctors to

schedule births when it is most convenient – Tuesday!

How Social Facts and Verstehen Fit

Together



1800s Sex Roles Rigidly Defined

Four K’s (in German) church, cooking, children, &

clothes)

Few People Educated Beyond Basics

Higher education reserved for men

Most had some reading/writing and little math

Harriet Martineau

Born wealthy in England Published Society in America before Durkheim and

Weber were born; her work was ignored

Most known for translating Comte’s writings

Sexism in Early Sociology



“Patterns that hold true year after year indicate

that as thousands and even millions of people

make their individual decisions, they are

responding to conditions in their society.”

(p. 13)

1. Do you agree or disagree with the quote

above? Explain your answer.

Closing Questions


Warm-Up Read the box Listening to an Early Feminist on

page 15 and answer the following questions:

1. Do you think Martineau’s concerns are still

valid in today’s society? Why or why not?

2. Why do you think women have had to fight

for their rights throughout US history?

3. Will men and women ever be truly equal?

Why or why not?



Objectives Explain the role of values in social research as prescribed by Max

Weber.

Distinguish between “Verstehen,” as envisioned by Max Weber, and

“social facts,” as defined by Emile Durkheim.

Discuss the debate between social reform and social analysis, and the

role applied sociology plays in this debate.


Agenda 1. Warm-Up


3. Du Bois & Hussein




Began at the University of Kansas in 1890

North American, like their European

counterparts, were blocked from the field

Many women turned to social activism

Working with the poor coined the

profession of social workers

Difference between sociology and social work

Social work = profession

Sociology = research based

Sociology in North America



Came from wealth and privilege

Worked for social justice and a voice for the poor

Co-founded Hull House in Chicago

Open to people who needed refuge such as

immigrants the sick, aged, and poor

Wanted to bridge the gap between the powerful and

the powerless

Fought for 8-hour workday and end to child labor

Co-winner of Nobel Peace Prize in 1931

Jane Addams & Social Reform



1st African American to earn a doctorate from

Harvard University

Published many books on the terrible race

relations and conditions in the US in the early

1900s

Helped found the NAACP

Eventually frustrated by the lack of progress in

race relations he moved to Ghana and died there

at the age of 93

W.E.B. Du Bois & Race Relations



Parsons

Shifted from social reform to social theory

Developed abstract models of society that

influenced a generation of sociologists

His work alone did not gain much attention

Mills

Wanted to focus on social reform

Power Elite = top leaders in business,

politics, and the military are an “imminent

threat to freedom”

Talcott Parsons & C. Wright Mills:

Theory v. Reform



Conflict amongst sociologists over analyzing

society or working toward social reform

Basic/Pure Sociology

Sociological research aimed at making

discoveries about life in human groups, not to

make changes in those groups

Applied Sociology

The use of sociology to solve problems from

the family to crime and pollution

Continuing Tension





Group One

1. Read the box on Page 18. Think about &

discuss the scenario and question you are

distributed.

Group Two

1. Read the box on Page 21. Think about &

discuss the scenario and question you are

distributed.

Discussion Activity



1. What did C. Wright Mills mean by the term

the “power elite”? Do you think he was

correct to fear them? Why or why not?

2. Is racism still present in American society? If

you answer yes, give an example from your

life.

3. Do you think it is possible for everyone to be

treated equally? Why or why not?

Closing Questions


Warm-Up 1. What is the difference between basic/pure

sociology and applied sociology?

2. Which type of sociology do you think is more

beneficial to society? Why?



Objectives Define the word “theory” and explain why theory is an

important part of sociology.

Identify the three major theoretical perspectives in sociology—

symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict

theory—and describe the particular level of analysis,

characteristics, viewpoints, and concerns associated with each.


Agenda 1. Warm-Up

2. Chapter 1 Vocab Quiz


4. Sociological Theories Worksheet

5. Puzzle Activity




Theory

General statement about how some parts of

the world fit together and how they work

Three Major Sociological Perspectives

Symbolic Interactionism

Functional Analysis

Conflict Theory

Theoretical Perspectives




Society is viewed as composed of symbols

that people use to establish meaning, develop

their own views of the world, and

communicate with one another

Brought up by Charles Horton Cooley

Symbols allow relationships and society to exist

Applying Symbolic Interactionism

Pages 22-23






Functional Analysis

Theory that society is a whole unit made up of interrelated

parts that work together

Also known as functionalism

Robert Merton

Functions = the beneficial consequences of people’s actions

Dysfunctions = consequences that harm society

Manifest Function = action is intended to help some part of

society

Latent Functions = actions that have unintended

consequences that help a society adjust

Applying Functional Analysis

Pages 25-26

Functional Analysis



Karl Marx is the founder of Conflict Theory

Conflict Theory

Theory in which society is viewed as composed of groups

that are competing for scarce resources

Karl Marx

Working class needs to rise up against the privileged

Struggle between bourgeoisie and proletariat

Feminists

Struggle between men and women

Men and women should have equal rights

Conflict Theory Today

Those in Authority vs. Masses

Most likely to develop between people who are in close

relationships

Conflict Theory



Macro Level

Examining large-scale patterns of society

Functionalists & Conflict Theorists

Micro Level

Examines small-scale patterns of social

interaction

Symbolic Interactionists

Levels of Analysis



1. Do you think it is more beneficial for a

sociologist to study society at the macro or

micro level? Explain your answer.

2. Describe a situation in which

Closing Questions


Warm-Up Read the box Studying Job Discrimination on

page 30 and answer the following questions:

1. Draw one conclusion just by looking at the

graph in Figure 1.5.

2. Do you think President Bush should have

funded such a program? Why or why not?

3. Should ex-convicts have the same rights as

citizens once they have served their time?

Why or why not?





Objectives Discuss “public sociology.” Do you think that social reform,

rather than social science, has become the more dominant goal

of sociology?


Agenda 1. Warm-Up


3. Chapter 1 Review Worksheet




Reform vs. Research

Three Stages in Sociology

1. First Phase – Stressed the need to do

research in order to improve society

2. Second Phase (1920s-WWII) – Make

sociology a respected field of knowledge

3. Third Phase (end of WWII) – Brown v.

BOE decision made sociologists focus on

social change

Trends Shaping the Future



Public Sociology

American Sociological Association (ASA)

refers to the public becoming more of the

sociological perspective

No “one size fits all” in social policy




Diversity of Orientations

Lots of differing opinions and focuses

among sociologists

Currently sociologists are leaning toward

applying sociological knowledge




Globalization

The extensive interconnections among

nations due to the expansion of capitalism

United States dominates sociology

Dominance gives way to only studying US

groups instead of global groups

Globalization



1. Do you think American sociologists (or even

ordinary citizens) live in a “bubble” where

they often do not consider other groups,

cultures, etc? Why or why not?

2. Do you think it is more important for

sociologists to focus on American groups and

solutions or global ones? Explain your answer.

Closing Questions

Documents

Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, 8/emisswisner.weebly.com/uploads/6/1/8/4/6184131/chapter_1.pdfTitle Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, 8/e Author James Henslin Subject Chapter