2. Sociology is the systematic study of social behavior and
human groups. Focuses on social relationships; how those
relationships influence peoples behavior; and how societies, the
sum total of those relationships develop and change. It is the
science of society and the social interactions taking place
3. Sociological Imagination According to C. Wright Mills, it is
an awareness of therelationship of the individual and the wider
society. Thisawareness allows all of us to comprehend the links
betweenour immediate, personal settings and the remote,
impersonalsocial world that surrounds and help to shape us. A key
element in the sociological imagination is the ability toview ones
society as an outsider would, rather than
4. Sociology and the Social Sciences Natural Science- study of
the physical features of nature andthe ways I which they interact
and change.Ex. Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Physics
Social Sciences- study of the social features of humans and theways
in which they interact and change.Ex. Sociology, Anthropology,
Economics, History, Psy chologyand Political Science
5. Anthropology is the study of past cultures and
preindustrialsocieties that continue today, as well as the origin
of humans. Economics is the study that explore the way in which
peopleproduce and exchange goods and services along with moneyand
other resources. History is concerned with the people and events of
the past and their significance for us today. Political Science
study international relations, the
6. Psychology is used in the investigation of personality
andindividual behavior.Sociologists focus on the study of the
influence that the societyHas on peoples attitudes and behavior and
the ways in whichPeople interact and shape society. Humans are
social animals sosociologists scientifically examine their social
relationships withothers.
7. Anthropology Is the science of humanity and its society. It
studies the biological, social, and cultural development of
humankind and seeks answers to why people are different and how
they are similar.
8. Origin and History of Sociology and Anthropology
9. The Beginnings of Anthropology It goes back to the period of
discoveries and explorationsin the15th to 18th centuries. Sources
of facts were the early Western explorers,missionaries, soldiers
and colonial officials regarding thestrange behavior and beliefs as
well as the exotic appearance ofpeople they have come in contact
with. Discoveries of flint tools and other artifacts in Europe in
theearly 19th century gave evidence of the existence of human
10. These discoveries happened at the time when advancementin
Physics and Chemistry were made, arousing interest in scien-tific
inquiry. Edward Tylor was the first professor of Anthropology in
Ox-ford, England. In the U.S., it was Franz Boaz of Clark
Univer-sity, Massachusetts. Modern Anthropology in both Physical
and cultural aspects
11. Modern Anthropology Focus of study was the exotic, non-
western societies. The dominant theme of the early anthropologists
were theevolutionary view of humanity and human behavior.
Structural functionalism was eventually used. The turn for ahigher
level of research through the use of careful and thoroughgathering
of data about individual cultures was made by FranzBoaz and Alfred
Kroeber. They were followed by Bronislaw Ma-
12. From 1980, ethnographers approached the study of
localculture as embedded within regional and tribal forces. Terms
to know:1. Ethnography- provides account of a particular community,
society or culture.2. Ethnographer- gathers data that he organizes,
describes, analyzes, and interprets to build and present the
account which may be in the form of a book, article or film.3.
Ethnology- examines, interprets, analyzes, and
13. The Beginnings of Sociology Has its roots in France at the
time of the IndustrialRevolution and French Revolution. Social
problems attended this social upheavals. The pioneers were Henri de
Saint- Simon (1760- 1825) andAuguste Comte (1798-1857). Auguste
Comte, a French Philosopher, believed that methodsand techniques of
the natural science could be applied to thestudy of society. He
coined the term sociology to apply to the
14. Harriet Martineau(18021876)-scholars learned of Comtesworks
through the translations of this sociologist. Aside from this, she
offered insightful observations of the customs andsocial practices
of both her native Britain and the U.S.Her bookSociety in America
examined religion, politics, child-rearingand immigration in the
young nation. Her writings emphasized the impact that the economy,
law, trade, health,
15. Herbert Spencer( 1820-1903) he did not feel compelled
tocorrect or improve society , instead he hoped to understand
itbetter. He applied Darwins concept of Evolution of the Speciesto
societies in order to explain how they change, or evolve overtime.
He also adapted Darwins Survival of the fittest in arguingthat it
is natural that some people are rich while others are
16. between two classes that clashed in the pursuit of their
owninterest. When he examined the industrial societies of his
time,he saw the factory as the center of conflict between
theexploiters and the exploited. He viewed these relationships
insystematic terms, he believed that a system of economic,
socialand political relationships maintained the power and
17. It was during the time of Emile Durkheim, Georg Simmel,and
Max Weber in Europe, and Charles H. Cooley, Robert E.Park and W.I.
Thomas in the U.S. that empirical research wasused in the study of
social phenomena. Emile Durkheim(1858-1917) laid the foundation for
ModernSociology. He made contributions regarding the study
ofsuicide, religion, division of labor in society and
18. Max Weber ( 1864-1920)-according to him, to fully
compre-hend behavior, we must learn the subjective meanings
peopleattach to their actions- how they themselves view and
explaintheir behavior. Charles Horton Cooley(1864-1929)- to
effectively learnmore about society, he preferred to use the
sociological pers-pective to look first at smaller units- intimate,
face- to-face
19. Major Theoretical Perspectives Sociologists view society in
different ways. Some see theworld as a stable and on-going entity.
Others see society ascomposed of many groups in conflict, competing
for scarceresources. And still to others, the most fascinating
aspects ofthe social world are the everyday, routine interactions
amongindividuals that we sometimes take for granted. These three
views are the functionalist, conflict
20. Functionalist Perspective This emphasizes the way in which
the parts of the society arestructured to maintain its stability.
Talcott Parsons (1902-1979), a Harvard Universitysociologist was a
key figure in the development of this theory.Parson saw any society
as a vast network of connected parts,each of which helps to
maintain the system as a whole. His functionalist approach holds
that if an aspect
21. value consensus among members of the society, it will not
bepassed on from one generation to the next. Throughout most of the
1900s,the functionalist perspectiveHad the upperhand in sociology
in the US. Manifest and Latent Functions Robert Merton made an
important distinction betweenmanifest and latent functions.
Manifest Functions of institutions are open, stated,
consciousfunctions. They involve the intended, recognized
22. Latent Functions are unconscious or unintended
functionsThat may reflect hidden purposes of an institution.
DysfunctionsFunctionalists acknowledge that not all parts of the
society con-tribute to its stability all the time. Dysfunction
refers to an element or process of a society thatmay actually
disrupt the social system or reduce its stability.
23. Conflict Perspective Conflict sociologists see a social
world in continual struggle. It assumes that social behavior is
best understood in terms ofconflict or tension between competing
groups. Conflicts need not be violent, it can take the form of
labornegotiations, party politics, competition between
religiousgroups for new members, or disputes over the
governmentbudget.
24. The widespread social unrest resulting from battles over
civilrights, bitter division over the war in Vietnam, rise of the
gayand feminist liberation movements, political scandals,
haveoffered support for the conflict approach- the view that
thesocial world is characterized by continual struggle
betweencompeting groups. The discipline of sociology accepts
conflict theory
25. Views Under the Conflict Theory Marxist View Karl Marx
viewed struggle between social classes as ine-vitable, given the
exploitation of workers under capitalism. Ex-panding on Marxs work,
sociologists and other social scientistshave come to see conflict
not merely as a class phenomenonbut as part of everyday life in all
societies. An African American View Some early black sociologists
including
26. The struggle for a racially egalitarian society. Sociology
he con-tended, had to draw on scientific principles to study
socialproblems such as those experienced by blacks in the U.S.
DuBois made a major contribution to sociology through his in-depth
studies of urban life, both black and white. He documen-ted the
blacks relatively low status in Philadelphia and Atlanta.He
believed that granting full political rights to
27. It sees inequity in gender as central to all behavior
andorganization. Contemporary feminist theorist often view wo-mens
subordination as inherent in a capitalist societies. Someradical
feminist theorists, view the oppression of women as in-evitable in
all male- dominates societies, whether capitalist,socialist or
communist.Feminist scholarship in sociology has broadened the
under-standing of social behavior by taking it beyond the male
point ofview. They have not only challenged stereo-typing of
women,
28. Interactionist Perspective Functionalists and conflict
theorists both analyze large-scale,society-wide patterns of
behavior. Interactionists, on the otherhand generalize about
everyday forms of interaction in orderto explain society as a
whole. Interactionism is a sociological framework for viewinghuman
beings as living in a world of meaningful objects.Objects may
include material things, actions,
29. George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) is widely regarded as
thefounder of the interactionist perspective. His
sociologicalanalysis often focused on human interactions in one- to
onesituations and small groups. He was interested in observing
themost minute forms of communication- smiles, frowns, nods-And in
understanding how such individual behaviors were
30. Type of Interactionist Perspective Dramaturgical approach-
popularized by Erving Goffman,This approach sees people as
theatrical performers. Everydaylife is compared to the setting of
the theater and stage. Just asActors project certain image, all of
us seek to present particularfeatures of our personalities while we
hide other qualities.
