Chapter 1 The Sociological Perspective

1. Chapter 1 The Sociological Perspective “Seeing the general in the particular” (Peter Berger)

2. What is Sociology? • the systematic study of human society and social interaction • Sociologists use theoretical perspectives and research methods to systematically examine social behaviour • Sociology provides important insights on pressing social issues

3. Sociologists….. • Identify general social patterns in the behaviour of particular individuals • See the strange in the familiar • Human behaviour is NOT simply a matter of what people decide to do • Society does not determine individual behaviour, but it shapes our lives

4. Why Study Sociology? • Sociology helps us see the complex connections between our own lives and the larger, recurring patterns of the society and world in which we live • reveals the limitations of myths associated with commonsense knowledge that guides out lives

5. C. Wright Mills (1959) said… • Develop the sociological imagination • a "quality of mind" that "enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two in society." • Sociologists ask questions like: • What is the structure of this society? • Where does society stand in human history? • What type of men and women now prevail?

6. The Sociological Imagination and Obesity • Is obesity a social issue or a personal problem? • Watch The Sociological Imagination from Sociology Live (2015)

7. Seeing the Personal in the Social – Emile Durkheim • Society shapes even our most private choices • Durkheim and Suicide (1897) • Lack of social integration (weak ties to others) and the presence of anomie (weak norms) affected suicide rates • Suicide (School of Life, 2015)

8. Seeing Sociologically: the Effect of Marginality • People at the margins of social life are aware of social patterns that others rarely think about • Important to stand back to see what is really there • Montesquieu and the Persian Letters (1721) • Described society from the margins through the viewpoint of two fictional Persian “outsiders” and their correspondence

9. The Development Of Sociological Thought • Industrialization (societies are transformed from dependence on agriculture to an emphasis on manufacturing) • And Urbanization (increasing proportion of a population lives in cities rather than rural areas) • Contributed to the development of sociology

10. Sociological Theory • Theory: a statement of how and why facts are related • Theoretical Approach: A basic image of society that guides thinking and research • Structural-functionalism • Social-conflict theory • Symbolic-interactionism • Paradigm: the theoretical approach and its particular research methodology

11. Early Social Thinkers • Auguste Comte: positivism, scientific sociology • Harriet Martineau: 1st feminist sociologist • Herbert Spencer: “survival of the fittest” • Emile Durkheim: father of sociology • structural functionalism • Karl Marx: Marxism, alienation • Social conflict theory • Max Weber: ”iron cage of bureacracy” • Idealism, symbolic interactionism

12. Structural-functionalism • Macro level orientation • society is made up of interrelated parts, each of which contributes to the functioning of society as a whole. • stable patterns (social structure) which have consequences or functions (social functions) for society as a whole. • Latent and manifest functions (Merton) • sometimes parts dysfunctional for society

13. Social conflict theory • Macro level approach • Origins in Marxism: alienation, conflict, competition and power • resources and rewards are unevenly distributed, and inequality produces conflict. • some groups gain power over others • Race, sex, class, age linked to inequality • Includes race-conflict and gender-conflict

14. Symbolic Interactionism • Micro-level approach • Reality socially created through everyday interactions and symbolic communication with one another • Focus on subjective meanings created through interaction

15. Other Approaches • Postmodernism • critical of modernism, mistrust of “grand theories” • Human sciences cannot be scientific because of human subjectivity • Deconstruct and demystify assumptions and ideology • Contemporary Feminism • Advocate equality for all • Feminist research method – collaborative, in depth, intimate in order to devolve control

16. Analysis of Religion through the Three Major Approaches • Structural functionalism: • Religion promotes social cohesion. It binds the community of believers together (Durkheim) • Religion helps maintain the social order. It reinforces the norms and values of society. • Religion provides meaning, gives answers about the universe. • Religion provides psychological support for important events and in crises

17. Analysis of religion (cont.) • Social conflict: • Religion is the "opium of the people," lulling people into passive acceptance of injustices (Karl Marx). • Religion legitimates the social inequities in societies. • Religion benefits the dominant group.

18. Analysis of religion (cont.) • Symbolic interactionism: • Each religious community has its own definition of the sacred. • Religious communities have unique sets of beliefs, rituals, and experiences.

19. Feminist and Postmodernist • Feminist: all major religions (and most minor ones) are dominated by men • Postmodernist: Does God exist?