What is Sociology?

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What is Sociology?

• Sociology is the study of human interaction and
  the relationships which are the result. It
  looks at collective behavior, people in groups,
  cultures, populations and overall societies.

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Comparing Sociology to the other sciences
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The Natural Sciences

• Biology (Zoology, Botany)
• Geology (Earth Science)
• Chemistry
• Physics

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The Social Sciences

• Anthropology (Linguistics, Ethnology, Physical
  Cultural, Archeology)
• Economics
• History
• Philosophy
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Sociology

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Pioneers of Sociology
Auguste Comte
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Max Weber
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Emile Durkheim
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Herbert Spencer
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Karl Marx
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Harriet Martineau
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Jane Addams
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WEB DuBois
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C. Wright Mills
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Topics of study

• Culture (comparative cultures)
• Socialization
• Deviance and social control
• Social class (stratification) wealth and poverty
• Gender and ethnicity/race and age (isms)
• Social Institutions (the economy, religion, the
  government, education, marriage and the family,
  the military, medicine and health)
• Demographics (populations)
• Social movements
• Social change
• Social problems

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Features particular to Sociology

• Unlike history its primarily concern is with
  events in the present.
• Unlike political science and economics it does
  not focus on a single social institution.
• Unlike anthropology its primary focus is on
  contemporary societies.
• Unlike psychology its focus is on group behavior
  and variables external to the individual.

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Types of Sociology

• As sociologists study human behavior they focus
  on peoples patterned relationships, sociologists
  study the recurring aspects of human behavior.
• This leads them to focus on two principle aspects
  of life in society

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• 1. Group membership (including institutions)
• 2. Face to face interaction

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• In the first type of sociology, structural, the
  focus is placed upon the group. Structural
  sociologists are interested in how membership in
  a group such as religion, education, government,
  gender, occupation, ethnicity, or age influence
  peoples behaviors and attitudes.

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• In the second type of sociology, interactional,
  greater emphasis and focus is placed on the
  individuals, their communication and
  relationships with others.

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Methods of study

• Quantitative methodology lends itself to a
  statistical orientation. This approach uses
  numbers and statistics and percentages to
  represent peoples patterns of behavior.

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• Qualitative sociology places a greater meaning on
  the behaviors themselves. They focus on how
  people construct their worlds, how they develop
  their ideas and attitudes and especially how they
  communicate with each other. These sociologist
  attempt to determine how peoples meanings
  (called symbols, mental constructs, ideas, and
  stereotypes) affect their ideas of self and
  others.

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Comparing Basic and Applied Sociology

• Basic or Pure Sociology research whose
  purpose it is to make discoveries about life in
  human groups, not to make changes in those groups
• Applied Sociology uses sociology to solve
  problems, from the micro level of family
  relationships to the macro level of crime and
  pollution

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Levels of Analysis

• Micro level small, focused, intimate look at
  sociological phenomena. Face to face, as through
  the interactionist perspective
• Macro level larger, structural, institutional,
  national or even global perspective

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Theoretical Perspectives

• Symbolic Interactionism society is viewed as
  composed of symbols that people use to establish
  meaning, develop their views of the world and
  communicate with each other
• Functional Analysis framework in which society
  is viewed as composed of various parts, each with
  a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to
  societys equilibrium.
• Conflict Theory framework in which society is
  viewed as composed of groups that are competing
  for limited resources

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Chapter One Review

• Featured Learning Objectives 1,2,8,11,13,18
• Vocabulary Terms
• Key People Featured
• Chart 1.3
• Table1.1
• In Sum Features
• Chapter Summary and Review

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