CT 225 Notes
Monday September 9th, 2013
The Individual
What is society:
It could be comprised as families
In many communities, becomes societies
You may be apart of a Portuguese community, or Jamaican, but you are Canadian
Institution communities- students, Government
Police force is what helps control society
Work place helps control the society by distributing jobs
Health care is apart of society
Social institutions have a role to play to individuals
The social structure imposes the rules, or individuals. The social structure comes from all these social communities.
Patterns of behaviour is effected by social structure
Studying Society- Sociology
Sociology: Systematic study of human society
Sociologist who study society:
Look and notice social patterns
Investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and societies.
Observe individuals interacting within social context
Examples of social context: students in a university, interacting within different ‘settings’
The study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior.
Why Study Sociology?
It is useful to study sociology to achieve a greater understanding of society and to provide valid interpretations about:
The social world
Oneself
Others
Common sense doesn’t provide you with proof- they use imperial methods to receive information
Sociology provides:
Distinctive perspectives
Distinctive theories on:
Society and individuals in the society
Sociological perspective: The way we view society.
Sociological theory: Propositions to explain social phenomena
Sociological Perspective
Seeing the general in the particular (Peter Berger, 1963)
Learn general patterns in the behaviour of particular people
Society shapes our lives into categories
Life experiences are shaped by general categories
Seeing the strange in the familiar:
We do not have a choice in our decisions in what may seem familiar
Society shapes the social patterns we see as strange
The Individual
What is society:
It could be comprised as families
In many communities, becomes societies
You may be apart of a Portuguese community, or Jamaican, but you are Canadian
Institution communities- students, Government
Police force is what helps control society
Work place helps control the society by distributing jobs
Health care is apart of society
Social institutions have a role to play to individuals
The social structure imposes the rules, or individuals. The social structure comes from all these social communities.
Patterns of behaviour is effected by social structure
Studying Society- Sociology
Sociology: Systematic study of human society
Sociologist who study society:
Look and notice social patterns
Investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and societies.
Observe individuals interacting within social context
Examples of social context: students in a university, interacting within different ‘settings’
The study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior.
Why Study Sociology?
It is useful to study sociology to achieve a greater understanding of society and to provide valid interpretations about:
The social world
Oneself
Others
Common sense doesn’t provide you with proof- they use imperial methods to receive information
Sociology provides:
Distinctive perspectives
Distinctive theories on:
Society and individuals in the society
Sociological perspective: The way we view society.
Sociological theory: Propositions to explain social phenomena
Sociological Perspective
Seeing the general in the particular (Peter Berger, 1963)
Learn general patterns in the behaviour of particular people
Society shapes our lives into categories
Life experiences are shaped by general categories
Seeing the strange in the familiar:
We do not have a choice in our decisions in what may seem familiar
Society shapes the social patterns we see as strange
Links: 16% of Canadian Families 81% were lone mothers (2002) 1/3 aboriginal children under 15 lived in one parent family twice rate of Canadian population (2003) Cohabitation: Unmarried couples 13% children in common-law families (2003) Gay and Lesbian couples: Equality Rights Netherlands: first to allow civil marriage and child adoption to gay couples (2001) Canada granted gay couples same rights as marriage (1999)