Sociological Perspective Outline
The Sociological Perspective Chapter One Outline
I) Sociology is the systematic study of human society.
a) Sociological perspective is seeing the general in the particular.
i) Sociologist look for the general patterns in the behavior of particular people ii) Emily Durkheim (1858-1917), one of sociology's pioneers, researched suicide.
(1) Men, Protestants, wealthy people, and unmarried had the highest suicide rates
b) Periods of change or crisis make everyone feel a little off balance.
i) The sociologist C. Wright Mills (1959) illustrated this idea using the Great Depression
(1) He believed that using what he called the "sociological imagination" in this way helps people understand not only their society but their …show more content…
own lives, because the two are closely related.
II) The importance of a global perspective
a) Global Perspective is the study of the larger world and our society's place in it,
i) High-income countries are the nations with the highest overall standards of living
(1) United states, Canada, Argentina, South Africa, Japan, Australia ii) Middle-income countries are nations with a standard of living about average for the world as a whole.
(1) Latin America, Asia, some of Africa iii) Low-income countries are nations with a low standard of living in which most people are poor.
(1) Africa, some in Asia
III) Applying the sociological perspective
a) Using sociology benefits us in four ways:
i) the sociological perspective helps us assess the truth of "common sense." ii) the sociological perspective helps us see the opportunities and constraints in our lives. iii) the sociological perspective empowers us to be active in our society iv) the sociological perspective helps us live in a diverse world
IV) Auguste Comte coined the term sociology in 1838 to describe a new way of looking at society.
a) He saw sociology as the product of a three-stage historical development
i) Theological stage- People taking a religious view that society expressed God's will ii) Metaphysical stage- people saw a society as a natural rather than a supernatural system,
(1) Thomas Hobbes suggested that society reflected not the perfection of God so much as the failings of a selfish human …show more content…
nature. iii) Scientific stage- used the study of the physical world to the study of society.
b) Comte's approach is called positivism, a way of understanding based on science.
V) Sociological Theory
a) A theory is a statement of how and why specific facts are related.
b) Theoretical approach as a basic image of society that guides thinking and research.
VI) Structural-functional approach
a) Structural-functional approach is a framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stabiliy.
i) Social structure is any relative stable pattern of social behavior ii) Social functions is the consequence of any social pattern for the operation of society as a whole iii) Manifest functions is the recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern iv) Latent functions is the unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social pattern
b) Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) compared society to the human body.
c) Robert K. Merton (1910-2003) expanded our understanding of the concept of social function by pointing out that any social structure probably as many functions, some more obvious than others.
d) Social dysfunction is any social pattern that may disrupt the operation of society.
VII) The social-conflict approach
a) The social-conflict approach is a framework for building theory that sees society as an area of inequality that generates conflict and change.
b) Gender-conflict approach is a point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between women and men.
c) Feminism is the advocacy of social equality for women and
men.
d) Harriet Martineau (1860-1935) is regarded as the first woman sociologist. She translated the writings of Auguste Comte from French into English.
e) Jane Addams (1860-1935) was a sociological pioneer who spoke out to many people, wrote a lot of books and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
f) The race-conflict approach is a point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between people of different racial and ethnic categories.
VIII) The Symbolic-interaction approach
a) The Symbolic-interaction approach is a framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals.
i) Macro-level orientation is a broad focus on social structures that shape society as a whole. ii) Micro-level orientation is a close-up focus on social interactions in specific situations.
(1) Max Weber (1864-1931) was a German sociologist who emphasized the need to understand a setting from the point of view of the people in it.
I) Sociology is the systematic study of human society.
a) Sociological perspective is seeing the general in the particular.
i) Sociologist look for the general patterns in the behavior of particular people ii) Emily Durkheim (1858-1917), one of sociology's pioneers, researched suicide.
(1) Men, Protestants, wealthy people, and unmarried had the highest suicide rates
b) Periods of change or crisis make everyone feel a little off balance.
i) The sociologist C. Wright Mills (1959) illustrated this idea using the Great Depression
(1) He believed that using what he called the "sociological imagination" in this way helps people understand not only their society but their …show more content…
own lives, because the two are closely related.
II) The importance of a global perspective
a) Global Perspective is the study of the larger world and our society's place in it,
i) High-income countries are the nations with the highest overall standards of living
(1) United states, Canada, Argentina, South Africa, Japan, Australia ii) Middle-income countries are nations with a standard of living about average for the world as a whole.
(1) Latin America, Asia, some of Africa iii) Low-income countries are nations with a low standard of living in which most people are poor.
(1) Africa, some in Asia
III) Applying the sociological perspective
a) Using sociology benefits us in four ways:
i) the sociological perspective helps us assess the truth of "common sense." ii) the sociological perspective helps us see the opportunities and constraints in our lives. iii) the sociological perspective empowers us to be active in our society iv) the sociological perspective helps us live in a diverse world
IV) Auguste Comte coined the term sociology in 1838 to describe a new way of looking at society.
a) He saw sociology as the product of a three-stage historical development
i) Theological stage- People taking a religious view that society expressed God's will ii) Metaphysical stage- people saw a society as a natural rather than a supernatural system,
(1) Thomas Hobbes suggested that society reflected not the perfection of God so much as the failings of a selfish human …show more content…
nature. iii) Scientific stage- used the study of the physical world to the study of society.
b) Comte's approach is called positivism, a way of understanding based on science.
V) Sociological Theory
a) A theory is a statement of how and why specific facts are related.
b) Theoretical approach as a basic image of society that guides thinking and research.
VI) Structural-functional approach
a) Structural-functional approach is a framework for building theory that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stabiliy.
i) Social structure is any relative stable pattern of social behavior ii) Social functions is the consequence of any social pattern for the operation of society as a whole iii) Manifest functions is the recognized and intended consequences of any social pattern iv) Latent functions is the unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social pattern
b) Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) compared society to the human body.
c) Robert K. Merton (1910-2003) expanded our understanding of the concept of social function by pointing out that any social structure probably as many functions, some more obvious than others.
d) Social dysfunction is any social pattern that may disrupt the operation of society.
VII) The social-conflict approach
a) The social-conflict approach is a framework for building theory that sees society as an area of inequality that generates conflict and change.
b) Gender-conflict approach is a point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between women and men.
c) Feminism is the advocacy of social equality for women and
men.
d) Harriet Martineau (1860-1935) is regarded as the first woman sociologist. She translated the writings of Auguste Comte from French into English.
e) Jane Addams (1860-1935) was a sociological pioneer who spoke out to many people, wrote a lot of books and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
f) The race-conflict approach is a point of view that focuses on inequality and conflict between people of different racial and ethnic categories.
VIII) The Symbolic-interaction approach
a) The Symbolic-interaction approach is a framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals.
i) Macro-level orientation is a broad focus on social structures that shape society as a whole. ii) Micro-level orientation is a close-up focus on social interactions in specific situations.
(1) Max Weber (1864-1931) was a German sociologist who emphasized the need to understand a setting from the point of view of the people in it.