 Who has authority/influence?

o Why should we have a picnic?

∙ How can we share ideas about the past or future without language?

Sociology 101 Chapter 2.1-2.3 Textbook Notes ∙ 2.1 What is Culture? o Culture—the language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and  material objects that are passed down from one generation to  the next  Material culture—jewelry, art, buildings, weapons,  machines, eating utensils, hairstyles  Nonmaterial culture—a groups ways of tDon't forget about the age old question of mul2010
Don't forget about the age old question of Why is “Orientalism” an example of alterity?
If you want to learn more check out ucsc econ major
Don't forget about the age old question of integrating functions using long division and completing the square
We also discuss several other topics like this manipulator forces cout to print digits in fixed-point notation:
Don't forget about the age old question of rutgers economics major
hinking and doing  (beliefs, values, and other assumptions about the world,  language, gestures)  High culture—cultural patterns that distinguish society’s  elite ∙ Ex. Eating caviar  Popular culture—cultural patterns that are widespread  among a population ∙ Ex. Eating cheeseburgers ∙ Mass media o How popular culture has spread across US ∙ Influence of celebrities o Body images, clothing o People are more likely to buy or use a product  based on a celebrity endorsement  Subculture—cultural patterns that set apart some segment  of a society’s population ∙ People can participate in many subcultures at once  or change subcultures over the course of their lives  Counterculture—cultural patterns that oppose those widely accepted in society ∙ Hippie movement of 1960s o Rejected mainstream individualistic society for  communal living  Subcultures and counterculture can become mainstream ∙ Ex. Tattoos  Culture is changing/shapes how we think and feel ∙ Ex. Elvis’s hips vs. modern day sexual images in  movies o Values and beliefs vary between cultures and change over time  Define a society and communicate to others what a society is about  Values—culturally defined standards that underlie beliefs  and serve as guidelines for living∙ US values individualism (Self-sufficiency, patriotism,  etc) ∙ France’s value on enjoying life ∙ Ethno-centrism—judging a culture by our culture  Beliefs—ideas that we hold to be true o Culture and Taken-for-Granted Orientations to Life  Take our speech, gestures, beliefs, and customs for granted ∙ They are “normal” we don’t notice them  Culture touches almost every aspect of who we are ∙ We were born complete innocent, without culture  Culture becomes the lens through which we perceive and  evaluate what is going on around us  Culture shock—disorientation when your culture no longer  enabled you to make sense out of the world  ethnocentrism—a tendency to use our own group’s way of  doing things as a yardstick for judging others  ∙ William Sumner founded this idea ∙ Positive: creates in-group loyalties ∙ Negative: discrimination o There is nothing natural about material culture o There is nothing natural about nonmaterial culture o Culture penetrates deeply into our thinking, becoming a taken for-granted lens through which we see the world o Culture provides implicit instructions that tells us what we ought  to do/how we ought to think o Culture provides a “moral imperative”…the culture we internalize becomes the right way of doing things o Coming into contact with a radically different culture challenges  our basic assumptions about life o Culture itself is universal (with different variations) o All people are ethnocentric, which has both positive and negative consequences o Cultural Diversity around the world  Beliefs about what happen to people when they die ∙ GhostsChinese o Ghosts need money to pay for food, housing,  etc. o Ghosts now need more money than ever for  computers, iPads, TVs, etc  Ghost stores sell paper replicas of these  items  Prices in the ghost world keep increasingo Cultural Relativism  Try to understand a culture on its own terms  Looking at how elements of a culture fit together without  judging them as inferior or superior to our own way of life  Attempt to refocus our lens of perception so we can  appreciate other ways of life  Sick Societies ∙ Anthropologist Robert Edgerton o Said we should develop a scale for evaluating  cultures on their “quality of life”  ∙ 2.2 Components of Symbolic Culture o symbolic culture—nonmaterial culture, consists of symbols that  people use o symbol—something to which people attach meaning that they  use to communicate with one another  gestures, values, sanctions, etc. o in sociology, society and culture mean two different things  society ∙ a group of people who live in the same territory and  share a common culture   culture ∙ material/nonmaterial sides ∙ what we learn and carry in our heads ∙ values—culturally defined standards that serve as  guidelines for living ∙ beliefs—things we hold to be true ∙ all societies have values and beliefs  o differences in cultural values and beliefs between societies are  often small o variations in cultural values and beliefs of people that live within  societies o Gestures  Movements of the body to communicate with others  ∙ Shorthand ways to convey messages w/o words o Meanings can change completely between  cultures  Misunderstanding and offense ∙ Facilitate communication or misunderstanding o Ex. Indicating height of a person, plant, or  anima  Universal Gestures ∙ Some anthropologists say no gesture is universalo Not even nodding your head ∙ Ethologists claim facial expressions are universal o Even infants who are blind and deaf express  themselves in these same ways o Language  Symbols that can be combined in an infinite number of  ways for the purpose of communicating abstract thought ∙ Sounds may change meaning in different language  ∙ Language allows culture to exist  Language allows human experience to be cumulative ∙ We pass ideas, knowledge, and attitudes onto next  generations ∙ Allows culture to develop by freeing people to move  beyond their immediate experiences  Allows our culture to be advanced ∙ How can we share ideas about the past or future  without language?  Language provides a social or shared past ∙ Without it, we would have few memories since we  assoc. experiences with words ∙ As we talk about the past, we develop shared  understanding/past  Language provides a social/shared future ∙ Enables us to agree on times, dates, and places (plan activities with one another)  Language allows shared perspectives ∙ Provides us with social/shared past and future ∙ Exchange ideas about events/sharing ideas and  perspectives ∙ Words are the embodiment of our experiences  Language allows shared, goal-directed behavior ∙ We can establish a purpose for getting together o Why should we have a picnic? Its my birthday,  it’s a nice day, etc.   Takes us beyond world of apes and allows culture to  develop  Basis of culture o Language and Perception  Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis ∙ 1930s  ∙ language has embedded within it ways of looking at  the world∙ challenges common sense ∙ our language determines our consciousness and  perception of objects and events o jam v jelly o dried fruits v nuts  Values, Norms, and Sanctions ∙ Values—ideas of what is desirable in life  ∙ Norms—those expectations (rules of behavior) that  develop out of a group’s values ∙ Sanctions—reactions people receive for following or  breaking norms o Positive sanction—approval for following norm  Hi 5, pat on the back, raise at work o Negative sanction---disapproval for breaking a  norm   Being fined in court, harsh words, frowns, getting fired ∙ Moral holidays—specified times when people are  allowed to break norms o Mardi Gras  Public drunkenness, nudity ∙ Moral holiday places—locations where norms are  expected to be broken o Red light districts o Party Cove at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri o Folkways, Mores, and Taboos  Folkways—norms that are not strictly enforced ∙ Passing someone on the right side of the sidewalk  Mores—norms that are taken more seriously, are essential  to core values ∙ Violating includes stealing, rape, killing  Taboo—a norm so strongly ingrained that even the thought  of its violation is greeted with revulsion ∙ Eating human flesh, incest ∙ 2.3 Many Cultural Worlds o Subcultures—groups of people who occupy some small corner of  life that develop a specialized way of communicating with each  other o Subculture—a world within the large world of dominant culture  Not limited to occupations o Countercultures—group’s values and norms place it at odds with  the dominant culture Bike gangs, Aryan extremistsSociology Chapter 2.4-2.7 Textbook Notes ∙ 2.4 Values in U.S. Society o pluralistic society—made up of many different groups o core values—values that are shared by most of the groups   Achievement and success  Individualism   Hard work  Efficiency and practicality   Science and technology   Material comfort   Freedom   Democracy  Equality  Group superiority  Education  Religiosity   Romantic love  o Value Cluster—values that cluster together to form a larger whole  Education, hard work, material comfort, individualism  o Value Contradictions—superiority v. democracy  It is precisely at the point of value contradiction that one  can see a major force for social change in a society  o An Emerging Value Cluster  Leisure ∙ Computer games, boats, spas  Self fulfillment ∙ Becoming all you can be  ∙ Self help books  Physical fitness  Youthfulness ∙ Aging baby boomers   Concern for the environment  Values don’t just happen ∙ Related to conditions of society o Culture wars—the clash in values between traditionalists and  those advocating change  o Ideal culture—values, norms, and goals that a group considers  ideal, worth aiming for   Success o Real culture—norms and values people actually follow  ∙ 2.5 Cultural Universals o cultural universals—values, norms, or other cultural traits that  are found everywhere George Murdock (1945) ∙ Many traditions are present in all cultures o Specific customs differ from between groups  o No society permits generalized incest o A sociobiologist would agree that biology, not culture, is the key  to human behavior  ∙ 2.6 Sociobiology and Human Behavior o sociobiology (neo-Darwinism, evolutionary psychology)—biology  is the key to human behavior  o Edward Wilson (1975)  Said human behavior is the same as that of animals  Biology and its evolution affect our behavior ∙ Likelihood to be alcoholic o Most sociologists say genes are modified by social experiences  We are not prisoners to our genes ∙ 2.7 Technology in the Global Village o The New Technology  Technology—tools, skills or procedures necessary to make  tools  New technology—emerging techn. That has a significant  impact on social life  Technology sets framework for nonmaterial culture ∙ Influences how people think/relate to each other o Cultural Lag/Change  Cultural lag—not all parts of a culture change at the same  pace ∙ William Ogburn  ∙ Material usually changes first, non-material culture  lags behind o Ex. 9 month school year o Technology and Cultural Leveling  Cultural diffusion—groups are most open to changes in  their technology or material culture, when a culture is  exposed to another culture ∙ Global markets o Everyone is connected, travel has become  easier o Electronic communication  Cultural leveling—cultures become more and more similar  to each other ∙ Globalization of capitalism o Technology and Western culture  Dress, music, customs, tools, etc.  Travel and global communication have allowed cultures to  comingle easily and adopt aspects of other cultures. This is an example of cultural leveling.  ∙ Summary/Review o Culture—language, beliefs, values, norms, that are passed from  one generation to the next  Material and nonmaterial (symbolic)  Ideal and real o Ethnocentric—use your own culture as a yardstick for judging the ways of others o Cultural relativism—try to understand other cultures on those  cultures own terms o Nonmaterial culture  Symbols  Gestures  Language  Values  Norms  Sanctions, folkways, mores o Language—allows human experience to be goal-directed,  cooperative, cumulative o Sapir-Whorf hypothesis—language shapes our thoughts and  perceptions o Values—standards by which we define what is  desirable/undesirable o Norms---expectations/rules about behavior  Positive sanctions—show approval  Negative—show disapproval o Folkways—norms that aren’t strictly enforced o Mores—norms that a group demands conformity with o Subculture—group whose values/behaviors distinguish its  members from the general culture o Counterculture—values that stand in opposition to those of  dominant culture o Core values—values that dominate a large group o Value contradictions—indicate areas of tension, likely points of  social change o Cultural universal—value, norm, or other cultural trait that is  found in all cultures o Genes influence human behavior but diversity of human behavior indicates that culture overrides genetic influence oSociology Chapter 1.4-1.8 Textbook Notes ∙ 1.4 Values in Sociological Research o Weber said sociologists should be value free—personal beliefs  shouldn’t affect research  Objectivity rather than neutrality  Stress the need of replication o Some sociologists say the purpose of their studies is to advance  understanding of social life  Others think sociologists have moral responsibility to  investigate social arrangements that harm people ∙ 1.5 Verstehen and Social Facts o Verstehen—“to understand” “to grasp by insight”  The best interpreter of human behavior is someone who  has been there  Subjective meanings—how people interpret their situation  in life, how they view what they are doing/what is  happening to them ∙ Ex. Homeless men being quiet when talked to  revealed personal despair o Durkheim and Social Facts  Social facts—a groups recurring patterns of behavior  ∙ June is for weddings, suicides are higher in the  elderly, more births on Tuesdays than any other day  of the week  We must use social facts to interpret social facts o Social Facts and Verstehen   Why babies are born on Tuesdays ∙ 1.6 Sociology in North America o first took root in University of Kansans and Chicago  spread rapidly o University of Chicago initially dominated o Sexism  Women expected to do 4 C’s  Marion Talbot ∙ Associate editor of American Journal of Sociology ∙ Grace Abbot o Chief of the US gov Children’s Bureau ∙ Frances Perkins o First woman in the cabinet  Most female sociologists viewed the study as a path to  social reform ∙ Focused on ways to improve society Harriet Martineau ∙ Had to hide her writing beneath sewing when visitors arrived o Various studies on women’s  suffrage/education, sex and slavery, white  women and men in the south  o Racism and W.E.B Dubois  W.E.B ∙ First African American to earn doctorate from  Harvard ∙ The Souls of Black Folk o Analyzed social and economic changes for  African Americans following the Civil War ∙ His hope: “sometime, somewhere, men will judge  men by their souls and not by their skins” o Jane Addams  Recipient of Nobel Peace Prize ∙ Worked on behalf of poor immigrants  Co-founded Hull House ∙ Open to people who needed refuge o Immigrants, sick, aged, poor  Strove to bridge gap between powerful and powerless  Campaigned for laws against child labor o Talcott Parsons and C. Wright Mills  Robert Park and Ernest Burgess ∙ Studied crime, drug addiction, and juvenile  delinquency, prostitution ∙ Offered suggestions on how to help ∙ Shifted from social reform to social theory  Talcott Parsons ∙ Developed abstract models of society that influenced a generation of sociologists  C. Wright Mills ∙ Urged sociologists to get back to social reform ∙ Power elite o Continuing Tension  Analyzing society vs. working for reform  Basic sociology ∙ No goal rather than gaining knowledge  Applied Sociology ∙ Using sociology to solve problems o Founding of NAACPo Counseling children, disease spreading study ∙ Leslie Green o Marketing Research in PA  Helps develop strategies to get doctors  to prescribe different kinds of drugs ∙ Stanley Capela o Evaluates how children’s programs (housing,  AIDS, preschool education) actually work vs.  how they are supposed to work  ∙ Laurie Banks o Analyzes stats for NYC health dept.  o Noticed that a Polish neighborhood had high  rate of stomach cancer  CDC traced cause to eating large  amounts of sausage o Lack of prenatal care/problems at birth are  linked to low reading skills and behavior  problems in school ∙ Daniel Knapp o Urban Ore  Did research on how to recycle urban  waste/changed waste disposal laws ∙ Clara Rodriguez o Consultant for Dora the Explorer o  Public Sociology ∙ Harnessing the sociological perspective for the  benefit of the public ∙ Devah Pager o Studied how prison record/race affected hiring  for jobs o White men with record more likely to be hired  than African American men with no record!  Social Reform is Risky ∙ Sociologists can try to change “social norms” and  face backlash for that   Sociology took root in America in 1890s  Female sociologists were ignored because their research  focused on social reform ∙ 1.7 Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology o theory—generalized statement about how some parts of the  world fit together/work symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, conflict theory ∙ Symbolic Interactionism o Symbols are the key to understanding how we view the world  and communicate with one another  George Herbert Meade (1863-1931)  Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929) o Symbols in Everyday Life  Symbols define our relationships ∙ No aunts/uncles/brothers/sisters ∙ Tell us how we are related to others/how we should  act toward them  Relationships and society depend on symbols ∙ Couldn’t coordinate actions with others or make  future plans  Symbolic interactionists analyze how social life depends on the ways we define ourselves and others  Marriage and Divorce ∙ 100 years ago and less divorce was IMMORAL— marriage was a lifelong commitment  ∙ 1930s people began placing more emphasis on  personality of their potential mates than duty and  obligation ∙ divorce changed from meaning failure to freedom o stigma was removed ∙ parenthood o used to have little responsibility for their  children beyond food, shelter, and moral  guidance  only needed to do this for short time o now parents often support their children until  they are in their 20s or 30s  ∙ meaning of love o love as the main reason for marriage weakens  marriage  love doesn’t give you a constant high  symbolic interactionists look at how changing symbols put  pressure in new areas o Functional Analysis  Society is a whole unit made up of interrelated parts that  work together ∙ Made of many parts, like a body, each with its own  function Robert Merton ∙ Dismissed comparison of society to a living organism ∙ Functions help keep a group in balance o Manifest function—intended to help some part  of the system o Latent functions—unintended consequences  that help a system adjust ∙ Dysfunctions are harmful consequences of peoples  actions o Latent dysfunctions—unintended  consequences o  Applying Functional Analysis ∙ Divorce was low before because family was  “Economic unit” o Each part had a lot to do to make the family  function  Ex. On a farm ∙ Husbands and wives have their own paychecks, less  ties to each other o Conflict Theory  Society is composed of groups that compete with one  another for resources  Karl Marx ∙ Founder of conflict theory o Key to human history is class conflict  ∙ Witnessed Industrial Revolution o Workers were at mercy of employer  Who has authority/influence? How far does this dominance  go?  Lewis Coser ∙ Conflict is most likely to develop between those who  are in close relationships  Feminists  ∙ Conflict between men and women  ∙ Not united by conflict perspective  Applying Conflict Theory ∙ Divorce rates and feminism o Levels of Analysis: Macro vs. Micro  Macro level—large scale patterns of society  Micro level/social interaction—what people do when they  are in one another’s presence Nonverbal interaction—gestures, use of space, etc ∙ 1.8 Trends o Research v. Reform  Divide into three time periods ∙ First phase o Primary purpose of research was to improve  society ∙ Second phase o Develop abstract knowledge ∙ Third phase o Sociologists try to apply research findings  There were always blurred lines between phases o Globalization  Breaking down of national boundaries because of advances in communications, trade, and travel ∙ Destined to broaden our horizons ∙ Directs us to greater consideration of global issues ∙ ID universal principles  Shrinking the globe ∙ Global village ∙ My welfare is increasingly tied to that of others in  other nations  Capitalism is becoming the world’s dominant economic  system  New world order ∙ Summary and Review o Sociological perspective—stresses that people’s social  experiences underlie their behavior  C Wright Mills said this was the intersection of biography  and history o Science—application of systematic methods to obtain  knowledge/knowledge obtained by these methods o Natural sciences—seek to explain and predict events in the  natural environment o Social sciences—seek to understand he social world objectively  by means of controlled and repeated observations o Sociology—scientific study of society and human behavior o Sociology emerged in mid 1800s in western Europe  Indust. Revol.  ∙ Comte, Spencer, Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Martineau,  Du Boiso Emile Durkheim emphasized importance of uncovering social  facts—patterns of society that influence how people behave o First dep. of sociology founded in late 1800s in America (Chicago, Catholic, Atlanta)  Contributions of women and colored people largely ignored o Basic sociology—purpose to make discoveries o Public—to benefit the public o Applied—to solve problems o Symbolic interactionists—examine how people use symbols to  develop/share their ideas of the world  Micro level o Functionalists—social system is made of many parts  Macro-level o Conflict theorists—society is composed of competing groups who struggle for resources  Macro-level o Subjective meanings—what people give to their own behavior o Proletariat—Marx’s term for exploited class o Society—people who share a culture and territory o Positivism—application of the scientific approach to social world o Sociological perspective—understanding human behavior by  placing it within its broader social contexts Social integration-- the degree to which members of a group or a society feel  united by shared values and other social bonds; also known as social  cohesionSociology Chapter 1.1-1.3 Notes ∙ Homeless shelter ∙ Sociology—scientific study of society o How we affect society o How society affects us ∙ Social structures o Judgements, critiques, and approval are rooted in this ∙ Social sciences o Explain social world and human relations o Employs scientific methods  Personal experience and popular beliefs are rid of  Use data collecting protocols ∙ Researchers are never entirely value free though o So sociology identifies these possible risks ∙ Identify patterns o Analyze, explain, collect data o Ex. Civil Rights movement ∙ Social location—the corners in life that people occupy because of their  place in a society  o Ex. Growing up being referred to as male or female  How has that shaped you? ∙ C. Wright Mills o Sociological imagination links history and biography ∙ Society is changing o America is like a global village  Import goods o Communication has sped up  War of 1812, some battles were fought weeks after a treaty was signed ∙ What is Sociology? o Human behavior can’t be observed in a single person, rather a  society  Examine social forces ∙ Religion ∙ Education ∙ Government ∙ Race/class/gender o Society can influence human behavior  Ozzy Osborne’s song about suicide ∙ Did it cause suicide? Not according to sociologists. ∙ People who aren’t part of a solid structure (marriage,  religion) were higher risks to commit suicide o Social forces are strong Movies reflect that (Bridesmaids) ∙ Poor vs. rich ∙ Conflict between classes  “personal taste” is often a product of social forces  desire to own designer bags ∙ shows status ∙ Sociology and Other Sciences o Original explanations of the world were mixed with magic and  superstition o Science—systematic methods for studying the social and natural  worlds  ∙ Understanding Society o Society—group of people who live in the same area and share  the same culture  When we make generalizations about groups of people, we  are making generalizations about their societies (British,  Americans, Australians) ∙ Not everyone is homologous to these generalizations o Every society is different from another o Societies do not remain the same  They grow, develop, and change over time ∙ Ex. America is 1790 vs now ∙ Variables for this include o Immigration o Emigration o Technology o Industrialization o Urbanization ∙ Natural Sciences o Intellectual and academic disciplines that are designed to explain and predict the events in our natural environment  Biology, geology, chemistry, physics ∙ Social Sciences o Examine human relationships  Attempt to objectively understand the social world   Anthropology, economics, political science, psych,  sociology o Anthropology  Traditionally focuses on tribal peoples ∙ Understand culture—a people’s total way of life ∙ Artifacts, structure ∙ Ideas and values ∙ Forms of communicationo Economics  Concentrates on a single social institution  Production and distribution of material goods and services  of a society o Political Science  Focuses on politics and government  Examine how gov are formed, operate, and how they relate to other institutions of society o Psychology  Processes that occur within individuals  ∙ Clinical, or in schools o Sociology  Overlaps other social sciences  Study culture, do research on group structure and belief,  and communication  Focus on industrialized and post industrialized societies  Do not concentrate on single institution   Down to Earth Sociology ∙ Elephant analogy o We must look at the whole thing to see how it  works and relates to its environment  ∙ Goals of Science o Explain why something happened o Make generalizations   Go beyond individual and apply to broader group/situation ∙ Look for patterns  o Predict  o Use systematic research  Move beyond common sense ∙ Everyone may be misguided ∙ Risk of being a sociologist o Sometimes face pressures to keep findings secret  They are interested in what is REALLY going on o May investigate private things that make people uncomfortable ∙ Origins of Sociology o Many people answered “unanswerable” questions with  superstition, myth, or the placement of the stars o August Comte (1798-1857)  Founding father of sociology  Advocated similarities between sociology and biology  Said we must use scientific methods to study society ∙ Hoped that we could discover and fix our problems o Karl Heinrich Marx (1818-1883) Industrial Revolution ∙ Known for theories about capitalism/socialism o Said society is divided into capitalists and  exploited workers o Stressed class conflict as basis of all social  problems ∙ Believed workers would eventually unite to revolt o Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)  Established sociology as formal academic discipline  Concerned with showing how social forces influence  behavior ∙ Suicide rates in those without a stronger faith base or happy marriage o Social factors influence suicide rate o Max Weber (1864-1920)  Connected development of capitalism to Protestant work  ethic ∙ Thought financial prosperity was a sign of God’s  favor o W.E.B DuBois  Studied racism  Founded NAACP o Jane Adams  Studied relations between poor and rich  NAACP o Harriet Martineau  First female sociologist  Wrote on US customs (slavery, poverty, prisons) ∙ Structure of Society o Macro part of society  Culture and landscape  ∙ Laws prohibiting interracial marriages ∙ C. Wright Mills o The sociological imagination  Awareness of relationship between  individual and society (macro and micro) ∙ Women’s suffrage  Sociology contributes to public psychology ∙ 1.3 Tradition vs. Science o tradition—assumptions explained by superstition without tests o science—requires theories that can be tested by research o 3 main events  social upheaval of Industrial Revolution∙ children worked in miserable conditions ∙ families barely survived   social upheaval of political revolution ∙ American and French revolutions o Ruined social orders o Tradition had ruled before  Because its always been done that way  Not anymore! o New ideas arose  Each person possesses inalienable rights ∙ Imperialism o Empire building o New colonies were exposed to radically  different ways of life o Why do cultures differ? ∙ August Comte (1798-1857) o Positivism—applying scientific method to social world o What holds society together? Why do we have social order? o Sociology—the study of society  Purpose was to discover social principles and apply them to social reform ∙ Sociologists would reform society, making it a better  place to live  Drawing conclusions from informal observations o Founder of sociology ∙ Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) o Second founder of sociology o Sociologists shouldn’t guide social reform  Interferes with natural process ∙ The survival of the fittest o Societies evolve as the fittest people adapt to  their environment o Social Darwinism  The superior will survive and continue while inferior will die out  ∙ Karl Marx (1818-1883) o Class conflict  Society is made of two social classes that are natural  enemies ∙ Rich (producers) and poor (consumers)  Workers will usually unite and revolt  ∙ Enter in a class-free society ∙ Not communismo Later application of his ideas by another group  Didn’t think of himself as a sociologist  Conflict theory o Wall Street Journal named him one of the three greatest modern  thinkers ∙ Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) o Wanted to get sociology recognized as a separate academic  discipline o Wanted to show how social forces affect people’s behavior  Research in suicides ∙ males more likely than females to kill themselves ∙ Protestants more likely than Jews or Catholics ∙ Unmarried more likely than the married o Social factors underlie suicide o Social integration  The degree which people are tied to their social groups ∙ Those with weaker ties are more likely to commit  suicide o Less social integration o Human behavior cannot be understood only in terms of  individual, we must always examine the social forces that affect  people’s lives o Suicide statistics  ∙ Max Weber (1864-1920) o One of the most influential sociologists of all time o Religion is the central force in social change o Protestant beliefs about frugality was the birth of capitalism  Protestant ethic ∙ Spirit of capitalism o Subjective meaningSociology Chapter 1.1-1.3 Notes ∙ Homeless shelter ∙ Sociology—scientific study of society o How we affect society o How society affects us ∙ Social structures o Judgements, critiques, and approval are rooted in this ∙ Social sciences o Explain social world and human relations o Employs scientific methods  Personal experience and popular beliefs are rid of  Use data collecting protocols ∙ Researchers are never entirely value free though o So sociology identifies these possible risks ∙ Identify patterns o Analyze, explain, collect data o Ex. Civil Rights movement ∙ Social location—the corners in life that people occupy because of their  place in a society  o Ex. Growing up being referred to as male or female  How has that shaped you? ∙ C. Wright Mills o Sociological imagination links history and biography ∙ Society is changing o America is like a global village  Import goods o Communication has sped up  War of 1812, some battles were fought weeks after a treaty was signed ∙ What is Sociology? o Human behavior can’t be observed in a single person, rather a  society  Examine social forces ∙ Religion ∙ Education ∙ Government ∙ Race/class/gender o Society can influence human behavior  Ozzy Osborne’s song about suicide ∙ Did it cause suicide? Not according to sociologists. ∙ People who aren’t part of a solid structure (marriage,  religion) were higher risks to commit suicide o Social forces are strong Movies reflect that (Bridesmaids) ∙ Poor vs. rich ∙ Conflict between classes  “personal taste” is often a product of social forces  desire to own designer bags ∙ shows status ∙ Sociology and Other Sciences o Original explanations of the world were mixed with magic and  superstition o Science—systematic methods for studying the social and natural  worlds  ∙ Understanding Society o Society—group of people who live in the same area and share  the same culture  When we make generalizations about groups of people, we  are making generalizations about their societies (British,  Americans, Australians) ∙ Not everyone is homologous to these generalizations o Every society is different from another o Societies do not remain the same  They grow, develop, and change over time ∙ Ex. America is 1790 vs now ∙ Variables for this include o Immigration o Emigration o Technology o Industrialization o Urbanization ∙ Natural Sciences o Intellectual and academic disciplines that are designed to explain and predict the events in our natural environment  Biology, geology, chemistry, physics ∙ Social Sciences o Examine human relationships  Attempt to objectively understand the social world   Anthropology, economics, political science, psych,  sociology o Anthropology  Traditionally focuses on tribal peoples ∙ Understand culture—a people’s total way of life ∙ Artifacts, structure ∙ Ideas and values ∙ Forms of communicationo Economics  Concentrates on a single social institution  Production and distribution of material goods and services  of a society o Political Science  Focuses on politics and government  Examine how gov are formed, operate, and how they relate to other institutions of society o Psychology  Processes that occur within individuals  ∙ Clinical, or in schools o Sociology  Overlaps other social sciences  Study culture, do research on group structure and belief,  and communication  Focus on industrialized and post industrialized societies  Do not concentrate on single institution   Down to Earth Sociology ∙ Elephant analogy o We must look at the whole thing to see how it  works and relates to its environment  ∙ Goals of Science o Explain why something happened o Make generalizations   Go beyond individual and apply to broader group/situation ∙ Look for patterns  o Predict  o Use systematic research  Move beyond common sense ∙ Everyone may be misguided ∙ Risk of being a sociologist o Sometimes face pressures to keep findings secret  They are interested in what is REALLY going on o May investigate private things that make people uncomfortable ∙ Origins of Sociology o Many people answered “unanswerable” questions with  superstition, myth, or the placement of the stars o August Comte (1798-1857)  Founding father of sociology  Advocated similarities between sociology and biology  Said we must use scientific methods to study society ∙ Hoped that we could discover and fix our problems o Karl Heinrich Marx (1818-1883) Industrial Revolution ∙ Known for theories about capitalism/socialism o Said society is divided into capitalists and  exploited workers o Stressed class conflict as basis of all social  problems ∙ Believed workers would eventually unite to revolt o Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)  Established sociology as formal academic discipline  Concerned with showing how social forces influence  behavior ∙ Suicide rates in those without a stronger faith base or happy marriage o Social factors influence suicide rate o Max Weber (1864-1920)  Connected development of capitalism to Protestant work  ethic ∙ Thought financial prosperity was a sign of God’s  favor o W.E.B DuBois  Studied racism  Founded NAACP o Jane Adams  Studied relations between poor and rich  NAACP o Harriet Martineau  First female sociologist  Wrote on US customs (slavery, poverty, prisons) ∙ Structure of Society o Macro part of society  Culture and landscape  ∙ Laws prohibiting interracial marriages ∙ C. Wright Mills o The sociological imagination  Awareness of relationship between  individual and society (macro and micro) ∙ Women’s suffrage  Sociology contributes to public psychology ∙ 1.3 Tradition vs. Science o tradition—assumptions explained by superstition without tests o science—requires theories that can be tested by research o 3 main events  social upheaval of Industrial Revolution∙ children worked in miserable conditions ∙ families barely survived   social upheaval of political revolution ∙ American and French revolutions o Ruined social orders o Tradition had ruled before  Because its always been done that way  Not anymore! o New ideas arose  Each person possesses inalienable rights ∙ Imperialism o Empire building o New colonies were exposed to radically  different ways of life o Why do cultures differ? ∙ August Comte (1798-1857) o Positivism—applying scientific method to social world o What holds society together? Why do we have social order? o Sociology—the study of society  Purpose was to discover social principles and apply them to social reform ∙ Sociologists would reform society, making it a better  place to live  Drawing conclusions from informal observations o Founder of sociology ∙ Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) o Second founder of sociology o Sociologists shouldn’t guide social reform  Interferes with natural process ∙ The survival of the fittest o Societies evolve as the fittest people adapt to  their environment o Social Darwinism  The superior will survive and continue while inferior will die out  ∙ Karl Marx (1818-1883) o Class conflict  Society is made of two social classes that are natural  enemies ∙ Rich (producers) and poor (consumers)  Workers will usually unite and revolt  ∙ Enter in a class-free society ∙ Not communismo Later application of his ideas by another group  Didn’t think of himself as a sociologist  Conflict theory o Wall Street Journal named him one of the three greatest modern  thinkers ∙ Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) o Wanted to get sociology recognized as a separate academic  discipline o Wanted to show how social forces affect people’s behavior  Research in suicides ∙ males more likely than females to kill themselves ∙ Protestants more likely than Jews or Catholics ∙ Unmarried more likely than the married o Social factors underlie suicide o Social integration  The degree which people are tied to their social groups ∙ Those with weaker ties are more likely to commit  suicide o Less social integration o Human behavior cannot be understood only in terms of  individual, we must always examine the social forces that affect  people’s lives o Suicide statistics  ∙ Max Weber (1864-1920) o One of the most influential sociologists of all time o Religion is the central force in social change o Protestant beliefs about frugality was the birth of capitalism  Protestant ethic ∙ Spirit of capitalism o Subjective meaning