Bargeboe Sociological Perspective

• Sociology: The study of human society and social interactions, employing theoretical and research methods to examine behaviors and the impact on groups

Other Social Sciences Compared

• Anthropology: Examines human behavior, particularly interested in contemporary social organization, relations, and social change
• Psychology: Concentrates on the effects of groups, organizations, and social institutions on individuals and social life
• Social psychology: Focuses on how social conditions affect individual behavior
• Economics / Political science: Studies institutions like the economy or political systems

Studying Sociology

• Enhances understanding of ourselves by illustrating how groups and society shape behavior
• Enables insights beyond personal experiences, revealing connections between individual lives and broader societal patterns
• Society: A large social unit occupying the same territory and is subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations
• Global interdependence: Illustrates that interconnected nations are subject to global common problems

Sociological Inquiry

• Helps individuals be conscious of the connection between their own world and that of others
• Gives approaches to decision making
• Promotes understanding and tolerance
• Common sense knowledge guides daily life
• Myths are false notions used to perpetuate certain beliefs

Sociological Imagination

• Is essentially an awareness of the relationship between individual experiences and society
• Personal troubles: Issues one faces that must be solved by the individual
• Public issues: Affect large numbers of people that require solutions at a societal level

Overspending

• As a personal trouble: often blamed on personal failings, overlooking that low income people use debt to gain necessities
• As a public issue: Credit cards may encourage overspending via enticing payment holidays, new cards, and increased credit limits

Societal Economies

• High-income countries: Characterized by industrialized economies, advanced industries, high national/personal incomes
• Middle-income countries: Characterized by industrializing economies, particularly in urban areas, and moderate national/personal incomes
• Low-income countries: Characterized by agrarian, little industrialization, and low national/personal incomes

Impact of Revolutions

• Enlightenment: Social change, progress, and critical thinking was at the forefront
• Industrial Revolution: Society transformed, emphasis shifted to manufacturing and related industries, urbanization and other factors influenced society

Early Thinkers

• Natural scientists used rational thinking to discover the laws of physics
• Social thinkers began to believe that by applying the methods developed by the natural sciences, they might discover the laws of human behaviours and solve problems

Auguste Comte

• Coined the term sociology to describe a field dedicated to the study of society
• Social statics: The forces for social order and stability
• Social dynamics: The forces for conflict and change
• Positivism: World is best understood through scientific inquiry
• Knowledge passes through three stages: theological, metaphysical, and scientific/ positivistic (explained through observation, experiment, and analysis)

Harriet Martineau

• Made Comte's works more accessible
• Examined social distinctions based on class, race and gender
• Advocated racial and gender equality
• Stated that Sociologists should be impartial in their assessments

Herbert Spencer

• Major contribution to sociology was an evolutionary perspective on social order and social change.
• Evolution is the ‘theory to explain the mechanisms of organic/social change’
• Social Darwinism: That those species of animals survive because they adapted to their environment

Overview of sociology as the study of human society and social interactions. Comparison with anthropology, psychology, and political science. Emphasizes understanding influences on behavior and connections between individual lives and societal patterns.