Introduction to Sociology

• Sociology is a systematic study of human society
• Sociology is a form of consciousness, a critical way of seeing the social
• Sociology may change your life, but challenges common sense
• Sociology entails challenging the obvious and questioning the world as it is taken for granted

Seeing the General in the Particular

• Sociologists identify general patterns of social life by looking at concrete examples, recognizing society acts differently on various categories of people

Standard definitions of sociology

• Peter Berger defines a sociologist as someone concerned with understanding society scientifically
• Zygmunt Bauman describes sociology as a way of thinking about the human world, questioning how humans live together
• Richard Jenkins states "the human world" is the realm of human experience, the subject of sociology
• Nicholas Abercrombie describes sociology as the study of the bases of social membership and the analysis of social relationships
• The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines sociology as the science/study of the origin, history & constitution of human society
• The term sociology was coined by Comte in 1830
• Michael Mann defines sociology as a reasoned study of society
• Anthony Giddens states sociology involves historical, anthropological, and critical sensitivity

Seeing the Strange in the Familiar

• Adopting a sociological perspective involves seeing the strange in the familiar
• The first wisdom of sociology is that things are not what they seem
• Observing sociologically requires giving up familiar ideas and accepting that society guides our thoughts and deeds

Individuality in Social Context: The Strange Case of Suicide

• Sociology challenges common sense by revealing human behavior is not as individualistic as we think
• Emile Durkheim demonstrated social forces shape suicide, an intensely individual act
• Durkheim found higher suicide rates among men, Protestants, wealthy & unmarried people
• Low suicide rates characterised people with strong social ties
• High suicide rates correlated to those who were socially isolated/individualistic
• Suicide statistics from China reveal a different pattern than in the West
• China accounts for 40% of suicides worldwide.
• Suicide accounts indicate that 250,000 people take their lives each year and 2 million more attempt to do so
• Female suicides outnumber male suicides and suicide is higher in the countryside

Sociology and Social Marginality

• Sociological thinking is common among social "outsiders," who are keenly aware of their surroundings
• Sociology questions all that is taken for granted and helps us see how the world works by viewing it through the eyes of others

Sociology and Social Crisis

• Social change or crisis stimulates sociological vision
• C. Wright Mills recalled the unemployment rate during the Great Depression when people recognised the economy had collapsed

Benefits of the Sociological Perspective

• The sociological perspective challenges familiar understandings of ourselves and others
• Sociology helps assess opportunities and constraints, understanding societal patterns
• The sociological perspective empowers individuals to actively participate in their society
• Sociological thinking helps to recognise human differences, global suffering and confront challenges in a diverse world

Problems with the Sociological Perspective

• Sociology is part of a changing world; societies change as they are studied and knowledge changes quickly
• Sociologists are part of what they study which makes distancing from the world difficult
• Sociological knowledge becomes part of society, shaping the ways societies work

C. Wright Mills: The Sociological Imagination

• Charles Wright Mills saw sociology as an escape from life's traps, revealing society's role in individual problems
• Mills emphasised connecting individual biographies to history and society to understand their interplay

Auguste Comte: Weathering a Storm of Change

• Auguste Comte wanted to understand the human drama of his time, as factories sprang up across Europe
• Comte believed knowledge about society's operation would enable people to build a better future
• Comte divided sociology into social statics (how society is held together) and social dynamics (how society changes)