Understanding Social Structures

• Thinking socially proves difficult because we naturally approach the world from personal perspectives.
• Vision, a key sensory input, highlights differences in depth perception between individuals with two eyes versus one.
• Eyes do more than locate us spatially; they shape our perspective of the world.
• Common sense offers a natural yet limited understanding of the world.
• Everyday knowledge and social knowledge form the basis of our understanding.
• Developing a sociological perspective requires moving beyond these everyday understandings.
• A self-centered viewpoint hinders sociological perspective.
• Distinguishing ourselves occurs through interactions with other people and our environment.
• Society influences individuals; social structures have an effect on us.

Social Structures

• Social structures refer to relatively stable social connections.
• Our experiences often appear unique to us.
• Social structures seem distant and impersonal.
• Perceiving social structure within ourselves takes recognizing micro, macro, and global elements.

Microstructures

• Microstructures are patterns formed during intimate face-to-face interactions.
• Examples of microstructures are family units, friendship groups and workplace interactions.
• Weak ties (or connections to those weakly connected to you) can provide quicker employment opportunities than strong ties.

Macrostructures

• Macrostructures refer to social relations beyond our immediate circle.
• Patriarchy exemplifies macrostructures.
• The patriarchy refers to economic and political inequality between men and women
• Despite most married women working full time, they still handle most of the housework and childcare.
• Government policies like subsidized childcare can reinforce this imbalance.
• Unequal workload in the house leads to relationship dissatisfaction and dissolution.
• Macrostructural issues, rather than just compatibility, often are the root cause.

Global Structures

• Global structures: are patterns of social relations beyond the national level.
• International organizations, economic relations, and trade markets are global structures.
• Charity and foreign aid have struggled to eliminate global hunger because they don't address global structures.
• European powers contributed to poverty in some countries through colonization.
• Current foreign debt interest rates perpetuate poverty.
• Relieving foreign debt could alleviate the issue.

Sociological Perspective Origins

• Occurring only in the last 200 years
• Influenced by three revolutions: scientific, democratic, and industrial.
• Micro, macro, and global structures influence individuals.
• Scientific Revolution (~1550): Things should be based on evidence, not just speculation.
  • Truth claims must be subjected to systematic observation and public scrutiny, challenging tradition, authority and secrecy.
  • Using evidence to support claims.
• Democratic Revolution (~1750): People are responsible for society and can solve social problems.
  • Challenging the idea that God ordained the existing social order.
  • The American and French Revolutions demonstrated the ability of people to replace inadequate rulers and enact significant change.
  • Encouraging the idea that society could progress through science, improving citizens' welfare.
• Industrial Revolution (~1780): Applying science and technology to industrial processes on a large scale.
  • Resulting in mass migration from rural to urban areas.
  • Characterized by harsh working conditions.
  • Urban areas were characterized by disease.
  • Leading to resistance through crime, strikes, and calls for social reform.
  • Faith diminishing because of said issues.
• These pressing social issues demanded a new perspective.
• C. Wright Mills' focused on social class and political structure.

Sociological Imagination

• Agency: the capability to act in a given enviroment
  • With Agency people can influence and restrain behaviour.
  • Social structures pressure us and effects our behaviours, but we still have some agency
• Connecting history to biography in order to relate personal troubles to public issues.
• Using sociological imagination involves connecting personal biography to human history and broader social structures.
  • Sociology teaches significant lessons.
  • Developing a critical understanding of society's complexities and influence on personal history.
  • This occurs within the context of understanding human experiences within the broader social context.
  • Distinguish between problems caused by individual choices and those due to circumstances.
  • Personal challenges are tied both to individual issues and structural ones.
• Key questions
  • How can people confront social structures?
  • How do social structures change over time?
  • How do men and women interact with social structures?

Explore how personal perspectives can limit sociological understanding. Learn about social structures, their influence, and how interactions with others shape our viewpoint. Understand that moving beyond common sense is essential for a sociological perspective.