Chapter 1: The Sociological Imagination PDF

Chapter 1 The Sociological Imagination Circles in a Circle Wassily Kandinsky  Introduction 1. We will present two main elements of sociological thinking: The sociolog...

Chapter 1 The Sociological Imagination Circles in a Circle Wassily Kandinsky  Introduction 1. We will present two main elements of sociological thinking: The sociological imagination. Learning to identify and avoid value judgments. 2. We will look at three core foci of sociology.  Introduction Interactions happen in patterned ways through routines, expectations, and behaviours that establish themselves over time and build common meaning. These interactions occur in a variety of settings and levels and are shaped by culture. “Canadian society”: Societies are not the same as states, as they are built on interactions among its members.  How we become social beings - Study of mythology helps us understand how people and society developed/ explains how order has changed over time - Provides a stage for human existence - Ex: Prometheus vs Empetheus - Prometheus was very orderly, disciplined whereas his brother was foolish and childish - Discussion of which way was better is controversial, not set in stone  How we become social beings Contrarily to animals, human beings are unable to survive and develop on their own. The family unit is the first “point of entry” into society.  we first learn and understand society from the family we come from. Ex: chores – can teach us the importance of contribution to a collective, teaches etiquette, etc Family education in the first stages of life allows children to integrate society. By becoming individuals we also become members of society.  What a toddler’s temper tantrum tells us about the process of social integration - Toddlers adjust to society as ignoring their tantrums can teach them slowly that they are not the centre of the universe, there are people outside of them, etc  I, me, mine? In their development stages, children learn to abandon their egocentrism. They learn to understand things through perspectives other than their own. By learning deductive reasoning, and abstract thought, we learn to think about social matters.  Introduction Societies are large-scale human groups sharing common territory and institutions. Every society organises itself on the basis of three main dimensions of social life: 1. Social activities: how we do/make things (material).  2. Representations: how we name things (immaterial). language 3. Social meaning: what things mean to us (immaterial).  different societies attach social meanings to things that are deemed higher than others  The Sociological Imagination The sociological imagination is an idea developed by C. Wright Mills to help individuals see the connections between their lives and larger society. Individual choices are structured in society. Individual freedom vs historical constraints. Which larger social forces limit our choices?  The Sociological Imagination We can understand our lives in more depth if we understand the larger history of our society. Mills advocated illuminating the personal troubles we face as individuals and larger public issues or the social problems that arise in human societies. We make our own history but we are confronted by pre-existing circumstances.  The Sociological Imagination How does Mills define the sociological imagination? Why is it important to grasp the relationship between biography and history within society? What does the term personal troubles mean? What are examples of these?  individual issues ex: losing a job What does the term public issues mean? How do issues differ from troubles?  collective issue ex: unemployment How are personal troubles related to public issues?  a small personal trouble can begin to affect a larger collective Ex: 1 person getting sick from the water (personal) vs 100 people starting to get sick from it(public)  Values vs Value Judgments Value judgements cannot be used to explain social problems. What does this mean? Values and value judgements are different things: values are things that are considered to be good, valuable, important. For instance, education, religious tolerance, equality, justice. As for value judgements, these are opinions about reality that are not based on empirical, factual evidence.  Value judgements Value judgements draw conclusions based on a limited knowledge, an inward-looking (subjective) assessment of reality, often based on hearsay, prejudice, popular opinion, and are one-sided. They are typically found in attempts to explain social issues based on prejudice.  Social Institutions Research on institutions has shown the following: – How they maintain the functionality of society – The ways institutions hold society back – The way institutions facilitate social change – That institutions are standardized ways of doing things, as actions become regularized, patterned, and reproduced – How institutions are contradictory, at times helping society run smoothly, at other times reproducing social inequality within societies, but always potential sites of social change  Thinking Sociologically Sociological thinking rejects explanations based on value judgements because these do not follow a rigorous method for social knowledge for which a “neutral” perspective (suspending judgement as to the value of something) is required. Value judgments impede understanding of social problems. For example, a sociologist studying juvenile delinquents does not emit judgments about their behaviors, value systems, etc. but would attempt to understand why they have certain values, behaviors, attitudes, thoughts, etc.  The First Step for Sociological Thinking It is very easy to make value judgements. In fact, we likely make them everyday. However, being conscious that they are value judgments (and not facts) helps us to avoid them. Unfortunately, value judgments are too often used to assess social problems (in media, politics, popular opinion), instead of conveying a sociological understanding of said problems. Politicians often use value judgments instead of sociological explanations when attending to social issues to manipulate popular opinion, or to attribute blame.  What is Wrong with my Thinking? Why are the following claims examples of value judgments? “Crime is crime, not a sociological phenomena!” stating it is not a social phenomena implies it can not be solved socially/ is set in stone, can not be “dissected” fudivergentrther “More prisons is the solution to criminality!” “Prisons should be abolished!”  excludes the positives of prisons, opinion “Long wait times are a proof that health care is broken and should be privatized!”  limited evidence to back a larger claim “Immigration is the cause of unemployment!” tactic: avoids actual problem (unemployment) & finds smth to blame based on prejudices, post hoc fallacy “People on welfare are lazy!”  opinion, no real evidence  Three Core Foci of Sociology Most sociological research is done within three primary areas of focus: 1. The study of social inequality 2. The role of social institutions in society 3. The study of social change  Social Inequality The first core focus is the study of social inequality, or the gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged. Gaps exist in terms of rights, opportunities, rewards and privileges. Inequality is based on these differential experiences.  Social Institutions The second core focus is the study of social institutions, of which there are five in Canadian society: family, education, religion, economy, and government. Social institutions are defined as the norms, values, and rules of conduct structuring human interactions. Remember: institutions are not just physical spaces or buildings but human networks too.  Social Change The third core focus of sociological research is the study of social change. Secularization is an example of social change: The process of a religion losing its authority over individuals and in social life in general. Sociologists wonder why religion has lost some of its influence in modern societies, and might study the changing role of religion in society