Introduction: Understanding Society PDF

Introduction: Understanding Societ he Birth of a New Discipline Modern democracy Industrial revolution Scientific revolution Liberty Leading the People Eugène Delacroix How does the modern era All of these...

Introduction: Understanding Societ he Birth of a New Discipline Modern democracy Industrial revolution Scientific revolution Liberty Leading the People Eugène Delacroix How does the modern era All of these compare eventsera? to the historical have - contributed to the formation of the sociological discipline.  Introduction: Understanding Society II Today we will learn about the principal aims of sociological research: Aims 1. to define the themes of everyday life (i.e. seeing the general in the particular, Peter Berger) 2. to question the familiar 3. to examine how individuals are shaped by society and how they, in turn, shape society. We will further our discovery of sociology by looking at one of the first sociological studies: Durkheim’s study of suicide (1897). This ground breaking study is an example of sociology in action. The research reveals how social structures shape even the most private of social acts. This leads us to a broad overview of the sociological methods for understanding society that define how we know… sociologically.  Sociology and Democracy Demos- people Modern democracy is foundational to sociological thought. Recognition that we are the architects of our own society, that society can be known, and that it can be changed. The authority for the organisation of society does not lie beyond the social body but within it (i.e. the political organization of the state, the instituting of laws, and the organisation of other institutions (such as education, work, family). With the change from theocracy to modern democracy public issues become apparent as an object of concern for society Ex: social issues are perceived as stemming from social causes vs natural causes.  Scientific Revolution The Scientific Revolution or the Enlightenment refers to a period of history that featured changes in thought. Reason and empiricism : Use of scientific methods to know the world. Empirical evidence of sensory experience and rational thinking are part of the production of scientific knowledge. This period in history advanced social values such as freedom, equality, tolerance, fraternity, etc. opposed to the absolute power of the Monarchy and the religious authorities.  Industrial Revolution and Urbanization Industrialization brought about a period of unexpected and rapid urbanization: Urban life changed the dynamics of social relations. Before the 19th Century, most of the world’s population lived within rural environments, and social life was governed by tradition.  no questions or doubt, everything was defined. As a result of the massive change in demographics and social relations, studies of the new social realities in urbanized cities have led to the development of sociology (e.g. the first sociological studies concerned the problem of poverty within a new industrial working class). resulted in forced displacement  Three Core Aims of Sociology There are three main goals of sociology: 1. To define general themes in everyday life: i.e. study social life and culture: seeing the general in the particular (Peter Berger, 1963) 2. To question the familiar. 3. To examine how individuals are shaped by society and how, in turn, individuals shape their society.  1. Find the General Themes in Everyday life Sociologists strive to find patterns in people’s behaviours. This is what Peter Berger called seeing the general in the particular. When patterns are found, sociologists do research to determine why those patterns exist = how they are established and how they become common sense to those living them ex: #fyp connects to a broader spectrum on a similar basis  2. Questioning the Familiar Everyday social life is not self-evident (obvious). The familiarity with our experiences sometimes prevents us from developing a deeper understanding of how society functions  thinking sociologically requires that we question the familiar (such as our assumptions about everyday life).  Questioning the familiar What determines collective behaviour? Why do we do social things in a certain way and not another? Take for instance the act of leaving a coat on a chair in a public place ( indicating that place is taken). We understand this sign, and act accordingly. How did this convention come to be? Horace Miner’s “Body Rituals among the Nacirema” (1956) is a poignant example of an exercise in questioning the familiar. Who are the Nacirema and what body ritual is Miner describing? 3. How We Shape Society vs How it Shapes us The creation of institutions is an example of how we shape society as it is carried out by collectives of human beings who determine how these institutions should function. In turn, institutions influence the individuals who created them in terms of how they think and how they act.  Who are the Nacirema? “The anthropologist has become so familiar with the diversity of ways in which different people behave in similar situations that he is not apt to be surprised by even the most exotic customs. In fact, if all of the logically possible combinations of behavior have not been found somewhere in the world, he is apt to suspect that they must be present in some yet undescribed tribe. (…) In this light, the magical beliefs and practices of the Nacirema present such unusual aspects that it seems desirable to describe them as an example of the extremes to which human behavior can go.” - “The fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that its natural tendency is to debility and disease. Incarcerated in such a body, man’s only hope is to avert these characteristics through the use of ritual and ceremony. Every household has one or more shrines devoted to this purpose. The more powerful individuals in the society have several shrines in their houses and, in fact, the opulence of a house is often referred to in terms of the number of such ritual centers it possesses. Most houses are of wattle and daub construction, but the shrine rooms of the more wealthy are walled with stone. Poorer families imitate the rich by applying pottery plaques to their shrine walls.” “The focal point of the shrine is a box or chest which is built into the wall. In this chest are kept the many charms and magical potions without which no native believes he could live. These preparations are secured from a variety of specialized practitioners. The most powerful of these are the medicine men, whose assistance must be rewarded with substantial gifts. However, the medicine men do not provide the curative potions for their clients but decide what the ingredients should be and then write them down in an ancient and secret language. This writing is understood only by the medicine men and by the herbalists who, for another gift, provide the required charm.” “In the hierarchy of magical practitioners, and below the medicine men in prestige, are specialists whose designation is best translated as “holy-mouth- men.” The Nacirema have an almost pathological horror of and fascination with the mouth, the condition of which is believed to have a supernatural influence on all social relationships. Were it not for the rituals of the mouth, they believe that their teeth would fall out, their gums bleed, their jaws shrink, their friends desert them, and their lovers reject them. They also believe that a strong relationship exists between oral and moral characteristics. For example, there is a ritual ablution of the mouth for children which is supposed to improve their moral fiber.” ( talking about brushing your teeth) “The daily body ritual performed by everyone includes a mouth-rite. Despite the fact that these people are so punctilious about care of the mouth, this rite involves a practice which strikes the uninitiated stranger as revolting. It was reported to me that the ritual consists of inserting a small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth, along with certain magical powders, and then moving the bundle in a highly formalized series of gestures..” - Nacirema are the Americans, someone alien to our culture may view us as  Impact on school of thought within sociology Émile Durkheim Main focus: social integration  “What holds society together?” “How could people from different backgrounds/way of lives come together?” ( during industrialization era) Believed in finding your place in society Understood society as a whole body  organs ( institutions),  Émile Durkheim and the Study of Suicide Believed societal conditions/larger institutions had a high impact on individual experience and decisions Durkheim found that suicide wasn’t entirely a matter of the individual’s decision Émile Durkheim noted how different sociology was from philosophy due to its reliance on empirical research. Sociology was also unique because it focused on social facts, or the external social structures, norms, and values that shape the actions of individuals.  Émile Durkheim and the Study of Suicide Durkheim determined suicide rates differed by country, by gender and even by religion. This confirmed for him that the differences in suicide rates could only be explained by considering social facts, or elements of society beyond the individual’s control.  identified these differences to see what the difference in rates between regions are vs their social norms/institutions  Émile Durkheim and the Study of Suicide There are four main types of suicide that differ depending on the degree of integration in a society and the degree of regulation. 1. Egoistic suicide occurs in societies with low levels of integration. 2. Altruistic suicide occurs in societies with high levels of integration. 3. Anomic suicide occurs in societies with excessively low regulation. 4. Fatalistic suicide occurs in societies with excessively high regulation.  Egoistic suicide (low social integration) The importance of social integration: equal access to opportunities, rights, social cohesion, foster strong relationships, encourage diversity, etc.. Differences in statistics between Protestants and Catholics. Protestantism’s emphasis on individual faith = less social integration. Catholicism’s hierarchical, community-focused structure = stronger integration. Societies with fragile social bonds/ low integration  Altruistic Suicide Excessively high integration in society can also lead to higher suicide rates. Suicide for social ends (e.g. Hara-kiri/Junshi)  feel deeply obligated to their group they prioritize group’s needs above their own life High integration in the army E.g. suicides for political causes/religious cults Aaron Bushnell  Anomic Suicide Related to societies that have little regulations and lack social integration. From nomos meaning the social and political norms governing individual behaviour. Breakdown of norms and values, leading to breakdown of social bonds.  see genocides in these kinds of societies Normlessness: “Man is a wolf to man”  no trust is built between people Durkheim refers to the loss of meaning and connection to others.  Fatalistic Suicide Excessive regulation, no individual prospects, no escape. E.g. suicide of slaves. Durkheim’s study demonstrates that the decision to die from suicide is shaped by the structure of the society in which a person lives. Suicide rates can be predicted by examining integration and regulation in a society.  always looks for a balance between the significance of the individual and the collection  Research Methods: How Do Sociologists Study Society? When thinking about what to analyze, sociologists formulate research questions to guide their decisions. Research questions focus on the relationship between variables, moreso, they look at how independent variables affect dependent variable. – Independent variables are the variables that potentially affect other variables. Dependent variables are the variables affected by independent variables. For example: “What is the relationship between gender and income?” The question is: is income affected by gender? Therefore gender is an independent variable and income is a dependent variable.  Research Methods: How Do Sociologists Study Society? Two major types of research comprise the type of work sociologists do. 1. Quantitative research: research on things that can be counted. 2. Qualitative research: research on social processes; tends to focus on a smaller number of things to analyze.  Quantitative Methods 1. Surveys – Involves distributing questionnaires to a large number of people. – Purpose is to learn about characteristics, attitudes, or behaviours of individuals in human societies. 2. Experiments – The researcher is interested in understanding how some factors affect individual behaviour. – Involves comparing two groups, an experimental group and a control group. – The experiment is conducted with the experimental group to see how they’ll react.  Qualitative Research 1. Interviews – Involves asking each participant the same set of questions and records their responses. – Allow researchers to ask questions that require longer answers and they provide opportunities to ask follow-up questions. 2. Participant observation, or ethnography – Researcher actively engages with a group of individuals to understand their lives and experiences. – Requires extensive involvement with the group under study for a long period of time.  Research Methods: How Do Sociologists Study Society? Sociologists use additional research methods in their work. – Content analysis is used to study documents such as newspapers, historical letters, or other kinds of texts. – Focus groups are like interviews but involve a larger number of people.  Doing Sociology: Making Use of the Sociological Toolkit The four main types of research methods are used to answer different types of research questions. – E.g., studying crime with surveys may allow sociologists to ask different kinds of questions about crime. – E.g., studying crime with experiments may allow sociologists to understand how people perceive the perpetrators of crime. – E.g., studying crime with interviews allows sociologists to unpack more complex thought patterns that lead people to commit crimes. – E.g., studying crime with participant observation may make it easier for sociologists to understand how police enforce the law by joining them on one of their shifts. Harold Garfinkel – Breaching Experiments Garfinkel argued that we could better understand social norms and how they produce order in society by breaking social rules and conventions within everyday interactions. Individuals follow a set of expectations regarding how they should act in any given situation. Breaking a social rule might reveal the unrecognized ways by which individuals participate in maintaining a social order in interactions. For e.g. Garfinkel asked students to behave as guests in their parents’ homes, note their reactions, and think about what the experiment tells us about social norms.  Harold Garfinkel – Breaching Experiments What happens when norms are temporarily transgressed? When someone does something unusual in interactions that interrupts their smooth functioning? What can we learn about social norms (expectations)? Do certain norms have leeway while others don’t? Why? What happens when order is interrupted? How is it restored?  Summary Sociology is a discipline focused on the systematic study of human society. Sociologists focus on three core areas of study: social inequality, social institutions, and social change. Sociologists aim to see general themes in everyday life, critically examine the familiar world around them (i.e. seeing the everyday as not self-evident), and understand how society shapes individuals while individuals also shape society. There are several major qualitative and quantitative methods that sociologists use to conduct research.