Sociology: An Introduction - Johnston, 2017 PDF

Sociology: an Introduction What is it? What can we do with it? Discussion to accompany Johnston, et al, 2017, Chapter 1, A Day in the Life of Your Jeans: Using Our Stuff to Discover Sociology Berger, “Introduction to Sociology” Henslin, “What is Sociology” Mills, “The Promise” ...

Sociology: an Introduction What is it? What can we do with it? Discussion to accompany Johnston, et al, 2017, Chapter 1, A Day in the Life of Your Jeans: Using Our Stuff to Discover Sociology Berger, “Introduction to Sociology” Henslin, “What is Sociology” Mills, “The Promise”  Key Concepts  Sociological Imagination  Private Troubles & Social Issues  Culture and “stuff” (material culture; consumer culture)  Social Structure (capitalism; bureaucracy; “building blocks”)  “Micro” and “Macro” levels of analysis / focus Central Question of this chapter and our text: What does our “stuff” have to do with it?  The Sociological Imagination  Term coined by C. Wright Mills in his 1959 book “The sociological imagination allows us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two in society.” (Mills, in Henslin, p. 22) FUN FACT: Random Question  What do … C. Wright Mills Barbie and Professor Marsh … have in common? The Sociological Imagination, cont.  Johnston, et al, explain the sociological imagination starting on page 2.  A sociological imagination “pushes us, and also trains us to explore connections between our individual lives and broader social factors….” (Johnston, et al, p. 2)  What is the question they use to illustrate the point of looking at the world through a sociological lens?  The Sociological Imagination,  cont. The Sociological Imagination helps us understand the DIFFERENCE between and the CONNECTIONS between personal troubles and social issues. Minute Writing  Personal Trouble: Is there anything affecting your own—individual—everyday life that really stresses you out ?  Social Issue: Might it also be a social issue? What might lead you to think there’s a related social cause or social issue?  Does recognizing your trouble as a social issue affect how you feel about yourself? about society? Culture and Social Structure  As a discipline, sociology is distinguished by its interest in the relationship between culture and structure in society.  CULTURE IS: - the social heritage of a people - the values, beliefs, norms, and rituals of a community or society - culture is passed down through generations symbolic culture (common ideas, such as values and beliefs) material culture (the representation of symbolic culture through objects) Symbolic and Material Culture  What are some examples of symbolic culture in U.S. society? - What do Americans value? - What do we believe? - What are some of our norms (i.e., expected practices or habits of behavior)? - What are some of our rituals? Symbolic and Material Culture  What are some examples of material culture in U.S. society? - What objects in our everyday lives can be seen to reflect our values? Our beliefs? - Are some artifacts and objects more important than others? - Do you agree with the authors that recognizing the ubiquity of jeans can uncover dominant aspects of our culture? - If so, what does the consumer culture around jeans tell us about our society? Culture and Social Structure, Cont.  SOCIAL STRUCTURE refers to: - the building blocks of society - the patterns of social organization and interactions that shape our lives - institutions such as family, the economy, the state, media, religion, and our education system - the relations of power that are reflected in social statuses such as gender, race, and class  What are some examples of patterns of social structure that are relevant to contemporary U.S. American life?  P.S. Institutional patterns (structures) can be seen in the “rules of the game” in different arenas of our life. Micro- and Macro- Levels of Analysis  Micro-level perspective Emphasizes small-scale interactions, local patterns of behavior, and interpersonal relationships  Examples (what might we be interested in?): - Small-group dynamics (Georg Simmel) - Friendship groups - Habits of communication (Women and Men in conversation) (Deborah Tannen; Sylvia Sierra) Micro- and Macro- levels of analysis  Macro-level perspective Emphasizes large-scale and stable social structures, patterns, and processes; takes a longer/historical view and a broader, societal- wide or global view  Examples (what might we be interested in?): The historical development of capitalism (Marx) The increasing rationalization/bureaucratization of society (Weber) Making Sense of Modern Life  What is the difference between consumer culture and conspicuous consumption? Consumer Culture (see reference to Roberta Sassatelli, p. 10) Conspicuous Consumption (see reference to Thorstein Veblen, p. 13) What does global capitalism have to do with it?