SOC100 LIL TEST PDF

TWO MAIN ELEMENTS OF SOCIOLOGICAL THINKING: 1)​ The Sociological Imagination 2)​ Learning to Identify and Avoid Value Judgements The study of society predates the sociological discipline How societies organize collective life(how we live together) is a major object of inquiry -​ Philosphers...

TWO MAIN ELEMENTS OF SOCIOLOGICAL THINKING: 1)​ The Sociological Imagination 2)​ Learning to Identify and Avoid Value Judgements The study of society predates the sociological discipline How societies organize collective life(how we live together) is a major object of inquiry -​ Philosphers far back as Plato's/Socrates wondered what makes a good society Sociology built on study of society in a systematic way Interactions happen in patterned ways through routines/expectations/behaviors 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; they are built on interactions among its members HOW WE BECOME SOCIAL BEINGS: -​ Contrary to animals, humans are unable to survive and develop on their own -​ Family unit is first ‘point of entry’ into society -​ Family education in the first stages of life allows children to integrate into society -​ By becoming individuals we also become members of society CHILDREN/EGOCENTRISM (Toddler temper tantrum): -​ In their developmental stages, children learn to abandon their egocentrism -​ Learn to understand things through perspectives other then their own -​ By learning deductive reasoning and abstract thought, we learn to think about social things SOCIETY: Large scale human groups sharing common territory and institutions ​ Every society organizes itself on the basis of 3 MAIN DIMENSIONS OF SOCIAL LIFE: 1)​ Social Activities: How we do/make things (material) 2)​ Representations: How we name things (immaterial) 3)​ Social Meaning: What things mean to us (immaterial) THE SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION: Idea developed by C. Wright Mills to help individuals see the connection between their lives and larger society -​ Individual choices are structured in society -​ Individual freedom vs. historical constraints -​ Which larger social forces limit our choices We can understand our lives in more depth if we understand the larger history of our society -​ To do this, Mills advocated illuminating the personal troubles we face as individuals and the larger public issues/social problems that arise in human societies -​ We make our own history, but are confronted by pre-existing circumstances FIRST STEP TO SOCIOLOGICAL THINKING: REFUTING VALUE JUDGMENTS(opinions) -​ Thinking about social things competently means avoiding value judgments -​ Golden Rule of sociological thought; must be able to identify reasoning based on value judgements and know those reasonings are not valid from a sociological perspective VALUES vs. VALUE JUDGMENTS -​ Values and Value Judgments are different things: ​ Values: considered good/valuable/important. (ex: education, equality, justice) ​ Value Judgement: opinions on reality not based on empirical/factual evidence VALUE JUDGMENTS 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. ​ Typically found in attempts to explain social issues based on prejudice 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 is required -​ Value judgments impede understanding of social problems -​ EX: Sociological study on juvenile delinquents doesn't judge them for behaviors/value systems/etc; rather attempts to understand why they have those values/behaviors VALUE JUDGEMENTS CONTD -​ Easy/common to make value judgements, but being conscious that they are not facts helps to avoid them -​ 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. 3 FOCI OF SOCIOLOGY: Most sociological research done within 3 primary areas of focus: 1)​ Study of Social Inequality 2)​ Role of Social Institutions in Society 3)​ Study of Social Change SOCIAL INEQUALITY: Gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged -​ Exist in terms of rights/opportunities/privileges. (Inequality based on differential experiences) SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS: 5 in Canadian society(Family, Education, Religion, Economy, Government) -​ Defined as the norms/values/rules of conduct structuring human interaction -​ REMEMBER; Institutions not just physical spaces, but human networks too SOCIAL CHANGE (Ex: Secularization; religion losing its authority over individuals/social life) THE BIRTH OF A NEW DISCIPLINE -​ MODERN DEMOCRACY -​ INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION -​ SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION (All events have contributed to the formation of the sociological discipline) SOCIOLOGY AND DEMOCRACY Modern Democracy is foundational to sociological thought -​ Recognition that were the architects of our own society, that it can be known/changed -​ Authority of the organization of society does not lie outside social body; but within it ​ Citizens are responsible for the institution of their society -​ In a democratic society, citizens recognize the origin of society lies inside society itself ​ Society not created by God/magic, but the sum of collective actions -​ Change from theocracy to modern democracy made issues become apparent to public SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION Also known as Enlightenment, refers to the period of history that featured changes in thought Reason and Empiricism: Use of scientific methods to know the world. Empirical evidence This period in history advances social values such as Freedom, Equality, and Tolerance -​ As opposed to the absolute power of the Monarchy/religious authorities INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND URBANIZATION ​ Industrialization brought about a period of unheralded and rapid urbanization -​ “Sociological concern with urbanization began with sociology itself, for it was the rapidly growing 19th-century industrial cities that first supported those social relationships and structures which inspired the new discipline.” Sociology lowkey a result of 19th Century urbanization (EX: The first sociological studies concerned the problem of poverty within a new industrial working class). ​ Urban life changed the dynamics of social relations -​ Before 19th century most of the world's population lives in rural areas, with social life governed by tradition THREE CORE AIMS OF SOCIOLOGY 1)​ Define general themes in everyday life (study social life/culture) (“seeing the general in the particular”)(Peter Berger) -​ Sociologists strive to find patterns in people's behaviors -​ When patterns are found, research to determine why those patterns exist -​ Illuminates how patterns are established and how they become common sense 2)​ Question that which is familiar/common sense in human societies (Life is not self evident) -​ Body Rituals among the Nacirema (Horace Miner) 3)​ Examine how individuals are shaped by society, and how they shape their society -​ Creation of institutions (created by individuals, but also in turn influence them) EMILE DURKHEIM: -​ Holistic -​ Social integration -​ Functionalist: social institutions act as organs of the ‘body’ of society Noted how different sociology was from philosophy due to reliance on empirical research Focus on social facts (external social structures/norms/values that shape actions of people) DURKHEIM AND SUICIDE: Believed conditions of society influence individuals decisions -​ Found that suicide wasnt entirely a matter of individual decision -​ Suicide rates differed by country/gender/religion; confirmed to him the differences in suicide rates were a result of social facts (elements of society beyond person control) 4 MAIN TYPES OF SUICIDE (depending on degree of societal integration/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 levels of regulation 4)​ FATALISTIC SUICIDE: occurs in socities with excessively high levels of regulation EGOISTIC SUICIDE: Importance of integration; higher suicide rates in Protestant Vs. Catholic ALTRUISTIC SUICIDE: Suicide for social ends (political/religious cults)(EX: high integration in army) ANOMIC SUICIDE: Normlessness= breakdown of social bonds; “Man is a wolf to man” FATALISTIC SUICIDE: Excessive regulation/control; (EX: suicide of slaves) RESEARCH METHODS (How Sociologists Study Society) Form research questions to guide their decisions; focus on the relationship between variables -​ Independent Variable: Variable that potentially affects other variables -​ Dependent Variable: Variables that are affected by the independent variable TWO MAJOR RESEARCH TYPES: 1)​ QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH: Research on things that can be counted -​ Uses 2 main methods: Surveys and Experiments 2)​ QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: Research on social processes, focus on smaller number -​ Uses 2 main methods: Interviews and Participant Observation(Ethnography) (These 4 main research methods used to answer different types of research questions) ADDITIONAL RESEARCH METHODS -​ Content Analysis: Used to study documents like newspapers/historical letters/texts -​ Focus Groups: Like interviews but involve a larger number of people HAROLD GARFUNKLE; Breaching Experiments -​ Argued we could better understand social norms by breaking social rules in daily life -​ Individuals follow a set of expectations regarding how they should act; breaking these rules might reveal the unrecognized ways individuals participate in maintaining social order in interactions