Sociologists PDF

Sociologists Sociology coined by Auguste Comte (1798–1857). ​ Aims to unify sciences and improve society. → believed in positivism ​ Inspired by rapid societal changes (industrialization, democracy, urbanization). ​ Focuses on understanding society's functions and effects on people....

Sociologists Sociology coined by Auguste Comte (1798–1857). ​ Aims to unify sciences and improve society. → believed in positivism ​ Inspired by rapid societal changes (industrialization, democracy, urbanization). ​ Focuses on understanding society's functions and effects on people. C. Wright Mills and the Sociological Imagination ​ Mills emphasized connecting individual lives with larger societal contexts. ​ Key Concepts: ○​ Personal Troubles: Individual issues (e.g., job loss). ○​ Public Issues: Broader social problems (e.g., unemployment rates). ​ Understanding requires linking personal biography with historical and societal forces. ​ Translated Max Weber’s works, foundational to sociology. Peter Berger called seeing the general in the particular.( finding patterns in behavior) 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 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 Role Exit Process (Ebaugh, 1988) Transitioning from one role to another. Common in modern society (e.g., career changes, divorce, relocation). Stages: Disillusionment (disappointed) with current identity.  Searching for alternative roles. Turning point triggering the role exit. Creating an "ex" identity (e.g., becoming an ex-partner). Structural Functionists: Émile Durkheim ​ Durkheim's role: Advocated for sociology as an empirical field distinct from philosophy and psychology. ​ Core principle: Sociology studies "social facts"—external social structures, norms, and values influencing individuals. Study of Suicide ​ Purpose: Illustrate the impact of social facts on personal decisions like suicide. ​ Key Question: Why do suicide rates differ by gender, religion, and location if it’s purely psychological? ​ Approach: ○​ Compared suicide rates across groups (e.g., Protestants vs. Catholics). ○​ Found suicide rates influenced by societal integration and regulation. Types of Suicide 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. Durkheim’s View on Society ​ Society: ○​ Regulates collective activity. ○​ Enables individuals to coexist and understand social rules. ​ Human Nature: Interaction and dependence on others are essential for humanity. ​ Socialization: The process of becoming a member of society, shaping behavior and guiding actions, occurs throughout life. Herbert Spencer: society’s purpose is to survive and reproduce itself, each part working together to do so, just like the human body ​ Strain Theory (Merton):​ ○​ People commit crimes when societal goals (e.g., wealth) do not match opportunities to achieve them. ○​ If goals are important, people may resort to deviance to achieve them. ○​ Not everyone accepts cultural goals. ​ Conformity: Accepting both the goals and the means (most common). Example: Working hard in a regular job. ​ Innovation: Accepting the goals but rejecting the means. Example: Committing crimes to get rich. ​ Ritualism: Rejecting the goals but clinging to the means. Example: A bureaucrat who follows rules meticulously but has given up on career advancement. ​ Retreatism: Rejecting both the goals and the means. Example: Drug addicts or homeless individuals. ​ Rebellion: Rejecting both the goals and the means and trying to replace them with new ones. Example: Revolutionaries or activists. Margaret Thatcher's View on Society  ​ Quote: "There is no such thing as society … there are individual men and women, and there are families." ​ Key Idea: Emphasis on individuals and their families as the only meaningful social units, denying the significance of broader societal structures. ​ Émile Durkheim: Society "soars above" individuals, exerting constraints and enabling understanding of social norms. Durkheim vs. Rousseau on Human Nature ​ Jean-Jacques Rousseau: ○​ Imagined humans before society as "happy savages," living without interaction or language. ○​ Argued the "primitive state" was ideal: free from upheavals and corruption of civilization. ○​ Progress of civilization led to individual perfection but societal decay. ​ Durkheim’s Critique: ○​ Disagreed with Rousseau's romanticization of the pre-society stage. ○​ Claimed humans cannot exist without society; society is integral to humanity. ○​ Society fosters connection and defines what it means to be human. Melvin Kohn’s Study on Parental Socialization and Social Class ​ Kohn (1959) examined how parental social class influences the values parents instill in children. ​ Found that while parents agree on a general set of values, social class shapes which values are prioritized. ​ Study of 400 families: half working-class, half middle-class. Findings: ​ Middle-class mothers emphasized internal feelings and self-direction (e.g., empathy, happiness, self-control, curiosity). ​ Working-class mothers valued conformity (e.g., neatness, obedience). ○​ Different expectations for boys and girls: ​ Boys: School performance, ambition. ​ Girls: Neatness, good manners. Implications (Conflict Theory Perspective): ​ Different values reinforce class inequalities by preparing children for different types of jobs. ​ Middle-class children develop traits suited for professional careers (curiosity, ambition).  ​ Working-class children are encouraged to conform, preparing them for jobs requiring obedience. ​ Gender expectations perpetuate gender inequality, affecting career outcomes. Symbolic Interactionists: Herbert Blumer’s Three Premises (1969): 1.​ Humans act toward things based on the meanings they assign. 2.​ Meaning arises from social interaction. 3.​ Meanings are interpreted and modified through interactions. George Herbert Mead’s Role-Taking Theory: 1.​ Preparatory Stage: Children imitate significant others (parents, siblings). 2.​ Role-Taking Stage: Pretend play (e.g., playing house, mimicking adult roles). 3.​ Game Stage: Learn complex roles and rules (e.g., baseball, teamwork). 4.​ Generalized Other: Develop awareness of societal expectations. ​ Agents of Socialization: ○​ Family, peers, education, media, religion. ○​ Teach individuals how to function in society. Charles Horton Cooley’s Looking-Glass Self (1902): ​ Self-concept shaped by how we believe others perceive us. ​ Three Steps: 1.​ Imagine how others see us. 2.​ Interpret their judgments. 3.​ Develop self-image based on perceptions. ​ Can lead to misinterpretations (e.g., eating disorders due to false body image perception). ​ Highlights interaction in shaping identity. Erving Goffman: developed the dramaturgical perspective, viewing social life as a stage where individuals are actors. -​ Performative: according to Goffman, we perform ritualized roles to manage social interactions (positively) by presenting a version of self adapted to the situation (think about the rules or norms that govern face-to-face interactions). -​ Situational: the ways in which we perform social roles depend on situations. Interactions define situations. -​ Social Construction of Knowledge (Berger & Luckmann) Reality is Socially Constructed (Symbolic Interactionist Perspective) ​ Peter Berger & Thomas Luckmann (1966) argue that knowledge is not discovered but created through social interactions. ​ What we consider "real" is shaped by society’s norms, interactions, and institutions rather than objective truths. ​ Key Quote: ○​ “The sociology of knowledge must concern itself with what passes for ‘knowledge’ in a society, regardless of the ultimate validity or invalidity (…) of such ‘knowledge’.” Berger & Luckmann (1966) - Social Construction: ​ Two-Step Process: ○​ Categorization: People categorize experiences, then act based on these categories. ○​ Internalization/Objectivation: People forget the social origins of these categories, treating them as natural/unchanging ○​ Learning Theory (Sutherland):​ ​ Crime is learned through interaction with criminals. ​ If someone grows up around crime, they are more likely to engage in it. ○​ Control Theory (Hirschi):​ ​ Weak social bonds lead to crime. ​ People commit crime when they lack close relationships, institutional ties, or belief in traditional values. ○​ Labelling Theory (Becker):​ ​ Being labeled as deviant can reinforce criminal behavior. ​ 1.Acts of primary deviance refers to early, random acts of deviance that are common. ​ 2.Acts of secondary deviance are more serious (and frequent) and may cause an individual to organize their life and identity around being deviant (possibly leading to more deviance). ​ The Canadian Youth Criminal Justice Act prevents labeling young offenders to avoid secondary deviance. ○​ Notable Early Female Sociologists:  ​ Harriet Martineau (1802–1876) ○​ Translated Comte’s work into English. ○​ Wrote on slavery and gender inequality. ○​ Compared women’s status to slaves in "The Political Non-existence of Women". ​ Jane Addams (1860–1935) ○​ Founded Hull House (Chicago shelter for the poor). ○​ Campaigned for social reform. ○​ Seen as a threat by authorities (J. Edgar Hoover called her “the most dangerous woman in America"). ○​ Nobel Peace Prize Winner (1931). Karl Marx (conflict theorist) -​ Founder of social classes -​ Looked at the social inequalities in labor (believed labor was a social issue, /changing) -​ Emphasized praxis: theory + action for social change. -​ Rejected determinism (the idea that society follows predetermined laws). -​ Rejected positivism: the positivist viewpoint that scientific methods can be used to describe so-called laws that determine social reality. -​ Believed human development depends on meeting primary needs first