Week 3 - Sociological Imagination PDF

Week 3 The Sociological Imagination: Tools for Thinking Like a Sociologist Sociology 1210 Dr. Elisabeth Rondinelli Announcement Quiz Reminder – answers and grades are released Monday mornings. You can do the quiz as many times as you like, but first attempt is...

Week 3 The Sociological Imagination: Tools for Thinking Like a Sociologist Sociology 1210 Dr. Elisabeth Rondinelli Announcement Quiz Reminder – answers and grades are released Monday mornings. You can do the quiz as many times as you like, but first attempt is graded Sign up for groups by Tuesday, September 17 at 5pm. Come to class on Thursday knowing who is in your group as well as your group name. Groups will be posted by Wednesday night! First group work session will happen on Thursday “The human is the cruelest animal.” - Nietzsche Learning Objectives Define sociology and describe where it came from Explain how the game metaphor is useful for thinking sociologically Explain what we mean by the sociological imagination Using examples, demonstrate how the sociological imagination works Contrast the sociological imagination with individualism  What is sociology and where did it come from? Sociology ‘The systematic study of social life and behavior, especially in relation to social systems, how they work, how they change, their complex relation to people’s lives and the consequences that result’ -Johnson, p. 179  Sociology is also a Sociology is *also* a historical cultural and product cultural product Product of the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution Field of study based on scientific model and method Emerges in Europe first and spreads Today it is a popular field of study What is the game metaphor and how does it help us think sociologically? A board game has a system and is organized in a particular way. Society is, too. And there are several components: Positions (banker, players, landlord) Material Structure (dice, cards, pieces, boards) Ideas that govern how we play and engage (rules) We can describe the game without reference to the individuals engaging in it The game determines what we do and how we think The Game Metaphor and the “One Thing” “We are always participating in something larger than ourselves, and if we want to understand social life and what happens to people in it, we have to understand what it is that we are participating in and how we are participating in it.” - Johnson, p.12 The Game of the Social System and the Path of Least Resistance “In a social system, the path of least resistance in a particular situation consists of whatever behavior or appearance is expected of participants depending on their position in that system” -Johnson, p. 178 “at any given moment, we could do an almost infinite number of things, but we typically do not realize this and see only a narrow range of possibilities. What the range looks like depends on the system we are in” (16) The Sociological Approach  We are not the system; the system is not us social system refers to that larger thing that we participate in What, then, are individuals participate in these systems without being the the range of system possibilities and A small social system could be a couple paths of least A complex social system could be ‘Canada’ resistance, in ‘It’s true that you cannot have a social relationship without these contexts? individuals to participate and make it happen, but the individuals and the relationship are not the same thing’ - Johnson, p. 11  You participate in it You are not it (you have agency!) But you are not outside it (p23) What is the sociological imagination and how does it work?  C. Wright Mills (1916-1962) The Sociological Imagination (1959) “The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. This is its task and its promise.” - Major contribution – the self/society link “We have come to know that every individual lives, from one generation to the next, in some society; that he lives out his biography, and that he lives it out within some historical sequence.”  Sociological Imagination the capacity to understand your world by shifting between your own personal ‘troubles’ and public ‘issues’ Personal Troubles: these are matters of one’s personal Public Issues: these are matters biography that have to do with of history, cultural context, and the character of the individual & the organization of a society that one’s immediate relations with create paths of least resistance others what individualists often focus on EXAMPLE 1: Suicide Rates Individualism offers us this: ‘people commit suicide because they feel hopeless’ Sociologists respond: this fails to explain patterns and variations in different social contexts: why is suicide 4x more prevalent in middle-income countries than in the very poorest countries? why are men 3x more likely to take their own lives than women globally? why are trans people 2x more likely to attempt suicide than lesbian, gay, or bisexual people in Canada? why are Indigenous youth 5x more likely to commit suicide than non- Indigenous youth in Canada? (p. 19) Durkheim on Suicide (1897) first sociologist to do international research on suicide rates found that suicide rates were higher among urban dwellers than rural dwellers Protestants than Catholics single men then married men soldiers than civilians Argued that suicide rates increase in periods where social norms are radically changed or unclear or when social bonds are suddenly broken Suicides increase when: 1) there is too much or too little regulation; 2) when there is too much or too little integration in society EXAMPLE 2: Crime Individualism offers this: “people commit crimes because they lack self-discipline, or want the easy way out” Sociologists respond: this fails to explain patterns and variations in different social contexts: why do countries with high levels of income inequality have high rates of crime? how do cultural goals related to economic success contribute to crime? How is the sociological imagination different than individualism? Contrasting Sociological Imagination and Individualism Sociological Imagination Individualism cultural product cultural product way of seeing and method for worldview/ way of thinking understanding sees society as collection of individuals sees society as social system made up of cultural and structural arrangements explains social problems by looking at and patterns of social interactions the individual explains social problems by looking at offers individual solutions to social social systems problems offers systemic solutions to social problems “The human is the cruelest animal.” - Nietzsche Week 3 Key Concepts sociology the game metaphor path of least resistance sociological imagination private trouble public issue