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Sociology: Understanding Social Life and Society

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  1. Chapter One The Sociological Imagination: Insights, Themes and Skills

  2. Objectives • To introduce some of the key features of sociology. • To introduce the three core themes that will be used throughout the book. • To discuss briefly the roles that theorising and research play in developing sociological knowledge.

  3. What is sociology? • Definition: • “Sociology is the study of human social life, groups and societies. It is a dazzling and compelling enterprise, having as its subject matter our own behaviour as social beings. The scope of sociology is extremely wide...” (Giddens, 1997: 2) • Three key themes: • The social and the personal • The local and the global • Differences and divisions

  4. The social and the personal • Mills’s contrast between personal troubles and public issues • Link between personal life and public setting • Key points: • The strong and varied influence of social situations and meanings on our sense of personal belonging • The culturally variable ways in which ‘self and society’ are imagined in different groups or societies

  5. The local and the global • Sociologists are interested in connections between local and global worlds • Globalisation: • Highlights the way the social world is changing over time • We live in an increasingly interconnected world • For example, rationalisation and McDonaldisation

  6. Differences and divisions • Sociologists are interested in: • Social groups, their place in the social structure, their interrelationships and their particular experiences and self-images • How social differences frequently become social divisions • Gender, class, ethnicity, age, ability, sexuality etc.

  7. Sociological inquiry • Sociologists use a variety of research methods to explore the social world • Documentary analysis • Ethnography • Participant observation • Surveys • In-depth interviews

  8. Sociological inquiry • Sociologists use theories to attempt to explain why things happen as they do • All research is done within a framework of theoretical interpretation • Theorising is about abstraction • It involves developing concepts and arguments which answer ‘why’ questions

  9. Summary • Sociology is the study of human social life, groups and societies • Three key themes: • The social and the personal • The local and the global • Differences and divisions • Sociology involves a combination of research and theorising

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