Welcome to the Wonderful World of Sociology!

1. Welcome to the Wonderful World of Sociology! • Roll call. • Quiz on Syllabus. • Review of classroom contract.

2. Welcome to Sociology!!! • Let’s Review the Classroom Contract • Think about this: A man has to take a wolf, a cat, and a mouse across a stream. He can only carry one at a time. If he takes the mouse, the wolf is left alone with the cat, and will eat it. If he takes the wolf, the cat will eat the mouse. How does he get them over the river?

3. Sociology – Welcome Back! • Collection of Signed Forms • Please keep the card I handed you face down on your desk. • We will get to it soon enough!

4. On the card I gave you there is a list of traits. Write a paragraph about how your life would be different if you actually fit the description. This would include people you would hang around with, schools you would go to, experiences you would have, attitudes you would develop, etc. • Get outside of your PTHS experience.

5. What is Sociology anyways?

6. Isn’t it just common sense?? • “After September 11, 2001, Americans became more patriotic” • Some Americans are more or less likely than others to proclaim extreme pride in their country….but why?? THAT’S SOCIOLOGY!

7. Lets start at the beginning…. • Social Science: The study of the social features of humans and the ways in which they interact and change • Divisions of Social Science: • Anthropology • Psychology • Economics • Political Science • History • Sociology

8. How did Sociology emerge? • People have been trying to figure out how social life works since ancient times • Sociology as a science emerged in the 1800s • Rapid social and political changes b/c of Industrial Revolution • Rapid growth of urban populations = social problems • Focus on liberty and individual rights in political movements • Attempts to prove beliefs through observations and experimentation

9. That’s so boring… I’d rather draw! Wouldn’t you?

10. So again, What is Sociology? • Definition: The scientific study of social behavior and human groups • Focuses on social relationships • How those relationships influence people’s behavior • How societies develop and change

11. The Sociological Perspective • A view of the world that helps you gain a new perception of social life • Helps you see that all people are social beings • Tells you behavior is influenced by social factors • Helps your broaden your understanding of society • Helps you find and accept balance

12. Social Imagination • An awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society, both today and in the past • Key element: Gives us the ability to view one’s own society as a outsider would, rather than only from the perspective of personal experiences and cultural biases

13. 2 major questions we ask • two basic questions that sociologists ask about human behavior:(1) the descriptive question (i.e., What do people do?) (2) the explanatory question (i.e., Why do people do what they do?)

14. Let’s try something • List 6 reasons why someone might seriously consider suicide

15. For your 6 reasons… • Tell me the feelings that go along with each reason • In other words: what feelings would such a person experience that would lead him or her to consider suicide

16. Look at your list of feelings • How are they alike? • What “theory” can we create to explain why people commit suicide?

17. “The Unhappiness Theory” • “People commit suicide because they are seriously, chronically, and profoundly unhappy” • example of an individualistic (or non-sociological) explanation

18. Why is the rate of suicide higher in Oregon than it is in New York?

20. What factors did you list? • How are they similar?

21. The difference between the “thinkings” • sociological thinking considers external factors • non-sociological (or individualistic) consider internal factors