Sociology

1. Sociology Foundations of Sociology

2. Essential Question: • How does the study of Sociology as a science help our understanding of our world?

3. Essential Terms: • Society • Social interaction • Social phenomena • Sociological imagination • Sociological Perspective • Functionalist -Durkheim, • Manifest Function • Latent Function • Dysfunction • Conflict -Marx, Weber • Symbolic Interactionist-Blumer, Goffman

4. What is sociology ?-Studies human society and social behavior in a scientific manner. • Looks at two main aspects of society. • -Social interaction-how people relate to one another and influence each others behavior. • Ex. How do we communicate with one another. • EX. Peer pressure • - Social phenomena- observable facts or events in human society. • Ex. New language that has developed around texting… LOL, OMG, CIC

5. Definition of Society: • Is a large social group of people that share the same geographical territory and is subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. • If these 3 factors are present then you belong to the same society. • Difficult to attain for various reasons. • Why do you think it is hard to attain a society based on the definition given?

6. Sociological imagination: • is achieved by developing our Sociological Perspective, that is looking at society through the group rather than the individual • the ability to see the relationship between events in our personal lives and events in society

7. Why study sociology? Good question.. • Understand how behavior is influenced by social factors. Ex. Race, gender, age etc.. • Learn how to view the world through the eyes of others. Different perspectives… Put yourself in another's shoes. • Look beyond common beliefs and search for hidden meanings. “look for what is not being said” • Attempt to balance our personal desires with their social environment • Find your place in society and history

8. Sociology is 1 of 6 Social Sciences • Anthropology- looks at the past through archeology, linguistics and traditional societies • Psychology- focuses on individual behavior and human mental processes • Political Science: Organization, philosophy and operation of government • Economics- the use of available resources • History- The study of how past events impact current behavior

9. What do sociologist do? • Sociologists generate theories about social issues such as the role of class, gender roles, crime, age, racism, and culture through three theoretical perspectives:  Functionalist, Conflict and Symbolic Interactionist. 

10. What sociologist avoid is over generalizations or stereotypes • Poor people are far more likely than rich people to break the lawand use drugs. • The Untied States is a middle class society in which most people are roughly equal. • Differences in the behavior of females and males reflect “human nature.”

11. Sociological perspectives- developed during the French and Industrial Revolutions • Functionalist -Durkheim • Durkheim-saw society as a series of interrelated parts each having an influence on the other. • Examined what each part and its function in our society and the role it plays. For example Family, Religion, government, values… • Societies go through change that follows a pattern • Unrest -Social change- Integration- stability • Cycle happens in every aspect or area of society; Family, Religion etc..

12. Societies go through change that follows a pattern Social Change Unrest leads to Civil Rights Act of 1964, 1965 and 1968 Social Unrest Ex. African Americans demand their civil rights and actively through protests and political spheres Stability Society becomes stable and a new issue arises and the process begins again Integration Majority of people over time have accepted the social change

13. Create your own example using a social issue

14. Reason why things change according to Functionalism: • Example • Manifest Function: Mom and Dad what you to participate in an curricular activity • Latent: Parents wanted you to make friends or just get out of the house because they wanted time to themselves to watch The Walking Dead • Dysfunction: Your new extracurricular activity has consumed your life. Parents got to drive you around, grades have suffered and its getting expensive. Manifest functions “stated reason” (intended & recognized) Latent functions “ hidden reason” (unintended & unrecognized) Dysfunctions (negative consequences of an aspect of society

15. Conflict Theory • Marx is mostly known for his work in economics but his this theory of class struggle also had huge implications on sociology. • That there was or is a continuous struggle between two main classes the bourgeoisie “owners” and proletariat “workers”. • The imbalance of power both economic and political between the two would lead to competition for both. • Emphasis group identification and associations. Led to sociologist and consider how memberships in different groups had a behavioral impact on society.

16. Social Conflict Theory Competition for power because of an imbalance Weber believed that there was a competition for property, prestige, and power within society and we want to protect them for ourselves and our groups. • Change happens when power shifts. • Conflict Cycle within and between social classes • Conflict-Power shift-Conflict-Power shift • EX. Government • Democrats-Republicans-Democrats-Republicans • EX. NFL, NBA

17. Symbolic Interactionist or Interactionism • Humans act towards people or things based on how we assign meaning to those people or things. We think “subjectively”, that is based on emotion and opinion rather than fact. • We assign meaning to objects, and most importantly people based on our social interaction and communication we have with others. • We assign a Symbol or label to physical objects and to people and thus adjust or behavior accordingly to that object or person based on its meaning to US.

18. Symbolic Interaction • We all assign Symbols/labels to people “it just happens” • These labels have meanings so we form an idea of how we should interact with that person based on our previous interaction or a perceived way we should act. • Grandfather • Friends in your social group • What things may change: Eye contact, language “formal, informal”, tone, cadence, posture

19. Group Discussion and Share out • Each person has a minute to share their story • While a person is sharing all others are quiet and listening • One person in the group shares story with the class

20. Have you ever been in a group situation where you didn’t know how to interact. Did you find your perceived symbols of interaction wrong?

21. We are conscious of the perceived symbols people have assigned to us and so we become “self-conscious”. • Not a bad thing because we can evaluate ourselves and improve. • Also meanings are not set in stone and any negative Symbol we have assigned can change. • Sometimes people just perpetuate that assigned symbol.

22. Goal/Learning Objective I can identify examples of the 3 theories of sociology and how they impact the manner in which we communicate and interact within our society.

23. Process • Take 10 minutes to review your notes regarding Functionalism, Conflict theory and symbolic interaction.

24. Applying Theories • As we watch the video, write down 3 examples that would meet the definition of each of the theories we have discussed in class. • Functionalist • Conflict • Symbolic Interaction

25. A Class Divided • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html