Sociology:thescientificstudyofhumansocialbehavior,content,andmethods.

Termcoined
byAugusteComtein1838.
Sociologyasks
:Politicsanditseffects?Howareoursocialinstitutionsinterconnected?How
areweshapedbytheinequalityofoursociety?
Discipline:
Centralthemeofch.1:
TheSignificanceofPlace.manyendingsarepossiblethatisthe
natureofindividualchoicebutnotallendingsareequallyprobablethatisthenatureofsocial
positionandtheunequaldistributionofresources
GeorgeBaileyslife
illustratesthe
importanceofanindividualandtheirworthincontributingtosociety.Agecohort:groupof
peoplewhosharesimilarexperiencesb/ctheywerebornaroundthesametime.lifestyle
clusters:subgroupsbasedonconsumerpreferences
Thescientificmethodinsociology
Centralthemeofch.2:
TheSocialImagination.
Cardgame
.ThepositionIoccupiedatthe
timeshapedmyperceptionthroughoutthegame.how&whyweactthewaywedo.
Sociologistassociatedwithlifechances
MaxWeber.

CharlottePerkins
sayspublicissues
cannotbecuredusingindividualremediesaloneneedsocialsolutionalso.
TheSociologicalImagination:Biography,Society,History.
KeyconceptsofSI:
FirstFruitofSI
:Individualcanunderstandownexperienceandgauge
onesfatebylocatingoneselfwithinonesperiod.Canknowlifechances.The
Three
Questions
:structureofsociety?whereitstandsinhumanhistory?whatvarietiesofwomen
nowprevailinsociety?
Troubles
:withinthecharacterprivatetroubles.
andissue:
social
problemspublicissues.
ValuesandThreats
Socialresources:whoyouknow(socialnetworkandprestige)
MicroApproach
:bottomup.perspective.makingmeaningofthethingsinpeopleslivesthan
universallawsthatdetermineindividualactions.
MacroApproach
:topdown.standoutside
societyandexplainhowitfunctionedandhowitdeterminedindivaction.
CentralThemeofCh.3:
TheSearchforAnswers.ifwewanttoknowmoreaboutwhy
peoplethinkandactthewaytheydo,weneedtoknowmoreabouthowpeoplethinkandact.
Deductiveapproach
:whenresearchersbegininvestigationswithaparticulartheoryandmove
towardcollectingdatatotestit.
Inductiveapproach
:researchersbeginwithdetailed
descriptionsofsociallifeandseekstodeveloptheoriesexplainwhatwhy.
Quantitative
(deductive).Qualitative(Inductive).
Operationalizatio
n:abstractconceptto
concreteindicator(deductive)..
Generalization:
datatotheory(inductive).
Durkheim
tookthe
deductiveapproachinhisstudyofsuicide(socialintegrationshapesindividualchoices).He
operationalizedsocialintegrationusingreligiousaffiliation.
Dubois
tooktheinductive
approachinhisstudyofphiladelphia(hisstartingpointwashighlightingpotentially
contradictoryaccountsoftheinteractionsbetweenindividualsandgroupsandanalyzing
socialpower.Exampleofdoubleconsciousness/twoness/veil:USsocialpositionand
economicpositions.Theoretical>Empirical=deductive.Empirical>Theoretical=
inductive.
Theoretical
:Studentsprobablyhaveoldcarsbecausetheyreyoung&donthave
alotofmoney.
Empirical:
Systematicallywalkaroundparkinggarageandnoteyear,make,
andmodelofthecars.Observethatthecarsinthestudentspotsaremuchnewerthanthose
inthefacultyslots.Theoretical:Revisedtheory.
CentralthemeofCh.7
:SelfandSociety.Babycryingfornightmare.Importanceof
perceptionofwhatwethinkisrealandhowitshapeshowwethinkandact.
Culture
consists
ofallthatweashumansconstructinestablishingrelationshipsbothtothenaturalworldand
witheachother.
Achievedstatus
:socialpositionsthattheindividualcanadoptorcometo

occupy(ex.student,parent).
Ascribedstatus
:statsesassignedatbirth(ex.male,female).
Threestagesin
BergerandLuckmannsmodelofworldconstruction.
1.Constructingculture:
weconstructtheworld.2.constructingtheself:webecomeproductsiftheworldswecreate.
3.constructingsociety:wesharetheculturewecreatewithothers.
SafirWhorfhypothesis
:
Anindividualsperceptionofrealityisshapedbytheirlanguagewhichinturnshapestheir
thoughtsandactionsaswell.
Threepartsofculture
(Material(humantechnology),
Cognitive(languageideas,beliefs),Normative(rulesofbehavior)).
StagesofCooleyslooking
GlassSelf:
1.weimaginehowweappeartoothersw/oknowinghowtheyperceiveus.2.we
imaginehowtheywilljudgetheirperceptionofus(approve?)3.wejudgeourselfbasedon
howwethinktheywilljudgewhatwethinktheysee.
Status:
positionweoccupyrelativeto
others.
Role:
actionsexpectedofoccupantsofstatuses.
Dramaturgy
:studyinginteractions
asifwewereallonastage.
Goffmansdramaturgicalanalysis
offront(whereperformance
isgiven.ex.diningarea)/backstage(whereperformanceisprepared.ex:kitchen).
Transition:zoneoftransition(puttingonandtakingoffofcharacters).
Culturallyvariable/historicallyvariable/institutionallyvariable/individuallyvariable
Learnedthroughsocialization/enforcedinternallyandexternally
Norms:
MoresFolkways
Deviantbehavior
:informalsanctionsformalsanctionscriminalbehavior
Theoriesofdeviance
c
ontrol theory (Reckless/ Hirschi). B/c we are attached to authorities, we do what they
ask
attachment/commitment/involvement/beliefinsociety
Innercontrols:conscience,values,integrity,morality,etc.
Outercontrols:police,family,friends,andreligiousauthorities.
Differentialassociation theory
( Sutherland
) / cultural transmission (Shaw & Kay). ex:
peopledob/cothersdo
devianceislearnedthroughreferencesgroupsmuchasnormativebehaviorislearned
individualslearnhowtodeviate
individualslearnhowtorationalizeit
StructuredStrain/Anomietheory(Merton).notecriminalspursuingsamegoals
Merton'sdeviancetypology
Labelingtheory(Chambliss)WilliamChambliss(
1973)"SaintsandRoughnecks"
Whohasthepowertolabel?
Behaviorsaredeviantonlywhensocietylabelsthemasdeviant
negative labelslower self image/different response from societymore likely to be
deviantorbelabeleddeviant
primarydeviance,secondarydeviance,deviantcareer
SubculturalTheoriesandDeviantCultureTheories
People adopt or hold the values and concerns of the groups in which they are
embedded.
SouthernSubcultureofViolence(MarvinWolfgang)
LowerClassCultureasaGeneratingMilieuofGangDelinquency(WalterMiller)
TheoryofDelinquentSubcultures(AlbertCohen,Cloward&Ohlin)
UrbanCodeoftheStreets(ElijahAnderson)

 CultureConflictTheory(ThorstenSellin)
Maslowshierarchyofneeds+thedivisionoflabor=socialinstitution
Thedivisionoflabor:subsistence,surplus,specialization.Socialinstitution:religion,education,
media,politics
StraussandHowe
repeatinggenerationaltypes:Idealist,Reactive,Civic,Adaptive.
Strauss and Howe
key traits of Millennials: special, sheltered, confident, teamoriented,
achieving,pressured,conventional
Wilson and Gerber Pedagogical Adaptations
: Enhanced clarity of both course structure and
assignments, student participation in course design, planned measures to reduce stress,
rigorousattentiontotheethicsoflearning.

Richard Sweeney has argued that Millennials expect a much greater array of product and
service selectivity. They have grown up with a huge array of choices and they believe that
suchabundanceistheirbirthright