Chapter 1: Introduction To Sociology

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Sociological Imagination

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the ability to connect the most basic, intimate aspects of an individual's life to seemingly impersonal and remote historical forces

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Karl Marx

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-Class conflict drives human history and social change

-Division between owners of production & workers

-Capitalism breeds inequality, can only result in revolution

-Conflict theory: society is not cohesive but divided by class difference

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Sociology

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the study of human society

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Macro-sociology

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generally concerned with social dynamics at a higher level of analysis--that is, across the breadth of a society

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Micro-sociology

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sees to understand local interactional contexts; its methods of choice are ethnographic, generally including participant observations and in depth interviews

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Midrange theory

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a theory that attempts to predict how certain social institutions tend to function

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Social construction

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an entity that exists because people behave as if it exists and whose existence is perpetuated as people and social institutions act in accordance with the widely agreed-upon formal files or informal norms of behavior associated with that entity

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Postmodernism

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a condition characterized by a questioning of the notion of progress and history, the replacement of narrative within pastiche, and multiple, perhaps even conflicting, identities resulting from disjointed affiliations

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Symbolic interactionism

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a micro-level theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind people's actions

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Conflict theory

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the idea that conflict between competing interests is the basic, animating force of social change and society in general (Marx)

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Functionalism

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the theory that various social institutions and processes in society exist to serve some important (or necessary) function to keep society running

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Jane Addams

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founded the first American settlement house, Hull House

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Double consciousness

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a concept conceived by WEB Dubois to describe the two behavioral scripts, one for moving through the world and the other incorporating the external opinions of prejudiced onlookers, which are constantly maintained by African Americans

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WEB Dubois

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first sociologist to undertake ethnography in the African American community

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Georg Simmel

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established what we today refer to as formal sociology, sociology of pure numbers (small group interactions)

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Anomie

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a sense of aimlessness or despair that arises when we can no longer reasonably expect life to be predictable; too little social regulation (Durkheim)

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Emile Durkheim

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wished to understand how society holds together and the ways that modern capitalism and industrialization have transformed how people relate to one another

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Verstehen

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understanding. The concept of Verstehen forms the object of inquiry for interpretive sociology--to study how social actors understand their actions and the social world through experience (Weber)

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Max Weber

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advocated sociological analysis that allowed for the multiple influences of culture, economics, and politics

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Harriet Martineau

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English social theorist, first to translate Comte to English

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August Comte

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invented "social physics" or "positivism" (said it arose from a need to make moral sense of the social order in a time of declining religious authority)

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Social institution

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a complex group of interdependent positions that, together, perform a social role and reproduce themselves over time; also defined in a narrow sense as any institution in a society that works to shape the behavior of the groups or people within it

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What is structure?

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cultural and structural influences operate in the decision making processSociety is organizedSociety is patterned & predictable

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What is agency?

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Making individual choices based on free-will

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What two things help determine an individuals behavior/ lot in life?

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Agency & Structure

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How can sociology be a powerful scientific tool?

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With rigorous and systematic research.

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What does the sociological imagination help us understand?

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It helps us understand how the social structure affects our lives and the lives of others

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What is the sociological imagination?

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The ability to imagine a link between the public and personal spheres.

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Why may sociology be considered a soft science?

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There are way too many variables involved. Human behavior is not finite nor predictable.

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What is considered free will?

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The ability to make conscientious decisions, free from outside factors.

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What should a good sociologist be able to do?

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The best sociologist can make the familiar strange.