Chapter 1: Understanding Sociology
Sociology: the scientific study of social behavior and human groups. Sociology focuses on: Social relationships How those relationships influence human behavior. . How societies develop and change.
Sociological imagination (C. Wright Mills): an empowering tool allows us to look beyond a limited understanding of human behavior to see the world and its people in a new way and through a broader lens than we might otherwise use. Defined as an awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society, both today and in the past. A key element is viewing society from an outsider's perspective, rather than only from the perspective of personal experiences and cultural biases. We go beyond personal experiences to understand broader public issues. Divorce. for example, is unquestionably a personal hardship for a husband and wife who split apart.
Sociological perspectives: . Functionalist perspective: emphasizes how the parts of society are structured to maintain social stability. (Hindu prohibition against slaughtering cows) Talcott Parsons (1902 to 1979): Key sociologist in the functionalist perspective. Viewed society as a network of connected parts Each part helps maintain the social system. Niklas Luhmann (1927-1998) holds that if an aspect of social life does not contribute to a society's stability or survival--if it does not serve some identifiably useful function or promote value consensus among members of society--it will not be passed on from one generation to the next.
Manifest functions: the open, stated, and conscious functions of institutions. For instance, the university's role in certifying academic competence and excellence.
o Latent functions: the unintended consequences of an institution. It may reflect hidden purposes. For example, one latent function of universities is to
Dysfunctions: elements or processes of society that can disrupt the social system or reduce stability. For instance, sex work is banned in some countries due to its negative impact on the stability. However, we should evaluate this issue carefully, in some countries, sex work contribute to the economic development.
Conflict perspective: assumes social behavior is best understood in terms of tension between groups over power or the allocation of resources. Forms of tension can include Labor negotiations.
Party politics. Competition for religious group membership Budget disputes. Conflict theorists: Focus on how social institutions maintain privilege and subservience of different groups. - Emphasize social change. Emphasize the redistribution of resources. Are more radical than functionalists.
Feminist perspective: inequity in gender is central to all behavior and organization. The focus tends to be on macro level. Women's subordination is inherent in capitalist societies. Intersectionalities: the interlocking matrix of domination. . Multiple social factors--such as race, gender, age, sexual orientation, and religion--help determine privilege and lack of privilege. Queer theory: the study of society from the perspective of a broad spectrum of sexual identities, including: heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality. Foucault (1978) wrote that what is acceptable human sexuality varies between cultures and periods of time. Sedgwick (1990) argued that analyzing society is incomplete without including sexual identities.
Third place: a social setting in ad