Chapter 1 – The Sociological Perspective
Sociology as a Point of View
What is Sociology? It is the scientific study of human society & social interactions.
Main focus: Group
Seeks
➢ To understand forces that operate throughout society
➢ Forces that mold individuals
➢ Forces that shape societal behavior
➢ Forces that determine social events
To be a sociologist, you would have to:
• Change how you see the world
• Broaden your perspective on the world
• Make sense out of what’s going on around you.
Example:
➢ Without a full sociological understanding of domestic violence many believe that the victims should
simply just walk away.
➢ Is it easy for domestic violence victims to leave? Why / why not?
The Sociological Imagination
C. Wright Milles (1959) used the term “sociological imagination” to refer to:
➢ The relationship between individual experiences
➢ Forces in the larger society that shape our actions
,How to apply sociology to the real world
Can you think of an issue that may have / had some affect on you / society as a whole? Examples:
• Divorce
• Tax increase
• Increased university / school tuition
• Suicide / death of a loved one
• Salary & bonus
Sociological Imagination
Is the process of looking at all types of human behavior patterns & finding previously unseen connections
among them.
➢ Why do most children who witness abuse in the home become abusers?
➢ Why is it likely that a woman who leaves her abuser will return?
The Focus of Sociological Imagination:
Every aspect of society
Every relationship among individuals
→ Crowds at sports events/concerts
→ Shifts in styles of dress & popular music
→ Changing patterns in courtship & marriage
→ The emergence & fading of different lifestyles & trends
→ Political movements
→ Religious sects
→ The distribution of income & access to resources & opportunities
,Sociology & Science
Sociology
➢ Commonly described as one of the “social sciences”
➢ Refers to a body of systematically arranged knowledge that shows operation of general laws
➢ Employs the same scientific methods of investigation that are used in the natural science.
Scientific Method = A process by which a body of scientific knowledge is built through observation,
experimentation, generalization & verification.
Social Science = Consist of all those disciplines that apply scientific methods to the study of human
behavior.
Development of Sociology
➢ Emerged as a separate field of study in Europe During the 19th century
→ Period social order was shaken by the Industrial Revolution (1760 ~) & the American (1765~) &
French Revolution (1789).
Key Sociologists
1. Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
• French
• Coined the term “Sociology”
• Set out to develop a science of man that would reveal the underlying principles of society much as the
sciences of physics & chemistry explained nature & produced industrial progress.
• Sociology would be a cohesive discipline that “brought all the sciences together”
, 2. Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)
• Deaf, so instead of teaching she turned to writing
• Published Theory & Practice of Society is America in 1837.
• Traveled throughout the United States observing day to day life.
• Was outspoken about treatment of women in the United States
• Translated Auguste Comte’s six volume Positive Philosophy to English.
3. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
• Believed that society was similar to a living organism Proponent of a doctrine know as social Darwinism
• Applied to society Charles Darwin’s notion “survival of the fittest,” in which those species of animals
adapted to the environment survived & prospered while the poorly adapted died out.
3 scholars responsible for shaping sociology into relatively coherent discipline: (Karl Marx, Emile
Durkheim & Max Weber)
4. Karl Marx (1818-1883)
• Looked for ways to improve human condition History of societies could be seen in class conflict
→ Bourgeoisie: owners & controllers of the means of production (capitalists)
→ Proletariat: makes up the mass of workers
• Developed the Conflict Theory
5. Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
• Wrote the first “textbook” on modern Sociology
• Believed individuals were exclusively the products of their social environment & that society shapes
people in every possible way
• Focused on forces that hold society together-functions of varies parts. Functionalist
• Studied suicide
→ People committed suicide because they were members of different social groups that were
influenced by a variety of social factors
Sociology as a Point of View
What is Sociology? It is the scientific study of human society & social interactions.
Main focus: Group
Seeks
➢ To understand forces that operate throughout society
➢ Forces that mold individuals
➢ Forces that shape societal behavior
➢ Forces that determine social events
To be a sociologist, you would have to:
• Change how you see the world
• Broaden your perspective on the world
• Make sense out of what’s going on around you.
Example:
➢ Without a full sociological understanding of domestic violence many believe that the victims should
simply just walk away.
➢ Is it easy for domestic violence victims to leave? Why / why not?
The Sociological Imagination
C. Wright Milles (1959) used the term “sociological imagination” to refer to:
➢ The relationship between individual experiences
➢ Forces in the larger society that shape our actions
,How to apply sociology to the real world
Can you think of an issue that may have / had some affect on you / society as a whole? Examples:
• Divorce
• Tax increase
• Increased university / school tuition
• Suicide / death of a loved one
• Salary & bonus
Sociological Imagination
Is the process of looking at all types of human behavior patterns & finding previously unseen connections
among them.
➢ Why do most children who witness abuse in the home become abusers?
➢ Why is it likely that a woman who leaves her abuser will return?
The Focus of Sociological Imagination:
Every aspect of society
Every relationship among individuals
→ Crowds at sports events/concerts
→ Shifts in styles of dress & popular music
→ Changing patterns in courtship & marriage
→ The emergence & fading of different lifestyles & trends
→ Political movements
→ Religious sects
→ The distribution of income & access to resources & opportunities
,Sociology & Science
Sociology
➢ Commonly described as one of the “social sciences”
➢ Refers to a body of systematically arranged knowledge that shows operation of general laws
➢ Employs the same scientific methods of investigation that are used in the natural science.
Scientific Method = A process by which a body of scientific knowledge is built through observation,
experimentation, generalization & verification.
Social Science = Consist of all those disciplines that apply scientific methods to the study of human
behavior.
Development of Sociology
➢ Emerged as a separate field of study in Europe During the 19th century
→ Period social order was shaken by the Industrial Revolution (1760 ~) & the American (1765~) &
French Revolution (1789).
Key Sociologists
1. Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
• French
• Coined the term “Sociology”
• Set out to develop a science of man that would reveal the underlying principles of society much as the
sciences of physics & chemistry explained nature & produced industrial progress.
• Sociology would be a cohesive discipline that “brought all the sciences together”
, 2. Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)
• Deaf, so instead of teaching she turned to writing
• Published Theory & Practice of Society is America in 1837.
• Traveled throughout the United States observing day to day life.
• Was outspoken about treatment of women in the United States
• Translated Auguste Comte’s six volume Positive Philosophy to English.
3. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
• Believed that society was similar to a living organism Proponent of a doctrine know as social Darwinism
• Applied to society Charles Darwin’s notion “survival of the fittest,” in which those species of animals
adapted to the environment survived & prospered while the poorly adapted died out.
3 scholars responsible for shaping sociology into relatively coherent discipline: (Karl Marx, Emile
Durkheim & Max Weber)
4. Karl Marx (1818-1883)
• Looked for ways to improve human condition History of societies could be seen in class conflict
→ Bourgeoisie: owners & controllers of the means of production (capitalists)
→ Proletariat: makes up the mass of workers
• Developed the Conflict Theory
5. Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
• Wrote the first “textbook” on modern Sociology
• Believed individuals were exclusively the products of their social environment & that society shapes
people in every possible way
• Focused on forces that hold society together-functions of varies parts. Functionalist
• Studied suicide
→ People committed suicide because they were members of different social groups that were
influenced by a variety of social factors
