SOC 107 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Social Forces, The Sociological Imagination

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 107
• Professor: Melanie Knight

Document Summary

Sociology is the scientific study of the connection between the individual and social structure. Sociology examines the underlying patterns in human behavior and our relationships with one another. C. wright mills (!959) coined the term the sociological imagination. Society is both our object and our subject of study. Social structure made up of institutions that organize/manage/discipline our interactions. Culture is the content that fills up the structure: beliefs, norms, values, actions. Social construction: an idea or practice that a group of people agree exists, maintained over time by people taking its existence for granted, what people think and do are products of culture and history. Socialization: the social processes through which children develop an awareness of social norms and values and achieve a distinct sense of self, an explanation for social order, norms reflect divisions of power and class. Agency and structure: concepts that suggest to what extent an individuals life is determined by social forces.