SOCI201 Study Guide - Spring 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Structural Functionalism, Sociological Perspectives, Socialization
SOCI201
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Chapter 1:
Sociology: scientific study of social behavior and human groups.
Sociology focuses on:
• Social relationships
• How those relationships influence people’s behavior
• How societies develop and change
The Sociological Imagination
C. Wright Mills’s sociological imagination:
• Awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society
• Ability to view one’s own society as an outsider would
• Allows us to go beyond personal experiences and observations.
Sociology and the Social Sciences
Science: body of knowledge obtained by methods based on systematic observation.
Natural science: study of physical features of nature and the ways they interact and change.
Social science: study the social feathers of humans and the ways they interact and change.
• Social science disciplines all focus on the social behavior of people, but each has a particular
orientation.
Sociologists study the influence society has on people’s attitudes and behaviors:
• Seek to understand ways in which people interact and shape society
• Examinee social relationships scientifically
• EX: Global recession that began in 2008 (marital patterns, impacts on education, etc)
• EX: virginia tech; hurricane Katrina
Sociology and Common Sense
• Sociologists do not accept something as fact because “everyone knows it”
• Each piece of information must be tested, recorded, and analyzed
• Ex: notion that women tend to be chatty
What is Sociological Theory?
Theory: a set of statements that seeks to explain problems, actions, or behavior
• Effective theories may have both explanatory and predictive power (ex: Sociologist Emile
Durkheim, who studied suicide, suggested suicides are related to the group life of a society).
• Theories are not final statements about behavior.
The Development of Sociology
• Philosophers and religions authorities of Ancient and medieval societies made many observations
about human behavior
• European theorists beginning in the 19th century made pioneering contributions to the
development of sociology.
Early Thinkers
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• Auguste Comte
• Harriet Martineau
• Herbert Spencer
Emile Durkheim
• Behavior must be understood within a larger social context rather than in individualistic terms
• Developed a fundamental thesis to help explain all forms of society
Anomie: loss of direction felt in society when social control of individual behavior becomes
ineffective.
• Did not limit interests to one aspect of social behavior
Max Weber
• To comprehend behavior, one must learn the subjective meaning people attach to actions
Verstehen: understanding; insight
Karl Marx
• Society was fundamentally divided between two classes the clashed in pursuit of interests
• Believed a system of economic, social, and political relationships maintained the power of owners
over workers
• The Communist Manifesto
• Emphasized group identification and associations the influence ones place in society- a major focus
of contemporary society
W.E.B DuBois
• Among the early black sociologists struggling for racially egalitarian society
• Considered knowledge essential in combating prejudice
• Double consciousness: division of individuals identity into two or more social realities
Robert Merton
• Macro-sociology
• Micro-sociology
Feb. 13
Pierre Bourdieu
• Cultural Capital: non economical goods reflected in knowledge of language and arts
• Social Capital: collective benefit of social networks
Major Theoretical Perspectives
• Three most widely used ways of viewing society:
• Functionalist prospective
• Conflict perspective
• Interactionist perspective
Functionalist Perspective
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SOCI201 Full Course Notes
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Document Summary
Sociology: scientific study of social behavior and human groups. Sociology focuses on: social relationships, how those relationships influence people"s behavior, how societies develop and change. The sociological imagination: wright mills"s sociological imagination, awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society, ability to view one"s own society as an outsider would, allows us to go beyond personal experiences and observations. Science: body of knowledge obtained by methods based on systematic observation. Natural science: study of physical features of nature and the ways they interact and change. Social science: study the social feathers of humans and the ways they interact and change: social science disciplines all focus on the social behavior of people, but each has a particular orientation. Sociology and common sense: sociologists do not accept something as fact because everyone knows it , each piece of information must be tested, recorded, and analyzed, ex: notion that women tend to be chatty.
