SOCI 1001H Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Social Inequality, Auguste Comte
14 Jun 2018
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From Textbook pages 1-14:
Sociology: the systematic study of human society
Sociological Perspective:
• Seeing the general in the particular
• Looking for general patterns in the behaviour of particular people
• Many choices we make are strongly influenced by society and social expectations
• Studies show people of different social class look for different traits in a potential
spouse
• In different societies, women tend to have more or less children
• Different groups of society are more or less likely to commit suicide
• Those with more social ties were less likely to commit suicide
• Freedom weakens social ties so more free people are more likely to
commit suicide
• Living on the margins of society and living through a social crisis help people to
see how society shapes individuals
• For example, people who are Black in the US live on a social margin, and
notice things white people in the US might not notice
• During the Great Depression, people realized the reason they could not
find a job was because of the social crisis, not just because of themselves
Global Perspective: the study of the larger world and our society’s place in it
• The 195 countries are divided into three categories based on their economic
development
• High-income countries are the nations with the highest overall standards of living
• Include 74 countries, generating most of the world’s goods and service
• Middle-income countries are nations with a standard of living about average for
the world as a whole
• Include 72 countries, many show considerable social inequality
• Low-income countries are nations with a low standard of living in which most
people are poor
• Include 49 countries, a few people tend to be very rich but most live in
poverty
• Where we live shapes the lives we lead
• Societies throughout the world are increasingly interconnected
• What happens in the rest of the world affects life here in Canada
• Many social problems faced in Canada are more severe in other places
• Thinking globally helps us learn more about ourselves
Using sociology pays off in four ways:
• The sociological perspective helps people to asses the truth of common sense
• Helps us to ask if things commonly believed to be true really are true
• Sociological perspective helps people see opportunities and constraints in our lives
• Sociological perspective empowers us to be active participants in our society
• The better we understand how society works, the more effective citizens we
become
• Sociological perspective helps us live in a diverse world
Jobs in sociology:
• Teaching
• Research
• Clinical sociologist
• Useful in almost any field
Origins of Sociology:
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