Ddd

1. In your notebooks:
1.) Write down the following names:
1. Auguste Comte
2. Harriet Martineau
3. Herbert Spencer
4. Emile Durkeim
5. Max Weber
6. Karl Marx
Write the perspective of each Sociologist on the
topic of AIDS; your answer should reflect the
feelings/beliefs of that Early Thinker:
what would this person say, do, how would they
interact, what questions would they ask about the
subject, what comments would they have?

2. Understanding Sociology

3. Sociology
 The systematic study of social
behavior and human groups.
 It focuses primarily on the influence
of social relationships on people’s
attitudes and behavior and how
societies establish change.
 Example: Tattooing. Sociologist are
not concerned with what an
individual chooses to do but the
impact of what people do as
members of a group interacting
with one another.

4. Sociological Imagination
 C. Wright Mills was the founder
of this type of thinking.
 He described it as the awareness
of the relationship between the
individual and the wider society.
 Example: Eating in public is an
accepted behavior within the U.S.
so it must be an accepted
behavior. However, the
sociologist must look beyond a
single culture and compare it with
others. For instance, in Japan
people do not eat and walk. They
feel if they engage in another
activity while eating is
disrespectful for the food
preparation.

5. Sociological Imagination
 The sociological
imagination allows us to
look beyond a limited
understanding of things
and view the world and
its people in a new way.
 How would you react to a
new roommate in college
that is completely
different from you?

6. Sociology and Science
 Is sociology a science?
 Science refers to the body
of knowledge obtained by
methods based on
systematic observation.
 So, yes Sociology in a sense
is considered to be a
science
 Natural science is the
study of physical features
of nature and the ways in
which they interact and
change.
 Social science is the
study of various aspects
of human society.

7. Social Sciences
 The social sciences include sociology, anthropology,
economics, history, psychology, and political science.
(philosophy)
 They have a common focus on social behavior yet they
all have a particular approach to their field of study.

8. Anthropology
 Anthropology
focuses on past
cultures and
the origins of
men and
women.

9. Economics
 Economics
focuses on how
people produce
and exchange
goods.

10. Historians
 Historians are
focused on past
events and people
and how they are
significant to us
today.

11. Political Science
 Political science focuses on
international relations,
workings of governments, and
the exercise of power and
authority.

12. Psychology
 Psychology focuses on
personality and
individual behavior.

13. Social Sciences
 Sociology focuses on the influence that society
has on people’s attitudes and behavior and the
ways in which it helps shape society.
 How do you feel that society has shaped the way
you behave and the attitudes you posses?

14. Common sense
 Can we use common sense when studying human behavior
within the field of sociology?
 The answer is no. You can not use common sense because
it is unreliable. The reason that we cannot rely on common
sense is because it rests on commonly held beliefs rather
then systematic analysis of facts. We receive our
“commonly held beliefs” by different factors.
 Can you name some factors that might influence our view
of the world and they ways in which people behave thay
might differ from others?

15. Common Sense Example
 Example: Car battery story.

16. Theories
 Sociologist use theories, a set of statements that seek
to explain problems, actions, or behavior, to
understand society.
 They try to look at the whole society and the factors
that might influence an individual to act in a certain
matter.

17. Early Thinkers
 Auguste Comte
 Harriet Martineau
 Herbert Spencer
 Emile Durkheim
 Max Weber
 Karl Marx

18. Auguste Comte
 Coined the term sociology when
trying to help solve France’s
societal problems. He believed
that he could solve these
problems by studying society’s
behavior.
 Comte believed that the study of
human behavior within a society
could help improve it.
 He hoped that the study of social
behavior would lead to more
rational human interactions.

19. Harriet Martineau
 She examined religion, politics, child
rearing, and immigration within the
US.
 Martineau focused on class
distinction and the factors of race and
gender.
 Her main focus was on social practices
and customs.
 She believed that intellectuals should
not simply make observations of
social conditions; they should act on
their beliefs pertaining to society.

20. Herbert Spencer
 Felt he did not need to correct or improve
society; instead he hoped to understand
society.
 He referred to Darwin’s works of the
Origin of Species to explain why societies
changed or evolved over time.
 Spencer had a status quo approach to
society. He felt that it would eventually
change or evolve on its own so don’t try to
change it yourself.
 Do you believe that society changes or
evolves itself or can you make a difference?

21. Emile Durkheim
 He was known as one of the first
professors of Sociology in France.
 He was best known for his theory
that behavior must be understood
on a larger scale before it could be
understood on an individual.
 He developed the theory of
anomie: the loss of direction that
a society feels when social control
of individual behavior has become
ineffective.
 Examples: Riots and the 9/11
attacks

22. Max Weber(VAY-ber)
 A Germany scholar who taught his
students to employ Verstehen, the
German word for understanding or
insight, in their intellectual works.
 To fully comprehend behavior, we
must learn the subjective meanings
people attach to their actions – how
they themselves view and explain their
behavior.
 Simply, look at the whole picture, not
just the obvious. Try to focus on all
the surrounding elements around the
behavior you are trying to understand.
 He also developed the ideal type, a
model in which actual cases can be
compared against.

23. Karl Marx
 Definitely an abstract thinker in
the field of philosophy and
sociology.
 Marx had no conventional
education because he was
usually on the run due to the
fact that he was exiled from his
own country of Germany for his
ideas.
 He wrote the Communist
Manifesto with Friedrich Engels;
which argued the ideas of social
classes.
 Main theory was that there was
a constant struggle between
classes and this is where most of
the problems and answers of
society where found.

24. Assignment
 Select a behavior within society that could be
studied by each of the early thinkers you learned
about in class.
 Write a description on how you feel each
perspective would explain the behavior within
society.
 Then write an explanation on which early thinker
you feel you most relate to and why when studying
human behavior within society.