This document provides an overview of key concepts in sociology. It discusses how sociology developed out of scientific discoveries in the 17th and 18th centuries. Sociology is defined as the scientific study of human society and social behavior, from small interactions to large institutions. Both microsociology and macrosociology are used to study social phenomena at different levels. The sociological perspective and sociological imagination help understand how individual experiences are shaped by social forces. Culture, social structures, and globalization influence all aspects of society.

1. SOCIOLOGY AND
THE
REAL WORLD
CHAPTER 1

2. Chapter 1 Outline
 Society
 Social Science
 What is sociology?
 Microsociology vs. Macrosociology
 The sociological Perspective
 Sociology and Everyday Life
 The U.S. in Global Perspective
 The Mass Media and Popular Culture

3. Reality T.V. and Society
 Reality T.V. - the issues that are dealt with
reveal social dynamics of the real world
 Why do we watch it? Are the issues reflective
of our world? We see some aspect of social life,
no matter how contrived it may be
 Society – a group of people who shape their
lives in aggregated and patterned ways that
distinguish their group from other groups.
 Sui generis? What can we actually see?
 Working, playing, eating, driving, etc…

4. Sociology’s Development
 Sociology developed out of modern science
discoveries in 17th &18th centuries, new forms of
knowledge and practices were established
 During 19th century, the concept of social
science emerged
 Social Sciences – use scientific method to
study social world (natural sciences look at
physical world)
 Sociology is a social science
 Overlaps bits of other social science fields

5. What is Sociology?
 Sociology – scientific study of human society
and social behavior from large institutions &
mass culture to small groups & individual
interactions
 Becker- “The study of people doing things together”
 As sociologists, we need to learn to question everything
 Neither society nor the individual exists in
isolation-each is dependent and intertwined with
the other

6. Food and Eating
 Food & Eating – biological or social?
 What, when, where and with whom we eat, and
how we feel about eating- socially constructed
 Meaning is not inherent (McDonalds Vs. Spago)
 Eating and family (women)
 Eating and dating
 The values, hierarchies, and institutions of our
society have all intervened in our drive to seek
nourishment

7. Microsociology and Macrosociology
 Microsociology – study face to face & small
group interactions – how they affect society
 Like a zoom lens-see details
 Pam Fishman-(pg. 12) recorded/analyzed
heterosexual couples conversations in
homes
 Women ask 3x as many questions as men
 Macro-level phenomena like gender and
power are manifested in everyday
interactions

8. Microsociology vs. Macrosociology
 Macrosociology - study large scale social
structures – how they affect groups/individuals
 Like a wide-angle lens- “big picture”
 Christine Williams-(pg. 14) studied sex
segregation in the workplace: glass
ceiling vs. glass escalator
 Men in female-dominated jobs advance
more quickly
 Large-scale structures create constraints
by which we experience success or failure

9. The Macro-Micro Continuum
 Society
 Culture
 Social Institutions
 Social Inequality
 Groups
 Roles
 Socialization
 Interaction
 Self

10. Quantitative vs. Qualitative Sociology
 The use of either quantitative or qualitative
methods depends on the question asked of
research
 Quantitative-translates social world into
numbers that can be treated mathematically
 Tries to find cause/effect relationships
 Qualitative-works with non-numerical data
(texts, interviews, photos, recordings)
 Goal to find how people make sense of their world

11. The Sociological Perspective
 Sociological Perspective – understand the
relationship between our particular situation in
life and what is happening at a social level
 Sociological Imagination – ability to
understand intersection between history &
biography
 C. Wright Mills
 We normally think of our problems as being of a
private matter, but they are connected to our
cultural and historical context
 Unemployment-personal or social problem?

12. Sociological Imagination
 We look at what is going on in society and how
that affects people
 Ex. – Columbine (pg. 18)
 Understand time and place (Soc. Imagination)
 Harris & Klebold shaped by their environment
 American adolescents exposed to violence through
entertainment (movies to video games; guns available
 Sociological Imagination-gives broader context
for understanding people and situations

13. Culture Shock and Beginner’s Mind
 Culture Shock – disorientation when you enter
a radically new social or cultural environment
 Sociologists try to create this effect in our own culture
 We try to put ourselves in position of “the Other”
 Beginner’s Mind – approach world without
preconceptions to see things in a new way
 Lose bias to understand the social world – live in the
present moment
 Opposite of expert’s mind
 Sociology is not just common sense – we
investigate common wisdom or knowledge

14. Starting Our Sociological Journey
 There is a difference between an everyday actor
and a social analyst
 Everyday actor-one who has practical
knowledge needed to get you through daily life,
but not necessarily scientific knowledge
 Social analyst-must place in question everything
that seems unquestionable to everyday actor
 Tries to act as a stranger in the social world, without
biases or assumptions about it
 Only makes conclusions after investigation or evidence

15. America as a Place and Ideal
 America is both a real place and an ideal
concept with a meaningful cultural and historical
context
 Tocqueville-admired American ideals of freedom,
equality, individuality, tolerance, democracy and
enterprise
 Troubled by slavery, lack of universal suffrage, the
exploitation of workers, tyranny of majority, materialism
 America & multiculturalism in large cities

16. The U.S. in Global Perspective
 We are closely linked to others around the world
 Open society means mutual flow of goods,
services, information, ideas, and people
 Macro-trade agreements, multinational corp.
 Micro-my way of life is influenced by…
 “Global Village”-Term coined by Marshall
McLuhan to describe how media create new
kinds of social bonds
 Bring together as if belonged to the same small tribe