Sociology

Introduction 1. What is sociology? How is it distinct from other disciplines?Sociology is the study of human society. It involves questioning the norms of society and studying why we do what we do. Sociology focuses on commonalities that can be abstracted across cases rather than the uniqueness of phenomena (like History). Psychology focuses on the individual to explain phenomena while sociologists focus beyond the individual level. They tend to focus on group-level dynamics and social structures. 2. What is the sociological imagination? What is the relationship between "personal troubles" and "public issues"? How can the sociological imagination help us to understand why people attend college and become unemployed? The sociological imagination is taking personal experiences and focusing on the historic forces behind them. Personal troubles occur within the individual and the range of his relations with others. Public Issues have to do with matters that transcend these local environments of the individual and the range of his inner life. 3. How can the sociological imagination help us to understand the cases of Monica and Karen? sociological imagination makes us think about what societal and historical factors shaped Monica and Karen's college experiences. There were expectations that they had for "good" colleges, but the colleges they went to weren't necessarily what was best for them. What they needed was a school with less social pressure, more academic advising, more practical and career oriented for middle class. 

Sociological Theories: 2 "Big Macs" and a "Micro Burger" 1. Know the contributions of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Erving Goffman, W.E.B. DuBois, and Jane Addams (text)      Karl Marx-believed that it was primarily the conflicts between classes that          drove social change. He saw history as man's struggle to gain control and dominate. His writings provided the basis for Communism.  In a communist society, private property would be abolished and the new economy would be "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs"  Marxism- an ideological alternative to capitalism     Max Weber- believes that other things such as culture, ideas, religion, etc. cause societies to evolve (not just the economy and social class like Marx).      Concept of Versteben (understanding in German), was one of Weber's most important contributions. This concept suggests a sociologist must understand the meanings people attach to their actions to truly understand why people act the way they do. He put an emphasis on subjectivity (based on personal tastes, opinions) which is the foundation of interpretive sociology, the study of social meaning.      Emile Durkheim-  he wanted to understand how society holds together and how modern capitalism and industrialization transformed how people relate to each other. -argued that the division of labor had social and moral consequences (didn't just affect work and productivity). He said the division of labor gave society a form of social solidarity.- anomie- a sense of aimlessness or despair that arises when we can no longer expect life to be predictable; too little social regulation; normlessness In his work, Suicide, he shows how individual act is conditioned by social forces. Argues that drastic changes in living conditions and a sense of normlessness is what leads to suicide. (anomie) -he is considered the founding practitioner of positivist sociology, a part of sociology that believes the social world can be described and predicted by certain describable relationships.  2. Understand functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism/dramaturgical theory; identify these theories' similarities and differences; and, be able to apply these theories (text)3. What are the functions of poverty, according to Gans? How does this selection relate to functionalism? (reader)4. In what ways does Ehrenreich find it difficult to live in near poverty? How does this selection relate to conflict theory in the text? (reader)5. From Goffman's selection, define and provide an example of "front region" and "back region." How does this selection relate to symbolic interactionism/dramaturgical theory, as discussed in the text?  (Moodle)

Theory Research1. What are research methods? What are quantitative and qualitative methods? (text) Does the Inglehart and Baker Moodle article mainly use quantitative or qualitative methods? What about the Cahill et al. Moodle article?Research methods are the set of standard rules/approaches sociologists follow to investigate their questions. They are the tools sociologists use to describe, explore, and explain social phenomena in an ethical fashion. -There are two categories of methods for gathering sociological data: Quantitative and Qualitative MethodsQuantitative Methods-collects numerical information about society, then uses statistical analysis to describe the data. Some of the analysis mimics scientific method (using a experimental and control group) to determine which factors affect social outcomes.  (examples: data being collected from surveys, from sampling bank records, weighing people on a scale)Qualitative methods: collects information that can't be converted to a numerical form. Often used to document the meanings of actions or describe the mechanisms of social processes. (examples: spending time with people are recording what they say and do, interviewing people) -the Baker article includes quantitative methods while the Cahill article includes qualitative methods2. What are deductive and inductive reasoning? What is the relationship between theory and empirical observations? (text)Deductive reasoning- starts with a theory, makes empirical observations then analyzes to confirm, reject or modify the original theoryInductive reasoning- starts with empirical observations and then works to form a theory. Theory-an assumption based on limited knowledge Empirical observations- derived from an experiment, provable by means of observation Deduction: theory>hypothesis>empirical observations>analysisInductive: empirical observations>analysis>theory>hypothesis3. Which theories (or theorists) are referenced in the Inglehart and Baker Moodle selection? What about the Cahill et al. Moodle article?Baker- Karl Marx, Nietzche, Lerner, Bell and Max WeberCahill et al. -Erving Goffman4. What are the "front" and "back" regions/stages referenced in Cahill et al.? Inside the bathroom stall is the back region, the open bathroom area is a front region in the sense that the individual may have to "perform" in front of others that are also occupying the bathroom, however, it is a backstage region relative to our public performances outside of the bathroom which is a front region.

1. What are the "golden rules" in research?           1.Do not harm           2. Informed consent-people have to voluntarily participate           3. Voluntary participation           4. Privacy-keep identities safe 2. Define "race," "racism," "scientific racism," and "eugenics"    "race"- a group of people who share a common set of characteristics (usually physical), and are said to have a  common bloodline      "scientific racism"-a period of investigations into the explanations, classifications, and origin of race      "eugenics"-literally means "well born";theory of controlling fertility of populations to control traits passed down. 3. Which of the "golden rules" did the Tuskegee experiment violate and how? More broadly, what was the racial climate that led to these violations, according to the reader and the text?The Tuskegee experiment violated almost all of the golden rules. The patients/test subjects were harmed, and they did not voluntarily participate in the experiment. There was a lot of racism still prevalent in the deep South in this time period.  

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