Auguste Comte Jan 17, 1798-1857

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Auguste ComteJan 17, 1798-1857
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• French philosopher
• Founder of term Sociology (1st to use term)
• Use Scientific Method to discover problems find
  solutions
• Practiced cerebral hygiene
  
• 
  (transcendental flossing)
• Coined "altruism" to
  refer to
• moral obligation
  of
• individuals to
  serve others

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Harriet MartineauEnglish (1802-1876)
Translated A. Comtes work into English
Concerned with social change women/children in
English factories during the early phases of
industrialization First acknowledged, female
sociologist Examined emerging American society
(c 1834)
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Sociological Imagination

• C. Wright Mills (1916-1962) definition
• Ability to understand relationship between
  what is happening in
• peoples personal lives
• social forces that
• surround them

Textbook page 21
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Suspending Judgement

• Key attitude in study of society is
• research approach called
• cultural relativism
• In contrast , this views other cultures
  societies from point of view of ones own values
  and beliefs - otherwise known as ethnocentrism

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The Sociological Perspectives
The Structural/Functional Perspective The
Conflict Perspective Symbolic/Interactionist
Perspective
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Sociological Theories of Study

• Functionalism /Structuralism
• Social Conflict Theory
• Symbolic Interactionism
• Gender Theory (Feminist Theory)

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Functionalism

• Social groups and society are viewed as living
  organisms
• groups and group processes are studied as parts
  of a functioning whole
• behaviors of society may have obvious (manifest)
  functions or hidden (latent) functions

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Functionalism Emile Durkheim1858-1917

• French Sociologist
• A father of modern sociology
• Taught 1st sociology class
• Believed heavily in research
• Major writings dealt with
• nature of social order social change
• suicide, methodology, religion, education,
  knowledge, morality

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Conflict Theory
Macro theory Reaction to Functionalism

• Max Weber

• Karl Marx

• Society consists of different groups (classes)
  who struggle with one another to attain the
  scarce societal resources that are considered
  valuable
• Limited resources creates conflict among groups
• wealth, power, prestige, opportunities

Polish Proverb Under capitalism man exploits
man under socialism the reverse is true.
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Social Conflict TheoryMarx

• Karl Marx (1818-1883)
• Society built out of conflicting interests of
• owner class and working class
• Ensuing struggle between classes leads to
  classless society
• Developed idea of Communism
• (Dialete Theory)
• Lived during beginnings of
• Capitalistic Society

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Max Weber

• 1864-1920
• science should aim for interpretive understanding
  of social behavior to explain causes and effects.
  
• agreed with Marx except on economic determinism
• Economics alone not enough to explain society
• Religion is changing force
• Verstehen
• placing yourself in that
• persons place/ seeing it
  
• through their eyes

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Herbert Spencer 1820-1903

• Social Darwinism
• in evolving societies only successful individuals
  institutions survive
• best known for coining term
• survival of the fittest
• Social Realism
• society like living organism
• social change occurred through problems
• therefore no attempt to resolve
• problem should be taken
• Agnosticism
• practiced agnosticism,
• impossible for us
• to have knowledge of God

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Symbolic Interactionism

• Symbols are basis of social life
• Individuals and societies develop through
  peoples interaction through symbols
• Individuals develop sense of themselves as they
  learn to use symbols
• Individuals develop sense of themselves as they
  learn to see themselves way they believe others
  see them
• (Pygmalion Effect,
  Self-fulfilling Prophecy)

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1st American TheoristGeorge Herbert Mead
(February 27, 1863 April 26, 1931)

• Symbolic Interactionism
• Micro
• Focuses on everyday social interactions among
  individuals based on shared meanings of symbols
  used in interactions.
• Our ability to think allows us
• to communicate with symbols
• having shared meaning.

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George Meads Developmental Stages
MEADS DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES
Egocentric reality (inability to take role of
other)
Ability to take role of other (e.g., imitation)
Ability to take role of several others
simultaneously (e.g., playing games)
Ability to conceptualize view of society, its
cultural norms and values
(generalized other)
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Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929)

• Concept of "looking glass self"
• Other people's views build,
• change and maintain our self-image

"There is nothing less to our credit than our
neglect of the foreigner and his children, unless
it be the arrogance most of us betray when we set
out to 'Americanize' him." Charles Horton Cooley
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THE THREE ELEMENTS OF THE LOOKING GLASS SELF
ACCORDING TO COOLEY
Three Elements of Looking Glass Self
1. Imagination of how our appearance, friends,
manners, and presentation of self are seen by
others. 2. Perception of others judgements of
us. 3. Resulting feelings about self (e.g.,
pride, embarrassment, humiliation).
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Jane Addams (American) (1880-1935)

• Won first Nobel Peace Prize (1931) given to US
  woman
• Founded Chicago Hull House for poor
• Influenced Chicago School of applied
  sociology
• Pioneered study of social problems
• Worked with George Mead
• Member of NAACP, Womens International League for
  Peace, Womans Suffrage

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W. E. B. DuBois(American) (1868-1963)
February 23
First Negro PhD graduate of Harvard
University Concerned with social position of
Negroes in US Wrote The Philadelphia Negro
(1899) on race relations Used statistics to
examine discrimination against blacks
The cost of liberty is less than the price of
repression.
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Robert K. Merton(American) (1910-2002)
Strain Theory
Problem is not created by sudden social change,
as Durkheim proposed, but rather by social
structure that holds same goals to all members
without giving them equal means to achieve them
Taught at Columbia University Sought to
bridge European grand theories research
style Structural/Functionalist Key concepts
manifest latent functions, Strain Theory of
deviance, dysfunctions