Soc 101 Introduction to Sociology Professor Jill Stein

Soc. 101 Introduction to Sociology Professor Jill Stein Overview n Course Basics: • • Enrollment Syllabus Class website Student profiles • Clickers • Video: A Vision of Student Today n Introduction • What is sociology? • Study of society • What is society? • Range of topics

Introduction to Sociology Soc. 101 Chapter 1: Sociology and the Real World (Part I)

Overview Asking the Big Questions n The Origins of Sociology n Levels of Analysis n The Sociological Perspective n Starting Your Sociological Journey n 3

Asking the Big Questions n Understanding social life • The role of superstition, myth, religion and tradition 4

The Origins of Sociology n The emergence of social sciences (19 th Century) • Borrow from natural sciences • Apply scientific method to study the social world n A relatively modern discipline • Overlap with other social sciences 5

What is Sociology? The study of society n The systematic/scientific study of human society and social behavior n • from large institutions and mass culture • to small groups and individual interactions n The study of “people doing things together” (Howard Becker) 8

Howard Becker

The fundamental premise of sociology: Humans are social animals 10

How Sociology is Organized LEVELS OF ANALYSIS n MACRO n MICRO n Large-scale patterns n Small groups and interaction • Political, economic, cultural and other social institutions n “Top-Down” approach • Everyday life, group membership and identity n “Bottom-Up” approach 12

Studies on Power and Gender n MACRO n MICRO n Christine Williams n Pam Fishman • Women in maledominated occupations • Glass ceiling • Men in femaledominated occupations • Glass escalator • Male–female relationships through conversation • women ask 3 x as many questions • Because they do not expect to get a response by simply making a statement 16

It’s Official: Men Talk More Than Women n Research challenges gender stereotypes • Importance of social context n Men talk more: • With wives, strangers • Use more assertive speech n Women talk more: • With children and classmates • Use more affiliative speech n Equally talkative: • With close friends and family 18

The Sociological Perspective 19

“Invitation to Sociology” by Peter Berger What makes a good social thinker? n n n Passionate interest in human affairs Intense, curious and daring in pursuit of knowledge Cares about issues of ultimate importance • As well as mundane occurrences of everyday life 20

CULTURE SHOCK n We are like “fish in water” • How to see what we are immersed in n Disorientation occurs entering a radically new environment • Anthropology field research • The impact of a new place on outsiders or foreigners • Makes the familiar strange n Example from the movie “Cast Away” 21

“BEGINNER’S MIND” n From Zen Buddhist tradition • Adapted to sociology by Bernard Mc. Grane n Contrast with “expert’s mind” • Filled with facts, assumptions, preconceptions, and opinions n “Discovery is not the seeing of a new thing, but rather a new way of seeing things” 25

“I see no more than you, but I have trained myself to notice what I see” Sherlock Holmes 26

You. Tube Video: LOUIS CK: EVERYTHING’S AMAZING 27

“The Sociological Imagination” C. Wright Mills

The Sociological Imagination Link between personal experience and broader social forces n Mutual influence n • How society shapes individuals • How individuals shape society 29

What is the connection between: the “personal troubles of milieu” and the “public issues of social structure. ” 30

The intersection between biography and history n Personal n Social n Individual n Collective n Private n Public 31

SOCIOLOGICAL VARIABLES Which of these helps to define you? n n n History Nationality Culture Politics Economics Social Class n n n Religion Race/Ethnicity Sex/Gender Education Family 33

Famous Sociology Majors

Why sociology is so radical Sociologists must: n n uncover assumptions and beliefs focus on the overlooked question everything reinterpret understandings 35