[PPT] - WHAT IS Marshall High School Sociology Mr. Cline Unit One- Slides PowerPoint Presentation

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WHAT IS

Marshall High School Sociology

Mr. Cline

Unit One- Slides D

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Max Weber took the understanding of social facts even farther, as he believed that

they had to be evaluated using the scientific method, and were only the cumulative results of the social action of individuals.

Weber argued that Sociologists must be able to arrive at an explanation for why

individuals do what they do, and not just a collection of social facts indicating exactly what they do.

In other words, not being able to just say “this is what humans do,” but

rather explaining why they do it. The History of Sociology

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The History of Sociology

While Adam’s rational choice theory stated that

the analysis of actor’s objective interests was what was needed, Weber postulated that sociologists have to see the action from the point

f view of the actor, subjectively, and think of

their personal thoughts and feelings.

Sociologists have to interpret, not just observe, in

an approach Weber called verstehen, a German word that means empathetic understanding

It has often been said that Weber was engaged in

an argument with Marx’s ghost, as many of his theories seemed not only to be in opposition to, but in answer to, Marx.

For example, unlike Marx who saw the

history of western culture as a conflict between classes, Weber saw it as a shift from the traditional ways of thinking to more rational, scientific ways of thinking.

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The History of Sociology

The traditional way called for people to accept the wisdom of the past as a guide

to the future and strive to follow the ways of their ancestors.

The rational way calls for people to make a logical assessment of the

consequences of an act in deciding how to behave.

An allegory to help demonstrate this change would be the young girl who

became ill.

In a more traditional age, the past history of those who suffered from

similar illnesses showed that hanging garlic around a room helped clear it of the evil spirits that were causing the sickness.

In a more rational age, the young girl may simply get some medicine from a

doctor that has been proven in scientific trials to fight the illness.

Weber developed this theory of the traditional to the rational in an age where

science was first becoming the principal means of acquiring knowledge, and the emergence of government based on the rule of law, and the development of capitalism, were also becoming very popular, and demonstrated rational analysis.

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The History of Sociology

Weber felt Marx had put too much emphasis on economic structure, where

Weber felt that it was first changes in culture, through the changes and advancements of knowledge, not changes in economic conditions, were what followed one to the other.

As you may recall, however, Marx felt that there had to be a change in economic

condition first, before there could be a change in the culture.

For example, take the change in most people working in agriculture and

living in rural environments to most people working in industry and living in urban environments

Marx would say that the growing wealth of the industrialist bourgeoisie

forced people off of their land, so that in order to make a living, they had to seek employment in their factories and move into the city.

Weber would say that the technological advances in agriculture

required there to be less need for as many people, and this freed up labor resources who then had to move to urban areas in order to find work and make a living.

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The History of Sociology

While like Marx, Weber felt that power and conflict are fundamental aspects of social

life, he argued that individuals care more about social factors such as race, religion, and personal tastes, and these meant more to them, and influenced their decisions more, than did their economic condition

These other social factors are the basis of status groups, or particular traits that define a

social group, which he felt were just as important as economic class.

For example, in the 1920’s and 1930’s factory workers were working diligently to

unionize, in order to use their collective strength to gain concessions from employers that would benefit and improve all of their conditions.

There was a large group of people that they could have added to their own

collective numbers in order to become more powerful, and that was working class African Americans.

However, the white union members actively sought concessions that would bar

African Americans from most employment prospects on an equal footing with white union members.

Of course, this blatant racism was diametrically opposed to their best interests,

increasing their numbers so as to have more power, but they pursued it anyway.

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The History of Sociology

George H. Mead was an American Sociologist who postulated that much of human

behavior is determined not only by the objective facts of a situation, but also by how people define that situation, or the meanings they give to it.

“If men define situations as real, then they are real in their

consequences.”

If you feel walking the streets of the campus in Terre Haute at

night is too dangerous, that is defining the situation, regardless of the actual statistical crime rate may be.

Since a person’s thoughts or feelings cannot be determined

without language, then we depend on the symbols of language such as;

Facial expressions
Sounds
Actions
words

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The History of Sociology

Mead came to the understanding that we learn what behavior and events mean

through interaction with others.

Even our sense of identity or self is shaped through social interaction.
As a person’s thoughts and feelings cannot be determined without language,

then we depend on the symbols of language, such as facial expressions, sounds, actions, and words, or the symbols all cultures use and are understood across cultures to determine our behavior.

This is known as symbolic interaction.
We feel that walking the campus of ISU at night is dangerous, because a

friend told us about her cousin’s neighbor’s sister that was mugged a few weeks ago

Or, why would young people smoke cigarettes even when all objective

medical evidence points to the dangers of doing so?

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The History of Sociology

The answer is in the definition of the situation that people create.
Studies find that teenagers are well informed about the risks of

tobacco, but they also think that;

Smoking is cool
That they, themselves, will be safe from harm
And, that smoking projects a positive image to their peers.
So, the symbolic meaning of smoking overrides the actual facts

regarding smoking and its risks.

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The History of Sociology

Contemporary Sociological theories are based on the theories of these influential

early Sociologists.

For example, Structural-Functionalism (known widely just as Functionalism)

draws on Mead, Durkheim and Weber and emphasizes functional integration and social structure.

Functionalism interprets each part of society in terms of how it contributes

to the stability of the whole society.

Society is more than the sum of its parts; rather, each part of society is

functional for the stability of the whole society.

The different parts are primarily the institutions of society, each of which is
rganized to fill different needs and each of which has particular

consequences for the form and shape of society.

The parts all depend on each other.

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The History of Sociology

From this perspective, disorganization in the system, such as deviant

behavior, leads to change because societal components must adjust to achieve stability.

When one part of the system is not working or is dysfunctional, it

affects all other parts and creates social problems, which leads to social change.

Conflict Theory emphasizes the role of coercion and power in producing social
rder.
This perspective is derived from the works of Karl Marx, who saw society as

fragmented into groups that compete for social and economic resources.

Social order is maintained by domination, with power in the hands of those

with the greatest political, economic, and social resources.

When consensus exists, it is attributable to people being united around

common interests, often in opposition to other groups.

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The History of Sociology

According to conflict theory, inequality exists because those in control of a

disproportionate share of society’s resources actively defend their advantages.

The masses are not bound to society by their shared values, but by

coercion at the hands of those in power.

This perspective emphasizes social control, not consensus and conformity.
Groups and individuals advance their own interests, struggling over control
f societal resources.
Those with the most resources exercise power over others with

inequality and power struggles resulting.

There is great attention paid to class, race, and gender in this

perspective because they are seen as the grounds of the most pertinent and enduring struggles in society.

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The History of Sociology

Whereas most other sociological theories focus on the positive

aspects of society, conflict perspective focuses on the negative, conflicted, and ever-changing nature of society.

Unlike functionalists who defend the status quo, avoid social

change, and believe people cooperate to effect social order, conflict theorists challenge the status quo, encourage social change (even when this means social revolution), and believe rich and powerful people force social order on the poor and the weak.

Conflict theorists, for example, may interpret as “elite, ” a school

board that raises taxes to pay for new programs that raise the prestige of a local school district as self-serving rather than as beneficial for students.

Today, conflict theorists find social conflict between any groups in

which the potential for inequality exists: racial, gender, religious, political, economic, and so on.

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The History of Sociology

Even theories of non violence rely on conflict theory to justify their

actions, such as if a large number of subjects of a government choose to disobey that government, then that government would have no power to stop it.

Conflict theorists note that unequal groups usually have conflicting

values and agendas, causing them to compete against one another.

This constant competition between groups forms the basis for the

ever-changing nature of society.

Critics of the conflict perspective point to its overly negative view of

society.

The theory ultimately attributes humanitarian efforts, altruism,

democracy, civil rights, and other positive aspects of society to capitalistic designs to control the masses, not to inherent interests in preserving society and social order.

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The History of Sociology

Other Modern Sociological Theories include:
Feminist Theory
Feminist theory is one of the major contemporary sociological

theories, which analyzes the status of women and men in society with the purpose of using that knowledge to better women's lives. Feminist theory is most concerned with giving a voice to women and highlighting the various ways women have contributed to society.

Critical Theory
Critical theory is a type of social theory oriented toward critiquing and

changing society as a whole, in contrast to traditional theory oriented only to understanding or explaining it. Critical theories aim to dig beneath the surface of social life and uncover the assumptions that keep us from a full and true understanding of how the world works.

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The History of Sociology

Other Modern Sociological Theories include:
Structural Strain Theory
Robert K. Merton developed the structural strain theory as an

extension of the functionalist perspective on deviance. This theory traces the origins of deviance to the tensions that are caused by the gap between cultural goals and the means people have available to achieve those goals.

Sociobiology
Sociobiology is the application of evolutionary theory to social
behavior. It is based on the premise that some behaviors are at least

partly inherited and can be affected by natural selection.

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The History of Sociology

Other Modern Sociological Theories include:
Labeling Theory
Labeling theory is one of the most important approaches to

understanding deviant and criminal behavior. It begins with the assumption that no act is intrinsically criminal. Definitions of criminality are established by those in power through the formulation

f laws and the interpretation of those laws by police, courts, and

correctional institutions.

Social Learning Theory
Social learning theory is a theory that attempts to explain socialization

and its effect of the development of the self. It looks at the individual learning process, the formation of self, and the influence of society in socializing individuals. Social learning theory is commonly used by sociologists to explain deviance and crime.

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The History of Sociology

Other Modern Sociological Theories include:
Social Exchange Theory
One way of analyzing social interaction is through the social exchange
theory. This model interprets society as a series of interactions that

are based on estimates of rewards and punishments. According to this view, our interactions are determined by the rewards or punishments that we receive from others and all human relationships are formed by the use of a subjective cost-benefit analysis. The theory has its roots in economics as well as sociology and psychology.

Chaos Theory
Chaos theory is a field of study in mathematics, however it has

applications in several disciplines, including sociology and other social

sciences. In the social sciences, chaos theory is the study of complex

non-linear systems of social complexity. It is not about disorder, but rather is about very complicated systems of order.

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The History of Sociology

Other Modern Sociological Theories include:
Social Phenomenology
Social phenomenology is an approach within the field of sociology

that aims to reveal what role human awareness plays in the production of social action, social situations and social worlds. In essence, phenomenology is the belief that society is a human construction.