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The Sociological Perspective Sociology—A Journey— Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective Site: HCC - Eagle Online - ver1.9 Course: 6142-SOCI-1301-Introduction to Sociology-MIN-81052 Book: Sociology—A Journey—Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective Authors: Dunn, Ruth and Jennifer Graves Printed by: Dunn Ruth Date: Wednesday, January 15, 2014, 05:53 PM Table of Contents What Am I Studying? What Is Sociology? ................................................................................. 4 So What Exactly Is Sociology? ................................................................................................. 4 But Which One Is Correct? ................................................................................................ 4 So How Did Sociology Come to Be? .................................................................................... 5 But Why Did This New Discipline Suddenly Appear? What Caused This New Way of Thinking To Emerge? .................................................................................................... 5 The Sociological Imagination ................................................................................................... 6 The Sociological Imagination: An Example—Personal Problem ................................................... 7 The Sociological Imagination: An Example—Public Issue ........................................................... 8 Something to Ponder 1:................................................................................................... 11 The Sociological Perspective .................................................................................................. 11 Seeing the General in the Particular ....................................................................................... 12 Seeing the Strange in the Familiar & the Familiar in the Strange .............................................. 12 Example #1—Seeing the Strange in the Familiar: .............................................................. 12 Example #2—Seeing the Strange in the Familiar: .............................................................. 13 Seeing the Familiar in the Strange.......................................................................................... 13 Page 1 of 45 Sociology: A Journey—Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective Authors: Ruth Dunn and Jennifer Graves: Model Sociology 1301 Course for Houston Community College— January 2014 Revised: Monday, September 07, 2015 Example #3—Seeing the Familiar in the Strange: .............................................................. 13 Example #4—Seeing the Familiar in the Strange: .............................................................. 13 Something to Ponder 2:................................................................................................... 13 The Myth of Poisoned Halloween Candy ........................................................................... 14 Seeing Personal Choice in Social Context ................................................................................ 15 Sociological Paradigms/Perspectives ....................................................................................... 17 The Social Conflict Paradigm/Perspective ................................................................................ 18 Helpful Hint .................................................................................................................... 19 Something to Ponder 3:................................................................................................... 19 Important Theorists—Social Conflict Paradigm/Perspective ................................................ 19 The Structural-Functionalist Paradigm/Perspective .................................................................. 20 Structural-Functionalism ........................................................................................................ 20 Helpful Hint .................................................................................................................... 21 Something to Ponder 4:................................................................................................... 22 Important Theorists—Structural-Functionalist Paradigm/Perspective ................................... 22 The Symbolic Interactionist Paradigm/Perspective ................................................................... 22 The Social Creation of Reality .......................................................................................... 22 Helpful Hint .................................................................................................................... 24 Something to Ponder 5:................................................................................................... 24 Important Theorists—Symbolic Interactionist Paradigm/Perspective ................................... 24 The Social Construction of Reality .......................................................................................... 24 Something to Ponder 6:................................................................................................... 25 The Social Construction of Reality: Thomas's Theorem ............................................................ 25 How We Use Language and What It Means ............................................................................ 28 Page 2 of 45 Sociology: A Journey—Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective Authors: Ruth Dunn and Jennifer Graves: Model Sociology 1301 Course for Houston Community College— January 2014 Revised: Monday, September 07, 2015 Study: Rap Music Linked to Sexism February 21, 2008 ...................................................... 29 Does Language Really Matter 2? ............................................................................................ 31 The Allegory of the Cave ................................................................................................. 33 Something to Ponder 7:................................................................................................... 34 Applying the Paradigms/Perspectives ..................................................................................... 34 Current World Conflict ........................................................................................................... 34 Deviance .............................................................................................................................. 35 Inequality ............................................................................................................................. 36 Education ............................................................................................................................. 37 Something to Ponder 8:................................................................................................... 38 Something to Ponder 9:................................................................................................... 38 Answers to: What Has Been Described? ........................................................................... 39 Answers to: What Has Been Described? ........................................................................... 40 Sources, References, and Works Cited.......................................................................................... 41 Page 3 of 45 Sociology: A Journey—Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective Authors: Ruth Dunn and Jennifer Graves: Model Sociology 1301 Course for Houston Community College— January 2014 Revised: Monday, September 07, 2015 What Am I Studying? What Is Sociology? According to sixth century BCE philosopher and founder of Taoism Lao-Tzu, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Sociology is, for us, a journey that we must begin by starting with what we think we know, discovering what we don’t know, finding out why our common sense isn’t really sensible, and then, step-by-step, building new knowledge until we begin to understand our own social world, our own place in that world, and how Sociology can help us to see our world with new and different eyes. However, many people—even individuals like you that have enrolled in an Introduction to Sociology course—have no idea what Sociology is or what Sociologists do. (Colorado n.d.) Graphic 1: People with Linked Hands Circling a Globe So What Exactly Is Sociology? Sociology has been defined in a number of ways ranging from very simple to very complex. In fact, a cursory Google search using the terms "define sociology" produces the following definitions. 1. The study of the development, structure, and functioning of human society. 2. The study of human social behavior, especially the study of the origins, organization, institutions, and development of human society. 3. The science of the fundamental laws of social relations, institutions, etc. 4. The science of society, social institutions, and social relationships. 5. The study of human social life, groups and societies. But Which One Is Correct? Well—they're all correct! Notice that all the definitions have quite a bit of overlap and each of them touches on an element or elements at the core of sociology. For the purposes of this class, we will use a very simple definition. Sociology is the systematic scientific study of human society. In other words, sociology is the scientific examination of human groups. It is the study of us, ourselves, and the study of why we human beings do the things that we do. Sociology includes the study of culture, socialization, group
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