SOC 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Médecins Sans Frontières, Global Community, World Health Organization
SOC101 – Lecture #1 – Introduction to Sociology
MICRO:
• Me (My family and closest friends)
• Local organizations and community (My school, place of worship, hangouts)
MESO:
• National Organizations, institutions, and ethnic subcultures (My political party,
ethnic affiliation)
MACRO:
• Society (Type of national government and economic system)
• Global Community (United Nations, World Bank, Doctors Without Borders,
multinational corporations)
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• Humans are, at our very core, social animals – more akin to pack or herd animals than
to individualistic cats.
• Sociology is based on scientific findings, making it more predictable and reliable than
opinions or commonsense beliefs in a particular culture.
• A core idea in sociology is the sociological imagination. It requires that we see how our
individual lives and personal troubles are shaped by historical and structural events
outside our everyday lives. It also prods us to see how we can influence our society.
• Sociology has practical applications, including those that are essential for the job market.
• Sociology focuses on social units or groups, on social structures such as institutions, on
social processes that give a social unit its dynamic character, and on their environments.
CHAPTER 1 – Sociology Definitions
• Environment – the setting in which the social unit operates, including everything that
influences the social unit, such as its physical and organizational surroundings and
technological innovations.
• Levels of analysis – social groups from the smallest to the largest.
• Micro-level Analysis – A focus on individual or small groups interaction in specific
situations.
• Meso-level Analysis – involves looking at intermediate-sized units smaller than the
nation but larger than the local community or even the region.
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