SOCI 1F90 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Complex Number, Bourgeoisie, Class Conflict
Document Summary
Explanation of a social phenomenon: ex. Tattoos, increasingly popular in the past 20 years. Use theories or explanations of social life to figure what is going on around us and how we act. Systematic, coherent explanation based on rigorous social observation (research) Nothing is self-evident needs explaining e. g. why are 16,000 families using the food bank in 2015, 78% of those living under the poverty line in niagara work full time. Systematic searching for the actual causes of phenomenon. Huge body of sociological theory, dating from 19th century: constant dialogue with them to improve our understanding of the world. Schools of thought (e. g. marxism, feminism, functionalism, critical race theory) Each has a set of common premises. Learn the key premises of each school. Once you learn each premise and you already have an understanding of how that school of thought would have a perspective on education, law, media etc.
