SOSA 1003 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Social Forces, Symbolic Interactionism, Antonio Gramsci
22 Jan 2018
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Monday, January 15, 2018
Sociology 1003
Chapter 1 !
The Sociological Perspective
Suicide !
-Emile Durkheim- demonstrated that suicide is more than just an individual act of
desperation that results from a psychological disorder, as we commonly believed at
the time !
-social forces strongly influence suicide rates !
-Durkheim held that suicide rates varied because of difference in the degree of social
solidarity in various categories of the population !
-the greater the degree to which group members share beliefs and values, and the
more frequently and intensely they interact, the more social solidarity the group
exhibits !
Social Solidarity: refers to (1) the degree to which group members share beliefs #
#and values and (2) the intensity and frequency of their interactions!
From Personal Troubles to Social Structures
-Patterns of social relations affect your innermost thoughts and feelings, influence
your actions, and thus help shape who you are !
-One such pattern of social relations is the level of social solidarity characteristic of
the various groups to which you belong !
-Sociologists call relatively stable patterns of social relations Social Structures !
##Social Structures: relatively stable patterns of social relations !
-one of sociologists main task is to identify and explain the connection between
people’s personal troubles and the social structures in which people are embedded !
-to see how social structures influence us, we require sociological training !
-Microstructures: are the patterns of relatively intimate social relations formed during
face to face interaction. Families, friendship circles, and work associations are
examples of microstructures !
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Monday, January 15, 2018
-Macrostructures: are overarching patterns of social relations that lie outside and
above a person’s circle of intimates and acquaintances. Macrostructures include
classes, bureaucracies, and power systems, such as patriarchy !
-Patriarchy: the traditional system of economic and political inequality between
women and men !
-Global Structures: are patterns of social relations that lie outside and above the
national level. They include international organizations, patterns of worldwide
travel and communication, and the economic relations between countries !
The Sociological Imagination
-The sociological imagination is the quality of mind that enables a person to see the
connection between personal troubles and social structures !
-C. Wright Mills - "neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be
understood without understanding both”!
Origins of the Sociological Imagination
-The sociological imagination was born when three revolutions pushed people to
think about society in an entirely new way: !
1. The Scientific Revolution began about 1550. It encouraged the view that sound
conclusions about the workings of society must be based on solid evidence, not
just on speculation !
2. The Democratic Revolution began about 1750. It suggested that people are
responsible for organizing society and that human intervention can therefore
solve social problems !
3. The Industrial Revolution, often regarded as the most important event in world
history since the development of agriculture and cities, refers to the rapid
economic transformation that began in Britain in the 1780s. It involved the large-
scale application of science and technology to industrial processes, the creation
of factories, and the formation of a working class !
Theory, Research, and Values
Theory - tentative explanations of some spect of social life that state how and why
certain facts are related !
Research- the process of systematically observing reality to assess the validity of a
theory !
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Document Summary
Emile durkheim- demonstrated that suicide is more than just an individual act of desperation that results from a psychological disorder, as we commonly believed at the time. Durkheim held that suicide rates varied because of di erence in the degree of social solidarity in various categories of the population. The greater the degree to which group members share beliefs and values, and the more frequently and intensely they interact, the more social solidarity the group exhibits. Social solidarity: refers to (1) the degree to which group members share beliefs and values and (2) the intensity and frequency of their interactions. Patterns of social relations a ect your innermost thoughts and feelings, in uence your actions, and thus help shape who you are. One such pattern of social relations is the level of social solidarity characteristic of the various groups to which you belong. Sociologists call relatively stable patterns of social relations social structures.
