SOC 206 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Social Forces, Talcott Parsons, George Herbert Mead

• School: University at Buffalo
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 206
• Professor: Christopher Mele

Document Summary

Definition of a social problem: social problems have two components. Either collection or individual: the textbook definition. When enough people in a society agree that a condition exists that threatens the quality of their lives and their most cherished values, they also agree that something should be done to remedy the condition. Awareness of social problems: our own experience, the media, social movements. Sociological imagination: c. wright mills (1959: an awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society. The a(cid:271)ilit(cid:455) to (cid:448)ie(cid:449) o(cid:374)e"s o(cid:449)(cid:374) so(cid:272)iet(cid:455) as a(cid:374) outsider (cid:449)ould, rather tha(cid:374) from the limited perspective of personal experiences and cultural biases. Our experiences are influenced by social forces. Mills argues that the sociological imagination enables us to understand the relatio(cid:374)ship (cid:271)et(cid:449)ee(cid:374) (cid:862)pri(cid:448)ate pro(cid:271)le(cid:373)s(cid:863) a(cid:374)d (cid:862)pu(cid:271)li(cid:272) issues(cid:863) Social policy: people experience an issue as a personal problem, d. Defining social problems: a social problem. Is a condition that undermines the well-being of some or all members of society.