SOC 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Intersectionality, Double Consciousness, Macrosociology
A sociological imagination: !
What is sociology? !
-sociology is the study of human society !
-Focuses on making comparisons across cases to find patterns and create hypotheses about
how societies work now or how they worked in the past !
-Sociology looks at how individuals interact with one another as well as at how groups, small
and large, interact with one another !
The sociological imagination!
-Coined by C. Wright Mills!
-Connect our personal experiences to society at large and greater historical forces !
-“Make the familiar strange,” or to question habits or customs that seem “natural” to us !
Why do we get married? !
-Individual free choice (romantic love) !
-Maturity; old enough to get married !
-Heterosexual !
-Husband as head (honor and obey) !
-Monogamy and fidelity !
-Parenthood !
What is social institution?!
-social institutions are networks of structures in society that work to socialize the groups of
people within them !
-Legal system !
-Labor market !
-Educational system !
-Military !
-Family !
-we generally think of institutions as stable entities that “just are” and “have always been this
way,” but the reality is that these institutions change over time and are purposefully
structured to reflect the values of a society !
What is social identity?!
-the way individuals define themselves in relationship to groups they are a part of (or in
relationship to groups they choose not to be a part of) !
-Stories told between pairs of individuals !
-The different groups that you belong to help you tell others about your identity !
History of sociology (won't typically be asked about names or dates on the exam) !
-Comte
-Society is better understood by determining the logic or scientific laws governing human
behavior, called social physics or positivism !
-Theological stage: God’s way !
-Metaphysical stage: nature’s way !
-Scientific stage: logic’s way !
-Martineau !
-First to translate Comte’s written works to English; one of the earliest feminist social
scientists !
-Marx !
