SOCIOL 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Social Forces
4.9.18
PETER BERGER QUOTE
- “A sociologist is a person intensively, endlessly, shamelessly interested in what happens
in the world. A sociologist’s natural habitat is all the human gathering places of the
world, where people come together.”
What does it mean to think sociologically?
- What it means to have a sociological imagination
- How me make sense of the environment we are a part of
- How to cultivate our sociological eye
- What sociological factors influence individual behavior
- What factor influence how we see ourselves and the behavior of others
- Force us to question things we might ordinarily take for granted
- Not as easy as it sounds
- Looking at the world sociologically will make you uncomfortable
- You have to be super curious and courageous
- Be prepared to make the familiar strange
- Goal of thinking sociologically
- To scrutinize those things that seem natural/ inevitable
- Question what is obvious
The Sociological Eye
- Shows how many things that we take as natural are actually socially constructed/ the
result of social constructions and influences
- Be willing to look at the world differently
- Take what is commonplace and look at it in new ways
- Adding layers on context to those elements of life that we normally take for granted
Sociological Perspective
- Seeing the world through a sociological eye
- Forces us to see the world in social rather than just individualistic terms
- When one sees the world with this perspective, we can see the social forces that are
controlling us
- Key first lesson in sociology
- Trains our eye on the social influences of individual behavior
- How things outside of our own private lives shape the way we live
- Human beings be shaped by society and humans shaping society
- Individuals affect and are affected by society
- Each individual makes a contribution to society, but at the same time, society
affects the individual
- Society = shorthand for the things that influence our lives, such as our friends,
family, the economy, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual preferences, politics,
region, race, etc.
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Document Summary
A sociologist is a person intensively, endlessly, shamelessly interested in what happens in the world. A sociologist"s natural habitat is all the human gathering places of the world, where people come together. What it means to have a sociological imagination. How me make sense of the environment we are a part of. What factor influence how we see ourselves and the behavior of others. Force us to question things we might ordinarily take for granted. Looking at the world sociologically will make you uncomfortable. You have to be super curious and courageous. Be prepared to make the familiar strange. To scrutinize those things that seem natural/ inevitable. Shows how many things that we take as natural are actually socially constructed/ the result of social constructions and influences. Be willing to look at the world differently. Take what is commonplace and look at it in new ways.
