POLS 3470 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Erving Goffman, Raymond Breton, Social Stratification
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Sociological perspective: seeing the general in particular (sociologists identify general patterns in the behavior of particular individuals) peter berger, 1963. Holding hands is familiar: the argument that society determines the way society determines the way we hold hands is strange. Because we live in an individualistic society, learning to see how society affects us may take a bit of practice. The sociological perspective provides additional insights that may not be readily apparent. Men, protestants, wealthy people, and the unmarried had a much higher suicide rate than ddi women, catholics, poor, and married people. Categories of people with strong social ties had low suicide rates; freedom weakens social ties and thereby increase the risk of suicide. Two situations help people see clearly how society shapes individual lives: living on the margins of society and living through social crisis. The greater peoples social marginality, the better they are able to use the sociological perspective.