Lecture 1 + 2 Flashcards
What, how and Why of Sociology
3 reasons why sociology is important
- better understand ourselves in a social environment
- need to understand social influences to produce social change
- had you not understood the social world, you’re more prone to be overwhelmed
What do sociologists study
examine the effect of social influences on individuals and groups
Sociology views human actions as _____?
patterned
What is sociology?
study of social life, social change and social causes and consequences of human behaviour
who coined the term “sociological imagination”
C. Wright Mills
What is sociological imagination?
Ability to connect most initiate aspect of life to seemingly impersonal and remote macro historical forces
Ex. being gay in 60s
Bifocal Lens (on exam)
Distant vision:
Macro-level historical forces
(Public issues)
Close vision:
Micro-level
(Personal troubles)
Origin of Sociology? (according to greek philsophers)
- Focused on the city state: the greek polis
- No distinctive notion of society
Proto Sociology (1300 AD)
crosses the borders of philosophy and social science
Who is IBN Khaldun?
- a islamic scholar
- precursor of sociology
- author of “Muqaddimah”
- “humans are the product of customs, not of natural dispositions”
- studied theology
Where did sociology develop in Europe?
- france, germany, britain
- 19th century
What social changes brought about sociology?
- modern colonization
- population increases
- industrial & scientific revolution
What view did europeans challenge after exploring the world?
the view that european life reflected the natural order of god
When did european thinkers become aware that their social world was changing?
1700 & 1800 AD (the modern age)
What countries traded through sea routes? (5 countries)
France, Holland, Germany, Scotland, England
Who replaced the aristocrats? (nobility)
The bourgeoisie (middle class)
What happened in 1789?
The french revolution
What happened in 1775-83?
The american revolution
What won over monarchy in the american revolution?
Democracy
What did Hannah Arendt say on modernity?
(societies that are built on the principles of individual freedom)
We become aware of the existence to have rights
Rights to have rights, everyone should be guaranteed to belong to humanity by humanity itself
What did the Canadian charter of rights say?
Every Canadian has right to be treated equally under law
guarantees equality rights and freedom of expression, assembly and religion
Who is Thomas Piketty and what did he do?
- french economist that uses historical data
- studied disparities in wealth
Who was Rousseau? What did he study?
- studied pathology in modern society
- french
What was Auguste Comte known for?
- positivist philosophy
(study of society - aimed to develop a social science that could be used for social reconstruction
- french
What was Harriet Martineau known for?
- first women sociologist
- wrote on social and economic topics
- translated many of Comte’s work
- british
What was Karl Marx known for?
- one of the founders of modern sociology
- viewed social change in terms of class struggle + economic factors
- german
What was Herbert Spencer known for?
- social evolutionist
- sought to apply Darwins theory of natural selection to society
- coined the term “survival of the fittest”
- british
What was Friedrich Nietzsche known for?
- rejected christianity’s compassion for the weak
- championed the Ubermensch who could rise above ordinary morality
- german
What was Emile Durkheim known for?
- one of the founders of modern sociology
- first to consider society as a legitimate subject of study
What was Georg Simmel known for?
- founder of micro-sociology
- studied the way people experience daily life
- german
What was Max Weber known for?
- studied capitalism
- german
What was Antonio Gramsci known for?
- studied prison
- marxist theorist
- italian
What was William Graham Sumner known for?
- yale professor
- taught the first american course in sociology
- studied folkways (manners, taboos, mores)
What was Thorstein Veblen known for?
- attacked american “conspicuous consumption”
- economist
What was Jane Addams known for?
- social worker, sociologist
- established America’s first settlement house
What was George Herbert Mead known for?
- father of symbolic interactionism
- looked at how the self is constructed through personal exchanges with others
What was Charles Cooley known for?
- Symbolic interactionist
- looking glass self
What was Robert Park known for?
- urban sociologist
- founding member of the Chicago school of sociology
What was Web Dubois known for?
- studied african american people
- introduced concept of ‘double consciousness”
What was Edwin Sutherland known for?
- criminal sociologist + symbolic interactionist
- introduced idea of white-collar crime
What was Everett Hughes known for?
- studied ethnic division of labour in Quebec
- chicago school sociologist
What was John Porter known for?
- examined relationship between social class and ethnicity
- coined the term “vertical mosaic”
What was Dorothy Smith known for?
- feminist standpoint theory
- institutional ethnography
