Module 1: What is Sociology

Question 1

Sociology

Answer 1

The systematic study of the social world and human behaviour

Question 2

Peter Berger

Answer 2

Berger (1963) characterizes the ability to see the strange in the familiar as a key element of thinking sociologically. In his words, “the first wisdom of sociology is this: things are not what they seem” (Berger 1963:34). To see things as Berger invites us to see them means identifying and leaving behind familiar ideas about the social world.

Question 3

C. Wright Mills

Answer 3

Identified what it meant to see beyond the taken-for-granted daily patterns and routines. As Mills describes it, the “sociological imagination” allows us to explore the relationship between our private lives, historical change, and the elements that shape the social world. Mills’ concept of the sociological imagination, which he saw as a critical tool for understanding the complex interplay between individual experiences and broader social structures. Mills used the term personal troubles to refer to issues and events experienced by the individual and within their close relations: “They have to do with one’s self” and are strictly “a private matter” (Mills 1959:4). Public issues, on the other hand, are much broader. They relate to a range of dimensions of our social world and the historical circumstances that gave rise to them.

*COINED SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

Question 4

Sociological imagination (2)

Answer 4

Sociological imagination is a term used in the field of sociology to describe a framework for understanding social reality that places personal experiences within a broader social and historical context.
The ability to see connections between an individual’s life and experiences and broader social and historical issues and forces.

Question 5

Social Structures

Answer 5

Social structures are ordered sets of recurring patterns of behaviour and institutions that make up our society

Question 6

Micro level of our social world+ex

Answer 6

At the micro level are recurring patterns of behaviour that exist at the level of interaction, whether that be face-to-face or online. For example, one of the defining features of Canadian culture is an entitlement to personal space. When you board a bus or subway to start your commute, you check for an available seat. Chances are, you avoid sitting directly next to another passenger if there is another seat available. Research at the micro level might focus on individual-level behaviours, such as how people select their seat on a bus.

studies individuals and one-on-one interactions

Question 7

Meso level of our social world+ ex

refers to + relate to + research at the meso level

Answer 7

Meso level refers to dimensions of our social world that exist above the level of face-to-face interactions. They tend to primarily relate to organizations, including schools and religion. Research at the meso level might focus on the ways that our behaviour is influenced by something like organizational culture (ex: examine the interactions between Somalis and Americans in Maine).

meso-level research studies groups,

Question 8

Macrostructures of our social world +ex for research+ex

Answer 8

Social class and the structure of paid work are both examples of macrostructures that make up our social world. Macrostructures also include such institutions as marriage, kinship, religion, family, and law. Research at the macro level might explore how social class and inequality across Canada change over time.

Question 9

Instutitions

Answer 9

Question 10

What does the global level of our social world include?

Answer 10

The global level includes patterns of global trade and communication and international migration.

Question 11

think about whether conversations between students and their instructors vary depending on the gender of the instructor. In considering gender, we’re looking at a more

Answer 11

macrostructural component of our social world

Question 12

agency

Answer 12

the capacity to think and behave on our own accord, independent of larger social structural forces.

Question 13

The tendency to think that social structure is deterministic—meaning that our lives are completely governed by structures—is flawed because

Answer 13

there are indeed other things that shape our lives. We shape our own lives.

Question 14

Or perhaps you are in a relationship with someone from a different cultural, religious, racial, or ethnic background than you, even though your own culture frowns upon it—is a potential —– force.

Answer 14

macrostructural force.

Question 15

social construction

Answer 15

Question 16

Why study sociology? (4)

Answer 16

1. Complexity (obtain greater understanding of the complex social world, others and ourselves)
2. Social Context (Understand the importance of social context for understanding individual behaviour)
3. Social problems (understand the social issues facing society)
4. Competencies (develope problem solving and critical thinking skills/cross-cultural awareness and understanding)

Question 17

What are the key events in Europe that contribute to the emergence of sociology?

Answer 17

1. Political upheavals (New idea that came up during the englightment that as human beings, we have potential that we can shape our environment, comprehend and control nature, understand the world we live in through reason and research)
2. Economic change (industrial revolution)
3. Social transformation (moving away to urban centers)
4. Scientific innovations (religion is replaced with science)

Question 18

professional sociology

Answer 18

The work of professional sociologists is directed toward an academic audience and focused on a central sociological question, and not the application of their findings to society

Question 19

public sociology

Answer 19

Public sociology is about engaging with both research and policy, such that research can potentially impact the lives of the people and places under study by sociologists. There is a greater push to reach an audience outside of the university by writing in a highly readable way and engaging in research across a wide range of subject matter.