Week 1: Introduction to Sociology

Question 1

What is sociology?

Answer 1

the scientific and systematic study of human society

Question 2

According to Auguste Comte, what was the objective or goal of sociology as a ‘science of society’?

Answer 2

to use the scientific method to discover the ‘fundamental laws of human organization’

Question 3

What is modernism?

Answer 3

a repudiation of traditional beliefs and values in favor of scientific, rationalism, liberalism, and progressive ideas

Question 4

What is ‘basic research’?

Answer 4

research where the goal is to figure out what the social world is like and why it works as it does

Question 5

What is ‘applied research’?

Answer 5

research with the goal to find solutions to societal problems

Question 6

According to C. Wright Mills, what is the ‘sociological imagination’?

Answer 6

a unique quality of mind that allows a person to understand the larger historical scene by making connections between the individual and society

Question 7

What are the three main theoretical perspectives of sociology and how do their conceptions differ?

Answer 7

1. Emile Durkheim - Functionalist
2. Karl Marx - Conflict Theorists
3. Max Weber - Symbolic Interactionists

Question 8

According to Peter Berger, what rules define the game of sociology?

Answer 8

rules of evidence

Question 9

Functionalist

Answer 9

conceive of human society as a social system organized to sustain communal living

-they are interested in what keeps society running

Question 10

Conflict Theorists

Answer 10

conceive of human society as a site of struggle organized around the control of valued resources

-the ruling class benefits from the exploitation of the working class

Question 11

Symbolic Interactionalist

Answer 11

conceive of human society as a ‘symbolic system’ organized on the basis of shared values, norms, and beliefs