Lecture notes for sociology, Study notes of Sociology

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What

is

sociology

?

• Sociology

is the

systematic

study

of human society

. Sociologists

Conduct research

in

order

to

systematically

study

our

social world .

Sociologists

use

various

theories and

research methods

,

including

qualitative

and

quantitative

methods to understand

Society

.

Sociology

allows us

to

connect our

ideas

,

feelings ,

behaviors

,

experiences

and

relationships

to

wider

society

; in both

global

and

local

context in

past and

present

It

draws

on

personal experience

and

connects it

to

broader

society

.

Sociological perspective

Sees

general

patterns

in

society

in the lives

of

people

Sociologists identify

behavior of

people

and

social

patterns

in

Society

Each

person

is

unique

and

has

individual

agency

· Sociologists

recognize

that

society

acts

differently

on various

Categories

of

people

.

It.

Women vs men

,

rich us

poor

-we

think

sociology

when we connect

how our social

standing

affects

our

life

experiences

Durkheim’s theory of suicide suggests that the more strongly anchored an individual is

to society, the less likely they are to die by suicide

Durkheim asserted that suicide rates are related to the level of social solidarity within a group.

This referred to the frequency of interaction and level of shared beliefs within a social group.

According to Durkheim, if solidarity is very low or very high, suicide will increase

Can be applied to explain why suicide is higher among: men, unmarried people, Indigenous

youth and children, Black children in the United States

Durkheim's

study

of

suicide

:

This is

another

example

of

how

society shapes

individual

destinies and

to

shape

private

and personal

decisions.

psychological

and

psychiatric

causes of suicide

focus on

individual

level

causes

,

but

Durkheim

shows

a

sociological explanation by

showing

how

rates

of suicide

vary

by

factors

such as

religion

,

gender

and marital status

.

Individuals

who

belong

to

social

groups

are less

likely

to

commit Suicide in

comparison

of

those

who

don't

Are men or women more

likely

to die

by

suicide

?

Can

be

used

to

explain many

reasonings

of

suicide

.

The

Sociological

Imagination

in

Canadian households

sociological

perspective

=

Sociological

imagination

Coined

by

C

.

Wright

Mills

in 1959

The

sociological

imagination

:

ability

to connect

individual

experiences

to a

wider

Social

content

Example #

Divorce

-we can

use

51

to

understand

prevalence

of

divorce

in Canada:

This allows us

to mole

away

from

individual

reasons

of divorce

,

and to

focus

on

broader social

changes

.

These

changes

include

:

life

expectancy

has increased

,

older

ppl divorcing

after

years

Changes

to divorce

legislation

,

makes

it easier on

legal

standpoint

> Declining Stigma

,

fewer

ppl

feel the need

to

stay

married

b/C of

Stigma

Increased Secularism

,

more

away

from

organized religion

and pressure

women's labour force

participation ,

women can

afford for their own

unrealistic

expectations

of

spouse ,

leads

ppl

to

divorce

bi

expectations

Shifting

gender

roles

,

cause

tension

and conflict

bi less

agreement

Inadequate 

Social

supports

,

marital conflict and tension

. Money

Wise

Greater

diversity

and intimate relationships

,

more choices

,

not

always marriage

Social media

,

more

cheating

,

leads

to divorce

.

Example #2 Smaller Households

Reasons people are not repartnering:

Financial reasons

Challenges associated with blended

families and single-parents

Changing ideas about marriage and self-

fulfillment

Declining stigma

Increased secularism

Changing ideas about sexual relationships

Increase in LAT (Living Apart Together)

couples

Delayed home leaving: Influenced by increased education (longer time in school), rising housing costs (difficulty affording housing),

precarious employment (unstable jobs), changing societal expectations (less pressure to leave home early), and family

structure (divorced parents may lead to earlier leaving).

SI

can

help

account for

this

trend

I

. - Credentialism - cost

of

education

,

debt

2 - -

lack

of

affordable

housing

precarious

employment

more

than

%%

of

adults were

living

with

their

parents

4

.

I

S .

Example

:

Delayed

Home-leaving

-Boomerang

adults

, revolving

door

,

and

cluttered

nest

have

been

terms

used

for

this

.

women

and those

in blended

families

leave

home earlier

Sociological

theories

Change

theories

or order

theories

Change

theories

:

focus on

social

change

and Social

revolution .

Order

theories

:

Focus on Social

Stability

and

Support

Status

quo

Macro

level

:

how

institutions

and

social

structures

impact

Social

groups

and

individuals

Micro level

:

Face.

to Face Concos

,

text

exchange ,

Social media

, phone

,

email

interactions

-Change theory focused on social conflict and inequality.

-Views society as characterized by power struggles bet ween groups.

-Emphasizes the role of social structures in maintaining inequality.

-Criticized for overlooking other forms of inequality and the possibility of

individual mobility.

Social. Conflict

Theory

Conflict

theory

Macro

theory

,

Karl

Marks

,

No

social

order/consensus

,

but

focuses

on

Social class

inequality

money

Marx

argued

that

the working

Class

must

develop

class

Consciousness

to overthrow

Capitalism

and

get

socialism

Material

in

life

Shape

how we think

Change theory focused on gender-based inequalities.

Examines gender relations at both macro and micro levels.

Criticized for focusing primarily on gender-based inequalities and neglecting other

forms of inequality.

Gender

Conflict Approach

Feminist

theory

&

·

Can be

micro or

macro level

focus is on women

and

understanding

their

social

reality

Scholars include :

Dorthy

Smith

,

Morgrit

Eichler

,

Meg

luxton

overlooks

other

forms of

inequality

and

intersecting inequalities

Change theory focused on micro-level interactions.

Views society as the product of everyday interactions.

Emphasizes subjectivity and the creation of meaning.

Criticized for neglecting the influence of larger social

structures.

Symbolic

Interaction

Approach

views

society as

being

an

ongoing

creation

made

up

by

interactions blu

ppl

-focus on

subjectivity

: a

personal

POU

of

what's

going

on

in

a

particular

social

interaction

Scholars include:

• mux Weber

George

Herbert Mead

Erving

Goffman

Rejects grand theories and seeks multiple interpretations.

Emphasizes the fluidity of truth, power of language, and power

relations.

Criticized for being difficult to understand and lacking clear

explanatory factors.

Postmodern

Approach

from ideas in

the

Century

has affected

many

things

in modern

life

Rejects and

is

skeptical

of

grand

theories

,

particularly

any

theories

that

posits

one variable

is the most

important

in

understanding

Society

No

Singular

theory

or

truth

,

no

singular

factor that

helps

explain

our social

world .

knowledge

and

truth

isSituation

Specific

,

fluid and

Contested

Truths are

shaped

by

discourse

Emphasizes

Validity

of truth

, power

of

language

and the

importance

of

power

relations

within

society

.

Macro

Micro

level

Change theory

Cont'd

Validity

:

how

accurate a measurement

or observation is With

respect

to

the

concept

that

it is

trying

to measure.

External

validity

:

the

extent to

which a

finding

Can

be

generalized

to the

larger

population

Lab

Settings

make a

heirarchy

separating

the

researcher

and

the

participants,

making

this a

Critique

of

experiments

as

participants

do not

have

the Change

to

express

their

true actions and

thoughts

.

In

interviews

and

participant

observation

,

there is

more

trust built with

participants

and

the

researcher

,

making

this

better.

Surveys (Widely used method)

Purpose: To collect data about people's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.

Methods: Questionnaires (self administered), interviews (structured).

Types:

Self-Administered: Completed by participants.

Interview-Based: Conducted by researchers.

Challenges:

Design: Careful wording of questions is crucial.

Response Rates: Low response rates can limit representativeness.

Validity: Ensuring questions accurately measure intended concepts.

Longitudinal studies: Same group of people multiple times

Cross Sectional study: Multiple people at one time

Wording of study can affect the validity of the experiment

Pilot study (the first study, subsequent studies are then improved)

There are a lot of errors that can happen with surveys, survey fatigue, wanting to

complete ie quickly.

Confidentiality and anonymity (for Illegal behavior)

·m

Surveys

• Not

necessarily

cause and effect

Can

include interviews

if

questions

are

longer

and

more

complicated

have the

advantage

of

being

easy

to distribute

-If

survey

wording

is

not done

properly ,

it can

impact

the validity

of

the

Study

Pilot study

:

First test

Survey

/interview

to

a smaller

group

to see

what works and

what

does not work

and

make modifications as needed.

Not

accessible

to all

Confidentiality

:

identity

of

participant

is not revealed

to the

public

-Anonymity

: researcher

is not able

to identify

a

given

person's

responses

with

that

person

.

Advantage: Validity, can understand the

meanings and intentions of people

Need a skilled researcher who can build

rapport with participants; social location

of researcher can be important

Not easy to replicate

Cont'd

&

& not

as

reliable

Analyzing data someone else has collected

can include historical/archival analysis

Content analysis: analysis of existing text/images in

various sources such as advertising

Large scale data sets are based on large samples

Allow researchers to test for effects bet ween variables

Results can be generalized to the larger population

Studies can be replicated

Limitations include that the quality and thoroughness of data may be problematic,

data may contain biases of original researcher

Secondary

data

analysis

:

~

John

McMullan

:

content

analysis

of

newspaper coverage

of

Westery

mining

disaster

Newspaper

described

mining

disaster as a

tragedy

rather than a Corporate

Crime where

a

company knowingly

put the lives of employees

in

danger

. - - ~ ~ -