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Navigating Sociology
Sociology
The study of the patterned (i.e. predictable and recurring) relations among humans, and of the social institutions and societies that people create
Sociologists study the regular ways that people interact and what those interactions produce
Sociologists attempt to find solutions to social problems—problems affecting a large social group or segment of society
Society
The largest-scale human group, whose members interact with one another, share a common geographic territory, and share common institutions
Social structure
Any enduring, predictable pattern of social relations among people in society
Social institution
A kind of social structure made up of a number of relationships, operating to achieve certain social goals (e.g. family, formal religion, education)
Sociological Imagination
An approach to sociology that attempts to relate personal experience to public issues and to the broader societal context in which these experiences occur (C. Wright Mills)
NAMES WORTH KNOWING
Auguste Comte (1798–1857) coined the word sociologie and developed the concept of positivism, aspiring to study society using the principles of science.
Karl Marx (1818–1883) observed that capitalism permitted the wealthy class of capitalist business owners (the bourgeoisie) to earn profits by exploiting the poorer class of workers (the proletariat).
Max Weber (1864–1920) expanded on Marx’s ideas with a greater focus on status groups and power, including how interest groups gain, hold, and exercise power.
Lewis Coser (1913–2003) argued that conflict has important social functions and can tighten the bonds of loosely structured groups and societies.
Anthony Giddens (b. 1938) advocates a fusion approach to sociology that illustrates the need to understand all of the main concepts of the discipline in order to be an effective sociologist.
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Five Theoretical Approaches
FUNCTIONALISM
(also called Structural Functionalism)
- Views society as a set of interconnected parts that work together to preserve the overall stability and efficiency of the whole
- Individual social institutions (e.g. families, the economy, government, etc.) all have roles to play in the continued functioning of society
- Changes in one part of society bring about changes in other parts
- Attributes social problems to the failure of institutions to fulfill their intended functions during times of rapid change
- Social institutions perform two functions (Merton):
- Manifest functions are intended and easily recognized
- Latent functions are unintended and often hidden
Classic Example
- Émile Durkheim’s Suicide (1897)—a systematic analysis of suicide rates in different localities and groups
- Anomie (“normlessness”)—condition typical in times of rapid social change, in which social norms are weak or in conflict with one another, giving rise to social problems
- Norms—rules or expectations about what kinds of behaviour are appropriate and inappropriate in specific social situations
- Uses a macrosociological approach—studying social institutions and larger social groups in society
CONFLICT THEORY
- Focuses on the unequal distribution of power, which creates imbalance, conflict, and change
- Views society as a collection of varied groups that constantly struggle with each other to dominate society and its institutions
- Began with the work of Marx and Weber, and developed as a reaction against functionalism
- Capitalist culture is a product of a value system—a set of socially shared ideas of what a group or society considers good, right, and desirable (Marx)
- Culture is shaped by ideology—a strategy or philosophy
Classic Example
- John Porter’s The Vertical Mosaic (1965)—landmark study examined the unequal opportunities faced by different ethnic groups in Canadian society
- Presented Canadian society as a class-based, vertical hierarchy defined by wealth and power
- Examined Canada as a cultural mosaic of ethnic groups preserving their customs and heritage, and holding different positions in the class-based hierarchy
- Illustrates how societies create and control conflict, despite systemic inequalities
Symbolic interactionism
- Uses a macrosociological approach—studying social institutions and larger social groups in society
Associated with...
- Labelling theory—any given social problem is viewed as a “problem” only because an influential group of people defines it this way
- Social construction—the social world consists of a number of shared understandings that humans have reached and reinforced over time
- Performativity—certain social factors, such as gender, are socially constructed and then acted out using words and behaviours associated with what it means to be, say, male or female
Classic Example
- Erving Goffman’s Stigma (1963)—examined people who are stigmatized (judged, condemned, ostracized, or in other ways viewed negatively), and considered how stigmatization affects people’s social interactions and sense of self
FEMINISM
- Focuses on gender inequality, or relations of dominance and subordination between men and women
- Interested in how gender inequality makes women’s lives different from men’s
- Considers roles—expected behaviour of an individual in a social position and the duties associated with that position
- Views the subordination of women as a result of socioeconomic and ideological factors
- Dismisses biological determinism—the view that people’s fates are determined entirely by their genetic/ biological makeup, without any influence of social and environmental factors
- Considers influences of patriarchy—social or political system in which men hold power and women are largely excluded from it
Postmodernism
- Interested in unmasking ideologies that protect the dominant social order
- Proposes that rationality is neither sure nor clear, and that our knowledge is situation-specific—it is always limited to particular times, places, and social positions
- Denies the possibility of universal knowledge and highlights the value of local or particular insights
- Argues against modernism, which suggests that through science we can discover “the truth” about reality, and that there is only one “truth” per situation
- Is the polar opposite of positivism—philosophical belief that any rational assertion can be proven scientifically (Comte, Giddens)
FUSION APPROACH
- Sociologists today typically use a variety of these and other theoretical approaches in combination
- Different sociological frameworks can be applied together to generate valuable findings
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