Week 1 Sociology Reading UOPX

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One point two point one What Are Society and Culture?

Sociology is the study of groups and group interactions, societies and social interactions, from small and personal groups to very large groups. A group of people who live in a defined geographic area, who interact with one another, and who share a common culture is what sociologists call a society. Sociologists study all aspects and levels of society. Sociologists working from the microlevel study small groups and individual interactions, while those using macrolevel analysis look at trends among and between large groups and societies. For example, a microlevel study might look at the accepted rules of conversation in various groups such as among teenagers or business professionals. In contrast, a macrolevel analysis might research the ways that language use has changed over time or in social media outlets.

The term culture refers to the group's shared practices, values, and beliefs. Culture encompasses a group's way of life, from routine, everyday interactions to the most important parts of group members' lives. It includes everything produced by a society, including all of the social rules. Sociologists often study culture using the sociological imagination, which pioneer sociologist C. Wright Mills described as an awareness of the relationship between a person's behavior and experience and the wider culture that shaped the person's choices and perceptions. It's a way of seeing our own and other people's behavior in relationship to history and social structure.

One illustration of this is a person's decision to marry. In the United States, this choice is heavily influenced by individual feelings; however, the social acceptability of marriage relative to the person's circumstances also plays a part. Remember, though, that culture is a product of the people in a society; sociologists take care not to treat the concept of "culture" as though it were alive in its own right. Reification is an error of treating an abstract concept as though it has a real, material existence.

One point two point two Studying Patterns: How Sociologists View Society

All sociologists are interested in the experiences of individuals and how those experiences are shaped by interactions with social groups and society as a whole. To a sociologist, the per sonal decisions an individual makes do not exist in a vacuum. Cultural patterns and social forces put pressure on people to select one choice over another. Sociologists try to identify these general patterns by examining the behavior of large groups of people living in the same society and experiencing the same societal pressures.

Changes in the U.S. family structure offer an example of patterns that sociologists are interested in studying. A "typical" family now is vastly different than in past decades when most U.S. families consisted of married parents living in a home with their unmarried children. The percent of unmarried couples, same-sex couples, single-parent and singleadult households is increasing, as well as is the number of expanded households, in which extended family members such as grandparents, cousins, or adult children live together in the family home.

While mothers still make up the majority of single parents, millions of fathers are also raising their children alone, and more than one million of these single fathers have never been married. Increasingly, single men and women and cohabitating opposite-sex or samesex couples are choosing to raise children outside of marriage through surrogates or adoption.

Some sociologists study social facts, which are the laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and all of the cultural rules that govern social life, that may contribute to these changes in the family. Do people in the United States view marriage and family differently than before? Do employment and economic conditions play a role? How has culture influenced the choices that individuals make in living arrangements? Other sociologists are studying the consequences of these new patterns, such as the ways children are affected by them or changing needs for education, housing, and healthcare.

Another example of the way society influences individual decisions can be seen in people's opinions about and use of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP benefits. Some people believe those who receive SNAP benefits are lazy and unmotivated. Statistics from the United States Department of Agriculture show a complex picture.

The percentage of the population receiving SNAP benefits is much higher in certain states than in others. Does this mean, if the stereotype above were applied, that people in some states are lazier and less motivated than those in other states? Sociologists study the economies in each state-comparing unemployment rates, food, energy costs, and other factors-to explain differences in social issues like this.

To identify social trends, sociologists also study how people use SNAP benefits and how people react to their use. Research has found that for many people from all classes, there is a strong stigma attached to the use of SNAP benefits. This stigma can prevent people who qualify for this type of assistance from using SNAP benefits. According to how strongly this stigma is felt is linked to the general economic climate. This illustrates how sociologists observe a pattern in society.

Sociologists identify and study patterns related to all kinds of contemporary social issues. The "don't ask, don't tell" policy, the emergence of the Tea Party as a political faction, how Twitter has influenced everyday communicationthese are all examples of topics that sociologists might explore.

One point two point three Studying Part and Whole: How Sociologists View Social Structures

One point two point four. Summary

One point two point five. Section Quiz

One point two point six. Short Answer

One point two point nine. Glossary

One point three. The History of Sociology

One point three point one. Creating a Discipline

One point three point one point two. Harriet Martineau (eighteen oh two-eighteen seventy-six)- the First Woman Sociologist

One point three point one point three Karl Marx, eighteen eighteen to eighteen eighty-three

One point three point one point four Herbert Spencer, eighteen twenty to nineteen oh three

One point three point one point five Georg Simmel, eighteen fifty-eight to nineteen eighteen

One point three point one point six Émile Durkheim, eighteen fifty-eight to nineteen seventeen

One point three point one point seven George Herbert Mead, eighteen sixty-three to nineteen thirty-one

One point three point one point eight Max Weber, eighteen sixty-four to nineteen twenty

One point three point one point nine William Edward Burghardt "W. E. B." Du Bois, eighteen sixty-eight to nineteen sixty-three

One point three point two Summary

One point three point three Section Quiz

One point three point four Short Answer

One point three point seven Glossary

One point four Theoretical Perspectives

One point four point one Functionalism

One point four point one point one Criticism

One point four point two Conflict Theory

One point four point two point one Criticism

One point four point three Symbolic Interactionist Theory

One point four point three point one Criticism

One point four point three point two Sociological Theory Today

One point four point four Summary

One point four point five Section Quiz

One point four point six Short Answer

One point four point nine Glossary

Three point one Introduction to Culture

Three point one point one Glossary

Three point two What Is Culture?

Three point two point one Cultural Universals

Three point two point two Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism

Three point two point three Summary

Three point two point four Section Quiz

Three point two point five Short Answer

Three point two point eight Glossary

Three point three Elements of Culture

Three point three point one Values and Beliefs

Three point three point two Norms

Three point three point three Symbols and Language

Three point three point four Summary

Three point three point five Section Quiz

Three point three point six Short Answer

Three point three point nine Glossary

Three point four Pop Culture, Subculture, and Cultural Change

Three point four point one High Culture and Popular Culture

Three point four point two Subculture and Counterculture

Three point four point three Cultural Change

Three point four point three point one Innovation: Discovery and Invention

Three point four point three point two Diffusion and Globalization

Three point four point four Summary

Three point four point five Section Quiz

The mapr difference between invention and discovery is:

Three point four point six Short Answer

Three point four point nine Glossary

Three point five Theoretical Perspectives on Culture

Three point five point one Summary

Three point five point two Section Quiz

What theoretical perspective views society as having a system of interdependent inherently connected parts?

The "American Dream"-

Three point five point two point one Short Answer

Overview

An introductory exploration into sociology, outlining foundational terms such as society, culture, and the sociological imagination while illustrating how sociologists examine individual experiences within broader social contexts.

Key Points

1Sociology studies groups and interactions within societies
2Culture is defined by shared practices, values, and beliefs
3Sociologists examine both microlevel and macrolevel interactions
4Social structures influence personal decisions and societal changes
5The sociological imagination connects individual choices to societal context.

Details

Category: Social Sciences

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