The Real World, chapter 2 by Bob Bednar

The Real World AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

2nd Edition

Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein

Chapter 2 Sociologyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Family Tree: Theories and Theorists

Sociological Theories â&#x20AC;˘ Theories in sociology are propositions that explain the social world and help to make predictions about future events. â&#x20AC;˘ Theories are also sometimes referred to as approaches, schools of thought, paradigms, or perspectives.

Figure 2.1 Sociology’s Family Tree

Founders of Sociology • Auguste Comte: • Stated that sociology needed to be treated like any other scientific discipline. • Laid the groundwork for future sociologists and helped build the discipline.

Auguste Comte

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

Founders of Sociology, continued • Harriet Martineau: • A social activist who traveled the United States and wrote about social changes which were radical for this time period. • Martineau translated Comte’s work into English, making his ideas accessible to England and America.

Harriet Martineau

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

Founders of Sociology, continued • Herbert Spencer was the first great English-speaking sociologist. • Spencer believed in evolution and coined the phrase “survival of the fittest.” • He believed that societies evolve through time by adapting to their changing environment. His philosophy is often referred to as “social Darwinism.” 8

Herbert Spencer

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

Founders of Sociology, continued • Emile Durkheim worked to establish sociology as an important academic discipline. • Interested in the social factors that bond and hold people together • Studied the correlation between social isolation and suicide

Emile Durkheim

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

Founders of Sociology, continued • Karl Marx was a German philosopher and political activist. • Marx contributed significantly to sociology’s conflict theory.

Karl Marx

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

Founders of Sociology, continued â&#x20AC;˘ Marx believed that capitalism was creating social inequality between the bourgeoisie, who owned the means of production (money, factories, natural resources, land), and the proletariat, who were the workers. â&#x20AC;˘ According to Marx, this inequality leads to class conflict.

Founders of Sociology, continued â&#x20AC;˘ Max Weber was also interested in how society was becoming industrialized. â&#x20AC;˘ He was concerned with the process of rationalization, applying economic logic to all human activity. â&#x20AC;˘ He believed that contemporary life was filled with disenchantment, the result of the dehumanizing features of modern societies. 15

Max Weber

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

Founders of Sociology, continued â&#x20AC;˘ Sigmund Freud is usually associated with psychoanalysis, but his theories have helped sociologists gain a better understanding of social behavior. â&#x20AC;˘ Freud developed the idea of the subconscious and the unconscious mind, which he believed controls most of our drives, impulses, thoughts, and behaviors. 17

Sigmund Freud

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

Schools of Thought â&#x20AC;˘ Your book refers to paradigms, or schools of thought. Paradigms are ways of thinking or theoretical umbrellas, meant to provide a broad explanation for the way things work.

Modern Schools of Thought • Structural Functionalism: • Society is viewed as an ordered system of interrelated parts, or structures, which are the social institutions that make up society (family, education, politics, the economy). • Each of these different structures meets the needs of society by performing specific functions for the whole system (society). 20

Modern Schools of Thought, continued • Conflict Theory: • Sees social conflict as the basis of society and social change.

Modern Schools of Thought, continued â&#x20AC;˘ Symbolic Interactionism: â&#x20AC;˘ Sees interaction and meaning as central to society and assumes that meanings are not inherent but are created through interaction.

New Theoretical Approaches â&#x20AC;˘ Feminist Theory: â&#x20AC;˘ Looks at gender inequalities in society and the way that gender structures the social world, and considers remedies to these inequalities.

New Theoretical Approaches, continued â&#x20AC;˘ Queer Theory: â&#x20AC;˘ Proposes that categories of sexual identity are social constructs and that no sexual category is fundamentally either deviant or normal.

New Theoretical Approaches, continued â&#x20AC;˘ Postmodernist Theory: â&#x20AC;˘ Suggests that social reality is diverse, pluralistic, and constantly changing.

Theories and Theorists | Concept Abstract propositions that both explain the social world and make predictions about future events are known as: a. theories b. social inequalities c. ideas d. social assumptions e. means of production 26

Theories and Theorists | Concept What are paradigms? a. broad theoretical perspectives b. specific research methods c. dominant sociological applications d. all of the above e. none of the above 27

Theories and Theorists | Concept Marx believed that there was a class struggle between: a. groups of people who worked alongside one another b. groups of people who practiced different religions c. people who owned the means of production and people who worked for a wage. d. people who were born rich versus people who earned their wealth e. people who were born poor versus people who fell into poverty due to poor work ethic

Theories and Theorists | Concept Which of these sociological paradigms has proved to be the most influential of the twentieth century? a. structural functionalism b. conflict theory c. symbolic interactionism d. world-systems theory e. critical race theory 29

Additional Art from Chapter 2

Chapter Opener

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

The Blind Men and the Elephant

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406)

Charles Darwin

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

Gender, Parenting, and Theory

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

Talcott Parsons (1902–1979)

Robert Merton (1910–2003)

W. E. B. DuBois (1868–1963)

Martin Luther King

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

George Herbert Mead (1863–1931)

Jane Addams (1860–1935)

Hmong Cultural Center in St. Paul, Minnesota

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

Blogger Mario Lavandeira, a.k.a. Perez Hilton

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

Analyzing Wal-Mart

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

Jacques Derrida (1930–2004)

Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007)

Michel Foucault (1926–84)

Theory in Everyday Life (Table 2.1,top)

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

Theory in Everyday Life (Table 2.1,bottom)

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright ÂŠ 2010 W.W. Norton & Company

This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for Chapter 2

The Real World AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY 2nd Edition

Kerry Ferris and

Jill Stein

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