The Real World, chapter 2

The Real World AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

2nd Edition

Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein

Chapter 2 Sociology’s Family Tree: Theories and Theorists

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

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Figure 2.1 Sociology’s Family Tree

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

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.

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Auguste Comte

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright Š 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.

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Harriet Martineau

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright Š 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.”

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Herbert Spencer

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright Š 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

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Emile Durkheim

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright Š 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.

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Karl Marx

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

Founders of Sociology, continued • 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. • According to Marx, this inequality leads to class conflict.

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

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Max Weber

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

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

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Sigmund Freud

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

Schools of Thought • 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.

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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).

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

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Modern Schools of Thought, continued • Symbolic Interactionism: • Sees interaction and meaning as central to society and assumes that meanings are not inherent but are created through interaction.

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New Theoretical Approaches • Feminist Theory: • Looks at gender inequalities in society and the way that gender structures the social world, and considers remedies to these inequalities.

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New Theoretical Approaches, continued • Queer Theory: • Proposes that categories of sexual identity are social constructs and that no sexual category is fundamentally either deviant or normal.

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New Theoretical Approaches, continued • Postmodernist Theory: • Suggests that social reality is diverse, pluralistic, and constantly changing.

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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

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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

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Chapter Opener

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

The Blind Men and the Elephant

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

Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406)

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

Charles Darwin

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

Gender, Parenting, and Theory

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

Talcott Parsons (1902–1979)

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

Robert Merton (1910–2003)

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

W. E. B. DuBois (1868–1963)

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

Martin Luther King

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

George Herbert Mead (1863–1931)

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

Jane Addams (1860–1935)

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

Hmong Cultural Center in St. Paul, Minnesota

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

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

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

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

Analyzing Wal-Mart

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

Jacques Derrida (1930–2004)

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

Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007)

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

Michel Foucault (1926–84)

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

Theory in Everyday Life (Table 2.1,top)

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

Theory in Everyday Life (Table 2.1,bottom)

The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition Copyright Š 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

Visit the StudySpace at: http://wwnorton.com/studyspace For more learning resources, please visit the StudySpace site for The Real World, 2e.

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