THE

SOCIOLOGICAL
IMAGINATION 1
 Learning Objectives

1. Learn what sociology is, its foundations, and its

importance today.
2. Gain an understanding of the different theoretical
perspectives.
3. Compare the respective emphases of sociology’s key
theorists.
4. Distinguish between sociological and common sense
explanations.
5. Develop your own “sociological imagination”.

2
 What Is Sociology?
Sociology
 the systematic study of the relationship
between the individual and society and of
the consequences of difference.

 looks at how others influence our

behavior: how major social institutions
like the government, religion, and the
economy affect us; and how we ourselves
affect other individuals, groups, and even 3
 Sociology is a Verb
“Social change happens
because we begin to act in new
ways.”
 Sociology opens up new pathways for
us.
 Sociology is something we do, not
just something we learn.
 In our daily lives, sociology can help
us to better understand our own
actions and the actions of those 4
 Practising Sociology
– Practise – Participate in
personal local politics
sociology – Run for office
– Become more – Volunteer
aware of – Organize
privilege
– Fight for change
– Become more
informed
– Interpret what
you learn
– Vote 5
 Discussion

How does sociology – the study of

relationships – relate to the career you are
studying for?

6
 The Sociological
Imagination

C. Wright Mills described the

sociological imagination as:
 An awareness of the relationship
between an individual and the wider 7
 The Sociological
Imagination
 The ability to view our society as an
outsider, rather than relying only on our
individual perspective, which is shaped
by our cultural biases.
 E.g. What constitutes a normal sporting
event may be different in Canada than it
is in Bali: hockey players in a hockey
game vs roosters engaged in cockfights.

8
 The Sociological
Imagination

Private troubles vs. Public

issues
ex: Is a person unemployed due to personal troubles or is it due to
societal issues?
Obstacles that
Obstacles that individuals
individuals face as
in similar positions face;
individuals
Privaterather
also referred to by
thanl as a
sociologists as “social
consequence of
problems”.
their social position.

9
 Private Trouble vs
Public Issue
Example of a private trouble: A college
student who parties 4 nights out of 7, who
rarely attends class, and who never does his
or her homework. This student has a
personal trouble that interferes with his or
her odds of success in college.

Example of a Public Issue: If 50% of all

college students in Canada never graduate,
we would label it as being a larger social
issue. 10
 Activity
Brainstorm 5-10 private troubles
experienced by Canadians. Discuss the
following questions:
1.Why do most people tend to view their
problems as private troubles?
2.Who is responsible for solving private
troubles?
3.How are public issues related to private
troubles?
4.Who is responsible for solving public
issues? 11
 The Sociological
Imagination
 Is an empowering tool.

 It allows us to go beyond a limited

understanding of human
behaviour, to see the world and its
people in a new way and through a
broader lens than we might
otherwise use.
12
 The Hamburger as
Miracle

Using your sociological imagination,

suppose you had to make a hamburger
without relying on any knowledge, skills,
tools, or resources obtained from someone
else.

How hard can it be to make a

hamburger from scratch?
13
 The Hamburger as
Miracle
 Anything we produce is a miracle because
it is a symbol of our society’s shared
knowledge and skills.

 Points to the astonishing complexity and

taken-for-grantedness of human
interdependence.

14
 The _________ as
Miracle - Activity
 Pick any item or product.

 Write down all the steps it takes to

manufacture this product from a to z.

 The goal of this activity is to show you

how interdependent we are upon shared
skills and knowledge.
15
Four Key Components
of Sociology
1. Systematic Study
 Sociologists gather empirical data
through systematic methods of research
(quantitative and qualitative).

16
Four Key Components
of Sociology
2. The Individual
 Individuals generally follow guidelines for
behavior, but they can reject them
because they have agency, the freedom
individuals have to choose and act.
 E.g. Individuals have the opportunity to
vote at the municipal, provincial and
federal levels of government.

17
Four Key Components
of Sociology
3. Society
 The study of society is at the core of
sociology. Society consists of persistent
patterns of relationships and social
networks within which we operate.

18
Four Key Components
of Sociology
4. The Consequences of Difference
 Sociology looks at how resources are
distributed and the consequences of those
distributions. One of the main tasks of
sociology is to reveal and report the
degree of social inequality.
 E.g. differing amounts of wealth, prestige,
or power.
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 Sociology and the
Social Sciences
Science
 refers to the body of knowledge obtained
by methods based on systematic
observation.
Natural science: Social science:
• study of • study of social
physical features of
features of humans and the
nature and the ways they
ways they interact and
interact and change
change 20
 Sociology and the
Social Sciences
Sociology
 In contrast to other social sciences,
sociology emphasizes the influence that
society has on people’s attitudes and
behavior, and examines the ways in which
people interact and shape society.

21
 Sociology &
Common
Sense (Activity)
List 5-10 things that are considered
common sense (things everyone knows).

 E.g. consider expressions such as “an

apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

22
 Sociology and
Common Sense
 Sociologists do not accept something as
fact because “everyone knows it.”
 Common sense is often unreliable and
inaccurate.

 True or False: Women are more chatty

than men.
 Answer: False! Surveys show that both
men and women speak about 16,000 words
per day. 23
 Sociology and
Common Sense
 Findings are tested by researchers,
analyzed in relation to other data, and
evaluated with sociological theory.

 True or False: military marriages are

more likely to end in divorce
 Answer: False! Recent studies
demonstrate otherwise.

24
 The Development of
Sociology
Sociologists have developed a wide range
of theories in which they describe and
explain the diversity of social behavior.

25
 What Is
Sociological Theory?
Theory
 a set of statements that seeks to
explain problems, actions, or
behavior.
 Sociological theories represent our
attempts to tell the stories of our
lives but they do so in a particular
way.

26
 Formulating
Sociological Theories

Effective Theory
 May be both explanatory and
predictive.
 E.g. Durkheim’s theory on suicide.
He theorized that social forces shape 27
 Testing Sociological
Theories
- Durkheim gathered data from
different countries, and found that the
social makeup of various nations
shaped their suicide rates.

- Suicide rates reflect the extent to

which people are integrated into the
group life of society (integration
through religious affiliation).
28
Applying Sociological
Theories
- Durkheim concluded that human
beings are, at their very foundation,
social beings. We cannot consider
what it means to be an individual
apart from our position in society.

- He argued that if social forces have

such power in our lives, there must be
a discipline dedicated to their study
(sociology).
29
 Who is more likely to
commit suicide?*
1. Protestant or Catholic?
2. Divorced individual or Married individual?
3. Divorced individual or Never married
individual?
4. Never married individual or Married
individual?
5. Person living in a country at peace or Person
living in a country at war?
6. Men or Women?
7. College freshman away from home or
Student at local community college? 30
8. Factory worker or College student?
 How is Social Order
Maintained?

Auguste Comte (1798–1857)

 Coined the term “sociology” which
literally means “the study of processes
of companionship”

31
 How Do Power and Inequality
Shape Outcomes?

Karl Marx (1818–1883)

 Emphasized the significance of power
and
control over resources.
32
 How Do Power and Inequality
Shape Outcomes?

– social inequality is determined by

ownership, or lack thereof, of key material
resources.
– alienation: loss of control over our creative
human capacity to produce, separation from
the products we make, and isolation from 33
 How Do Power and Inequality
Shape Outcomes?

Max Weber (1864–1920)

Argued that power was determined by:
 social class
 ownership of material resources
 social status and organizational
34
How Does Interaction Shape Our
Worlds?

Macrosociology:
 concentrates on large-scale
phenomena or entire civilizations
 Much of the work of Durkheim, Marx,
and Weber involves
macrosociology.
Microsociology:
 stresses study of small groups and
the analysis of our everyday
experiences and interactions 35
Theoretical Perspectives
Four approaches to these
sociological
insights:
 Functionalist perspective
 Conflict perspective
 Feminist perspective
 Interactionist perspective

36
 LO-2

Theoretical Approaches

1. Functionalist perspective:
 emphasizes that parts of a society
are structured to maintain its
 stability.
Society viewed as a vast network of
connected parts, each of which helps
to maintain the system as a whole.

37
 LO-2

Theoretical Approaches

1. Functionalist perspective:
 Durkheim’s work is an example of the
functionalist perspective, which
views society as akin to a living
organism in which each part of the
organism contributes to its survival.

38
 LO-2

Application of
Sociological Perspective
Choose one social issue and apply the
functionalist perspective. Try to
identify functions (or benefits) of the
social issue.
E.g. teen pregnancy, divorce, care of the
elderly, public punishment, etc.

39
 LO-2

Theoretical Approaches

2. Conflict perspective:
 emphasizes the distribution of power
and allocation of resources.
 considers how the status quo is
established and maintained, and who
benefits and who suffers from the
existing system.

40
 LO-2

Theoretical Approaches

2. Conflict perspective:
 Marx’s work is an example of the
conflict perspective.

 Functionalist and conflict theorists

both analyze large-scale, society-
wide patterns of behavior (macro-
level analysis).

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 LO-2

Application of
Sociological Perspective
Using the same or a different social
issue, apply the conflict perspective to
it. Try to identify where there might be
inequality and power dynamics.

E.g. teen pregnancy, addiction, divorce,

care of the elderly, public punishment,
etc.

42
 LO-2

Theoretical
Approaches
3. Feminist perspective:
 highlights the role of gender in
creating and sustaining inequality
 Feminist theorists conduct both
macro-level and micro-level analysis.

43
 LO-2

Application of
Sociological Perspective
Using the same or a different social
issue, apply the feminist perspective.
Try to identify how the issue might affect
males and females differently.
E.g. teen pregnancy, homelessness,
addiction, divorce, care of the elderly,
etc.

44
 LO-2

Theoretical Approaches
4. Interactionist perspective:
 generalizes about everyday forms of
social interaction to understand
society as a whole.
 The interactionist perspective is
micro-level in approach.

45
 LO-2

Theoretical Approaches
4. Interactionist perspective:
 Erving Goffman is an example of an
interactionist.
 Goffman popularized the
dramaturgical approach where
people are seen as theatrical
performers.

46
 LO-2

Application of
Sociological Perspective
Using the same or a different social
issue, apply the Interactionist
perspective to it. Try to identify how
individuals might perceive or interact
around the social issue. Also, are there
any signs or symbols that represent the
social issue?
E.g. teen pregnancy, homelessness,
addiction, divorce, care of the elderly,
etc.

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