2. Unit 1: Towards an introduction to the study of society: The
awakening of the sociological imagination 1
Objectives:
Define society and explain what sociologists view as a
society
Explain and be able to use a sociological perspective
Explain the sociological imagination (a term coined by C. Wright
Mills)
Explain how culture shock and the beginner's mind can be useful in
demonstrating a sociological perspective.
3. Society:
Society = a group of people who shapetheir livesin aggregatedand
patterned waysthat distinguish their group from other
groups
4. What does society look like?
The study of society
Society as an object itself (sui generis)
if society is an object, than it can be examined closely and
analyzed like any other subject (sounds simple isnt it? We divide
it in pieces and explore each piece carefully)
A sociologist does to society, what a biologist does to a living
organism, or a geologist does to a rock:
Society becomes something scientifically weighted, measured and
dissected
5. A geologist studying a rock:
6. Is Society a concrete object after all?
But, waitas we begin to dissect this object, we discover that its
made up of countless other components
Of things like: culture, working class, ethnicity
These things appear to be sui generis (objects on their own) as
well: more phenomena to examine by themselves, hmmm, but
wait.
And these components can be broken down even further into seemly
endless bits and pieces
It gets confusing: daunting, almost impossible to imagine we could
analyze something so big, with so many parts, the shapes and
boundaries are so fluid
7. Society looks like this painting by Kandinsky:
8. Or more like this:
Relationships between individuals in a society (social
networks)
9. What can we see?
If we cant see the whole of society, what can we see?
We can see people living their lives, interacting with each other,
working, playing, eating, dancing, flirting, lying,
fighting,grieving, driving in their cars, ending their lives by own
choice, partying, getting married, divorcing, stealing, loosing
their minds..etc
There are limitless observable phenomena for us to analyze
sociologically
In fact they are all happening around us right now, every moment of
every life
Scoping social phenomena
10. E.g. Addiction to alcohol?: Mad Men and alcoholism
[Sociology of Mad Men]
As a sociologist you start wondering what happened in episode
3?
11. And the ladies in mad men:
12. This is what society looks like:
People actively and collectively shape their lives, organizing
their social interactions and relationships to produce a real
meaningful world: and they do this in patterned ways that (we as)
social scientists can analyze.
We are curiousto analyze the social processes that everyone
experiences and how those social processes create the larger
society of which we are all a part of
13.
14. E.g. The sociology of partying and its possible secondary
effects
First shy, drink alcohol, dance, dance, kiss, kiss some more, with
the guy, whats his name again? and yeah, lets go his place
The sun shines, headache, OH NO! a one night stand, with this
guy?
(Tierra traga me)
15. E.g. the sociology of first loves /
You can not eat nor think clearly, or do anything else, you just
think about that person, you want to be with that person, you want
to do everything for them, you dont care if they dont appreciate
it, dont care if it all comes from one way, if it hurts, if she
doesnt call, you want to lose yourself in their eyes, literally
lose yourself
This is the One, I KNOW IT! (not! Or not always! Or to be specific,
95% of the time this is not the one)
16. Is sociology a science?
Natural science is the study of the physical features of nature and
the ways in which they interact and change
Social science is the study of the social features of humans and
the ways they interact and change
17. Positioning sociology among other sciences:
Sociology overlaps with other social sciences, but much of the
territory it covers is unique
18. Sociology =
the systematic or scientific study of human society and social
behavior, from large scale institutions and mass culture to small
groups and individual interactions
The sociology of The Sopranos would deal with family, mafia,
loyalty, the experience of crime, morality, immigration,
integration etc.
19. Socius Logos [study of society]
Another more pragmatic definition by Becker (1986): sociology is
the study of
people doing things together
Above definition reminds us of the fact that neither society nor
the individual exists in isolation but each is dependent on the
intertwined with the other
Humans are social beings :
Not only for survival, but importantly because our very sense of
self derives from our membership in society (E.g. family,
neighborhoods, etc.)
20. Awakening the sociological imagination
To illuminate
the connection between
the individual and society
21. Micro and Macro sociology
The different sociological perspectives are like the photographers'
lenses, allowing different ways of looking at a common subject
(Newman, 2000):
Sociologist can take:
a Micro sociological lens: zoom lens
aMacro sociological lens:wide-angle lens
or any number of perspectives located on the continuum between the
two
22. Macro and Micro perspectives:
The micro perspective assumes that societys larger structures are
shaped through individual interactions;
while,
The macro perspective assumes that societys larger structures shape
those individual interactions
Think of these perspectives as being on a continuum
23. Levels of analysis: micro- and macro sociology:
Sociology covers a wide range of topics at different levels of
analysis
24. Sociological Imagination (1)
One quality of mind that all the great social analysts need to
possess in order to study social phenomena
The ability to understand
the intersection between biographyand history
The interplay between the self and the world
C. Wright Mills (1916 -1962)
25. Sociological imagination (2)
The sociological imagination requires that we search for the link
between the micro and macro levels of analysis
Mills characterization of sociology as the intersection between
biography and history reminds us that the process works in both
directions:
While larger social forces influence individual lives, there are
many ways in which our individual lives can affect society as
well
26. Sociology and Common Sense?
Our theories and opinions typically come from common sense, every
day knowledge and experiences. These can be biased and
incidental
This is not the sociological imagination!
The commonsense knowledge, while sometimes accurate, is not always
reliable, because it rests on commonly held beliefs rather or
assumptions than on systematic analysis of facts.
Doing sociology is a radical undertaking: it requires from us a
willingnessto suspend our own pre-conceptions, assumptions and
beliefs about the way things are
27. Example of the awakening of the sociological
imagination:
28. How to think like a sociologist
Never assume anything
Get ready to be wrong
Ask even more questions
Make the everyday strange
Embrace lifes complexities
http://nortonbooks.typepad.com/everydaysociology/2009/06/how-to-think-like-a-sociologist.html
29. Ways to stimulate the sociological imagination:
Try to create in ourselves a sense of what anthropologists call
Culture Shock
This term was coined in Anthropology to describe the experience of
visiting an exotic foreign country.
The first encounters with the local natives and their way of life
can seem so strange to us that they produce a kind of
disorientation and doubt about our ability to make sense of things.
Putting all judgments aside for the moment
This state of mind is very useful
At this point: when we completely lack an understanding of our
surroundings we start truly perceiving what is in front of our
eyes
30. Culture shock
What about the Tourists that come for the first time to Aruba,
would they experience a similar culture shock?
In the TV show Lost, six of the characters return from a deserted
island to discover that ordinary experiences that they previously
took for granted seem strikingly different or unfamiliar
Or my favorite analogy for the awakening of the sociological
imagination that started with an unbelievable culture shock: Alice
in Wonderland
31. Sociology Zen (beginners mind)
Practice the opposite of the experts mind which is so filled with
facts, projections, assumptions, opinions and explanations that it
cant learn anything new
You need a Beginners mind: approaching the world without
preconceptions in order to see things in a new wayDISCOVERY
Make the assignment Analyzing everyday life: for the next session
on Monday, the 22th of November.
We will then test your ability to apply a beginners mind