SOC100 - Introduction to Sociology

Sociology Is "the systematic study of human behaviour in social context" It relates the individual to the society Social Imagination Taking a personal issue and putting it in the context of society A personal trouble in the social structure (stable patterns of social relations) ExAmple Losing a job. It's a personal issue, but it relates to society in many ways. You could have lost the job due to demographics, education, global manufacturing pressures, unemployment etc Historical Shifts Leadin

Introduction and social imagination (Lec 1) What is Sociology? Systematic study of human behaviour and a social context Informs about social structures, Behavior, culture, Etc Sociologists have studied almost anything you can think of. It is quite broad. They study structural things from the economy to financial markets to culture Sociologist have studied quite a bit of things, anything relating to human behavior in the social dispels myth We tend to hold a lot of ideas that aren't very systema

Research Methods Sept.14.2020 Why it’s important to discuss research methods how we do our research  There are different forms of knowledge, common sense, and social sciences It’s good to be skeptical  Another kind of knowledge are ideological knowledge and this could be from nationalism and nationalistic ideology to religious ideology to political ideology  Ideologies tend to be fixed, closed and not open to criticism  They are all different forms of knowledge… Common sense characterist

Research Cycle Formulate research question Lift review Select appropriate method Collect data Analyze data Quantitative data (numeric - e.g. tables) Qualitative data (non-numeric - e.g. images, handwritten) Report results Annual meetings, conference presentations Journals Peer review: People who are considered experts in the same field look at the article and assess if it's good enough to be printed in the journal Research Terminology Variable: A concept that can take on more than one value (i

Culture Culture as Problem Solving All elements of culture —the socially transmitted ideas, practices, and material objects that people create to deal with real-life problems—begin in the way that superstitions do: People confront a need and invent a solution. How does cultural sharing take place? Through human interaction, communication, and learning. Society: involves people interacting socially and sharing culture, usually in a defined geographical area. Culture, then, is the sum of the socia

Common Sense Perspective vs Sociological Perspective Sociology provides a unique perspective through different theories Is there a cultural bias? Culture refers to the symbolic and learned aspects of human society. It is the sum of traditions, practices, languages, symbols, beliefs, values, ideologies and material objects that create a sense of similarity amongst a group of people Common Sense Notions of Culture in North America High culture Is the sum of traditions, practices, languages, symbo

Theory 2 Sept.18.2020 Symbolic interactionism  Features  Focus on interpersonal communication in Mirco level settings  One on one conversations small groups - how people interact with one another How people understand reality through everyday interactions Social life is possible only because people attach meaning to things  We really look at the shared sense of reality and shared meaning  The world is full of subjective meanings, so kind of object  Because of their subjective position o

How do we Learn Culture? We are socialized into our culture and into our society through our interactions with others. It is a process which begins in childhood and is ongoing throughout our life. Socialization is how we interact with other people in society and what we learn through these interactions. So it is from the symbolic interactionism perspective. We are a product of society and our interactions with others. We have different roles in different cultures. Through these roles we have an

Historical Shifts Leading to the Development of Sociology The Growth of Science Some of the scientific contributions from the different science clusters were being combined into the mainstream There was a way of looking at some aspect of our world Why can't we use those methods to study our social world. Bringing in scientific inquiries into our social world Positivism approach: Objective and value-free research Provided a new way to understand the world, the surroundings Ex. Most people underst

Interaction Interaction plays an important role in socialization. We can't ignore interaction, because then we will risk only looking at the individual and blaming any problems they have solely on them and not society. This demonstrates the power of groups, authorities etc. and how they relate to each other. In terms of self-presentation, groups of two, larger groups, networks and organizations. Why do sociologists care about interaction? Example Six degrees of Kevin Bacon. An idea that through

Theory 1 Sept.17.2020 What is theory? Statements about how or why particular facts about the social world are related  Ways of viewing the social world  Research methods, concepts, different valuables, or complex systems that have a relationship How things functions and work  Interconnected series of testable assertions and propositions  A theory is a set of ideas, and a set of propositions that you can test, these are testable  What makes a theory good? Logical  Has to make sense of

Symbolic Interactionism Max Weber, George Herbert Mead Writing after Marx; had an idea and reading the values of Marx's ideas Noticed that dissolution of capitalism is not true; so maybe there were some gaps Max Weber said our society is more complex than what Marx said Marx said how people earned their livelihood and money, the factories and there are two groups of people: Bourgeoisie and Proletariat Max Weber said it's more complex than that (the manager, nurse etc.); Overstating the role of

Culture "The sum of practices, languages, symbols, beliefs, values, ideologies, and material objects that people create to deal with real-life problems" (Brym and Lie 2015:29) Culture is part of what defines a society Culture can be both material and nonmaterial Material: There are cultural objects (ie. clothing, technology etc.) Non-material: Shared values, things we think that are important to us as a culture Universities were started on the basis of churches; creating the structure of student

Toronto Street Youth In any given year, there are over 10,000 homeless youth On any given day, there are 1500-2000 homeless youth Compared to high school youth, they are older, mostly male, from poorer class backgrounds, had family and school trouble, were delinquent at home and most of them had the absence of one biological parent. Street Youth & Adversity The conditions of street life (known as adversity) explain crime rates among street youth. Survival Needs: Shelter Food Hygiene Safety Mo

University Learning Taxonomy Cultural Examples Example: Food High Culture Consumed mainly by upper classes Ex. Starbucks; Pusateri, Fine dining Popular culture Consumed by all classes Ex. Tim Hortons, McDonald's, Classic burger Also known as Mass Culture "Foodies": Baumann and Johnston What is a "Foodie"? People who spend a lot of time making food Buy food a lot and experimentation with food Lots of experiences of tasting different foods Snobbery? Or is Food the Great Equalizer? Used to mean so

Stratification Is the way society is organized in layers or strata. Basically, a society's hierarchical ranking of people into social classes. It's like a ladder, where people are higher or lower than others depending on their class. It is related to education, language, crime and deviance, etc. It is related to class background and helps increase education levels and makes an individual more confident. Example As a child, Bill played soccer, went to museums with his family, talked while at the

Race A social construct used to distinguish people in terms of one or more physical markers, usually with profound effects on their lives The sociological definition of race is the effect it has on people's lives We look at race from a symbolic interactionism approach, because it has to do with people's interactions, the meaning of the physical markers they identify themselves with, and the effect these categories on people's lives. It's at the micro-level. People think of skin colour, hair col

Sex - Is the biological differences that distinguish males from females. About anatomy and hormones. Gender - Is a social position, the set of social arrangements that are built around normative sex categories. The social definition, behaviour and roles about what it means to be masculine and feminine The Social Construct of Gender A social construct is an idea or concept that has emerged from society. Gender roles and behaviours change over time, and are different in varying societies and cult

Interaction In terms of self-presentation and socialization Shapes the judgement we have to develop the sense of self Groups of two Larger groups, networks Bureaucracies Why do Sociologists Care about Interaction? To ignore interaction would mean to individualize behaviour Sociologists are looking at interaction because we know people's behaviour will change depending on the scenario Structure on people's behaviour (micro and meso structures) Interaction is not a product of who someone is. It's

Traditional Nuclear Family - A nuclear family in which the husband works outside the home for money, while the wife works without pay in the home. Nuclear Family- Consists of a cohabiting man and woman who maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and have at least one child. Traditional Nuclear vs Nuclear In both it involves a common-law relationship or marriage between a man and a woman The only difference is that in a traditional nuclear family, the woman stays home while the man go

Norm-Breaking Happens quite frequently; Fairly routine Reminder of Norms: Folkways Mores Taboos Deviance Occurs when someone departs from a norm and evokes a negative reaction from others Crime Norm has been violated is a law Law is a type of norm - legislated by government bodies and norms Subset of deviance When talking about norms, norms may vary across time and place or culture. Culture-to-culture you will find different norms. It is important to consider because our ideas of what and who ar

Questions of Faith Truth and values of religious beliefs. Sociology of Religion The study of beliefs, symbols, practices and organizational forms of religions. Distinguishes between the sacred and the profane. Sociologists look at religion from the view of its roles in society, not if God exists or not. Sacred Refers to the religious, transcendent world. Something or someone important, extraordinary and declared holy. Sociologists focus on how sacred objects operate within a society, and ho

Social Mobility - Is the movement up or down the stratification system Meritocracy Is achievement based on merit (work hard and you'll get what you deserve). Being motivated to go up ladder. It was the norm to go to school until you were 18 back in the days, but now we consider it a norm, or must have, to have higher education. Society is shaping our education system. The labor market is shaped by the degrees available. Some jobs now need degrees that didn't before, so workers forced to go bac

Formatting 700-1000 words in length, double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman, 1 inch margins Top of first page: name, student number, word count, and title of the paper Bracketed citations are Included in word count This is a formal assignment: use standard academic English and sociological terminology Personal pronouns are expected in this Includes Introduction and conclusion You are not required to include a thesis statement; essentially the argument/thesis is already given. You are basically

Stratification Socioeconomic status of our family background shapes the kind of choices that are presented/available to us Our social class is a structure that shapes/constrains the decisions that we make; pasted down through generations How does social class matter? Explore the tension between choice and family background How do sociologists explain social inequality? Stratification and Inequality Stratification: The way society is organized in layers or strata. A society's hierarchical ranking

Media - Is any format or vehicles that carry, present, or communicate information. Mass Media Refers to large audiences, which we usually think of as a first reaction to media. Example Television, magazines, newspapers, internet, radio, etc. Back in the days it was the runner who'd run between cities to deliver messages The first form of media was the printing press Triggered mass production of books and newspapers. Short Term Intended Effects Example A child watching Saturday morning c

Climate Change and Global Warming 'An Inconvenient Truth' Most scientists believe global warming is occurring and that human activity is to blame Is Toronto addressing global warming? Report to the Parks and Environment Committee Chair and Councillor Norm Kelly Genetic Pollution Recombination of DNA, genetically modifies organisms (GMO's) Hard to control GMO's once they are in the environment and can easily spread Monsanto Inequality & Biotechnology Small farmers adversely affected by agribus

Poverty No definition of poverty; different uses/interpretation for the term poverty Absolute: Essential to survive; income and consumption Relative: Poverty is judged / measured relative to something or someone else Ex. If you make less than the people in your neighbourhood Ex. Making 20% of the average Canadian In Canada, we do not have an official poverty line LICO (Low Income Cutoff): More than 63% spent on basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter If 63% of your income is put into ba

The Social Factors Affecting Life Expectancy Lifestyle Smoking, excessive alcohol and drug use etc. Social insulation associated with premature health (example- you're likely to die faster if your spouse dies before you) Poor diet, lack of exercise etc. Factors Related to Public Health and Health care Public health Government-run programs ensuring access to things like basic sanitation services (sewage system) and clean drinking water 1/6th of the world has no access to clean drinking water I

Why Do Research? To get answers and avoid making stereotypes and following common sense Our world is constantly changing, and so are the theories and concepts. Constant research has to be done to reflect the true diversity and time of the current world we live in Variable - A concept that can take on more than one value. Example, concept of gender, value of male or female. Concept of citizenship, value of being Canadian. Independent Variable- The presumed cause in the cause-and-effect relation

Race and Ethnicity Race: A social construct used to distinguish people in terms of one or more physical markers, usually with profound effects on their lives. Reflection from what we know from researchers of different disciplines Physical markers used to determine racial categories Social Construct: An idea or concept that has emerged from society. Something that is subject to time and place (ie. race; the ways we think about race or physical markers to mean different things/categorize people

When it comes to sex and gender, there is a lot of binary thinking Sociology makes us move away from binaries. Gender A social position, the set of social arrangements that are built around normative sex categories When we think of genders, we tend to think of the male or female bodies UTM Equality Diversity Office Definition: How we perceive our identity as male, female, both or neither, regardless of our sex Recognize the ideas of gender really hinge on a particular type of body The Social Con

Loving and Mate Selection Evolution Over Time Before: Functions for mate selection Now: Love, romance, attraction Social Forces Influencing Who You will Fall in Love With The resources potential spouses possess (marriage resources) Financial Moral Compass (Shared Values) Education - Education levels the person possess and what one is looking for Third parties Third parties, someone outside of the pair in the relationship, can have an influence Family and friends particularly Demographic and comp

Disclaimer: Religion may be viewed differently by each person Religion Sociology of Religion: Study of the beliefs, symbols, practices and organizational forms of religions Not question of faith or the veracity of truth claims or religion Role of religion in stability Shaping the world we're in Change of beliefs Classical Approaches to Sociology of Religion Durkheim's Functionalist Approach Religion reinforces social solidarity, heightening our sense of belonging to a group and strengthening our

Why did You Choose to Attend UTM? Reputation Deferred from downtown campus Close to home Free bus pass How do People Choose their University? Location Staying; study in their home province The further you live from a university, the less likely to attend it Percentage of students who study at various post-secondary locations 65% - Choose to stay in the stay locally in Toronto (OCAD, University of Toronto, Ryerson, York etc.) 5% - in province but away from main area (downtown GTA) (Waterloo, West

Life Expectancy Japan - 80 years Canada - 81 years Russia - 60s Life expectancy varies depending on the environment and location; along with health. The Social Factors Affecting Life Expectancy Lifestyle Smoking Excessive alcohol and drug use etc. Social Isolation Suggests that our relation in the community is important that can shape our health and life. Public Health Government-run programs and services ensuring access to things like basic sanitation services and clean drinking water against i

Media and Mass Media Media: "Any formats or vehicles that carry, present or communicate information" (Conley 2013:94) Mass Media: "Print, radio, television and other communication technologies that reach many people" (Brym and Lie 2015:260) First form of mass media: printed book; set of information that is available for significant audience In sociology, there are different ways to discover media: Ownership of media; business-interest connected to media Who is producing media Who is consuming

Technology Technology helps shape society and history. In order for a technological innovation to take off, there has to be a purpose for it. Our society shapes the technological innovation we come up with. Does Society Help Shape Technology? Example: How capitalism shapes technology Three of the mechanisms that help keep capitalism alive are advertising, credit and planned obsolescence The Light Bulb Conspiracy How the economic system shape the invention of a lightbulb Things that fuel capital

Should I use the past exam bank? It's good to practice the different types of questions for the final exam Innocente: It's the same course; materials are the same but examples may be different and there are more questions on different theories we are not expected to learn Lazy: Professor Baker doesn't use questions on previous exams Research: There are some students who think it's the best choice to memorize questions from the past exams; there is research that shows it doesn't help TIP: Don't