sociology101af060610ch1.txt

understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context

people who share a culture and a territory

the group memberships that people have because of their location in history and society

the application of systematic methods to obtain knowledge and the knowledge obtained by those methods

the intellectual and academic disciplines designed to explain and predict events in our natural environments

the intellectual and acedemic disciplines designed to understand the social world objectively by means of controlled and reapeated observations

a statement that goes beyond the individual case and is applied to a broader group or situation

recurring characteristics or events

those things that "everyone knows" are true

using objective, systematic observations to test theories

the application of the scientific approach to the social world

the scientific study of society and human behavior

Marx's term for the struggle between capitalists and workers

Marx's term for capitalists, those who own the means of production

Marx's term for the expoited class, the mass of workers who do not own the means of production

the degree to which members of a group or society feel united by shared values and other social bonds: also know as social cohesion

the view that a sociologist's personal values or biases should not influence social research

the standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly

total neutrality

repeating a study in order to test its findings

a German word used by Weber that is perhaps best understoond as "to have insight into someone's situation"

the meanings that people give their own behavior

Durkheim's term for a group's patterns of behavior

sociological research whose purpose is to make discoveries about life in human groups, not to make changes in those groups

the use of sociology to solve problems - from the micro level of family relationships to the macro level of crime and pollution

a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work; an explanation of how two or more facts are related to one another

a theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another

a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of various parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society's equilibrium; also know as functionalism and structural functionalism

a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of groups that are competing for scarce resources

an examination of large-scale patterns of society

an examination of small-scale patterns of society

what people do when they are in one another's presence

communication without words through gestures, use of space, silence, and so on

the growing interconnections among nations due to the expansion of capitalism

capitalism (investing to make profits within a rational system) becoming the globe's dominant economic system

• First proposed Positivism after the French Revolution.
• Is often credited w/ being the founder of Sociology.
• He stressed that this new science would not only discover social principles but also would apply them to social reform.

• The second founder of sociology.
• Disagreed w/ Compte about social reform.
• He coined the "survival of the fittest" - meaning that to help the lower class would interfere w/ the natural process.
• His views of the evolution of societies became know as Social Darwinism.

• Thought people should try to change society.
• Believed the engine of human history is class conflict.
• Did not think of himself as a sociologist.

• Goal was to get sociology recognized as a separate acedemic discipline.
• Received the 1st academic appointment in sociology at the University of Bordeaux in 1887.
• Researched suicide and identified Social Integration as they key factor.

• is one of the most influential of all sociologists (w/ Marx & Durkheim).
• believed religion was the force in social change - Protestant Ethic (bringing about the "sign" and receiving spiritual comfort, they began to live frugal lives, saving their money and investing the surplus in order to make even more, brought the birth of capitalism)

• Published "Society in America".
• Translated Compe's ideas into English.