Sociology is the systematic study of human society.
- We use the sociological perspective to see the “general” in the “specific”
- We all belong to categories into which we all fit
- e.g., Male, Asian, university-student, etc.
- This influences:
1) How we interact with the world
2) How we view what’s around us
- Social-Marginality is being set apart as being an “outsider” to society
The Sociological Perspective
- Critically assess “common sense” ideas
- Seeing opportunities and constraints in own lives
- Empowers us to be active participants in society
- Helps us live in a diverse world
What is sociology? It is the language of the social, the inner speech and language of society
e.g., Psychology → individual; Sociology → Society
- What and how societies are?
- What creates stability?
- What causes change and transformation?
- What are the methods for determining and answering the above questions?
Sociological research can be scientific or interpretive
∴ No single way to study sociology
- Empirical facts about Canadian society
- Different theories can be applied
- Exam: think about “who is suggesting natural, who is suggesting patriarchy…”
- Know different schools of thought!
e.g., Women earn $0.9 for every $1.00 men earn
Different Schools of Thought
- Sociobiology would say that it is natural because it’s genetically coded ∴ no change
- Liberal Feminism – paid less because of patriarchal society (cause + agitation due to inequity) ∴ change → equity
- Socialist Feminist see problems in 1) Labour force and 2) Capitalism
- Patriarchy + class system
- Fix gender and class inequality
Who’s voice / point-of-view is it?
- All sociological interpretations are political, there are always biases
- We need to understand and explain points of views
In Political Perspective
- How do we define who the poor are in Canada?
- Cut-off line, etc.
- Decisions that go into these are political
- Whether poor people should have disposable income?
Very important decisions that go into construction of society