Chapter 1

The Sociological Perspective

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

The Sociological Perspective:

Sociology is the systematic study of human society; its point of

view is
 Seeing the general in the particular
– Sociologists identify general social patterns in the
behaviour of particular individuals.
– Individuals are unique, but
– Society acts differently on various categories of people.

(Cont’d)

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The Sociological Perspective (Cont’d)

 Seeing the strange in the familiar

– Giving up the idea that human behaviour is
simply a matter of what people decide to do.
– Understanding that society shapes our lives.

(Cont’d)

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

The Sociological Perspective (Cont’d)

 Seeing individuality in social context

– Emile Durkheim’s research on suicide showed that some
categories are more likely to commit suicide than others.
Society affects even our most personal choices.
– More likely to commit suicide: males, Protestants,
wealthy, and unmarried.
– Less likely to commit suicide: females, Jews, Catholics,
the poor, and married.

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Importance of Global Perspective

The study of the larger world and our society’s place

in it, e.g., level of economic development
 Societies throughout the world are increasingly
interconnected through technology and economics.
 Many problems that we face in Canada are more
serious elsewhere.
 Thinking globally is a good way to learn more
about ourselves.

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Map 1-1

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Applying the
Sociological Perspective

 Social marginality: the more marginal people are

the more likely they are to embrace this perspective,
when others take it for granted.
 Social crisis:
– With change or crisis the vision is stimulated
– Sociological thinking can lead to wanting to change “the
system”

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Benefits of the Sociological
Perspective

1. Helps us assess the truth of “common sense”

2. Helps us assess both opportunities and constraints
in our lives
3. Empowers us to be active participants in our
society
4. Helps us to recognize diversity and live in a
diverse world

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

The Origins of Sociology
 Science
– Comte’s Stages: Theological, Metaphysical, & Scientific
– Positivism – a means to understand the world based on science
 Social Change
– Industrialization, urbanization, and political revolution, promote a
new awareness of society.
 Marginal Voices
– Important contributions were made by those who were pushed to the
margins of society.

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Canadian Sociology
 Sociology began in the early 20th century
 Teaching and research began first in Quebec
 Harold A. Innis, an early influence:
– Economic development depended on resources
 Marshall McLuhan
– Influence of electronic media on society
 John Porter, the leading sociologist
– Inequality and ethnic relations in The Vertical Mosaic

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Sociological Theory
 Theory: a statement of how and why facts are
related
 Theoretical paradigm: a set of fundamental
assumptions that guides thinking and research
– Structural-functional
– Social-conflict
– Symbolic-interaction

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Structural-Functional Paradigm
 Views society as a complex system whose parts
work together to promote solidarity and stability
 Our lives are guided by:
– Social structure refers to any relatively stable patterns of
social behavior found in social institutions
– Social functions refer to the consequences for the
operation of society as a whole. Manifest functions are
intended; latent functions are unintended; and social
dysfunctions are undesirable.

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Social-Conflict Paradigm

 Views society as an arena of inequality that

generates conflict and social change
 Sociologists study
– How factors such as ethnicity, race, sex, class, and age
are linked to social inequality
– Dominant group vs. disadvantaged group relations
 Some want to change society

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Symbolic-Interaction Paradigm
 Unlike the two previous macro-level paradigms this
is micro-level
 Views society as the product of everyday
interactions of individuals
 Sociologists view society as
– the shared reality that people construct as they interact with one
another
– a mosaic of subjective meanings and variable responses

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Critical Evaluation of Paradigms
 Structural-functional
– Assumes “natural” order, ignores inequalities of social class, race
and gender, focuses on stability at the expense of conflict
 Social-conflict
– Ignores how shared values and mutual interdependence unify society
– If it pursues political goals, it cannot be scientific
 Symbolic-interaction
– Ignores larger social structures, effects of culture, factors such as
class, gender, ethnicity, and race

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Recent Paradigms
 Feminist paradigm: The study of women’s lives
– Micro: reproduction of gender through language and
emotion management
– Macro: constraints and forms of resistance in women’s
lives
 Postmordernist paradigm: Anti-theory and –
methods
– Deconstructs and demystifies assumptions, hierarchies of
knowledge and ideological motivation

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Table 1-2

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Table 1-2 (cont’d)

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.

Applying the Perspectives to Sport

 Functions:
– Manifest: provides recreation
– Latent: fostering social relationships
– Dysfunctions (U.S.): schools are more concerned with performance
than marks.
 Conflict:
– Some sports are more accessible than others
 Interaction
– Fitting in takes time.

© 2005 Pearson Education Canada Inc.