Monday, January 18th, 1998
Announcements:

• Commuters should call the TA’s before they come to class in cases of bad weather.
• You may attend the 10:10-11:00 class in 262 Willard Building if you cannot make it to class.
• The Professor will call on students; students who just joined the class should get to know the TA’s.

1. What is Sociology?

1. Groups and societies to which we belong and the social interactions within them largely determine human behavior.

1. Example: Your parents notice how you have changed since you first started attending Penn State University.
2. The Clinton Sex Scandal – creates negative attitudes towards figures of authority. Splits society into two groups of thoughts: He is entitled to his private life or he should be reprimanded for his actions according to the constitution.
3. Your decision about who to marry or who to have sex with is largely influenced by society. You tend to sleep or marry people with similar backgrounds, race, social standing, etc.

1. C. Wright Mills – "sociological imagination"

1. Society, social factors, economy, global events, and historical events shape our individual lives.
2. We must not stereotype people but rather use this sociological imagination to understand why people are in the different situations they are in.
3. Example: A Penn State graduate is looking for a job but he cannot find one because there is an economic recession. Therefore he delays getting married because he cannot afford to live on his own and he ends up getting an unskilled job because no other jobs are available.

1. Seven Basic Principles of Sociology

1. Peter Berger – "seeing the general in the particular." Example: People dress according to what group they belong to.
2. Totality of Social Life – Individuals are linked together and analyzed by sociologists in all aspects of life.
3. Seeing the Strange in the Familiar – We must question all things. Example: Why did you come to Penn State University? We cannot assume anything.
4. Focus on Social Content. Example: George Michael changed his Greek name to something that would be more acceptable in American society.
5. Focus on Collectivity rather than on Individual.
6. Meaning is a Social Product, a Result of a Group Consensus. Example: The "HUB" has no meaning outside Penn State University.
7. Beliefs, Values, and Social Practices are Relative to Group. Example: Chinese people eat dogs because they had a huge famine a while back and they were forced to eat them. Things are not what they seem to be.

1. The Origins of Sociology

1. Introduction: During the Age of Enlightenment people began to look at society in a scientific and rational way. They looked at how the Industrial Revolution affected people and what social problems developed as a result.
2. August Comte – Father of Sociology

1. Broke society into two groups: Social Statics and Social Dynamics.

1. Social Statics represent order and stability in the society. American society is held together by capitalism, democracy, and different ideologies.
2. Social Dynamics are the factors changing American society. Technology is the largest cause of change in American society.

1. Believed in Positivism – Understanding society using a value-free scientific approach. It excludes all opinions and judgements.
2. Noted Three Stages of Society

1. Theological – Everything is somehow connected with religion, superstition, or some supernatural force.
2. Metaphysical – Become more rational – Natural, not Supernatural
3. Scientific – Very Rational – The ability to recognize problems in society and know that we must solve them.