Week 1 & 2 (Chapters 1 and 2) The Individual
and Society & Sociology as a Social Science
Introduction
Sociology introduces us to all aspects of social life to help us understand
each other, how to interact efficiently with others, and why we behave in the
ways we do
Many people base their opinions about others on their appearance; we
live in a superficial society and are constantly sizing up one another
We are all trying to find our place in society; each is unique, but we all share
certain things in common (have coffee, go to school, visit friends, etc.) which
allows us to see what is predictable and what is not predictable the social
imagination
If things don’t go our way in life we become consumed with self-blame
from a personal perspective
o Sociological stance we are ignoring the facts that there are
other social forces at play, and we cannot ignore these as they
play a major part in our reality
Emile Durkheim a formal sociologist, states we should not self-blame
because we must look at the outside forces that interact with the broader
picture of what it is the individual wishes to achieve (i.e. attain a new job, but
unable to because employment rates are high, this is not the fault of the
individual, but because of the social world they live in)
Studied suicide
o Collected statistics and found that when thinking about suicide,
is that the most likely to die by suicide is young adult men in
their 20s,
o Stated that the most intimate act a person could commit is the
taking of one’s own life
This is was not the decision of the individual, but the
society in which the individual lives in that pushed that
individual towards that act.
Today rates for suicide are increasing in young adults with the increase
of social pressure, stress of school, social media, etc.
o Infiltrate the psyche
o Infiltrate the being
Living in a highly competitive society (which drives
democracy and capitalism) can become self-destructive
, We internalize our problems and self-expression is
repressed
Society is a human creation and has evolved into something bigger than us,
which is what creates this internal pressure we feel in our daily life
For us to thrive, we must adapt to the norms and values of our society
o These norms and values are informed by our cultural identity
o Cultural norms give reason and guidelines that help us
understand the rules of society
When we don’t follow these rules:
We are sanctioned
We are reprimanded
We are made to feel guilty
We are driven to behave in ways that are acceptable as
opposed to behaving in ways that are unbecoming of
“correct” behaviour
Society gives us a sense of belonging and a sense of connection with each
other the purpose of creating a society
Freedom vs Conformity
The development of the sociological outlook states that we must (to some
degree) conform and follow the rules of society
Stereotypes and belief can lead us to misjudging people and treating
them in ways that are not healthy; this can become dangerous within
society
We are fascinated with each other, and we like to know what others are
doing, we want to be in the company of one another.
We thrive off the interactions with one another and if they are taken
away, this can be detrimental to the overall well-being of an
individual/individuals
o Human interaction is what drives social existence (competition)
o We live in a hyper-competitive world
We are all trying to out-do one another
There is a constant need to self-improve
o This can be debilitating if there rewards are not
enough for the work put into to achieve the
goal, becoming dismayed
Sociology as a perspective tries to understand why people act and think in
the way they do
We look to older individuals to teach the young how to behave
Indigenous knowledge
,Canada is considered to be able to coordinate in a way that allows us to live
in harmony/peacefully with one another the diversity of this country
proves that the differences we share, we are able to find common ground
within
We have a functional political milieu
o We do not have as much corruption as to the same extremes as
other countries
o The government has a way to help its people live in harmony
In society we share a common heritage, common culture we share the
“Canadian” aspect that differs from other communities with the hyphen
(Polish-Canadian, German-Canadian, French-Canadian, etc.) which expects
us to own our identity while conforming to Canadian identity as well.
There is no aspect of becoming Canadian that requires any individual
to leave their original identity behind
o We are able to express religion, culture, traditions, etc. of our
original identity within the country of Canada
Societies occupy a geological area that may have regional differences within
it subtle differences in laws/obligations that are meant to be upheld in
those regions that may not be apart of another region in that same
geographical area
Societal issues include poverty, homelessness, racial profiling, racism,
ableism, sexism, discrimination based on ability/inability, high cost of living,
etc.
Nuances are seen in art that is personal, no one can it make sense for you
We make sense of the things around us based off of our own
experiences
Experiences inform the way we act in certain situations
o Experiences are rooted in our division of labor we need
different people to do different things
We form our identity closely to the type of work that we do
There is more value placed on certain jobs than on others
This is assumed to be paid more than the rest
o Doctors, lawyers, and professors are paid the highest across the
world because they have acquired specialized knowledge
Not just anyone can do these jobs as specialized skills and
understanding is required for tasks in these fields to be
completed in the correct/right way
o Trades require the same specialized knowledge; this field is
slowly becoming the fourth highest paid field across the world
, Communication
In society we must communicate with one another; communication is when
an idea or thought of another person becomes known to another person, we
are in constant communication with each other
Language is a code that encodes meaning and ideas and how it is how
we share our thoughts with each other, can be intimate
Language is the ultimate symbol of communication
o Body language, tone of voice, eye contact, facial gestures
Variations occur within different cultures
Eye contact is seen in the Western society as a sign
of respect; in other parts of the world this is seen as
offensive such as in Japan, looking an elder in the
eye it is seen as a form of disrespect
Staring in the Western society is seen as
rude/uncomfortable because it is seen as a threat in
the animal kingdom, but in other parts of the world,
staring is a sign of interest and respect.
It is important to understand that our ways of
communicating is culturally placed
People follow patterns of language and behaviour, and this facilitates
cooperation.
Habitual patterns of behaviour are hard to break
All cultures abide to values and when values are broken, society falls into
disarray.
Anything that is created and shared by a given group of humans is part
of culture
It is objects, ideas and behaviours that are shared by members of a
social group
o Norms are shared rules that govern patterned behaviour within
the culture
All societies have social problems, as sociologist study to
improve social problems and come up with solutions for
such problems
o Normas cannot be seen or touched, they exist in terms of what is
normal
Roles organize patterns of behaviour
o Each person holds many rules, for each role there is an expected
behaviour for a position held in society
This leads us to the dramaturgical aspect of social life
and Society & Sociology as a Social Science
Introduction
Sociology introduces us to all aspects of social life to help us understand
each other, how to interact efficiently with others, and why we behave in the
ways we do
Many people base their opinions about others on their appearance; we
live in a superficial society and are constantly sizing up one another
We are all trying to find our place in society; each is unique, but we all share
certain things in common (have coffee, go to school, visit friends, etc.) which
allows us to see what is predictable and what is not predictable the social
imagination
If things don’t go our way in life we become consumed with self-blame
from a personal perspective
o Sociological stance we are ignoring the facts that there are
other social forces at play, and we cannot ignore these as they
play a major part in our reality
Emile Durkheim a formal sociologist, states we should not self-blame
because we must look at the outside forces that interact with the broader
picture of what it is the individual wishes to achieve (i.e. attain a new job, but
unable to because employment rates are high, this is not the fault of the
individual, but because of the social world they live in)
Studied suicide
o Collected statistics and found that when thinking about suicide,
is that the most likely to die by suicide is young adult men in
their 20s,
o Stated that the most intimate act a person could commit is the
taking of one’s own life
This is was not the decision of the individual, but the
society in which the individual lives in that pushed that
individual towards that act.
Today rates for suicide are increasing in young adults with the increase
of social pressure, stress of school, social media, etc.
o Infiltrate the psyche
o Infiltrate the being
Living in a highly competitive society (which drives
democracy and capitalism) can become self-destructive
, We internalize our problems and self-expression is
repressed
Society is a human creation and has evolved into something bigger than us,
which is what creates this internal pressure we feel in our daily life
For us to thrive, we must adapt to the norms and values of our society
o These norms and values are informed by our cultural identity
o Cultural norms give reason and guidelines that help us
understand the rules of society
When we don’t follow these rules:
We are sanctioned
We are reprimanded
We are made to feel guilty
We are driven to behave in ways that are acceptable as
opposed to behaving in ways that are unbecoming of
“correct” behaviour
Society gives us a sense of belonging and a sense of connection with each
other the purpose of creating a society
Freedom vs Conformity
The development of the sociological outlook states that we must (to some
degree) conform and follow the rules of society
Stereotypes and belief can lead us to misjudging people and treating
them in ways that are not healthy; this can become dangerous within
society
We are fascinated with each other, and we like to know what others are
doing, we want to be in the company of one another.
We thrive off the interactions with one another and if they are taken
away, this can be detrimental to the overall well-being of an
individual/individuals
o Human interaction is what drives social existence (competition)
o We live in a hyper-competitive world
We are all trying to out-do one another
There is a constant need to self-improve
o This can be debilitating if there rewards are not
enough for the work put into to achieve the
goal, becoming dismayed
Sociology as a perspective tries to understand why people act and think in
the way they do
We look to older individuals to teach the young how to behave
Indigenous knowledge
,Canada is considered to be able to coordinate in a way that allows us to live
in harmony/peacefully with one another the diversity of this country
proves that the differences we share, we are able to find common ground
within
We have a functional political milieu
o We do not have as much corruption as to the same extremes as
other countries
o The government has a way to help its people live in harmony
In society we share a common heritage, common culture we share the
“Canadian” aspect that differs from other communities with the hyphen
(Polish-Canadian, German-Canadian, French-Canadian, etc.) which expects
us to own our identity while conforming to Canadian identity as well.
There is no aspect of becoming Canadian that requires any individual
to leave their original identity behind
o We are able to express religion, culture, traditions, etc. of our
original identity within the country of Canada
Societies occupy a geological area that may have regional differences within
it subtle differences in laws/obligations that are meant to be upheld in
those regions that may not be apart of another region in that same
geographical area
Societal issues include poverty, homelessness, racial profiling, racism,
ableism, sexism, discrimination based on ability/inability, high cost of living,
etc.
Nuances are seen in art that is personal, no one can it make sense for you
We make sense of the things around us based off of our own
experiences
Experiences inform the way we act in certain situations
o Experiences are rooted in our division of labor we need
different people to do different things
We form our identity closely to the type of work that we do
There is more value placed on certain jobs than on others
This is assumed to be paid more than the rest
o Doctors, lawyers, and professors are paid the highest across the
world because they have acquired specialized knowledge
Not just anyone can do these jobs as specialized skills and
understanding is required for tasks in these fields to be
completed in the correct/right way
o Trades require the same specialized knowledge; this field is
slowly becoming the fourth highest paid field across the world
, Communication
In society we must communicate with one another; communication is when
an idea or thought of another person becomes known to another person, we
are in constant communication with each other
Language is a code that encodes meaning and ideas and how it is how
we share our thoughts with each other, can be intimate
Language is the ultimate symbol of communication
o Body language, tone of voice, eye contact, facial gestures
Variations occur within different cultures
Eye contact is seen in the Western society as a sign
of respect; in other parts of the world this is seen as
offensive such as in Japan, looking an elder in the
eye it is seen as a form of disrespect
Staring in the Western society is seen as
rude/uncomfortable because it is seen as a threat in
the animal kingdom, but in other parts of the world,
staring is a sign of interest and respect.
It is important to understand that our ways of
communicating is culturally placed
People follow patterns of language and behaviour, and this facilitates
cooperation.
Habitual patterns of behaviour are hard to break
All cultures abide to values and when values are broken, society falls into
disarray.
Anything that is created and shared by a given group of humans is part
of culture
It is objects, ideas and behaviours that are shared by members of a
social group
o Norms are shared rules that govern patterned behaviour within
the culture
All societies have social problems, as sociologist study to
improve social problems and come up with solutions for
such problems
o Normas cannot be seen or touched, they exist in terms of what is
normal
Roles organize patterns of behaviour
o Each person holds many rules, for each role there is an expected
behaviour for a position held in society
This leads us to the dramaturgical aspect of social life
