C273 Introduction to Sociology: Foundations and Key
Concepts Overview 2025 Western Governors
University
👥
Introduction to Sociology
Unit 1: Foundations of Sociology
Module 1—Field of Sociology
Sociology: The study of human society and social life, focuses on
interactions of people in groups, group functions, etc. How social
expectations and settings can influence an individuals actions.
Sociological Imagination: the way in which sociologists look at, and try to
find meaning in the world around them. “The vivid awareness of the
relationship
between personal experience and the wider society" (C. Wright Mills).
Sociological imagination involves changing one's perspective and
requires "the capacity to range from the most impersonal and remote
,transformations to the intimate features of the human self—and to see
the relations between the twoˮ. Helps to see the larger social forces at
work in our lives.
Emile Durkheim: one of the first sociologists to specify what exactly is
"social" about our individual actions and decisions
Social Facts: external circumstances or events that have an effect on
the way individual people behave
Mechanical Solidarity: social bonds that connect people in small
traditional villages
Organic Solidarity: the social bonds among people in modern cities
who specialize in different jobs but who rely on each other
Auguste Comte: founder of Sociology, aimed to improve society via the
discipline of Sociology
, Positivism: belief that society and human social interactions can be
studied with scientific standards, like any other natural phenomena
Harriet Martineau: credited with bringing sociology to England,
translated Auguste Comte's works. Active supporter of women's rights.
Max Weber: influential Sociologist
Rationalization: replacing traditional or emotional motives for social
action with rational ones
Bureaucracy: a system in which everyone has different, hierarchical
roles in order to allow a large organization to run smoothly.
Karl Marx: central figures in the development of sociology, explored
the importance of conflict within a society, pioneered the conflict
approach to sociology which understands social groups as competing
with one another
Materialist Conception of History: theory that the development of
human
society is primarily determined by material conditions—especially
the mode of production (how goods and services are produced,
distributed, and consumed)
Herbert Spencer: early contributor to the discipline of sociology, did not
aim to improve society, only to understand it
Social Darwinism: a view that strongest or most "fit" individuals and
societies would naturally thrive, while weaker ones would decline
Jane Addams: co-founded the Chicago Hull House, one of the first
settlement houses in the US (community centers that offered services
to marginalized groups of people, such as immigrants and the poor).
Hull House was staffed by college
students who lived with, assisted, and learned about these minority
groups. Adams focused on improving issues of child labor, juvenile
justice, industrial safety, working hours, women's rights, and ethnic
minorities' rights. Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931, helped
form the ACLU.
W.E.B DuBois: the first African-American to earn a doctorate from
Harvard University
Double Consciousness: internal conflict experienced by African
Americans (and other marginalized groups) who see themselves
through two lenses: their own self-perception and the perception
imposed by a racist society.
Module 2—Major Sociological Perspectives
, Functionalist Perspective: Society is one unit that is made up of
connecting parts that work together to maintain stability. Functionalists
study both structure, or how
Concepts Overview 2025 Western Governors
University
👥
Introduction to Sociology
Unit 1: Foundations of Sociology
Module 1—Field of Sociology
Sociology: The study of human society and social life, focuses on
interactions of people in groups, group functions, etc. How social
expectations and settings can influence an individuals actions.
Sociological Imagination: the way in which sociologists look at, and try to
find meaning in the world around them. “The vivid awareness of the
relationship
between personal experience and the wider society" (C. Wright Mills).
Sociological imagination involves changing one's perspective and
requires "the capacity to range from the most impersonal and remote
,transformations to the intimate features of the human self—and to see
the relations between the twoˮ. Helps to see the larger social forces at
work in our lives.
Emile Durkheim: one of the first sociologists to specify what exactly is
"social" about our individual actions and decisions
Social Facts: external circumstances or events that have an effect on
the way individual people behave
Mechanical Solidarity: social bonds that connect people in small
traditional villages
Organic Solidarity: the social bonds among people in modern cities
who specialize in different jobs but who rely on each other
Auguste Comte: founder of Sociology, aimed to improve society via the
discipline of Sociology
, Positivism: belief that society and human social interactions can be
studied with scientific standards, like any other natural phenomena
Harriet Martineau: credited with bringing sociology to England,
translated Auguste Comte's works. Active supporter of women's rights.
Max Weber: influential Sociologist
Rationalization: replacing traditional or emotional motives for social
action with rational ones
Bureaucracy: a system in which everyone has different, hierarchical
roles in order to allow a large organization to run smoothly.
Karl Marx: central figures in the development of sociology, explored
the importance of conflict within a society, pioneered the conflict
approach to sociology which understands social groups as competing
with one another
Materialist Conception of History: theory that the development of
human
society is primarily determined by material conditions—especially
the mode of production (how goods and services are produced,
distributed, and consumed)
Herbert Spencer: early contributor to the discipline of sociology, did not
aim to improve society, only to understand it
Social Darwinism: a view that strongest or most "fit" individuals and
societies would naturally thrive, while weaker ones would decline
Jane Addams: co-founded the Chicago Hull House, one of the first
settlement houses in the US (community centers that offered services
to marginalized groups of people, such as immigrants and the poor).
Hull House was staffed by college
students who lived with, assisted, and learned about these minority
groups. Adams focused on improving issues of child labor, juvenile
justice, industrial safety, working hours, women's rights, and ethnic
minorities' rights. Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931, helped
form the ACLU.
W.E.B DuBois: the first African-American to earn a doctorate from
Harvard University
Double Consciousness: internal conflict experienced by African
Americans (and other marginalized groups) who see themselves
through two lenses: their own self-perception and the perception
imposed by a racist society.
Module 2—Major Sociological Perspectives
, Functionalist Perspective: Society is one unit that is made up of
connecting parts that work together to maintain stability. Functionalists
study both structure, or how
