1. Last time we talked about sociology as a research science
   1. Measurement is a key issue
      1. concepts
      2. variables
      3. causality
      4. relationships between variables, especially among collections of them---"multi-variate" analysis like the educational model I put on the board.
   2. There is a danger of collecting piles of data and looking for relationships after the fact.
      1. We often do surveys, putting in questions that seem to make sense but with no real idea of what we'll get
      2. Two problems follow from this approach:
         1. In ANY data set, relationships will appear.
            1. As a result of the relationships we're interested in
            2. But also from outside variables we have not thoughty of
            3. and from random effects
         2. We end up explaining relationships afte rthe fact---we don't know if our ideas about relationships are PREDICTIVE
      3. Research should test HYPOTHESES that are stated in advance and that come from previously articulated THEORIES
   3. Two sources of theories
      1. Generalizations from past studies---so we need to read and review the literature and group them in terms of research techniques and findings.
      2. Broad philosophical perspectives that we want to illustrate and test empirically---that is, by examining them in terms of real world information.
2. We oreganize sociology in terms of major philosophical and historical traditions of thinking and research.
   1. The major traditions are structural functionalism, conflict theory (e.g., Marxism), and interactionism (or symbolic interactionism).
      1. The traditions represent broad and abstract descriptions of what society is and how it works.
      2. Because they are abstract, general, philosophical, and mtaphoric, it is hard to reduce their proposition to testable hypotheses.
      3. The traditions also tend to conflict with each other in terms of their basic ideas, so the same research done from the perspective of the different traditions will come up with different results because different things are studied.
   2. Structural functionalism views all parts of society as interconnected and interdependent---representative thinkers are Emile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons.
      1. The image of the division of labor in society is important, where people hold roles that are dependent on the way others perform their own, different roles.
         1. Simple societies where members understand and carry out most of the available roles allows them to share and understand the culture; these societies enjoy what Durkheim called mechanical solidarity.
         2. Complex societies where people specialize and may know little about the work or culture of others
            1. each person's success at their task depends on others doing their particular tasks effectively.
            2. Coordination happens in a way that mimics the relationships of unique parts of the body and for this reason Durkheim called this sort of division of labor organic solidarity
      2. Social order is critical and society makes sense to the participants; things ARE what they seem to be (schools educate; doctors cure people)
         1. There is an assumption in structural functionalism that broad values about society and about proper behavior are shared by all people and that people are trying to succeed and make society work.
         2. Rebellion or failuire to perform is recognized as a problem for all of society and produces a collective reaction. We call the misbehavior deviance and the reaction social control.
         3. Under structural functionalism, personal meaning comes from community and from the norms of community
            1. To this end, refer to Durheim's suicide study which showed that the less involved people are in communities, that generally the more they commit suicide because they struggle to find a strong sense of meaning.
            2. A key notion in Durkheim is that of "social facts". These are factors that cause important effects in society but cannot be directly observed....community cannot be directly observed but it causes suicide rates.
   3. Conflict theory derives from the arguments and political efforts of Karl Marx who articulated the basic ideas of communism in the 1840s and 1850s while writing in London (although he was of German background).
   1. Conflict theory sees the economic system as the part of society whose structure and relations drives everything else.
   2. In modern industrial socieites there is a basic division between owners (capitalists) and workers. There are complex ideas in the theory about how this relationship works.
   3. A key focus is that society is divided between separate and opposed or even hostile groups (and in this it contrasts sharply with structural functionalism and its notion that everything is interconnected).
      1. Social class membership is a key idea, playing an important role in shaping individual identity.
      2. class conflict and revolutionary political actionis central to society
   4. Capitalists or elites have great influence and control over the way that politics and major institutions work.
      1. institutions serve elite class interests
      2. institutions often are NOT structured to do their work in the way that best serves the people (especially poor people)
      3. therefore, in contrast to functionalism where institutions do what they are supposed to, institutions in conflict theory often are seen to do the OPPOSITE of what they are supposed to be doing
   4. Interactionism
      1. Is not a theory of the whole society, as functionalism and conflict theory are, but rather is social psychological in focus---it buil,ds up from individual and group experience.
      2. The fundamental argument is that our sense of self is shaped and defined by the groups that we are part of and by their way of giving us feedback and reputation.
         1. This relates to the ideas about the social construction of self that we have talked about.
         2. It also relates to the ways that institutions and groups shape our sense of self---as in total institutions like prisons.
      3. Society is viewed as fragmented andnot interdependent (as in functionalism). Often there are sharp differences in world view and accepted practices between subcultures of society. So there is no comprehensive way of defining what is deviant.