I,Sociological Lessons
from the Titanic
II,Defining Sociology
A,Is it a science? And what does this mean?
B,What are social facts? Why was Durkheim’s
study of suicide so important?
C,What do sociologists study? (What is their unit
of analysis?)
E,Is sociology micro or macro? Do they study the
big picture or the little picture?
F,Is sociology global? In what sense?
What is the point of Stark’s version
of the Titanic story?
Titanic Survival Rates
Male survival rate,20%
Female/children survival rate,71%
1st Class 2nd Class 3rd Class Crew
Women/Children 93% 81% 47% 87%
Men 31% 10% 14% 22%
Total 60% 42% 25% 24%
Absolute # dead 130 166 536 85
Do these statistics tell a different story?
Two Recurrent Themes in
Sociology
Consensus,what people share (norms,
values,ideas,social solidarity)
Conflict,how people are different
(inequality,power,exploitation)
Society is both of these things!
III,Defining Sociology
A,Is sociology a science? Can there be a
science of human behavior?
? What is Stark’s view of this?
?an interactive process of theory and research
? a goal of making general observations about social
behavior
? an assumption that social behavior is patterned and
predictable
? Comte’s (and Stark’s)positivism remains controversial
? The example of suicide rates
?stability,variation,trend
?attributes of social groups that exist
independently of individuals
? Social facts are explained by other social
facts (not by characteristics of individuals)
B,What are social facts? Emile
Durkheim defined them as the
subject matter of sociology
“High suicide rates reflect
weaknesses in the web of
relationships among members
of a society,not weaknesses
of character or personality in
the individual.” (Stark,p,6)
Attributes
of Society Society’s Suicide Rate
Defining Sociology
What do sociologists study?
What is their unit of analysis?
See graphs on pp,10-12
? Depends on the study
? Individuals,groups,states,nations
? It’s what the sociologist wants to
analyze and generalize about
? What are other possible units of
analysis?
Defining Sociology
E,Is sociology micro or macro?
? Both— most sociologists
combine both approaches
? Two different research
strategies to the same end,
understanding society and
its relationship to the
individual
Society/Social Structure
Individual/Social lnteraction
Defining Sociology
F,Is sociology global? In what sense?
?global in its focus--
all societies are today part of a
global system,and being
transformed by it
?global in its ambitions--
general applicability of its
theories
from the Titanic
II,Defining Sociology
A,Is it a science? And what does this mean?
B,What are social facts? Why was Durkheim’s
study of suicide so important?
C,What do sociologists study? (What is their unit
of analysis?)
E,Is sociology micro or macro? Do they study the
big picture or the little picture?
F,Is sociology global? In what sense?
What is the point of Stark’s version
of the Titanic story?
Titanic Survival Rates
Male survival rate,20%
Female/children survival rate,71%
1st Class 2nd Class 3rd Class Crew
Women/Children 93% 81% 47% 87%
Men 31% 10% 14% 22%
Total 60% 42% 25% 24%
Absolute # dead 130 166 536 85
Do these statistics tell a different story?
Two Recurrent Themes in
Sociology
Consensus,what people share (norms,
values,ideas,social solidarity)
Conflict,how people are different
(inequality,power,exploitation)
Society is both of these things!
III,Defining Sociology
A,Is sociology a science? Can there be a
science of human behavior?
? What is Stark’s view of this?
?an interactive process of theory and research
? a goal of making general observations about social
behavior
? an assumption that social behavior is patterned and
predictable
? Comte’s (and Stark’s)positivism remains controversial
? The example of suicide rates
?stability,variation,trend
?attributes of social groups that exist
independently of individuals
? Social facts are explained by other social
facts (not by characteristics of individuals)
B,What are social facts? Emile
Durkheim defined them as the
subject matter of sociology
“High suicide rates reflect
weaknesses in the web of
relationships among members
of a society,not weaknesses
of character or personality in
the individual.” (Stark,p,6)
Attributes
of Society Society’s Suicide Rate
Defining Sociology
What do sociologists study?
What is their unit of analysis?
See graphs on pp,10-12
? Depends on the study
? Individuals,groups,states,nations
? It’s what the sociologist wants to
analyze and generalize about
? What are other possible units of
analysis?
Defining Sociology
E,Is sociology micro or macro?
? Both— most sociologists
combine both approaches
? Two different research
strategies to the same end,
understanding society and
its relationship to the
individual
Society/Social Structure
Individual/Social lnteraction
Defining Sociology
F,Is sociology global? In what sense?
?global in its focus--
all societies are today part of a
global system,and being
transformed by it
?global in its ambitions--
general applicability of its
theories
