Introduction to Sociology, Basic Theories, Lecture notes of Sociology

Download Introduction to Sociology, Basic Theories and more Lecture notes Sociology in PDF only on Docsity!

THEORIES,

CONCEPTS,

PART 1

Professor Todd Holden SO132 Issues and Investigations in Sociology Department of Sociology Bentley University Spring 2018

Lecture

Notes,

Session

QUESTIONS?

 about the Syllabus?  Course Requirements?  Electronic tools?  Access issues

ADMINISTRATION 2: “JOURNALS”

Have any of you tried to create your personal journal/workbook?  If so, how did that go?

ADMINISTRATION 3: ABOUT THE BLOG

based on late adds and drops, I’ve revised the Blog rotation  this likely won’t be the final revision, so keep checking on when you are expected to create a thread bear in mind:  the key rationale for the blog is that it is a study aid  it is there to facilitate your learning process  as well as a means of growing our intellectual community

POINT OF DEPARTURE “The Sociological Imagination”  A term that appeared in the syllabus and also the Conley reading  Coined by C. Wright Mills (1959)  Query: how is it defined?  the ability to locate (and speak to) the connections between “milieu”  (i.e. the particular social environments of individuals)  and the larger social and historical forces in which they are enmeshed  and upon which they seek to construct “reality”.

COURSE AIM

Our goal is to develop such an imagination How? By:  staying abreast of current events;  relating readings, lectures, and discussion to the world of your experience;  making weekly contributions to the course blog;  keeping a dairy (if you choose) and  (also if you choose) completing some mini-projects that apply concepts from the reading to observations and engagements with the world outside.

RESTATED

Now, let’s conduct an exercise... Introduce yourself to the person next to you with these previous thoughts in mind  explain some part of you that makes the familiar strange  seek to explain a fact or element:  in a way that may differ from how it appears  that seems natural but it actually isn’t  that relates to society at large or greater historical forces  although, you are under no compulsion to share what might make you uncomfortable

INTRODUCTIONS, WITH A

SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

an exercise: could you introduce the person next to you who introduced themselves to you  to the class, another friend, your family  explaining what they said that was familiar  to them, your audience, you  and what about it might be considered strange?  to them, your audience, you

YOU MAY ASK YOURSELF

so, I have a lot of questions to begin, what was your first impression when you saw the video?  did anyone have the thought: “God, this is soooo OLD!”  does it carry the odor of ancient history  do you think it reflects a different generation’s thought?  does the video reflect a different way of thinking or is it still relevant?

YOU MAY ASK YOURSELF

Query: is there anything particularly “sociological” about the content of the video?  If so, what might it be?  Here you can refer to the list of sociological elements from our last class...  What are those elements  and do they appear in this video?

YOU MAY ASK YOURSELF

Query: how, if at all, is this related to “Making the Familiar Strange”?  The biggest question is: what is the person in the song asking himself?  And what COULD he be asking himself  And... What could YOU be asking yourself?  About what? In what way?

ONCE IN A LIFETIME

(LYRICS, VERSE 1) And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack And you may find yourself in another part of the world And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife And you may ask yourself Well...How did I get here?

ONCE IN A LIFETIME

(LYRICS, VERSE 2) And you may ask yourself How do I work this? And you may ask yourself Where is that large automobile? And you may tell yourself This is not my beautiful house And you may tell yourself This is not my beautiful wife (Repeat Chorus)

ONCE IN A LIFETIME

(LYRICS, BRIDGE) Same as it ever was… Same as it ever was... Same as it ever was… Same as it ever was... Same as it ever was… Same as it ever was... Same as it ever was… Same as it ever was... Water dissolving... and water removing There is water at the bottom of the ocean Under the water, carry the water at the bottom of the ocean Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean