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This is a complete summary for the course Key Concepts in Social Sciences, based on the fifth edition of the book.
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Key Concepts in Social SciencesCM1013
Book: Sociology: A Global Introduction by Macionis and Plummer 5th edition (2012)
This summary includes:
Chapter 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 19, 24, 26
+ lecture notes
Esmée Lieuw On 1
,Chapter 1: The Sociological Imagination
What is Sociology?
The systematic, sceptical and critical study of the social
• It becomes a form of consciousness; a way of thinking; a critical way of seeing the
social
• Challenging the obvious; questioning the world as it is taken for granted; de-
familiarizing the familiar.
Seeing the General in the Particular
Peter Berger characterized the sociological perspective as a way of seeing the general in the
particular à sociologists can identify general patterns of social life by looking at concrete
specific examples of social life + acknowledgement that everyone is unique
Society acts different on various categories of people (children versus adults)
Sociological perspective: realize how general categories into which we fall shape our life
experiences
The architecture of social life: the layers of reality
Cosmic – the widest presence in the universe/cosmos. Not often looked at but be aware
that the infinitely complex presence behind the way we think about our humanly
constructed social world.
World and Globe – the interconnectedness of the social and cultural across the world:
the global flows and movements of economies, political systems, people, media etc.
Social and Cultural – communities, societies, institutions and nation-states that have an
existence independently of us, with definite structures and symbolic meanings over and
above us.
Interactional – the experience of the world in the immediate face-to-face presence and
awareness of others.
Individual – the inner world; the physic world of human subjectivity and the inner
biological workings of genetics, hormones, brain structure and the like.
Seeing the Strange in the Familiar
Peter Berger (1963): “the first wisdom of sociology is this: things are not what they seem”.
Zygmunt Bauman (1990): “we need to defamiliarize the familiar”.
à Observing sociologically requires giving up the familiar idea that human behavior is a
matter of what people decided to do and accepting instead of the initially strange notion
that society guides our thoughts and deeds.
à At the broadest level: sociology sets out to show the patterns and processes by
which society shapes what we do
Individuality in Social Context: the strange case of suicide
Esmée Lieuw On 2
,We are not as individualistic as we may think à we may think we make our own choices,
have our personal responsibilities and congratulate ourselves for success and destroy when
it’s going wrong but much of our social lives is shaped by factors outside of our control
A good example: suicide
à No act seems more individualistic – more driven by personal ‘choice’ à Durkheim
wrote about this.
à Durkheim’s research revealed: certain categories of people were more likely, degree
of social integration, different types of suicide (anomic, altruistic, egoistic, fatalistic)
The Chinese Exception
Asia has 60% of the world’s suicides à very different from the West
Methods and Research: what sociologists do
Key Roles of sociologists in Modern What?
Society
Researchers Documenting the nature of social times, we
live in (Data needed)
Theorists Aim to foster deeper understanding of
what is going on and provide a way for
sociological knowledge to become
cumulative (Data is not enough)
Critic Question and interrogate the taken-for-
granted society and connect it to other
possible worlds (seeking progress and a
‘better’ world)
Educator and Teacher Writing, teaching and provide
governments/organizations with
information that helps planning future
pathways for society
Artists Generating ideas that can inform and
enhance human creativity
Policy shapers Advising governments and groups on the
nature of the social world
Commentators and Public intellectuals Providing social diagnosis of the ills of our
time (clarifying options, sensing
alternatives and signposting future
directions)
Dialogists Creating organized dialogues across
multiple different voices
Critical citizen Help create a widespread social awareness
and what might be called social thinking
Esmée Lieuw On 3
, à Sociology can help create critical, socially aware citizens who make informed and
knowledgeable decisions
What is Public Sociology?
Sociology involves multiple audiences and groups.
à It is a matter of great general concern to the wider public
à Sociology is not all moribund theory
abstraction, and neither is it senseless fact
grabbing: it shows deep concern and
engagement with social world
à Public sociology can:
a) Understand the audiences it is trying to
reach
b) Clarify language and definitions
c) Recognize positions
d) Provide basic knowledge backgrounds
e) Assist in understanding research findings
f) Present public debates
g) Appreciate different kinds of media that
can present these issues
h) Identify key spokespeople and
organizations
Sociology and social marginality
The more acute people’s social marginality, the more likely they are to be keenly aware of
their surroundings and to see the world from a different perspective.
Sociology and social crisis
The more we learn about the operation of ‘the system’, the more we may wish to change it
in some way.
Benefits of the sociological perspective
1) It becomes a way of thinking, a ‘form of consciousness’ that challenges familiar
understanding of ourselves and others so that we can critically assess the truth of
commonly held assumptions.
2) It enables us to assess both the opportunities and the constraints that characterize
our lives.
3) It helps us to be active participants in our society.
4) It enables us to recognize human differences and human suffering and to confront
the challenges of living in a diverse world.
Esmée Lieuw On 4
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