This document contains notes from an introductory sociology course taught by Dr. Li-chin Huang. It includes an introduction to sociology concepts like critical thinking, social structures, and sociological perspectives. It also outlines the course topics like foundations of society, social institutions, and social change. Key sociological paradigms and theories are discussed as analytical tools to help students think critically about society. Bloom's taxonomy of learning and methods for developing critical thinking skills are presented.

1. Faculty: Dr. Li-chin (Crystal) Huang
Social Science Department

3. 1. Welcome to Introduction to Sociology
2. Let’s get to know each other
3. Syllabus. Introduce LMS – E360.
4. Expectation between you and me
5. Information for next class
6. Discussion and suggestion

5. Think critically.
Value integrity.
Value diversity.
Communicate effectively.
It’s all about Critical Thinking.

6. “The technical component of
education focuses primary on
preparing students to become
economically productive citizens,
while the critical component of
education, in contrast, attempts
to expose students to multiple
and conflicting perspectives on
themselves and their society.”
– M. Gordon

7. It’s all about
Critical Thinking!!

9. This course, mainly, is
about Critical Thinking !!
What ? But, How…

19. The society is not so transparent
as you perceive or as you think.

20. For example: What do you see?

21. PERCEPTION-
can be manipulated-
just an example in daily life
The Size-Distance Relationship:
Given the perceived distance of
an object
and the size of its image on our
retinas, we unconsciously infer
the object’s size.

22. 1. Physiological Limitations in
perception
a. Optical illusion
b. Neurological Inhibition
c. Innate limitations and Salience
2. Socio-psychological Limitations
in perception
a. Selective Perception
b. Socio-cultural experience
c. Psychological and Emotional states
Fallibility - The limitations in Perception

23. What do our brains look like ?
Root Bound
Root Expanded

24. This course, mainly, is
about Critical Thinking !!
What ? But, How…

25. Allegory
ˈaləˌgôrē - Noun
a story, poem, or picture that can be
interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning,
typically a moral or political one.
For example:
"Pilgrim's Progress is an allegory of the spiritual
journey“
Synonyms: parable, analogy, metaphor, symbol,
emblem.

27. Men with
the Visual Impairment and an Elephant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8rSCU-j_X4&NR=1 cattaks

28. Socio-biological Forces Shape Who and What We Are
Individual
Internal
forces
External
forces
I and ME/
Individual
Positive
Forces
- push you up
Invisible
social Forces
Negative
Forces
- drag you down
Visible
Social Forces
Genetics/
Biology
Environment/
social-culture

29. Life is like a game of cards.
The hand you are dealt is
determinism;
the way you play it is
free will. - Jawaharlal Nehru

30. Some people bear three kinds of trouble –
the ones they've had,
the ones they have,
and the ones they expect to have.” - H. G. Wells
It is always the same: once you are liberated,
you are forced to ask who you are.” - Jean Baudrillard
Unless a capacity for thinking be accompanied by
a capacity for action, a superior mind exists in
torture. - Charles Horton Cooley

31. Individual
Foundations of Society Social Inequality
Social Institutions Social Change
1.The Economic & work
2.Politics & Government
3.Family
4.Religion
5.Education
6.Health and Medicine
1.Population, Urbanization and
Environment
2.Collective Behavior
and Social Movements
3.Social Change:Traditional,
Modern, and Postmodern
societies
Individual and Social Forces
1. Culture/Society
2. Socialization
3. Social Interaction in Everyday life
4. Groups & Organization
5. Deviance
1. Social and Global Stratification
2. Social Stratification in the U.S.
3. Gender Stratification
4. Race and Ethnicity
5. Aging and the Elderly

32. Develop and open
your multiple critical
thinking mind-eyes.

33. Many mind-eyes to open!
1. Seeing the general from the particular
2. Seeing the strange from the familiar
3. Seeing personal life choices from
the social contexts
4. Seeing the crisis and the marginality
Sociological Perspectives

34. Many mind-eyes to open!
1. Seeing through from the structural-functional paradigm
2. Seeing through from the social conflict paradigm
3. Seeing through from the symbolic-interactional paradigm
Sociological Theories
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnCJU6PaCio cracourse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj9POR7YTww academic

35. Today’s Agenda
• What is Sociology?
• What are the origins of Sociology?
• Why do we study Sociology?
• What are the 4 major sociological perspectives?
- How to see through in stead of looking
• What are the 3 major sociological theories/paradigms?
The powerful analytical tools 3 paradigms/3 big mind/eyes.
• What are the 10 steps in sociological
investigation/research design?
• How to apply 3 mind/eyes (paradigms) to help us
think, act, and make better decisions?

36. Individuals
in society
Society in
individuals

37. Agency
Structure
In-class Activity:
Structure vs. Agency

38. Agency
Structure
In-class Activity:
Structure vs. Agency

40. It’s all about
Critical Thinking!!
What ? How…..

42. Introductory Sociology
Chapter 1:
Perspective,
Theory,
and Method

43. Competencies ( required by state):
Upon successful completion of
this chapter you will able to:
Apply sociological
perspectives to current issues,
problems and/or institutions.
#1 Core Values:
Think critically; Enhance social interaction

44. A Definition of Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is the art of analyzing and
evaluating thinking with a view to improve it.

48. Puppets and Puppeteers

49. Puppets and Puppeteers
Who are puppets, puppeteers, or both?
Who is behind the screen?
Who writes the script?
What connects the puppets and puppeteers?
Why are the strings important and invisible to the viewers?

50. The first step towards Freedom
• “Unlike puppets, we have the
possibility of stopping in our
movement, looking up and
perceiving the machinery by which
we have been moved.
In this act lies the first step towards
freedom.”
---- Peter Berger

51. What is the most
important function of Sociology?
Most importantly, is to
connect the dots, see the hidden phenomena,
and be aware of the unintended consequences.

53. Individual
Foundations of Society Social Inequality
Social Institutions Social Change
1.The Economic & work
2.Politics & Government
3.Family
4.Religion
5.Education
6.Health and Medicine
1.Population, Urbanization and
Environment
2.Collective Behavior
and Social Movements
3.Social Change:Traditional,
Modern, and Postmodern
societies
Individual and Social Forces
1. Culture/Society
2. Socialization
3. Social Interaction in Everyday life
4. Groups & Organization
5. Deviance
1. Social and Global Stratification
2. Social Stratification in the U.S.
3. Gender Stratification
4. Race and Ethnicity
5. Aging and the Elderly

54. Biography
Social Structures
History

55. Social Structures
History Biography
Individuals
How does sociology make your mind-eyes sharp and see things differently?
Capitalism. Representative Democracy. Religiosity, social class, Diverse population
Revolutionary war, waves
of immigration, wars
against Native Americans,
industrialization,
Slavery, Civil War,
Suffrage movement, WWI,
Union movement, Great
Depression, WWII, Civil
right movement, Korean
war, Vietnam war, oil
crunch, gulf wars, war on
Iraq…
Ascribed
(race,/ethnicity gender,
sexual orientation,
social class,
disability…etc) vs.
Achieved status;
Genetics vs.
Environment.
Family upbringing,
education, occupation,
peers, media…etc.

56. Classroom activities:
A General Critical Thinking Method to
examine an ideology/hegemonic ideology
• What is said?
• How it is said?
• Who says so?
• To whom it is said?
• For whose best interest?
• When it is said?
• Where it is said?
Examples:
Inquiries or counterpoints regarding the
definitions or understanding

57. Apply SEADS critical thinking model to
examine an ideology/hegemonic ideology
S- Identify sources (reliability, and validity)
E- Evidence (enough? objective?)
A- What are the assumptions
hidden behind that message?
D- What is the definition of the buzz words
or hot button issues in the message?
S- How biased? Slanted?
Classroom activities:

58. What can Sociology do to us?
1. A sharp third eye-
(Insightful observation)
2. A second clear mind-
(Critical thinking)
3. An extra warm heart-
(Humanistic Approach)

59. • The only good is knowledge and the
only evil is ignorance. – Socrates
• Information is the currency of
democracy. - Thomas Jefferson
• "The less you know, the more you
think you know, because you don't
know what you don't know."- Ray Stevens
• "Only when we know a little do we
know anything; doubt grows with
knowledge.“ - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

60. An informed, well-educated and alert
citizenry keeps a society healthy and safe.
• “Educate and inform the whole mass of the
people... They are the only sure reliance for the
preservation of our liberty.”
“Whenever the people are well-informed, they
can be trusted with their own government.”
- Thomas Jefferson
• Some problems are so complex that you have to
be highly intelligent and well informed just to be
undecided about them. - Dr. Laurence J. Peter
• “We believe that an informed citizenry will act for
life and not for death.” - Albert Einstein

61. “The technical component of
education focuses primary on
preparing students to become
economically productive citizens,
while the critical component of
education, in contrast, attempts
to expose students to multiple
and conflicting perspectives on
themselves and their society.”
– M. Gordon

62. Bloom’s Taxonomy

63. Learning Pyramid

67. East, west, home is the best! This was the house where I was
Born a while ago in Taipei, Taiwan ( was remodeled in 1966)

68. Our His / Her Majesties

69. The Furry Superb Beings

78. How aware are you of safety
in your work setting?
• About 2.2 million people nationwide are
victims of crime, harassment, internal
conflicts and violence in the workplace each year
• Homicide accounts for 17% of all deaths in the
workplace.
• In 1997, 18 million cases were filed in U.S. courts at a
cost of $ 300 billion due to conflicts happened in the
workplace. 20% of executives’ time is spent in
litigation-related activities.
• More than 2/3 of employers provide no training
related to violence prevention.
---according to the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics and
NIOSH report.

79. An Example of Conflict Resolution
Strategy for the Use in the Work Setting

80. 3 Models of Mental Organization
Expressed in exclusive categories for purposes of theoretical clarity
The Uncritical Person
Admitting to a range of
sophistication
From black-white, simple,
awkward rationalizations to
highly sophisticated, creative,
and intellectually resourceful
egocentric and sociocentric
rationalizations
Admitting to a range of
developmental levels
From the fair-
mindedness that an
individual is able to
exercise to that of the
most profound thinkers
Critical thinking skills
internalized in the
service of balanced
truth, rationality,
autonomy and self
insight
Critical thinking skills
internalized in the service of
one’s vested interests and
desires
No Self-
Awareness
Self-
Awareness
The Self-Serving Critical
Person (Weak Sense)
The Fair-minded Critical
Person( strong sense)
No Self-
Awareness
Self-
Awareness

81. Sociology is more
than a mirror held to
reality,
but a hammer with
which to shape it.
What do you think?

82. ‘CQ + PQ > IQ’
That’s “Curiosity Quotient” plus
“Passion Quotient”
is greater than “Intelligent Quotient.”
-The World is Flat - by Thomas Friedman

83. Always remind yourself
• Think
• Start small.
• Act NOW!
Obstacles bring you opportunities and challenges!

84. My blogsite Some of my artwork

85. Thanks your patience and attention!