Sociology Perspectives

1. Sociological Perspectives
Read:“The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life” p61

2. What informs our sense of what is true?
1. Values and Norms
2. Journalism
3. Personal Experience
4. Fiction

3. Values and NormsValues and Norms
• SocializationSocialization iis the process by which a person internalizes the values, beliefs,
and norms of society and learns to function as a member of that society.
ValuesValues are our beliefs
NormsNorms are how values tell us to act
What are some American Values?

4. And when we break norms?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgso3Y-l0h8

5. What Is Culture?
•Culture can be loosely defined as a set of beliefs, traditions,
and practices.
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6. Material vs. Nonmaterial CultureMaterial vs. Nonmaterial Culture• Material culture is everything that is a part of our constructed environment, such as music, books,
fashion, and monuments.
• Nonmaterial culture encompasses values, beliefs, behaviors, and social norms.

7. Which of the following are examples of material and nonmaterial culture?Which of the following are examples of material and nonmaterial culture?
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8. Cultural RelativismCultural Relativism• This the idea that we should recognize differences across cultures without passing
judgment on or assigning value to those differences.
• Our sociological imagination should allow us to step back from our lives and
examine situations without bias.

9. Where Do Stereotypes Come From?Where Do Stereotypes Come From?
• Intentionally or unintentionally, subtly or overtly, the media can create or
reinforce ethnic, racial, gender, religious, and other stereotypes.
• Ethnocentrism: the belief that our culture is superior to others and the
tendency to view all other cultures from the perspective of our own.
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10. • The term was coined by AmericanYale professor,William Graham Sumner
• Sumner defined ethnocentrism as:
"[The] view of things in which one´s group is the center of"[The] view of things in which one´s group is the center of
everything, and others are scaled and rated with referenceeverything, and others are scaled and rated with reference
to it. Each group nourishes its own pride and vanity, boaststo it. Each group nourishes its own pride and vanity, boasts
itself superior, exalts its own divinities and looks withitself superior, exalts its own divinities and looks with
contempt on outsiders."contempt on outsiders."
Ethnocentrism is a very “Anything you can do, we
can do it better” point of view concerning ethnicity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSJFBeVFtak

11. An individual with an ethnocentric view:An individual with an ethnocentric view:
• Identifies strongly with in-group ethnicity, culture, etc.Identifies strongly with in-group ethnicity, culture, etc.
• Feels proud, vain, superior about in-groupFeels proud, vain, superior about in-group
• Views economic, political, social events from the point of their in-Views economic, political, social events from the point of their in-
groupgroup
• Defines their culture elements as ‘correct’ & ‘natural’Defines their culture elements as ‘correct’ & ‘natural’
• Thinks in-group norms are universalThinks in-group norms are universal
• Rejects out-group ethnicities, cultures, etc.Rejects out-group ethnicities, cultures, etc.
• Feels like other ethnicities & cultures are inferiorFeels like other ethnicities & cultures are inferior
• Xenophobia: a fear or hatred of persons of a different race, orXenophobia: a fear or hatred of persons of a different race, or
different ethnic or national origindifferent ethnic or national origin
• Defines other culture’s elements as ‘incorrect’ & ‘unnatural’Defines other culture’s elements as ‘incorrect’ & ‘unnatural’

12. Cultural ScriptsCultural Scripts
• Cultural scripts are modes of behavior and understanding that are
not universal or natural, but that may strongly shape beliefs or
concepts held by a society.

13. Ethnocentrism occurs frequently here at home
Examples:
• Capitalism vs. Communism: for years, the US has fought to end communism
because they believe capitalism trumps all
• Driving: Ethnocentric Americans say that driving on the left side of the road is
the ‘wrong side’ & that the right side is the ‘correct side’
American Ethnocentrism

14. More examples:
• Accents: Ethnocentric Americans may say that another person has an accent,
implying that the other person speaks different, strange, & un-American
• Legal Age of Alcohol Consumption: the US has a higher drinking age of most
other countries & does not emulate other countries by lowering the legal age
because they think it is the best age for a person to be able to start consuming
alcohol
American Ethnocentrism

15. Extreme examples:
Americans are obese & uneducated
Canadians say ‘eh’
Rich people are snobby & members of country clubs
Asians are geniuses & bad drivers
English people drink tea & have bad teeth
Women are bad drivers & emotional
Men are strong & smarter than women
Ethnocentric Stereotypes

16. Achieved vs. Ascribed StatusAchieved vs. Ascribed Status
• People's status is based mainly on their own
achievements, including education obtained
and level of success realized in their line of
work.
• Traditionally, a person's status in the society
was based importantly on inherited
characteristics such as age, gender, and family.
This is changing.
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17. SubculturesSubcultures
• A subculture is a group united by sets of concepts, values, traits, and/or behavioral
patterns that distinguish it from others within the same culture or society.

18. Social RelationshipsSocial Relationships
• InformalInformal, egalitarian. People most comfortable
with their social equals; importance of social
rankings minimized.
• FormalFormal, hierarchical. People most comfortable in
the presence of a hierarchy in which they know
their position and the customs/rules for behavior
in the situation.
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19. Harmony vs. "Truth"Harmony vs. "Truth"
• Willing to confront directly,confront directly, criticize, discuss
controversial topics, press personal opinions
about what they consider "the truth. Little
concern with "face."
• Avoid direct confrontationAvoid direct confrontation, open criticism, and
controversial topics. Concern maintaining
harmony and with "face."
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20. Sociological Perspectives :Sociological Perspectives :
FunctionalismFunctionalism
The media gets people to go along with the ideas presented because it seems to portrayseems to portray
the status quo or the natural order of thingsthe status quo or the natural order of things. In doing so, it helps reinforce values and
norms.
Transmission of the social heritage refers to the ability of the media to communicate values, norms, and
styles across time and between groups.
A television network might air a violent police drama with the aim of entertaining, but the actual functionactual function
served for the audience might be learning how to solve conflicts.served for the audience might be learning how to solve conflicts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPKMaNL6kJQ

21. Sociological Perspectives:Sociological Perspectives:
ConflictConflict
From a Marxist viewpoint, status-symbol chocolate advertising exemplifies how “commodity
fetishism” helps maintain capitalism. Such advertising legitimizes the elite class by reinforcing the
image of upper-class superiority and by presenting the luxurious lifestyle as something to aspire to.
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Godiva promotes the idea that consumers of their chocolates are somehow “higher class” and more “tasteful” than people
who do not consume them. As a result, their chocolates have a higher exchange value than the everyday, $1 chocolates
meant for middle and lower-class consumers. Can you say “Starbucks?”

22. Sociological Perspectives:Sociological Perspectives:
Symbolic InteractionismSymbolic Interactionism
• The values and norms change moment to moment based on our mutual day-to-day interactions with each
other.
• The media uses symbols of happiness and success to attempt to affect an abstract social structure. For
instance, companies no longer try to sell their products – they instead try to sell a lifestyle.
• Customers believe that if they acquire the product, their lifestyle will change.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiKxeXzv-wM

23. • Millions of people all over the country watch sitcoms like Friends and are influenced by the
message they give out. The various scenarios within in Friends can be seen as a mark of the
issues within a certain time period. David Pierson states, "The sitcom can be understood as aThe sitcom can be understood as a
historical and cultural document for observing and scrutinizing dominant social manners athistorical and cultural document for observing and scrutinizing dominant social manners at
any particular time period, especially those relating to gender, social class, andany particular time period, especially those relating to gender, social class, and
relationshipsrelationships"
• Friends will be remembered as a representation of the lives of average Americans and the
stereotypes held within that time period.
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25. Mostly we don’t think about it
and we are not always sure of the source of our information

26. Sociologists have created theoretical
frameworks to explain social phenomenon
We will examine

27. Structural Functionalism
Talcott Parsons Emile Durkheim
• Social institutions play a key role in keeping society alive and stable.
• Institutions train individuals into their social roles
• Educational institutions train people for their future statuses or jobs they will fill
• The family is in charge of socializing new members of society.
• Religion helps reaffirm values and morals to maintain social ties.

28. “Anomie” – A state of normlessness
The September 11, 2001 terrorist attack was an act of extreme deviance
caused by anomic conditions (conditions of social chaos when the rules for
normative behavior seem to have disappeared) in the Middle East and
among Muslim people throughout the world.
Because of the cultural influence of the American media throughout the world, and because of the
rapidity of social change taking place due to that cultural influence, the terrorists engaged in an act
of deviance based on their belief that they were acting at the behest of God, and for the good of
their own people, that took their own lives as well as the lives of thousands of others.

29. According to functionalists….
Even dysfunction and deviance has a purpose.
• Question: How could the drug trade, prostitution, war, cat-fishing be
somehow functional to society?

30. The war in Iraq according to the
Functionalist paradigm,
was fought in order to maintain security and stability
in the US by keeping terrorism at bay thousands of
miles away.

31. The Conflict Perspective
Karl Marx FeministTheorists
• Dominant classes subordinate the lower classes
• The structure of society is a source of inequality
• The focus is on how institutions promote division and inequality
• Conflict is the basic , animating force for social change and society in general.
Are the opportunities/consequences the same
for all?

32. The Conflict paradigm does a very good job of
explaining racism, sexism, ageism,
socioeconomic inequality (wealth and
poverty), etc.
• When we are analyzing any element of society from this perspective, we
need to look at the structures of wealth, power, and status and the ways in
which those structures maintain the social, economic, political, and coercive
power of one group at the expense of all other groups.
The word Tutsi means those "rich in cattle" and the word
Hutu means "servant" or "subject".

33. Conflict:The war in Iraq
The Bourgeoisie (the United States and most of Western Europe) has exploited
for decades the people and natural resources of the Middle East without
offering economic and educational support to the people. The U.S. and
Western Europe have supported dictatorial regimes, ignored human rights
abuses, and generally turned their backs on the plight of the majority of Middle
Easterners and Muslims in general throughout the world.
Thus, the terrorists (as representatives of the Proletariat), attacked, or attempted
to attack, the centers of American power: the World Trade Center (economic
power), the Pentagon (military power), and the U.S. Capital (political power).

34. The war in Iraq which began in 2003, according to
the Conflict paradigm, was being fought in order to
extend the power and control of the United States,
and to create an American empire in the non-white,
non-Christian world.

35. The September 11, 2001 terrorist attack was caused
by American foreign policy vis á vis the Middle East
as a whole, the first GulfWar, American support of
the Israeli government and Israel’s treatment of its
Palestinian population.

36. Symbolic Interaction
Blumer Goffman
• Unlike functionalism and conflict which are macro approaches to structures in society,
SI examines the micro-level, day to day interaction with people.
• Takes place within a world of symbolic communication.
• The symbols we use, language, gestures, posture are influences by the larger group or
society.
• Society emerges from countless interpersonal communications that individuals have.
• When you play the role as the student and I as the professor, we reinforce the larger
institution of the University.

37. The Symbolic Interactionist Paradigm
Symbolic Interactionism describes society as small groups of individuals
interacting based on the various ways that people interpret their various cultural
symbols such as spoken, written, and non-verbal language. Our behavior with and
among other people (our interaction) is the result of our shared understanding of
cultural symbols.This is a micro-level paradigm that describes small-scale
processes and small-scale social systems; it is interested in individual behavior.

38. The war in Iraq which began in 2003,
according to the
Symbolic Interactionist paradigm,
it is being fought to send a message
Islamic terrorists - that the US cannot be attacked with impunity
And to support the image of non-white, non-Christian people as dangerous to our way of life.

39. Irving Goffman

41. Date 5 September 2009
Source Own work
Author Rcragun

42. How about these examples?