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Introduction to Self andIntroduction to Self and

SocietySocietyAngie Andriot

Lecture 1

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Reflect:Reflect:Is there an OBJECTIVE reality that existsoutside our perception?

Relatedly:

Is it ever possible to perfectly predicthuman behavior? If we had all the

knowledge that was to be had about why

people do things, could we apply that toanyone's future actions? Could we

become, essentially, fortune tellers withscience on our side?

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KeyKey

ConceptsConcepts

Sociology

Science

CulturePositivism

Antipositivism

The Sociological Perspective

Social locationStructure

Agency

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(mad) social(mad) social

scientistsscientists

You dont see many madsocialscientists

Of course not! All of the funding goes to building thoseflashy clanks anddeath rays!

Its so unfair!

I TOLD the baron: Give me a thousand orphans, a hedgemaze and enough cheese and I can

Youre NOT reassuring me

(Girl Genius)

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090506http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090506

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Who are Sociologists?

Sociology professors

Researchers

Statisticians

Criminologists

Human Resources

Managers

American Sociological Associatio

http://www.asanet.org/http://www.asanet.org/

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SociologySociologyThe SCIENTIFIC study ofSOCIETYand human

behavior

People who share a CULTURE anda TERRITORY

The application ofsystematic methods to

obtain knowledge

LanguageLanguage

BeliefsBeliefs

ValuesValuesNormsNorms

BehaviorsBehaviors

ObjectsObjects

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TELL me where is Fancy bred,Or in the heart or in the head?How begot, how nourishd?

Reply, reply.It is engender'd in theeyes,With gazing fed; and Fancy dies

In the cradle where it lies.Let us all ring Fancy'sknell:I'll begin it,Ding, dong,bell.

All. Ding, dong, bell

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(Anti)Positivi(Anti)Positivi

smsmInterpret the meaning ofsocial action

SUBJECTIVELY MEANINGFUL

CAUSAL EXPLANATIONSubjectivitySubjectivityInterpretationInterpretation

EmpatheticEmpatheticSituationalSituational

SituatedSituated

HistoricalHistorical

GeographicalGeographical

NOT OBJECTIVELY

CORRECT OR TRUE

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Do not try and bend the spoon.Thats impossible. Instead onlytry to realize the truth.

There is no spoon.

Then youll see that it is not

the spoon that bends, it is onlyyourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzm8kTIj_0Mhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzm8kTIj_0M

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The SociologalThe Sociologal

PerspectivePerspectiveUnderstanding human

behavior by placing it within

the broader social context

Making generalizations about the

world based on your own limitedexperiences

IS

C. WrightC. WrightMills,Mills,

The Sociological ImaginationThe Sociological Imagination

NOT

S i lS i l

http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/~wood/207socimagination.htmhttp://www.camden.rutgers.edu/~wood/207socimagination.htmhttp://www.camden.rutgers.edu/~wood/207socimagination.htm

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SocialSocial

LocationLocationThe corners in life that people occupyJob

Social classRaceSex

Religion

Social location can shape our ideas of whowe are and what we should attain in life.

It can shape our very self-definitions.

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Structure versusStructure versus

AgencyAgency

I am entirelya product of

my

upbringing

I amcompletely in

control of my

actions

Where is the balance?

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TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and II took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

K

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KeyKey

ConceptsConceptsSociologyScience

CulturePositivism

Antipositivism

The Sociological Perspective

Social locationStructure

Agency

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Reflect:Reflect:Is there an OBJECTIVE reality that existsoutside our perception?Relatedly:

Is it ever possible to perfectly predicthuman behavior? If we had all the

knowledge that was to be had about why

people do things, could we apply that toanyone's future actions? Could we

become, essentially, fortune tellers withscience on our side?