Introduction to Sociology

Ray Brannonhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

Trapped!! Psycho –Social Interweave

• Personal destinies are linked to societal structures

• PA Study of Care for the Elderly

• Blinding pace of transformational change

A little about myself…six kids and five grandchildren

A long time ago in a distant galaxy ……I began to program with IBM cards on very big computers that didn’t have the power of your smart phone.

Retired President & CEO of Retired President & CEO of Choice TechnologiesChoice Technologies

Ray Brannon, Ph.D. candiddateRay Brannon, Ph.D. candiddatewww.inspectyourgadgets.comwww.inspectyourgadgets.com

The Challenge:To become a critical thinker on sociologic

issues because …..your personal history matters!!

• Locating yourself in the period in which you live- how you are shaped by society and how you can shape society

• Link history and biography – three generations

• My grandfather, father, me, son, grandson

What is Epistemology?

\What is a Paradigm?

Paradigm Shift: The destruction an old theory by new facts and its

replacement as a new theory that fits the new facts.

Thomas Kuhn

What is a Paradigm Shift?

Changing Sociological Paradigms

Trapped by Self Deception and Assumptions

Developing Self and Social Consciousness

• Distinguishing personal problems from public issues resulting from social structure

• Troubles versus issues: personal/ societal

• One mans death is a tragedy 45 people killed by a terrorist blast is a statistic.

Did You Know?We Are a Piece of the Social Puzzle