soc134 summer 2005 6 23updated

Sociology 134Lecture 2The Practice of Sociology: 

Sociology 134 Lecture 2 The Practice of Sociology June 23, 2005

Please Answer the following questions on your Response Card:: 

Please Answer the following questions on your Response Card: Name What is the sociological imagination? What is the difference between issues and troubles? Give an example of an issue and a trouble

Outline: 

Outline Review the sociological imagination and the example of the civil rights movement Hypotheses about Racial/Ethnic Inequalities Practice of Sociology Quantitative Methods Qualitative Methods

What is the sociological imagination?: 

What is the sociological imagination?

Troubles vs. Issues: 

Troubles vs. Issues What is the difference between: “Personal troubles of milieu” “The public issues of social structure” Can you give any examples?

An example of the Sociological Imagination: The Civil Rights Movement and Desegregation: 

An example of the Sociological Imagination: The Civil Rights Movement and Desegregation Two Possible Explanations: The influence of great leaders The influence of social forces

Social Forces Explanation: 

Social Forces Explanation The desire to look good to the world community because of the pressures of the Cold War. The desire to gain new allies by convincing newly independent countries that U.S. style freedom was better than USSR style economic equality The Result of decades of organizing by groups such as the: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Southern Christian Leadership Coalition (SCLC),

Social Forces: Desegregation of the Military: 

Social Forces: Desegregation of the Military Eisenhower Vs. The Institution of the U.S. Military had recognized problems with a segregated military during the Korean War

Social Forces: Desegregation of Public Schols: 

Social Forces: Desegregation of Public Schols Thurgood Marshal Vs. The NAACP had a carefully planned campaign of legal challenges to segregation for 50 years before taking Brown vs. Board of Education to the Supreme Court.

Social Forces: Desegregation of Public Facilites: 

Social Forces: Desegregation of Public Facilites JFK, Rosa Parks and ML King Jr. Vs. The US was in the middle of the Cold War and was seeking to look good in the eyes of the world community Rosa Parks was the secretary for the head of the NAACP in Mississippi and ML King was hired and backed by the Southern Christian Leadership Coalition (SCLC)

Social Forces: Voting Rights: 

Social Forces: Voting Rights Freedom Summer Volunteers of 1965 Vs. The Congress of Racial Equality (started in the 1940s by Black Labor Unions) and the NAACP funded and organized Freedom Summer. The NAACP, SCLC, CORE and others had been working for voting rights for decades

Troubles vs. Issues: 

Troubles vs. Issues With respect to segregation and the civil rights movement what would be an example of a troubles? What would be an example of issues?

Inequalities between Racial/Ethnic Groups: 

Inequalities between Racial/Ethnic Groups

What are your hypotheses about the following question:Why is there inequality between different racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.?: 

What are your hypotheses about the following question: Why is there inequality between different racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.?

Sociological Practice: 

Sociological Practice Qualitative Research Participant Observation Ethnography (observations and open ended interviews) Focus Groups Textual analysis Quantitative Research Statistical analysis of surveys

Qualitative Research: 

Qualitative Research Ask your partner the following questions: Have you experienced racism or prejudice? Can you describe this experience or these experiences? Please describe the opportunities that you have compared the opportunities that your parents have.

Quantitative Research: 

Quantitative Research Take turns asking your partner the questions on the survey.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Qualitative vs. Quantitative research methods: 

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Qualitative vs. Quantitative research methods

Assignments for Friday 6/24: 

Assignments for Friday 6/24 Questions What are the arguments for the position that "race is an illusion"? Do you find these arguments persuasive? Do the arguments that "race is an illusion" apply to both social and biological definitions of race Readings (these readings will also be on the course website) Graves, Joseph L. 2001. The Emperor's New Clothes: Biological Theories of Race at the Millennium. pp.1-51. (In the Reader Vol.1, #9) Michael J. Bamshad and Steve E. Olson. 2003. "Does Race Exist?". Scientific America. (Handout) Video Watch the video “Race the Power of Illusion—Episode 1”