Chapter 1 - New Society

Question 1

Sociological Imagination

Answer 1

• 1950’s by American sociologist C.Wright Mills, identified the connection between personal troubles & social structures
• the imagination has 3 modern revolution
  1. Scientific revolution: around 1550, encouraged the view about workings of society must be based on solid evidence, not speculation
  2. Democratic Revolution: around 1750, the suggestion to people who are responsible for organizing society & that human intervention can therefore solve social problems
  3. Industrial Revolution: around 1780, created a host of new & serious social problems that attracted the attention of many social thinkers

Question 2

4 levels of social structures

Answer 2

• microstructures: intimate social relations, formed face-to-face interactions (e.g families, friendship circles and work associations
• Mesostructures: social relations formed in organizations, members are often not intimately acquainted nor often interact face-to-face
• Macrostructures: special relations that lie outside & above the circle of intimates & acquaintances
• Global structures: international organizations, patterns of worldwide travel and communication

Question 3

Origins of sociology

Answer 3

-French social thinker Auguste Comte pitched into the term “sociology”
-he wanted to observe the real world rather than assuming “God” or “human nature” determined the shape of society
-sociology ideas are often stated in form of theories
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Question 4

Social Constructionism

Answer 4

• a variant of symbolic interactionism

- argues that when people interact they typically assume things are natural