The Origins of Sociological Thought

Essential Question: Who were the founders of Sociology and how did their theories shape the discipline of Sociology? 

Origins of Sociological Thought 

Sociologists face TWO key questions

How did we go about answering this question?  Summarizing 

Sociology - The Human Zoo

Why Study Sociology? 

Before you ever knew about Sociology, you had a world view. Being born to a middle class family in the United States, my family helped to shape my point of view.  If I had been born in Chile, China, or Chad I would have a different view of the word.

Case Study #1 The Cannibal in the Mirror

Case Study #2 Office Space

Case Study #3 Rachel Canning 

Objectives: What is a theory?  What are sociology’s major theoretical perspectives? 

Theory: a general statement about how some parts of the world fit together and how they work; an explanation of how two or more facts are related to one another