1.7 Conclusion
In this chapter, you learned about the sociological perspective and how sociologists use this framework to understand society and human interactions. We can explore seemingly ordinary events, such as the Pendleton Round-Up, from a sociological perspective to learn about social institutions and social inequalities. For instance, we learned how economically important a rodeo can be for communities. However, while the economy is certainly an important institution, we also learned that we need to consider how it intersects with other important social institutions, such as health care.
The Round-Up also offers an opportunity to study representation to understand more about race and gender in this athletic event. Take the image in figure 1.22. Here we see a man participating in the Brahman bull riding event wearing a traditional Western hat rather than a helmet. You can compare this picture with the riders in figure 1.23 wearing helmets. The selection of a Western hat reinforces the boundaries of what it means to be “manly” and show power through displays of tough masculinity. You will learn more about gender and constructions of masculinity in Chapter 9. While we’ve explored the Pendleton Round-Up from a sociological perspective in this chapter, what other local events could you analyze with your newfound sociological imagination?
Sociologists are trained to use their sociological imaginations to examine social life and see things from different perspectives. This chapter has introduced you to many core concepts that you can apply to the world around you. You may notice that you are able to use your newly developed sociological imagination when you evaluate movies, music, and group interactions.
Now that you have a sense of what sociology is, it’s time to take a closer look at the different theoretical perspectives sociologists use to make sense of human behavior and identify patterns. The next chapter will explore how sociological theory developed and shaped the perspectives that we use to examine the social world. You will learn about the origins of social theory and how social theory has been shaped by events such as the Industrial Revolution, imperialism, and colonialism. Finally, you will learn how classical theory has helped inform contemporary sociological theory.
Review of Learning Objectives
Key Terms
- Agency: free will or the ability to make independent decisions. As sociologists, we understand that the choices we have available to us are often limited by larger structural constraints.
- Diversity: the presence of differences, including psychological, physical, and social differences, that occur among individuals.
- Macro-level analysis/macrosociology: the study of trends among and between institutions and societies. Macrosociology emphasizes the influence of structures, institutions, and systems.
- Micro-level analysis/microsociology: the study of small groups and individual interactions. Microsociology emphasizes context, meaning-making, and interactions.
- Oppression: a combination of prejudice and institutional power that creates a system that regularly and severely discriminates against some groups and benefits other groups.
- Privilege: something of value members of one group have that members of another group do not, simply because they belong to a group. The privilege may be either an unearned advantage or an unearned entitlement.
- Social facts: the laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and cultural rules that govern social life. These practices exist outside of us as individuals but still act to constrain our behavior.
- Social institutions: mechanisms or patterns of social order focused on meeting social needs, such as government, the economy, education, family, health care, and religion.
- Society: a group of people who live in a defined geographic area, interact with one another, and share a common culture.
- Sociological imagination: an awareness of the relationship between a person’s behavior and experience and the wider culture that shaped the person’s choices and perceptions.
- Sociological perspective: a lens that allows you to view society and social structures through multiple perspectives simultaneously.
- Sociology: the scientific and systematic study of groups and group interactions and societies and social interactions, from small and personal groups to very large groups and mass culture; also, the systematic study of human society and interactions.
- Structure/social structure: the complex and stable framework of society that influences all individuals or groups through the relationship between institutions (e.g., economy, politics, religion) and social practices (e.g., behaviors, norms, and values). These patterned arrangements both limit and create opportunities for some individuals.
Discussion Questions
- What are some ways individuals can develop their sociological perspective?
- Reflect on the social activities in which you participate. How might you analyze these activities from a sociological perspective to see examples of our social structure?
- Based on your experiences, do you think discrimination and sundown towns are things of the past? Next, read Road Tripping while Black in Oregon [Website] from travel blogger Kay Kingsman to learn more about her experiences. What are some ways that policies limit opportunities?
- In what ways have you experienced structure and agency in your own life? What opportunities and limitations were part of those experiences?
- Why might someone want to study sociology? What are some ways you would like to see sociology applied in everyday life?
- As you’ve learned in this chapter, sometimes what seems like an individual choice is influenced by larger social and cultural norms. Let’s explore the example of marriage—read this short NPR article (Kurtzleben 2021): The Story of Marriage Equality Is More Complicated—and Costly—than You Remember [Website]. How are decisions to marry influenced by the social acceptability of marriage and marriage equality?
Additional Resources
Licenses and Attributions for Conclusion
Open Content, Original
“Conclusion” by Jennifer Puentes is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
“Introduction to Sociology H5P Question Set” was created by ChatGPT and is not subject to copyright. Edits for relevance, alignment, and meaningful answer feedback by Colleen Sanders are licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Open Content, Shared Previously
Figure 1.22. “LET’ER BUCK!” by Ian Sane is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Figure 1.23. “To Be Bullish” by Ian Sane is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
a lens that allows you to view society and social structures through multiple perspectives simultaneously.
a group of people who live in a defined geographic area, interact with one another, and share a common culture.
mechanisms or patterns of social order focused on meeting social needs, such as government, the economy, education, family, healthcare, and religion.
a category of identity that ascribes social, cultural, and political meaning and consequence to physical characteristics.
a term that refers to the behaviors, personal traits, and social positions that society attributes to being female or male
an awareness of the relationship between a person’s behavior and experience and the wider culture that shaped the person’s choices and perceptions.
any collection of at least two people who interact with some frequency and who share some sense of aligned identity.
the scientific and systematic study of groups and group interactions, societies and social interactions, from small and personal groups to very large groups and mass culture; also, the systematic study of human society and interactions.
a statement that proposes to describe and explain why facts or other social phenomena are related to each other based on observed patterns.
when a dominating country creates settlements in a distant territory.