Section outline

  • General

    Collapse all Expand all

  • 即时和现在

    Objectives
    ::目标目标目标和目标目标目标目标目标

    Describe how the field of sociology developed as a distinct area of study.
    ::说明社会学领域如何发展成为一个独特的研究领域。

    Explain how the three main theoretical perspectives in sociology differ.
    ::解释社会学的三个主要理论观点有何不同。


    Universal Generalizations
    ::普遍化

    The nature of social life and human interaction has been of interest to scholars throughout history.
    ::在整个历史中,社会生活和人类互动的性质一直引起学者的兴趣。

    Rapid growth of urban populations created a great deal of social problems.
    ::城市人口的迅速增长造成了大量的社会问题。

    Sociology emerged in the 1800’s mainly in France, Germany, and England.
    ::社会学在1800年代主要出现在法国、德国和英国。


    Guiding Questions
    ::问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问 问

    How does sociology emerge as a field of study?
    ::社会学如何作为一个研究领域出现?

    Describe the major contributions made by the early sociologists.
    ::描述早期社会学家做出的主要贡献。

    Explain the three main theoretical perspectives that form the basis of modern sociology.
    ::解释构成现代社会学基础的三个主要理论观点。

    Core Founders of Sociology
    ::社会学核心创始人

    Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) was the first to take a position in a university and because of the scientific journal he edited, L'Anné Sociologique (the sociological year) and his scientific work, he was able to help sociology to become part of higher education's academic culture. He was also French and took the first position at a university as a sociology professor.
    ::Emile Durkheim(1858-81917年)是第一个在大学任职的人,由于他编辑的科学期刊L'Anne Sociallogique(社会学年)及其科学工作,他能够帮助社会学成为高等教育学术文化的一部分,也是法国人,在大学担任第一个社会学教授。

    Durkheim discussed Social Facts , a phenomena within society that typically exists independent of individual choices and actions. Durkheim approached a subject that most thought of as being exclusively individualistic in nature-suicide. But, he defined suicide from a social fact perspective which helped him to establish the unique wisdom of sociological analysis.
    ::杜尔克海姆讨论了社会事实,社会现实是社会上一种通常独立于个人选择和行动的现象。 杜尔克海姆处理的话题大多被认为是纯个人主义的自然自杀。 但是,他从社会事实的角度定义自杀定义了自杀,这帮助他建立了社会学分析的独特智慧。

    Karl Marx (1818-1883) was an influential person in the development of sociology as a strong academic discipline. He was not a sociologist. He was an economist, philosopher, and revolutionary. Marx was born in Germany and his writings on the class struggles that existed in society wherein the poor masses are exploited by the few wealthy elite still apply today (perhaps even more so than in his day). His philosophy and the timing of his writings helped early sociologists in the development of social theories and scientific approaches.
    ::卡尔·马克思(1818-1883年)是社会学发展作为一个强大的学术学科的有影响力的人,他不是一个社会学家,他是一个经济学家、哲学家和革命家。 马克思出生于德国,并撰写关于社会上存在的阶级斗争的著作,在这种斗争中,穷人群众仍受到少数富人精英的剥削(也许比他当年还要多 ) 。 他的哲学及其著作的时间安排帮助早期社会学家发展社会理论和科学方法。

    Another key German founder of sociology was Max Weber (pronounced vey-bur) (1864-1920). He was a very intelligent person who strongly influenced the development of sociology and taught some of the other early sociologists of his day. Weber studied economics and his work gave balance to Karl Marx's extreme ideas. He studied religion and the economy and published a work called, "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism." He also studied bureaucracies and defined Ideal Type as the abstract description of a social phenomenon by which actual social phenomena may be compared (You'll see an ideal type in Chapter 9 on caste versus class economic systems). Ideal Types are given as hypothetical examples and we can compare current economic systems to them.
    ::德国社会学的另一个主要创始人是马克斯·韦伯(Propubredd vey-bur) (1864-1920年),他是一个非常聪明的人,他强烈地影响社会学的发展,并教授了他当年的一些其他早期社会学家。韦伯研究经济学,他的工作平衡了卡尔·马克思的极端思想。他研究宗教和经济,出版了一份题为“新教伦理和资本主义精神”的著作。他还研究官僚主义,并将理想类型定义为可以比较实际社会现象的社会现象的抽象描述(你会看到第九章关于种姓与阶级经济体系的理想类型 ) 。 理想类型被作为假设的例子,我们可以比较当前的经济体系。

    Another early sociologist was a British man named Herbert Spencer (1820-1903). Herbert is remembered for his failed ideas about survival of the fittest in society (not the animal kingdom). He is most remembered for the sociology that wasn't. In other words, he believed that survival of the fittest applied to classes within society and that the wealthy aristocrats were the fittest. Whatever the wealthy people did was in effect better for society in the long run. The problem with his philosophy is that it was not supported by scientific inquiry. In fact his complex ideas were interesting, but not a good explanation of social processes and their causes when put to scientific rigors.
    ::另一个早期的社会学家是一位名叫赫伯特·斯潘塞(Herbert Spencer (1820-1903年)的英国人。赫伯特被人们铭记于心,因为他关于适者在社会中生存的想法失败了(而不是动物王国 ) 。 他最被人们铭记于心。 换句话说,他相信适者的生存适用于社会中的各个阶层,富人才是适者。从长远看,富人所做的实际上对社会来说是更好的。他的哲学问题在于它没有得到科学调查的支持。 事实上,他复杂的思想很有趣,但是在被科学研究时,并不能很好地解释社会进程及其原因。

    Sociology began in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and then the United States. Sociology waxed and waned in popularity outside of the US over its short history. Today, sociology has become a United States-centered scientific discipline with most sociologists living in the US. There is significant sociological work being done in various countries of the world, but most of the 14,000 members of the American Sociological Association (the world's largest professional sociology organization) live in the US.
    ::社会学起源于法国、德国、英国,后来又始于美国。 社会学在短短的历史中被美国以外的人欢迎。 如今,社会学已成为以美国为中心的科学学科,大部分社会学家都居住在美国。 世界各国都做了大量社会学工作,但美国社会学协会(世界最大的专业社会学组织)的14 000名成员大部分都生活在美国。


    The Three Main Sociological Perspectives   
    ::三大社会学观点

    From Mooney, Knox, and Schacht, 2007.     Understanding Social Problems, 5th edition
    ::《了解社会问题》,第5版。

    Theories in sociology provide us with different perspectives with which to view our social world. A perspective is simply a way of looking at the world. A theory is a set of interrelated propositions or principles designed to answer a question or explain a particular phenomenon; it provides us with a perspective. Sociological theories help us to explain and predict the social world in which we live. Sociology includes three major theoretical perspectives: the functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic interactionist perspective (sometimes called the interactionist perspective, or simply the micro view). Each perspective offers a variety of explanations about the social world and human behavior.
    ::社会学的理论为我们提供了不同的观点来看待我们的社会世界。 一种观点只是看世界的一种方式。 一种理论是一套相互关联的主张或原则,旨在回答一个问题或解释一个特定现象;它为我们提供了一个视角。 社会学理论帮助我们解释和预测我们所生活的社会世界。 社会学包括三个主要理论观点:功能学观点、冲突观点和象征性的互动主义观点(有时称为互动观点,或仅仅是微观观点 ) 。 每一种观点都为社会世界和人类行为提供了各种解释。

    Functionalist Perspective
    ::实权主义观点

    The functionalist perspective is based largely on the works of Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, and Robert Merton. According to functionalism, society is a system of interconnected parts that work together in harmony to maintain a state of balance and social equilibrium for the whole. For example, each of the social institutions contributes important functions for society: Family provides a context for reproducing, nurturing, and socializing children; education offers a way to transmit a society’s skills, knowledge, and culture to its youth; politics provides a means of governing members of society; economics provides for the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services; and religion provides moral guidance and an outlet for worship of a higher power.
    ::功能主义观点主要基于Herbert Spencer、Emile Durkheim、Talcott Parsons和Robert Merton的作品。根据功能主义的观点,社会是一个由相互关联的部分组成的体系,它们和谐地共同工作,以维持整体的平衡和社会平衡状态。例如,每个社会机构都为社会的重要功能做出贡献:家庭为儿童的再生、养育和社会化提供了环境;教育为向青年传授社会的技能、知识和文化提供了途径;政治为社会成员提供了管理手段;经济为商品和服务的生产、分配和消费提供了条件;宗教为更高权力的崇拜提供了道德指导和外出。

    The functionalist perspective emphasizes the interconnectedness of society by focusing on how each part influences and is influenced by other parts. For example, the increase in singleparent and dual-earner families has contributed to the number of children who are failing in school because parents have become less available to supervise their children’s homework. As a result of changes in technology, colleges are offering more technical programs, and many adults are returning to school to learn new skills that are required in the workplace. The increasing number of women in the workforce has contributed to the formulation of policies against sexual harassment and job discrimination.
    ::功能主义观点强调社会之间的相互联系,强调每个部分如何影响社会,并受到其他部分的影响,例如,单亲家庭和双生家庭增加,造成因父母较少有机会监督子女的功课而失学的儿童人数增多。由于技术变革,学院正在提供更多的技术课程,许多成年人正在返回学校学习工作场所所需的新技能。劳动力中妇女人数的增加有助于制定反对性骚扰和工作歧视的政策。

    Functionalists use the terms functional and dysfunctional to describe the effects of social elements on society. Elements of society are functional if they contribute to social stability and dysfunctional if they disrupt social stability. Some aspects of society can be both functional and dysfunctional. For example, crime is dysfunctional in that it is associated with physical violence, loss of property, and fear. But according to Durkheim and other functionalists, crime is also functional for society because it leads to heightened awareness of shared moral bonds and increased social cohesion.
    ::功能论者用功能论者和功能论者来描述社会要素对社会的影响; 社会要素如果有助于社会稳定,如果破坏社会稳定,功能论者是起作用的; 社会要素如果破坏社会稳定,社会要素是起作用的; 社会的某些方面可以是功能论者和功能论者是功能论者; 例如,犯罪是功能论者,因为它与身体暴力、财产损失和恐惧有关,因此功能论者认为,犯罪对于社会也是起作用的,因为犯罪提高了对共同道德纽带的认识,提高了社会凝聚力。

    Sociologists have identified two types of functions: manifest and latent (Merton 1968). Manifest functions are consequences that are intended and commonly recognized. Latent functions are consequences that are unintended and often hidden. For example, the manifest function of education is to transmit knowledge and skills to society’s youth. But public elementary schools also serve as babysitters for employed parents, and colleges offer a place for young adults to meet potential mates. The baby-sitting and mate-selection functions are not the intended or commonly recognized functions of education; hence they are latent functions.
    ::社会学家已经确定了两类功能:表现和潜伏(Merton 1968 ) 。 明显的功能是意图和公认的后果。 隐性功能是无意和往往隐蔽的后果。 例如,教育的明显功能是向社会青年传授知识和技能。 但公立小学也是就业父母的保姆,而学院为年轻成年人提供了与潜在伴侣见面的场所。婴儿照看和配偶选择功能并不是教育的预期或公认功能,因此它们是潜在的功能。

    Conflict Perspective
    ::冲突视角

    The functionalist perspective views society as composed of different parts working together. In contrast, the conflict perspective views society as composed of different groups and interest competing for power and resources. The conflict perspective explains various aspects of our social world by looking at which groups have power and benefit from a particular social arrangement. For example, feminist theory argues that we live in a patriarchal society—a hierarchical system of organization controlled by men. Although there are many varieties of feminist theory, most would hold that feminism “demands that existing economic, political, and social structures be changed” (Weir and Faulkner 2004, p.xii).
    ::相反,从冲突角度看,社会是由不同群体和争取权力和资源的利益组成的。从冲突角度看,我们社会的各个方面都是由不同的群体和不同群体组成的。从冲突角度看,我们的社会是不同的。例如,女权主义理论认为,我们生活在一个父权制社会——一个由男人控制的等级制组织体系。尽管存在许多种女权主义理论,但多数人认为,女权主义“要求改变现有的经济、政治和社会结构”(Weir和Faulkner,2004年,第xii页)。

    The origins of the conflict perspective can be traced to the classic works of Karl Marx. Marx suggested that all societies go through stages of economic development. As societies evolve from agricultural to industrial, concern over meeting survival needs is replaced by concern over making a profit, the hallmark of a capitalist system. Industrialization leads to the development of two classes of people: the bourgeoisie, or the owners of the means of production (e.g., factories, farms, businesses); and the proletariat, or the workers who earn wages.
    ::马克思认为,所有社会都经历了经济发展的阶段,随着社会从农业向工业的演变,满足生存需要的担忧被对利润的担忧所取代,而利润是资本主义制度的标志。 工业化导致两类人的发展:资产阶级或生产手段的拥有者(例如工厂、农场、企业);无产阶级或赚取工资的工人。

    The division of society into two broad classes of people—the “haves” and the “havenots”— is beneficial to the owners of the means of production. The workers, who may earn only subsistence wages, are denied access to the many resources available to the wealthy owners. According to Marx, the bourgeoisie use their power to control the institutions of society to their advantage. For example, Marx suggested that religion serves as an “opiate of the masses” in that it soothes the distress and suffering associated with the working-class lifestyle and focuses the workers’ attention on spirituality, God, and the afterlife rather than on such worldly concerns as living conditions. In essence, religion diverts the workers so that they concentrate on being rewarded in heaven for living a moral life rather than on questioning their exploitation.
    ::社会分为两大类—— " 富人 " 和 " 穷人 " ——对生产手段的拥有者有利,工人只能赚取维持生计的工资,却得不到富人可利用的多种资源。根据马克思,资产阶级利用权力控制社会体制以谋取利益。 例如,马克思建议宗教作为 " 大众的顺从 " ,因为它缓解了与工人阶级生活方式有关的困苦和痛苦,把工人的注意力集中在精神、上帝和后世,而不是像生活条件这样的世界性关注上。本质上,宗教转移了工人的注意力,使他们集中精力在天堂里过上道德生活,而不是质疑他们的剥削。

    Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
    ::象征式互动主义观点

    Both the functionalist and the conflict perspectives are concerned with how broad aspects of society, such as institutions and large social groups, influence the social world. This level of sociological analysis is called macro sociology: It looks at the big picture of society and suggests how social problems are affected at the institutional level. 
    ::功能论者和冲突观点都关注社会的广泛方面,如机构和大型社会团体,对社会世界的影响,这种社会学分析水平被称为宏观社会学:它审视社会的大图景,并表明社会问题在体制一级如何受到影响。

    Micro sociology, another level of sociological analysis, is concerned with the social psychological dynamics of individuals interacting in small groups. Symbolic interactionism reflects the micro-sociological perspective, and was largely influenced by the work of early sociologists and philosophers, such as George Simmel, Charles Cooley, George Herbert Mead, and Erving Goffman. Symbolic interactionism emphasizes that human behavior is influenced by definitions and meanings that are created and maintained through symbolic interaction with others.
    ::微观社会学是另一个层面的社会学分析,它关注小群体中个人互动的社会心理动态。 符号互动主义反映了微观社会学观点,并在很大程度上受到早期社会学家和哲学家(如乔治·西梅利、查尔斯·库利、乔治·赫伯特·梅德、埃尔文·戈夫曼)工作的影响。 符号互动主义强调人类行为受通过象征性互动创造和维持的定义和含义的影响。

    Sociologist W.I. Thomas (1966) emphasized the importance of definitions and meanings in social behavior and its consequences. He suggested that humans respond to their definition of a situation rather than to the objective situation itself. Hence Thomas noted that situations that we define as real become real in their consequences.
    ::社会学家托马斯(1966年)强调了社会行为及其后果中定义和含义的重要性,他建议人类对其局势的定义作出反应,而不是对客观局势本身作出反应,因此托马斯指出,我们所定义的真实局势在后果上是真实的。

    Social Interactionism also suggests that our identity or sense of self is shaped by social interaction. We develop our self-concept by observing how others interact with us a label us. By observing how others view us, we see a reflection ourselves that Cooley calls the “looking glass self.”  
    ::社会互动主义还表明,我们的身份或自我意识是由社会互动决定的。 我们通过观察他人如何与我们互动来发展自我观念。 通过观察他人如何看待我们,我们看到了Cooley称之为“玻璃自我 ” 的反思。

    Sociology emerged as a field of study as a result of the effects of the Industrial Revolution.  European countries such as France, Germany, and England were greatly affected by this revolution.  Leading founders of sociology contributed greatly to study of sociology.  Three theoretical perspectives: functionalist perspective, conflict perspective, and interacionists perspective help to create the basis of what would become modern sociology.
    ::由于工业革命的影响,社会学成了一个研究领域。 欧洲国家,如法国、德国和英国,受到这场革命的严重影响。 社会学的主要创始人为社会学研究做出了巨大贡献。 三个理论观点:功能主义观点、冲突观点和犹太复国主义观点有助于创造现代社会学的基础。

    Theory Snapshot
    ::理论截图

    Theoretical perspective Major assumptions
    Functionalism Social stability is necessary to have a strong society, and adequate socialization and social integration are necessary to achieve social stability. Society’s social institutions perform important functions to help ensure social stability. Slow social change is desirable, but rapid social change threatens social order. Functionalism is a macro theory.
    Conflict theory Society is characterized by pervasive inequality based on social class, gender, and other factors. Far-reaching social change is needed to reduce or eliminate social inequality and to create an egalitarian society. Conflict theory is a macro theory.
    Symbolic interactionism People construct their roles as they interact; they do not merely learn the roles that society has set out for them. As this interaction occurs, individuals negotiate their definitions of the situations in which they find themselves and socially construct the reality of these situations. In so doing, they rely heavily on symbols such as words and gestures to reach a shared understanding of their interaction. Symbolic interactionism is a micro theory.