Chapter 1 : What is Sociology?

The information for this exercise is located at the Dead Sociologists' Society website. This site contains profiles of several of the sociologists whose work you will be introduced to over the course of the semester. Dr. Larry Ridener created the site as a way of trying to increase his students' interest in social theory. Borrowing on the idea of the movie, "Dead Poets' Society," he created a chart of early social theorists and labeled it "Dead Sociologists' Society." The original chart eventually evolved into the website. You can find a link to the original chart at the website, as well as a wealth of knowledge about the history of sociology and 16 of the sociologists who exerted an enormous impact on how today's sociologists think about society.

Before you begin the exercise, spend a little time exploring the site and becoming more familiar with the resources found there. Begin by clicking on the link to the original chart or checking out the gallery of portraits of some of these sociologists. Most of your work for this exercise will be using the " Dead Sociologists' Index ," so after you've explored a bit, click on that link.

Part I:

Your first task is to explore why people might be drawn to sociology. Here's where you will begin to apply the sociological imagination. What social experiences or demographic characteristics are associated with becoming a sociologist?

Writing Assignment 1:

Select any three of the 16 figures where information has been given about their background and early life experiences (you will find this in the section entitled "The Person--Introduction"). After reading about their lives, identify factors that were common to all of them and then use these to develop two separate hypotheses ( a statement of presumed relationship between two or more variables ) explaining why one would become a sociologist. For example, you might hypothesize that "People who go into sociology usually come from a more economically privileged background." Explain fully how each of your two selected factors would be important in shaping a career in sociology.

Now that you have your two hypotheses, you will want to use a random sample of five of the 16 sociologists in order to test each hypothesis. To obtain a random sample, put each of the 16 names on separate slips, then place the names into a container and draw out five names. Next, you will have to review "The Person--Introduction" information presented for each of your sampled cases. When you have finished that, you will need to make up two tables showing the distribution of responses on your hypotheses.

The following is an example the table using the hypotheses of, "People who go into sociology usually come from a more economically privileged background." Complete this table. Then use your two hypotheses to form two other tables.

Table 1

Table 2

Writing Assignment 2:

Finally, summarize the findings of your research and discuss whether or not your hypotheses were supported.

Part II:

You will probably notice that most of the people profiled at "The Dead Sociologists' Society" website are white men. This should come as no surprise to you, since in your textbook you have already read about some of the early sociologists whose work was largely overlooked during the early years of the discipline. Three of these early sociologists are included within "The Dead Sociologists' Society." Read the personal profiles of Harriet Martineau, Jane Addams, and W.E.B. DuBois, to learn more about their personal and professional lives, paying particular attention to the broader social conditions in which they lived.

Writing Assignment 3:

In what ways do you think their social environment contributed to their decisions to engage in sociological inquiry? How did it influence the sociological work they produced over their lifetime?

Part III:

Writing Assignment 4/Essay:

To conclude this exercise, write a brief paper in which you explore how broader social forces shape individual decisions, especially in regard to one's professional life. Consider how their life experiences shaped the research topics they explored over the course of their professional lives. In your paper, draw in the results of testing your hypotheses, as well as your exploration of the lives of some neglected sociologists.