Week 1 — Readings & Resources · The Sociological Imagination & Doing Sociology

Course: Introduction to Sociology (SOC 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Adeyemi
Objective covered: Objective 1 — Apply the sociological imagination and the three major theoretical perspectives to interpret social phenomena.

How to use this page

Everything here is a link to an external resource — open it in your browser, the same way you'd open a YouTube link. Nothing needs to be downloaded, and there is nothing to buy.

This week's load is deliberately light: a short video + 2–3 brief readings, grouped by the ideas from the lecture. Read or watch one item per group and you're ready for the quiz; do all of them and you'll be very comfortable. Total time is roughly 40–50 minutes if you do everything, far less if you pick one per group.

Reading order that matches the lecture: ① what sociology is + the sociological imagination → ② where the field came from (the founders) → ③ the three theoretical perspectives.

A habit to start now: before you trust any claim about society — in these readings, in the news, or from a chatbot — ask the sociologist's questions from class: What's the evidence? Is this a pattern or just an anecdote? Correlation or causation? Which perspective is this?

① What Sociology Is · and the Sociological Imagination

Maps to Lecture Segments 2–3. Sociology is the systematic study of society and social behavior; its core skill is connecting personal troubles to public issues.

Video — "What Is Sociology?: Crash Course Sociology #1"
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnCJU6PaCio
Why it earns the click: a lively ~10-minute tour of what sociology studies, the sociological perspective, and how sociology differs from the other social sciences — exactly Segments 2–3. Hosted by Nicole Sweeney.
⏱ ~10 min

Reading — "What Is Sociology?" (OpenStax, Introduction to Sociology 3e, §1.1)
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/1-1-what-is-sociology
Why it's assigned: the cleanest plain-language version of the definition we drew on the board — society and social structure, the sociological imagination (Mills), and the "see the general in the particular" move. Free to read online in your browser.
⏱ ~10 min

② Where the Field Came From — the Founders

Maps to Lecture Segment 7. Match each founder to their core idea: Durkheim (social facts, solidarity, anomie), Marx (class conflict, alienation), Weber (rationalization, verstehen), Du Bois (the color line, double consciousness).

Reading — "The History of Sociology" (OpenStax, Introduction to Sociology 3e, §1.2)
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/1-2-the-history-of-sociology
Why it's assigned: walks through the founders — Comte (who named the field), Martineau, Durkheim, Marx, Weber, Du Bois, and Addams — with their real, well-documented contributions, the same ones from the founders' tour in class.
⏱ ~10 min

③ The Three Theoretical Perspectives

Maps to Lecture Segments 5–6. Remember the memory hook: Function (glue) · Conflict (power) · Interaction (meaning) — and that the first two are macro, the third micro. They're partners, not rivals.

Reading — "Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology" (OpenStax, Introduction to Sociology 3e, §1.3)
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/1-3-theoretical-perspectives-in-sociology
Why it's assigned: lays out structural-functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism one at a time, with examples — and makes the same "each lens reveals something different" point we made in class.
⏱ ~10 min

Optional one-stop reference (free online text)

If you'd like one optional reference to skim all term, OpenStax Introduction to Sociology 3e is free to read online. Chapter 1 ("An Introduction to Sociology") covers everything in this week — what sociology is, its history and founders, and the theoretical perspectives.
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/introduction-sociology-3e/pages/1-introduction
Why it's here: a reputable, currently-available reference you can return to in later weeks — entirely optional this week.

Pick-one quick path (≈20 min total)

In a hurry? Do exactly these two and you'll be ready for the quiz:
1. Watch Crash Course Sociology #1 — What Is Sociology? (groups ①–②).
2. Read Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology (group ③), and skim What Is Sociology? for the sociological imagination (group ①).

Heads-up (links rot): these point to outside sites that occasionally move or rename pages. If a link ever fails, tell Prof. Adeyemi and use the OpenStax reference above in the meantime. These links are provided for access only — no claim is made about their licensing or reuse terms.