consists in two process: seek for the general in the particular; seek for the strange in the familiar.

• social location: is a way of classifying people by race, social class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc. A person's life and choices will be influenced by their social location. It can contribute to the marginalization of a social group.
• marginalization: occupation of a location outside of the centers of the power.

types of analysis

• macro: looking at the big and at the large scale structures that shape society
• micro: looking at the small, interactions between individuals

major sociological paradigms

• structural functionalism: originated with Durkheim, that imaginated society as a kind of organism with different parts that all worked together to keep it alive and in good health. = promotion of stability and social order. social structures are seen as fulfilling certain social functions. there are two types: manifest functions (intended and obvious consequences) and latent functions (unrecognized consequences): a school provides knowledge to children, but also help socialize them. There are also social dysfunction as a disrupt of society.
• conflict theory: "society is composed of different groups that struggle over scarce resources". Marx = conflict of classes; race-conflict theory; gender-conflict theory;

society is composed

• symbolic interactionism: Max Weber = sociology needs to focus on people's individual social situations and the meaning that they attached to them. Society is the product of everyday social interactions