Lecture 01Introduction to Sociology

Course Instructor: Rabia Naseem

Sociology: Recommended Books

• Sociology : John J. Macionis• Sociology : Richard T. Schaefer• Sociology of Community : Maximilian

Weber• Sociology : Horton and Hunt • A text book of Sociology : James Dealey

Course Contents:

• Nature, scope and subject matter of Sociology• Brief historical development of Sociology• Society and community• Social groups• Types of social groups• Social institutions• Structure and function of social institutions• Culture and related concepts• Aspects of culture• Socialization and personality• Culture and personality• Social control• Approach to study social stratification• Concept of social movement• Social and cultural change• Collective behavior• Social and cultural change• Impact of globalization on society and culture

Grading Breakup and Policy• Assignment(s), class participation:

10% • Projects:

10% • Quiz(s):

10% • Midterm Examination:

30%• Final Examination:

40%

Overview & ObjectivesLearning objectives:• Social structure on an individual’s

thought and society, social responsibility• Social constraints• Human behavior• Methods of analysis and other related

fields• Impact of social forces

Sociology: Introduction• Sociology is derived from Latin word

Socio, meaning “society”.• And the Greek word Logos, meaning

“study”

• The word society is derived from the root words socius, meaning “individual” and societa, meaning “group”.

Introduction

• Sociology is the study of human social relationships and institutions.

Sociology:

• Sociology is the scientific study of society, including patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and culture.

Subject Matter of Sociology • Sociology has been concerned with the

development, structure and function of a wide variety of basic social institutions such as the family and kinship, religion and property, economic, political, legal, educational and scientific, recreational and welfare, aesthetic and expressive institutions.

Contd…• Sociologists are concerned with the task of

formulating concepts, propositions and theories.

• • Sociology has placed high premium on the

method of research also. Contemporary sociology has tended to become more and more rational and empirical rather than philosophical and idealistic.

Contd…• . The fundamental social processes such

as cooperation and competition, accommodation and assimilation, social conflict including war and revolution, communication including opinion, formation, expression and change, social control and deviance including crime, suicide, social integration and social change assume prominence in sociological studies

Sociology and the Social Sciences

Importance Of Sociology• Sociology studies role of the institutions in

the development of the individuals.• Study of sociology is indispensable for

understanding and planning of society• Sociology is of great importance in the

solution of social problems• Sociology has drawn our attention to the

intrinsic worth and dignity of man• Sociology has changed our outlook with

regard to the problems of crime

Contd…• Sociology has made great contribution

to enrich human culture• Sociology is of great importance in the

solution of international problems• The value of sociology lies in the fact

that it keeps us update on modern situations

What Is the Sociological Perspective?

• The sociological perspective reveals the power of society to shape individual lives.

• What we commonly think of as personal is affected by social forces.

• Peter Berger described the sociological perspective as “seeing the general in the particular.”

• C. Wright Mills called this point of view the “sociological imagination,” claiming it transforms personal troubles into public issues.

• The experience of being an outsider or of living through a social crisis can encourage people to use the sociological perspective.

The Importance of a Global Perspective

• Where we live—in a high-income country like the United States, a middle-income country such as Brazil, or a low-income country such as Mali—shapes the lives we lead.

• Societies throughout the world are increasingly interconnected.• New technology allows people around the world to share

popular trends.• Immigration from around the world increases the racial and

ethnic diversity of the United States.• Trade across national boundaries has created a global economy.• . Many social problems that we face in our country are far more

serious in other countries• Learning about life in other societies helps us learn more about

ourselves.

Applying the Sociological Perspective

• Research by sociologists plays an important role in shaping public policy.

• On a personal level, using the sociological perspective helps us see the opportunities and limits in our lives and empowers us to be active citizens.

• A background in sociology is excellent preparation for success in many different careers.

Examples:• Myth: The primary cause of racial

inequality is the persistence of prejudice.• Sociological perspective: Prejudice is one

dimension of racial problems, but institutional racism can flourish even while prejudice is on the decline. Prejudice is an attribute of the individual, whereas institutional racism is an attribute of social structure.

• Myth: People in groups are just individuals who make up their own minds about how to think and behave.

• Sociological perspective: Many experiments conclusively show that people are profoundly influenced by group pressure, often causing them to make up their minds contrary to objective fact and even to deliberately cause harm to another person.

• Myth: Many people feel that sports are for the most part played just for the fun of it.

• Sociological perspective: Although sports are a form of entertainment, playing sports is also a source for socialization into roles, such as gender roles.

• Myth: There are too many people in the world, and there is simply not enough food to go around.

• Sociological perspective: Growing more food will not end hunger. If systems of distributing the world’s food were more just, hunger could be reduced.

• Myth: Deviance is bad for society because it disrupts normal life.

• Sociological perspective: Deviance tends to stabilize society. By defining some forms of behavior as deviant, people are affirming the social norms of groups. In this sense, society actually to some extent creates deviance

Origins of Sociology

• Rapid social change in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries made people more aware

• of their surroundings and helped trigger the development of sociology:

• The rise of an industrial economy moved work from homes to factories, weakening the traditions that had guided community life for centuries.

• The explosive growth of cities created many social problems, such as crime and homelessness.

Continued…• Political change based on ideas of individual liberty and

individual rights encouraged people• to question the structure of society.• Auguste Comte named sociology in 1838 to describe a

new way of looking at society.• Early philosophers had tried to describe the ideal society.• Comte wanted to understand society as it really is by

using positivism, a way of understanding based on science.

• Karl Marx and many later sociologists used sociology to try to make society better.

The Development of Sociology• Sociology emerged as a separate

discipline in the nineteenth century• This was a time of great social

upheaval due largely to the French and Industrial Revolutions

• Several early sociologists shaped the direction of the discipline

Ibn Khaldun (1332-1395)(Abd al-Rahman Ibn Mohammad)

• Born Tunisia• Lived Cairo, Egypt as Judge & Academic at Al-

Azhar University (world’s oldest university - founded 971 AD)

Primarily known for Muqaddimah or 'Prolegomena' which identifies the psychological, economic, environmental and social facts that contribute to the advancement of human civilization and the currents of history (in contrast to political context of history).

Analyzed the dynamics of group relationships and showed how group feelings, al-'Asabiyya, give rise to the ascent of a new civilization.

The other 6 volumes of his world history Kitab al-I'bar deal with the history of contemporary Muslim & European rulers, ancient history of Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Romans, Persians, etc.

The last volume deals largely with the events of his own life and is known as Al-Tasrif. This was also written in a scientific manner and initiated a new analytical tradition in the art of writing autobiography.

A book on math written by him is not extant.

Auguste Comte (1798-1857)

• Responsible for coining the term “sociology”

• Set out to develop the “science of man” that would be based on empirical observation

• Focused on two aspects of society:• Social Statics—forces which produce order

and stability• Social Dynamics—forces which contribute

to social change

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

• Authored the first sociology text, Principles of Sociology

• Most well known for proposing a doctrine called “Social Darwinism”• Suggested that people who could not

compete were poorly adapted to the environment and inferior

• This is an idea commonly called survival of the fittest

Karl Marx (1818-1883)• Marx is the father of conflict theory• Saw human history in a continual

state of conflict between two major classes:• Bourgeoisie—owners of the means of

production (capitalists)• Proletariat—the workers

• Predicted that revolution would occur producing first a socialist state, followed by a communist society

Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

• Durkheim moved sociology fully into the realm of an empirical science

• Most well known empirical study is called Suicide, where he looks at the social causes of suicide

• Generally regarded as the founder of functionalist theory

Emile Durkheim

Max Weber (1864-1920)

• Much of Weber’s work was a critique or clarification of Marx

• His most famous work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism directly challenged Marx’s ideas on the role of religion in society

• Weber was also interested in bureaucracies and the process of rationalization in society

Sociological Theory

• A theory states how facts are related, weaving observations into insight and understanding. Sociologists use three major theoretical approaches to describe the operation of society.

Macro-level• The structural-functional approach explores how social

structures—patterns of behavior, such as religious rituals or family life—work together to help society operate.

• Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim, and Herbert Spencer helped develop the structural-functional approach.

• Thomas Merton pointed out that social structures have both manifest functions and latent functions; he also identified social dysfunctions as patterns that may disrupt the operation of society.

Continued…• The social-conflict approach shows how inequality

creates conflict and causes change.• Karl Marx helped develop the social-conflict approach.• The gender-conflict approach, linked to feminism,

focuses on ways in which society places men in positions of power over women. Harriet Martineau is regarded as the first woman sociologist.

• The race-conflict approach focuses on the advantages—including higher income, more schooling, and better health—that society gives to white people over people of color.

• W. E. B. Du Bois identified the “double consciousness” of African Americans.

micro-level

• The symbolic-interaction approach studies how people, in everyday interaction, construct reality.

• Max Weber’s claim that people’s beliefs and values shape society is the basis of the social-interaction approach.

• Social-exchange analysis states that social life is guided by what each person stands to gain or lose from the interaction.

Who creates the society?