AIA 1005 Introduction to Anthropology & Sociology PDF

AIA 1005 INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGY & 2 SOCIOLOGY ORIGINS OF SOCIOLOGY AND PERSPECTIVES 1  THE ORIGINS OF SOCIOLOGY Three major social changes during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are im...

AIA 1005 INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGY & 2 SOCIOLOGY ORIGINS OF SOCIOLOGY AND PERSPECTIVES 1  THE ORIGINS OF SOCIOLOGY Three major social changes during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are important to the development of sociology The rise of a factory-based industrial economy vol- people moved to the city to find work The emergence of great cities in Europe – impact of imperialism that forces European to address cultural variations Political changes, including a rising concern with individual liberty and rights – revolution caused people to re-think traditions 2  WHY DO WE NEED A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE? A sociologist mindset in regards to being able to connect individual experiences and societal relationships To help us to see general social patterns in the behaviour of particular individuals. To offer insights about the social world that extend far beyond explanations that rely on individual quirks and personalities 3  FOUNDERS OF SOCIOLOGY Auguste Comte - System of Positive Polity or Treatise on Sociology, Instituting the Religion of Humanity Emile Durkheim -The Division of Labor in Society -The Elementary Forms of Religious Life -Suicide Karl Marx -Das Kapital Max Weber -The Protestant Ethic and The Rise of Capitalism -The Sociology of Religion -The theory of Social and Economic organization 4 AUGUSTE COMTE (1798-1857) -French philosopher -Coined the term ‘sociology’ -Believed that the major goal of sociology was to understand society as it actually operates -Comte favored positivism – a way of understanding based on science -Argued that the ‘scientific method’ could be used to understand social stability and social change 5 Comte saw sociology as the product of a three-stage historical development: i. The theological stage - man naively explained his existence by accepting the presence and the will of fictitious gods or demons. ii. The metaphysical stage - a transitional phase, reality was explained in vague, abstract terms iii. The scientific stage - scientific logic and experiment 6 7 EMILE DURKHEIM (1858-1917) -Influential French sociologist, educator and public official -Studied the ties that bind society together -Social solidarity: i. Individualism ii. Collectivism -Mechanical solidarity: Traditional societies are united by social similarities -Organic solidarity: Modern societies are united interdependence -Anomie: Rapid social change leads to loss of social norms and produces many social problems 8 He studied suicide rates among different groups and concluded that social integration, the degree to which people are tied to their social group, was a key social factor in influencing an individual's risk of suicide. Social research should be practical and relevant; sociologists should not only diagnose the causes of social problems, but should also develop solutions to alleviate them. -The Division of Labour in Society (1893) -The Rules of Sociological Methods (1895) -Suicide (1897) -The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912) 9  Sati in India/soldiers Crisis/uncertainty Too tightly control/slave Failure/depression 10 KARL MARX (1818-1883) -German philosopher writer and social critic -Personally involved in social change -Believed social scientists should help to improve society -Capitalist owners (bourgeoisie) will oppress ordinary people (proletariat) -Eventually, people become alienated (exploitation) -People lose control over their lives -Not communism: Marx supported revolutions as the only way that the workers could gain control of society. He did not develop the political system called communism. “I am not a Marxist”- Karl Marx 11 Karl Marx, a principal founder of the conflict perspective, believed that conflict and inequality (specifically represented by the modern class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie), were central issues in society and the human social experience. - The German Ideology, Part 1 (1847) with Fredrich Engels - Manisfeto of the Communist Party (1848) with Fredrich Engels - A Contribution to the Critiques of Political Economy (1859) - Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Vol.1 (1867) 12 MAX WEBER (1864-1920) -German scholar who studied wide variety of topics -Like other peers, he studied the impact of industrialization on peoples’ lives -Support for value free (the view that sociologist’s personal values or biases should not influence social research_ studies and objective research -Rationalization: i.Traditional societies emphasize emotion and personal ties ii.Modern societies emphasize calculation, efficiency, self control iii.Personal ties decline and people become ‘disenchanted’ 13 Max Weber defined religion as a central force in social change (e.g., he argued that Protestantism encouraged greater economic development and was the central factor in the rise of capitalism in some countries). - The Agrarian Sociology of Ancient Civilization (1896) - The Methodology of the Social Sciences (1903) - The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1904) - The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism (1916) - The Religion of India: The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism (1916) 14  SUMMARY People – behaviour – prediction Sociological perspective – give us a new view of familiar things and helps us understand strange behaviour and unfamiliar situations (The eunuch system was so widespread because such people were absolutely loyal toward despot`s demand. They couldn't have descendants and usually had little connection to their families) Sociologist still debate whether economics determines culture (a Marxist formulation) or culture determines economics (a Weberian formulation) 15 16