Class 1 - Introduction to Sociology and Contemporary Societies (1).pdf

SOCIOLOGY AND CONTEMPORARY SOCIETIES - SPRING 2023 LECTURER CAMIL F. ROMAN CLASS 1 – Introduction to „Sociology and Contemporary Societies“ Ø SUMMARY: Ø preliminary remarks: Ø bibliographical sources; examination of students; class presence Ø course objectives Ø course content and structure Ø introd...

SOCIOLOGY AND CONTEMPORARY SOCIETIES - SPRING 2023 LECTURER CAMIL F. ROMAN CLASS 1 – Introduction to „Sociology and Contemporary Societies“ Ø SUMMARY: Ø preliminary remarks: Ø bibliographical sources; examination of students; class presence Ø course objectives Ø course content and structure Ø introduction to “Sociology and Contemporary Societies” CLASS 1 – Preliminary remarks Ø Bibliographical sources: selective chapters from textbooks & collections: Ø Ø Ø Modernity: An Introduction to Modern Societies; Wiley-Blackwell (1996),by Stuart Hall, David Held, Don Hubert, Kenneth Thompson (eds.); A Contemporary Introduction to Sociology. Culture and Society in Transition.; 3rd Edition; Routledge (2018), by Jeffrey C. Alexander, Kenneth Thompson, Laura Desfor Edles, Moshoula Capous-Desyllas (eds.); Classical Sociological Theory; 3d Edition; Blackwell Publishing (2007), by Craig Calhoun, Joseph Gerteis, James Moody, Steven Pfaff, and Indermohan Virk (eds.) CLASS 1 – Preliminary remarks Ø Examination of students: oral exam (4 to 6 questions) Ø Class presence: recommended or even mandatory for a good mark in the final exam Ø Optional: good course participation can lead to 1 or 2 extra points in the final exam Ø CLASS 1 – Course objectives Ø good overview of sociology, of its development in the context of modernity, of the ways in which contemporary societies have been formed Ø familiarity with the key methodological distinctions in the field Ø a good understanding and use of basic notions in the sociological study of contemporary societies CLASS 1 – Course objectives Ø knowledge of specific theories and concepts of some of the most important authors in the history of sociology Ø ability to deal with the essential aspects of empirical research Ø a good understanding of the nature, problems and changes of contemporary societies CLASS 1 – course content and structure Ø PART I: Introduction to Sociology & Basic Notions Ø introduces the students to the sociological mode of thought Ø It clarifies what is sociology and presents some of its basic sociological notions Ø It discusses the constitution of societies Ø It addresses the cultural turn in sociology: the cultural and social construction of meaning CLASS 1 – course content and structure Ø Part II: Historical and Scientific Foundations of Sociology context sensitive account of the emergence of sociology as an academic project directed at replacing theology, philosophy and law in solving the problems of modern societies. Ø the course discusses the nature and also the limitations of scientific truth claims in the social sciences. Ø CLASS 1 – course content and structure Ø Part III: Methodological Debates: Positivism, Interpretivism and Critique Discussion of the central distinctions existing between the three major methodological directions in sociology: positivism, interpretation, and critique. Ø It accomplishes this by approaching their inherent scientific claims, by providing concrete examples of scientific research within each of these methodologies, and also by highlighting the limitations of their respective scientific discourses in relation to each other. Ø CLASS 1 – course content and structure Ø Part IV: Analyzing culture and social change / Analyzing historical formations of modernity the course introduces the students to further key sociological concepts and themes Ø it engages the historical formations of central aspects of modernity by discussing theories of culture and social change Ø this part elaborates on the conceptual - theoretical toolkit for a sociological understanding of contemporary modern human relations. Ø CLASS 1 – course content and structure Ø Part IV: Analyzing culture and social change / Analyzing historical formations of modernity Elaborates on some of the most important theoretical traditions and sociological paradigms. Ø their ways of theorizing will be clarified by explaining the key concepts of classical authors like Weber, Durkheim, Marx, Gennep, Freud, Levy Strauss, or Girard. Ø the substantive focus in the study of such and other authors will be on their respective engagements with modernity and contemporary society. Ø CLASS 1 – Part I: introduction to sociology Ø What is sociology? Ø the scientific study of man and society studies the relation between the individual and the social (social groups, social systems, social structures), the ways in which the social constitutes the individual and vice-versa Ø seeks to understand what is problematic in taken for granted social norms, practices or processes Ø asks questions about social problems, i.e. situations that contradict or violate social norms and values Ø CLASS 1 – Part I: introduction to sociology Ø Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills): Ø ability to understand one’s own experience and how it fits into the larger world experience Ø Society: population distinguished by shared norms, values, institutions and culture; are often defined by geographic, regional or national boundaries. CLASS 1 – Part I: introduction to sociology Ø Ferdinand Tönnies (1887): Ø Gemeinschaft (community) vs. Gesellschaft (society) Ø two distinct types of social organization Ø they were used by Tönnies as rationalist categories of classification CLASS 1 – Part I: introduction to sociology Ø Gemeinschaft (communal society): Ø society of peasants with personal relationships based on ‘traditional’ and rigid social rules; Ø personal, face-to-face relations with spontaneous expression of emotions and sentiments. Ø what is the role of reason here? CLASS 1 – Part I: introduction to sociology Ø Gesellschaft (associational society): Ø modern, ‘cosmopolitan’ societies with government bureaucracies and large industries; Ø social behaviour is based on rational calculating selfinterest; Ø human relations are more impersonal, following goals of (economic) efficiency. Ø this weakens the traditional bonds of family, kinship and religion; Ø Problems of individual and social alienation CLASS 1 – Part I: introduction to sociology Ø Max Weber (1921): Ø “Vergemeinschaftung” vs. “Vergesellschaftung” Ø used them as ideal types: Ø emphasis falls on the processual, even reversible nature of these historical phenomena, and not on their presumed “stadial”, linear-progressive development implicit in Tönnies’ categorization. CLASS 1 – Part I: introduction to sociology Ø Max Weber (1921): Ø “Vergemeinschaftung” vs. “Vergesellschaftung” Ø ideal-types: concepts simplifying a complex reality; they are not rationalist categories of classification, but are constructed “inductively” from the observation and analysis of historical processes, practices, values, beliefs and norms. CLASS 1 – Part I: introduction to sociology Ø Characteristics of pre-modern (western) European societies: Ø Feudalism; agricultural economy Ø Personal forms of authority Ø Shared moral universe based on religion Ø Tradition Ø Rigid men-women roles Ø Local, ascribed identity CLASS 1 – Part I: introduction to sociology Ø Characteristics of modern (western) European societies: Ø Industrial capitalism; urbanization; material inequality Ø Impersonal authority: centralization and bureaucratization Ø Problem of social integration Ø Rationalization Ø Rigid male-female roles remain unchallenged Ø Public versus private life Ø Occidentalism versus Orientalism (implied superiority of the West) Ø Narrative of progress and evolution CLASS 1 – Part I: introduction to sociology Ø Characteristics of post-modern (western) European societies: Ø Post-industrial economies based on services and information Ø Decentralized organization Ø Cultural turn: dominance of mass media and popular culture; Ø Ø Ø Ø displacement of production by consumption, recognition of language, symbols and meanings in sociological stories De-rationalization New social movements (i.e. new gender relations), multiculturalism, difference Socialization, identity and life cycle redefined Globalization and new forms of inequality CLASS 1 – Part I: introduction to sociology Ø Modernity: Ø Ø Ø the historical processes that transformed the “traditional” post-medieval order, leading to the rise of the nation-state, economic capitalism, bureaucratization, urbanization and secularization early sociologists (Marx, Weber, Simmel, Durkheim) set out to understand the social upheaval and disruptions caused by these processes Sociology of modernity: Ø economic industrial life; social organization; integration; culture; socialization of women; public vs. private; occidentalism vs. orientalism CLASS 1 – Part I: introduction to sociology Ø Postmodernity: Ø the contemporary developments in historical, social and economic processes, characterized by post-industrial economies, decentralized organization, derationalization, multiculturalism, life cycle changes, renewed emphasis on culture, and globalization. Ø Sociology of postmodernity: Ø post-industrial economic life; the relevance of culture; derationalization; new social movements; multiculturalism and difference; life cycle; inequalities; globalization CLASS 1 – Part I: introduction to sociology Ø Reflection point: Ø modernity vs. postmodernity – is the distinction real? In how far? Ø even if there are significant and relevant analytical distinctions, are the two not part of the same larger process running its course? CLASS 1 – Part I: introduction to sociology Ø Bibliography: Ø “Chapter 1” Ø A Contemporary Introduction to Sociology. Culture and Society in Transition.; 3rd Edition; Routledge (2018), by Jeffrey C. Alexander, Kenneth Thompson, Laura Desfor Edles, Moshoula Capous-Desyllas (eds.)