Unit 01 Sociology PDF

UNIT 01 SOCIOLOGY KEY WORDS Capitalist In an industrial system of production, the class of owners of the means of production (such as, the capital i.e. the money, the property, the tools, etc.) is called the capitalists. Democracy A...

UNIT 01 SOCIOLOGY KEY WORDS Capitalist In an industrial system of production, the class of owners of the means of production (such as, the capital i.e. the money, the property, the tools, etc.) is called the capitalists. Democracy A form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people collectively. It is a state of society characterised by recognition of equality of rights and privileges, social and legal equally. Enlightenment It refers to that period in European history, which embodies the spirit of the French philosophers of the eighteenth century. During this period a belief developed that both nature and society can be studied scientifically.Human reason and the ideas of progress developed. Feudal System A system of tenure in agricultural areas whereby a vassal or serf served the landlord to whom the land belonged. In return the landlord allowed the serf to till his land and live on his land Liberal A person who is broad minded and not bound by authority or traditional orthodoxy i.e. old fashioned beliefs The Enlightenment Period The roots of the ideas developed by the early sociologists are grounded in the social conditions that prevailed in Europe. The emergence of sociology as a scientific discipline can be traced to that period of European history, which saw such tremendous social, political and economic changes as embodied in the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. This period of change in European society is known as the Enlightenment Period as it embodies the spirit of new awakening in the French philosophers of the eighteenth century. The Enlightenment Period marked a radical change from the traditional thinking of feudal Europe. It introduced the new way of thinking and looking at reality. Individuals started questioning each and every aspect of life and nothing was considered sacrosanct - from the church to the state to the authority of the monarch and so on.  Certain developments to be noted 1) Age of enlightenment Belief that people could comprehend and control the universe by means of reason and empirical research Belief of universal social laws through which Society can be made better. 2) New inventions Discoveries 3) Revolutions a.Political-French b.Economic - Industrial c.Social - change due to above revolution d.Commercial- signified the expansion of trade and commerce that took place from the fifteenth century onwards. This expansion was as a result of the initiative taken by certain European countries to develop and consolidate their economic and political power. These countries were Portugal, Spain, Holland and England e.Intellectual As a result Following Social Changes Occurred Transition from Feudal to Industrial Society Rise of Liberal Democracy Middle Class emerged But there were problems associated with New Society Industrialisation brought Poor Working Conditions for Workers Nuclear Families - Domestic Violence, Frequent Separations, Absolute Poverty Survey in early 19th Century Europe showed that poverty is socially created All these developments could not be explained by present Body Of Knowledge So there was need of another discipline Which could Explain these changes Find solutions to these Even Predict these changes  Therefore Emergence of Sociology WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY? Sociology can be defined as a study of Society or Social life, of group interaction and of Social behaviour. Society and Culture Society has been defined as a relatively self sufficient, usually large group of people who maintain direct or indirect contact with each other through a culture. Culture is- generally understood as the shared language, beliefs, goals, artefacts and experiences that combine together to form a unique pattern. In other words, culture is a society's way of life SCOPE (SUBJECT MATTER) OF SOCIOLOGY Emerged as distinct discipline in response to problems/social change Guided initial scope Gradually widened with time Can be understood in different phases INITIAL PHASE 1838 TO~1880 Initial phase 1838-1880s Macro Units Understanding society in terms of Macro Units August comte – Social Statics, Social Dynamics Inductive Approach Understanding social reality in terms of Empiricism August Comte - Social Positivism Herbert Spencer – Organismic Analogy Humanistic Perspective Understanding and finding solutions to social problem 2ND PHASE (1880S-1940S) Widening of scope Max weber – Micro realities (start of Interpretative Sociology) Whereas Durkheim continued - Macro Units (Social Facts) Sociology started to be taught in large no of universities- Therefore, Sociology now had Two Schools of thoughts - Specialist School/Formalistic Synthetic School FORMAL SCHOOL Emphasis on micro phenomenon like social action/social processes Sociology makes abstract generalisations about concrete reality Studies objective reality as subjective interpretation SYNTHETIC SCHOOL Macro, bringing all social sciences together, sociology can study everything (Socio-Centrism) P Sorokin General sociology- same institutions in the world (family, religion found everywhere) Specific sociology – caste in India, race in America 3rd phase (1940s to 1990s) Blending of Formal and Synthetic Parsons (Structure of social action) (social system) Merton Latent and Manifest - Combined Micro and Macro CW Mills Sociological imagination – Extension of existing schools Formal School – Ethnomethodology (Harold Garfinkel), Phenomenology (Alfred Schutz). Present Phase 1980s onwards Wider varieties of interest (health, IT, biotech, networking, defence, environment) Emergence of Post Modernist thought Deal with metanarratives No way to differentiate between true and untrue stories Alan Bryman Multidisciplinary Approach Purposive research has removed limitation on scope Scope expanded throughout History conflict view (marxian/feminism) scope can also be understood in comparing sociology with other social sciences. Sociology vs History Concepts used by Marx (historical materialism) Durkheim (empirical evidence, evolution of societies – mechanical, organic solidarity) Weber (PESC-Protetant ethics and spirit of capitalism) Indology Sociology without history is rootless, history without socio is fruitless EH Carr – the more sociological the history becomes and the more historical the sociology becomes, the better it is. History is past sociology, sociology is present history Historical concepts such as ethnicity, caste, used to mobilise people socially. Sociology vs Politics Birth of sociology is related to political upheaval of French Revolution Concepts used by  Marx – use of sociology to bring about political change (communism) Weber – bureaucracy, concept of power CW Mills – elite theories, democracy Parsons – Politics gives goals to society Dependency theories (Wallerstein)– convergence of international politics and global level sociology. David Easton – a system analysis of political life. Social concepts such as ethnicity, caste, gender, social class, religion used to mobilise people politically and formation of political parties Sociology helps in determining political behaviour (including voting pattern) Reservation Neil Smelser - protests, social movements and right movements Pressure groups  Nation – Political organisation of a society Secularism – Withdrawal of religion, a social phenomenon, from political life. Citizenship. SOCIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY Psychology : science of behaviour. Focus on individual Social psychology – behaviour in a group. Weber – importance to meanings attached by the actor Cooley – looking glass self Mead – symbolic interactionism Parsons – effective role of mother Durkheim – suicide not a psycho phenomenon. Social currents causing deviance Ginsberg, Nadel – sociological studies can be enriched by psychological interpretations  Gerth and Mills – “role” as the meeting point between social structure and individual character George Simmel - forms of interaction (formal & informal) and types of interactants (whether known or strangers. Behaviour varies) Radcliffe Brown – contrasts the two fields. One studies social system and other the mental system