SOCI1002 Introduction to Sociology Lecture Slides PDF

SOCI1002- Introduction to Sociology Unit 1: INTRODUCTION SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Christopher Allen WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY? Scientific study of social phenomena and social processes. Social Science discipline concerned with the systematic study of human...

SOCI1002- Introduction to Sociology Unit 1: INTRODUCTION SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Christopher Allen WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY? Scientific study of social phenomena and social processes. Social Science discipline concerned with the systematic study of human society Sociology is a scientific field of study that analyses and explains happenings SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Christopher Allen WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY? Areas of focus: - Racial and gender identity - Family conflict - Deviant behaviour - Religion - Crime and law - Poverty - Education - War and peace SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Christopher Allen WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY? Areas of focus: - Injustice, social exclusion and marginalization - Teenage Pregnancy & Adolescent Parenting - HIV/AIDS - Unemployment - Street and Working Children - Domestic Violence and Abuse - Paedophilia SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Christopher Allen Importance of Sociology - It allows us to investigate and understand social crises. - Sociological theories and research influence our responses to poverty, exclusion, marginalization various other forms of social ills. SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Christopher Allen Importance of Sociology Research and Investigation Social Policy Formulation Monitoring and Evaluation Advocacy and Change SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Christopher Allen SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION Term coined by American Sociologist C. Wright Mills in 1959 Mills describes it as “the awareness of the relationship between personal experience and the wider society”. Many of our personal experiences are not random – they are shaped by social structure, which is an organized pattern SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Christopher Allen SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION Using a sociological imagination means thinking critically about how society affects our everyday behaviour, even the personal decisions that we make. Learning to “see” how society affects us may take some practice. Utilizing the sociological imagination requires us to not confine ourselves to our own biases and preconceived notions about different groups of people and various social processes. It requires to play close attention to the larger historical context within which people and SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Christopher Allen Rise of Sociology as a discipline What was the period of Enlightenment? SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Christopher Allen Rise of Sociology as a discipline The worldview of the Enlightenment (1600s- 1800s) highlighted: Rationality and reason Empiricism – the need for facts Science Progress SOCI1002- Introduction to Sociology Unit 1: INTRODUCTION SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology 1st Lecture Recap Defining Sociology What is the Sociological Imagination? Miss Irene & medical condition SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 Before Western Sociology developed, early thinkers such as Confucius in 551-479 BCE, Socrates in 469-399 BCE, Aristotle in 384-322 BCE, Plato in 360 BCE and Ibn-Khaldun in 1332-1406 theorized about societies. SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 What was the Renaissance? 1300s- 1600s Renaissance was an artistic and cultural movement that developed across Europe from the 14th to 17th century. Move from religion Greater interest in the complexities of nature and human kind Rise of humanism SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 What was the Enlightenment? 1600s- 1800s A Euro- American intellectual movement during which ideas surrounding religion, humankind, nature, governance, etc. were produced dominant worldviews that had long- lasting impacts on politics, art and various knowledge systems. The goals of rational humanity were considered to be knowledge, freedom, and happiness. SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 These early ideas formed some of the foundational issues and debates in sociology, which centre around questions such as: What does it mean to be human? How are societies formed? What holds societies together? What divides societies? What constitutes good governance? SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 Central Themes of the Enlightenment Rationalism Empiricism Progressivism Cosmopolitanism SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 Industrial Revolution (1700s- 1800s) Source: SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 It was Auguste Comte in 1839 that first defined sociology as a discipline, shortly followed by the contributions of the following scholars: Marx and Engels, The German Ideology, in which the theory of materialist history is outlined (written in the 1840s). Emile Durkheim, Suicide, in which suicide statistics were analysed. (1847) William Du Bois, The Philadelphia Negro – the first major study of Black Americans. (1889) Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, that examined the role of ideas (especially religion) in the development of capitalism. (1904) Georg Simmel, The Philosophy of Money, that examined how the organization of money shifted human relations. (1900). SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 Founding Figure: Auguste Comte (1795-1857) He argued that it is possible to collect scientific facts about society in order to improve social conditions and human existence. He deployed the natural science methodology to the study of society. The tenets of this methodology are: Observation Hypothesis formation Testing Generalization – Possible due to the systematic collection of facts & observation of patterns in social behaviour Theory formation SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 Founding Figure: Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) He was also French.  He was also an advocate of studying what he referred to as “social facts.” This could include belief systems, patterns of behavior, customs, ideas, and societal institutions. He felt that social facts should be studied as things, just like objects. However, social facts were often more than what could be directly observed and measured with the naked eye.  His ‘Suicide’ study is considered a model of positivist research, although he was not a strict positivist and held some different views to Comte. Durkheim analyzed suicide statistics in France and proposed that it was more SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 Founding Figure: Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)  He argued that analyzing and explaining solidarity is a critical task of the sociologist. He coined the terms ‘organic solidarity’ and ‘mechanical solidarity’ to describe modern and pre-industrial societies SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 Founding Figure: Herbert spencer (1820-1903)  He conceptualized society as a social organism – as composed of a series of interdependent parts.  He is best known for the expression “survival of the fittest,” which was his interpretation of how societies develop and are ranked.  His work focused on building a theory regarding how processes of societal growth and differentiation lead to changing amounts of complexity amongst the various forms of social organization. SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 Founding Figure: Karl Marx (1818-1883)  Karl Marx was German  He saw the role of sociology to be about analyzing and explaining conflict (the major force driving social change). He argued that conflict is fueled by the relationship people have to the Means of Production.  He argued that class conflict is the means by which people move from one historical epoch to another. He also stressed the importance of studying inequality.  He is known for identifying two distinct social classes under capitalism: the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 Founding Figure: Max Weber (1864-1920)  He was also German  He argued that the task of Sociology is to analyze and explain Social Actions, particularly the meanings that individuals give to their behaviour. SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 Founding Figure: Max Weber (1864-1920)  He classified 4 types of social action: 1. Traditional Action – bearing past action in mind; something done because done in the past 2. Affectional Action – in response to emotions. 3. Value-rational Action – pursued because something is valued; without thought of consequences and appropriateness about how one achieves a particular goal. 4. Instrumental Action– action pursued after much considered and evaluation of other goals and other means of achieving them. SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 Founding Figure: Max Weber (1864-1920)  He contributed to the study of rational organizations - Studied the nature of ‘bureaucracy’; developed a model of bureaucracy  He is interested in the meanings people put to things ("verstehen“) to discuss our deeper understanding of those meanings.  He is noted for his contribution to Interpretive Sociology. SOCI1002- Intro to Sociology Rise of the Discpline; Founding Figures Sept. 04, 2024 Founding Figure: W. E. B DuBois (1868- 1963)  One of the key figures who pioneered the institutionalization of scientific Sociology (through Atlanta University and his study of Black life in the United States)  His sociological studies revealed how “externally imposed social conditions constituted the foundations of race oppression and white supremacy” (Morris, 2015, p.3), rejecting dominant scientific racism of his time.  Laid the foundations for contemporary critical race theory.