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SOC 1110 IDE LECTURE SLIDES-1

SOC 1110: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

Course Overview

  • Instructor: Mubita, A. PhD

  • Academic Year: 2022/23

Assessment Methods

  • Continuous Assessment: 50%

    • Tests: 30%

    • Assignments: 20%

  • Final Examination: 50%

TOPIC 1: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

1. What is Sociology?

  • Definition: Sociology is the scientific study of social life, groups, and societies, coined by Auguste Comte in 1838.

  • Nature of Sociology:

    • Employs a scientific approach to develop generalizations about human patterns, groupings, and behavior.

    • Utilizes methodologies akin to those in natural sciences (e.g., biology) through observations and experiments.

    • Promotes positivism, emphasizing knowledge based on verified evidence.

2. Social Life

  • Definition: The shared world created through human social interactions involving symbols and meanings.

  • Importance: Social interaction exposes individuals to risks (e.g., communicable diseases).

  • Group Definition: A number of people who identify and interact with one another (e.g., families, clubs).

  • Contrasted with an aggregate (mere individuals without interaction).

3. Types of Groups

  • Primary Groups:

    • Small, personal, enduring relationships (e.g., family, close friends).

    • Goal focuses on the relationships themselves.

  • Secondary Groups:

    • Large, impersonal, and goal-oriented relationships (e.g., classmates, co-workers).

4. Society

  • Definition: A group of people sharing a defined territory and culture.

  • Culture is essential; no society exists without it.

  • Analogy: Culture is software, while society is hardware.

Sociology vs. Common Sense

  • Common Sense: Knowledge from everyday experience, subjective and non-scientific.

  • Issues with Common Sense:

    • Limited experience and biased interpretations (e.g., halo effect).

  • Differences:

    • Sociology: Objective, empirical methods vs. common sense: subjective and limited.

Levels of Sociological Analysis

  • Micro-sociology: Small-scale, face-to-face interactions.

  • Macro-sociology: Large-scale societal features (e.g., economy).

  • Meso-sociology: In-between phenomena (e.g., families, communities).

2. Historical Development of Sociology

  • Emergence in the first half of the 19th century in reaction to societal crises (Renaissance, revolutions).

  • Enlightenment: Promoted new ideas challenging existing religious and philosophical beliefs.

    • Scientific thinking emphasized secular and humanistic perspectives over divine explanations.

3. Causes of the Revolutions

  • French Revolution (1789):

    • Challenged divine right of kings, promoting democracy.

    • Outcomes led to discussions on popular sovereignty and social justice issues, prompting sociological inquiry.

  • Industrial Revolution: Triggered significant socioeconomic changes, creating a need for sociological understanding of new social issues.

4. Failure of Religion

  • Religion's diminishing influence in providing explanations for social events contributing to the emergence of sociology.

Basic Concepts and Theories in Sociology

Functionalism

  • Originated with Auguste Comte, Spencer, and Emile Durkheim.

  • Views society as a system of interrelated parts, promoting stability and integration.

  • Distinguishes manifest functions (intended) from latent functions (unintended).

Conflict Perspective

  • Emphasizes social conflict and power struggles (Karl Marx).

  • Focuses on inequality and competition for scarce resources.

  • Sees conflict as a catalyst for change and growth within society.

Symbolic Interactionism

  • Human actions understood through meaningful communication and social interactions.

  • Interactionists study how individuals create social realities through symbols and language.

  • Critics argue it overlooks larger social structures.

Classical Founders of Sociology

  1. Emile Durkheim:

    • Emphasized social facts, suicide study, and social solidarity.

    • Proposed four types of suicide based on social integration and regulation:

      • Egoistic, Altruistic, Anomic, Fatalistic.

  2. Herbert Spencer:

    • Advocated for social evolution and organic analogy of society.

    • Concept of survival of the fittest applied to societal development.

  3. Auguste Comte:

    • Proposed the law of three stages of knowledge development: theological, metaphysical, and scientific.

    • Defined sociology's purpose and methodology by borrowing from natural science.

  4. Karl Marx:

    • Focused on class struggles, economic exploitation, and conflict as the engine of societal change.

    • introduced the concept of alienation affecting workers.

  5. Max Weber:

    • Emphasized understanding individuals’ interpretations and actions over empirical methods.

    • Developed the method of 'Verstehen' to grasp the meaning of social actions.

Society and Culture

Definition of Society

  • A grouping of people linked through shared culture and routine interactions.

  • Culture and society are interdependent; one cannot exist without the other.

The Concept of Culture

  • Definition: The whole way of life of a society, encompassing practices, material goods, and beliefs.

  • Characteristics of Culture:

    • Learned, transmitted through language, shared, normative, and symbolic.

Components of Culture

  1. Material Culture: Physical objects sharing within society (e.g., tools, clothing).

  2. Non-material Culture: Abstract creations influencing behavior (e.g., beliefs, norms).

Elements of Non-material Culture

  1. Norms: Established behavioral standards.

    • Formal norms (laws) and informal norms (unwritten rules).

  2. Sanctions: Rewards and punishments for conforming or violating norms.

    • Positive and negative, formal and informal.

Communicative Culture

  • Language as a symbol system facilitating communication.

  • Gestures as body postures conveying non-verbal messages.

Cultural Universals and Variability

  • Cultural Universals: Common elements across cultures (e.g., language).

  • Cultural Variability: Diverse practices existing within global human activities.

Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism

  • Ethnocentrism: Judging other cultures by one’s own, leading to superiority complexes.

  • Cultural Relativism: Viewing customs by their cultural standards, promoting tolerance and understanding.

Cultural Diversity

  • Encompasses the wide range of cultural differences within and between societies.

  • Subcultures: Groups with distinct norms and values from dominant culture.

  • Countercultures: Subcultures opposing and seeking to change mainstream norms.

Cultural Change and Lag

  • Cultural Lag: Discrepancies between material and non-material cultures.

  • Changes occur through technology, population shifts, migrations, and catastrophic events.

Functions of Culture

  • Defines situations, attitudes, and societal norms, shaping behaviors and integration.