Download about sociology in english

ABOUT SOCIOLOGY IN ENGLISH
О СОЦИОЛОГИИ
Практикум по английскому языку
Москва
Издательство «Флинта»
Издательство «Наука»
2000
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УДК 802.0+316
ББК 81.2 Англ+60.5
O 11
Составитель: И.С. Рушинская
Рецензенты: кафедра иностранных языков Ивановского государственного энергетического
университета; Д.Х.Шрив, Университет Северного Техаса, США
About sociology in english. О социологии: Практикум по английскому языку. — М.: Флинта:
Наука, 2000. — 112 с.
ISBN 5-89349-246-3 (Флинта)
ISBN 5-02-022546-0 (Наука)
Практикум составлен на основе оригинальных американских источников и способствует усвоению и закреплению
лексики, развитию различных видов чтения и понимания оригинальной литературы по специальности, а также
отработке навыков устной речи в ситуациях профессионального общения.
Для студентов, аспирантов, научных сотрудников.
ISBN 5-89349-246-3 (Флинта)
ISBN 5-02-022546-0 (Наука)
© Издательство «Флинта», 2000
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ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ
Учебное пособие «Английский язык для социологов» предназначено для студентов и
специалистов, владеющих грамматическим строем английского языка, лексическим минимумом
вузовского курса и навыками разговорной речи. Пособие имеет практическую направленность и
готовит студентов к самостоятельному чтению и пониманию оригинальной литературы по
социологии на английском языке. Методически пособие базируется на коммуникативноситуативном подходе к обучению иностранным языкам и учете психологических особенностей
взрослых учащихся.
Целями пособия являются:
— накопление и систематизация словарного запаса, необходимого для чтения и общения на
профессиональные темы;
— развитие навыков чтения оригинальной литературы по специальности;
— совершенствование навыков профессионального общения;
— обучение ведению дискуссий и публичным выступлениям на английском языке;
— отработка умения аргументировать свою точку зрения и развернуть предложенный тезис.
Пособие написано на оригинальном английском языке, причем используется американский
вариант английского языка, что позволит преподавателю познакомить студентов с его отличительными особенностями, в частности в орфографии.
Пособие состоит из восьми разделов. Каждый раздел имеет:
— введение к разделу (Looking Ahead), где дается его краткое содержание;
— проблемные задания (Learning Objectives), которые являются основным этапом работы над
разделом, так как они позволяют осуществить контроль за усвоением изучаемого в разделе
материала и вовлекают студентов в дискуссии на профессиональные темы;
— два текста по тематике раздела, составленные на основе оригинальных материалов из
учебного пособия по социологии Ричарда Шифера, профессора университета Западного
Иллинойса, США;
— упражнения для работы над лексикой текстов (Vocabulary Practice), которые являются
традиционными и направлены на закрепление активной лексики, формирование автоматизированных навыков и предупреждение типичных лексических и грамматических ошибок;
— коммуникативные задания для развития навыков устной речи (Comprehension Exercises),
которые не только контролируют знание студентами материала текстов, но и учат их обсуждать
содержащиеся в тексте или смежные с ними проблемы, аргументировать свою точку зрения с
позиции социологов, при этом используя дополнительную информацию, полученную из лекций и
спецкурсов по социологии;
— три послетекстовых упражнения для повторения и систематизации лексики и тематики
разделов (Revision Exercises), из которых первое упражнение контролирует усвоение лексики
раздела через перевод предложений с русского языка на английский, второе упражнение готовит
студентов к зачетному занятию по тематике раздела, а третье знакомит с интересными
высказываниями известных ученых по изучаемым проблемам, которые следует обсудить в форме
деловой беседы, дискуссии или диспута.
При написании пособия большое внимание уделялось повторяемости лексических единиц и
принципу постепенного нарастания трудностей. Лексические упражнения рекомендуется выполнять письменно. Тексты следует читать (как вслух, так и про себя) и переводить устно,
добиваясь адекватного, грамотного и литературного перевода, используя лексико-грамматический
анализ отдельных языковых реалий. Коммуникативные задания рассчитаны на использование
активных и интенсивных методов обучения иностранным языкам, включая ролевые и деловые
игры. Так, например, изучая четвертый раздел пособия «Socialization», можно провести ролевую
игру на тему «Children's Socialization and Their Self-Identity». Игра проводится в форме
родительского собрания, на которое приглашены социологи. Студенты выступают в роли
социологов-лекторов, учителей и администраторов школы, родителей учащихся. Ролевой тренинг
осуществляется через подготовку докладов по проблематике игры, спонтанные вопросы и
выступления содокладчиков, общую дискуссию. В конце игры преподаватель анализирует работу
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студентов с точки зрения нормативности английского языка, презентации доклада, глубины
раскрытия темы, умения войти в роль, степени участия в обсуждении и способности
аргументировать свою точку зрения.
Автор пособия выражает благодарность преподавателю английского языка из Северотехасского
университета США господину Д.Х. Шриву за оказанную методическую помощь и консультации
по вопросам корректного языкового оформления материала пособия.
С 1995 года материалы пособия успешно используются в учебном процессе на факультете
экономики и управления Ивановского энергетического университета по специальности «Прикладная социология». При написании данного пособия был учтен этот практический опыт и сделан
акцент на реализацию комплексного подхода при формировании у обучаемых языковой, речевой и
поведенческой компетенции в процессе обучения нормам иноязычного общения.
Методика работы над пособием не представляет трудностей, поскольку структура разделов
соответствует последовательности проработки текстового материала и упражнений.
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Unit One. THE NATURE OF SOCIOLOGY
Looking Ahead
Unit one presents sociology as a field of study, introduces the sociological perspective and its main
goals, defines the sociological imagination. It compares sociology with other social sciences, outlines the
fundamentals of the sociological theory and its levels of analysis and finally discusses the origins and
founders of sociology.
Learning Objectives
After studying this unit, you should be able to answer the following questions:
1. What are sociology and sociological perspective?
2. How does the sociological imagination, as a unique feature of sociology, make sociology different
from the other social sciences?
3. Why is sociology more than a collection of commonsense observations?
4. Why do sociologists regard suicide as a social as well as an individual act?
5. What social scientists greatly contributed to the development of sociological thought?
6. How are sociological theories classified and what levels of analysis are employed in studying human
behavior?
Text I. WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?
The sociologist has a distinctive way of examining human interactions. Sociology is the systematic
study of social behavior and human groups. It focuses primarily on the influence of social relationships
upon people's attitudes and behavior and on how societies are established and change. As a field of study,
sociology has an extremely broad scope and it deals with families, gangs, business firms, political parties,
schools, religions, labor unions, etc. It is concerned with love, poverty, conformity, discrimination,
illness, alienation, overpopulation and community.
The Sociological Perspective. In human society, newspapers, television and radio are the usual sources
of information about such groups and problems. However, while the basic function of journalists is to
report the news, sociologists bring a different type of understanding to such issues. The perspective of
sociology involves seeing through the outside appearances of people's actions and organizations.
One major goal of this perspective is to identify patterns of and influences on social behavior. For
example, sociologists study the passionate desire of movie or rock fans to see in person, to talk with, even
to grab the clothing of a star. Why do people feel this need so powerfully?
The sociological perspective attempts to provide explanations for such patterns. Sociologists are not
content to just recognize that millions of people want to meet stars, rather they examine the shared
feelings and behavior of fans within the larger social context of human culture.
The Sociological Imagination. In attempting to understand social behavior, sociologists rely on
unusual type of creative thinking, sociological imagination, i.e.an awareness of the relationship between
an individual and the society. Thus instead of simply accepting the fact that movie stars and rock stars are
the «royalty» of human society, we could ask, in a more critical sense, why we are not as interested in
meeting outstanding scientists, or elementary school teachers, or architects. Sociological imagination can
bring new understanding to daily life around us.
Sociology and Social Sciences. The term science refers to the body of knowledge obtained by
methods based upon systematic observations. The sciences are commonly divided into natural and social
sciences. Natural science is the study of the physical features of nature and the ways in which they
interact and change. Astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology and physics are all natural sciences. Social
science is the study of various aspects of human society. The social sciences include sociology,
anthropology, economics, history, psychology and political sciences.
These academic disciplines have a common focus on the social behavior of people, yet each has a
particular orientation in studying such behavior. Anthropologists usually study cultures of the past and
preindustrial societies that remain in existence today. Economists explore the ways in which people
produce and exchange goods and services. Historians are concerned with the peoples and events of the
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past and their significance for us today. Political scientists study international relations, the workings of
government and the exercise of power and authority. Psychologists investigate personality and individual
behavior. In contrast to other social sciences, sociology emphasizes the influence that society has on
people's attitudes and behavior. Humans are social animals; therefore, sociologists scientifically examine
our social relationships with other people.
To better illustrate the distinctive perspectives of the social sciences, let us examine sociological and
psychological approaches to the issue of gambling. Viewed from the perspective of psychology, gambling
represents an escape into a fantasy world where great fortune can be attained easily. By contrast,
sociologists focus on the social networks that develop among many gamblers. Participants in gambling
establish friendship groups. For such persons gambling is aform of recreation and may even be their
primary social activity. This example shows that by viewing social phenomena from several perspectives,
we can enhance our understanding of human behavior.
Sociology and Common Sense. Human behavior ia something about which we all have experience and
at least a bit of knowledge from a source of wisdom, which is called common sense. In our daily life, we
rely on common sense to get us through many unfamiliar situations. Unfortunately, this source of
knowledge is not always reliable. For example, it was once considered «common sense» to accept that the
earth is flat.
Like other social scientists sociologists do not accept something as a fact because «everyone knows
it». Instead, each piece of information must be tested and analyzed in relationship to other data. At times
the findings cf sociologists may seem like common sense. Yet, it is important to stress that such findings
have been tested by researchers.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
I. Read and translate the text using a dictionarylf necessary.
II. Find In the text the English equivalents of the following:
изучать человеческие взаимоотношения; изучение; общественное поведение; влияние
общественных отношений на; область исследования; заниматься (интересоваться) чем-либо;
источники информации; внешние черты; главная цель; выявить примеры; дать объяснения чемулибо; социальный контекст; полагаться на; творческое мышление; осознание (осведомленность);
дать новое понимание; повседневная жизнь; область знаний; академические дисциплины; особая
ориентация; исследовать способы; важность; международные отношения; работа правительства;
применение силы и власти; исследовать личность; в отличие от; подчеркивать (выделять); подход
к; рассматривать с точки зрения; наоборот; сосредоточить внимание на; общественная
деятельность; общественные явления; увеличивать (усиливать); здравый смысл; мудрость;
сведение — сведения; важно отметить (подчеркнуть); проверить (испытать); исследовать.
III. Supplythe missing words or word combinations choosing among those given below.
1) The sociologist has ... of examining human interactions. 2) Sociology is the ... study of social
behavior and human groups. 3) As a field of study, sociology has an ... scope. 4) Sociologists are not... to
just recognize this fact. 5) Thus ... simply accepting this fact as it is, sociologists study and analyze it
thoroughly. 6) This term ... the body of knowledge obtained by methods ... systematic observations. 7)
Sciences are ... divided into natural and social ones. 8) Natural science is the study of ... of nature. 9)
Social science is the study of ... of human society. 10) Sociologists ... examine our ... with people. 11) Let
us examine different approaches to the ... of gambling. 12) Participants in gambling ... friendship groups.
13) For such persons gambling is .... 14) In our daily life we ... common sense to get us through .... 15)
Each piece of information must be analyzed ... other data.
in relationship to, rely on, a form of recreation, establish, issue, scientifically, social relations, various
aspects, physical features, commonly, refers to, based upon, instead of, content, extremely broad,
systematic, a distinctive way, unfamiliar situations.
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IV. Studythe following word combinations and use them in sentences of your own:
to focus on, to have some influence on, to influence smth, to deal with, to be concerned with, to report
news, to involve doing smth, passionate desire, to see in person, to attempt to do smth, shared feelings, in
a critical sense, to be interested in smth, to obtain, to include, to have a common focus on, to remain in
existence, an approach to, to view smth from several perspectives, at least, at times, to seem like.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
I. Reread the text and answer the following questions.
1) What does sociology focus on as a field of study? 2) What and who does it deal with? 3) What
differs the work of a journalist from that of a sociologist? 4) What are the main goals of the sociological
perspective? 5) Why is the sociological imagination very important in doing sociological research? 6)
What types are the sciences commonly divided into? 7) What differs natural science from social science?
8) What social sciences do you know and what do they study? 9) What differs sociology from other social
sciences? 10) Why should a social scientist view social phenomena from different perspectives? 11) What
is common sense? 12) How should common sense be used by social scientists?
II. Define the following key terms and memorize the definitions:
sociology, sociological perspective, sociological imagination, science, natural science, social science,
common sense.
III. Speak on sociologyand its aspects in brief and illustrate your report withsituations or examples of
your own.
IV. Comment on the following topics, viewing them from the sociological perspective:
1) Gambling.
2) Passionate desire of fans to see their stars in person.
3) Why aren't we interested in outstanding scientists as passionately as we are in movie and rock stars?
Text II. WHAT IS SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY? ORIGINS OF SOCIOLOGY
Why do people commit suicide? One traditional commonsense answer is that people inherit the desire
to kill themselves. Another view is that sunspots drive people to take their own lives.
Sociologists are not particularly interested in why any one individual commits suicide; they are more
concerned with why people in general take their own lives. In order to undertake such research,
sociologists develop theories that offer a general explanation of some type of behavior.
In sociology a theory is a statement or a series of statements that uses concepts to explain problems,
actions or behavior. An effective theory will have both explanatory and predictive power. That is, it will
help us to develop a broad and integrated view of seemingly isolated phenomena and to understand how
one type of change in an environment leads to others.
An essential task in building a sociological theory is to examine the relationship between bits of data,
gathered through research, that may seem completely unrelated. For example, in researching the problem
of suicide sociologists are primarily concerned not with the personalities of individual suicide victims, but
rather with suicide rates and how they vary from country to country. And their research suggests that
suicide, while a solitary act, is related to group life. They have developed a theory to explain how
individual behavior can be understood within a social context. Their theory has predictive power, since it
suggests that suicide rates will rise or fall in conjunction with certain social and economic changes.
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It is important to understand that a theory — even the best of theories — is not a final statement about
human behavior. This theory of suicide is not an exception. Sociologists continue to examine factors
which contribute to a society's rate of suicide. The sociological research shows that the incidence of
suicide increases following nationally televised stories about suicide, and the impact is the greatest after
the publicized suicide of an entertainer or politician, and is somewhat less after the suicide of an artist, a
criminal or a member of the economic. elite.
One means of classifying sociological theories is by the subject under study. Thus, there are theories
concerning the causes of criminal behavior or the universal nature of religion. Yet, theories can also be
distinguished by levels of analysis. There are two of them.
Macrosociology concentrates on large-scale phenomena or entire civilization. Thus, the above
described cross-cultural study of suicide rates is an example of macrosociology.
By contrast, microsociology stresses study of small groups and often uses experimental studies in
laboratories. Sociologists find it useful to employ both of these approaches. In fact, we can learn a great
deal by using macro-level and micro-level analysis to study the same problem. For example, we might try
to understand criminal behavior at the macroscopic level by analyzing crime rates in various countries
and at the microscopic level by examining the social forces that influence individuals to become criminals
or delinquents.
Origins of Sociology. Philosophers and thinkers of ancient and medieval societies made countless
observations about human behavior and predicted that a systematic study of human behavior was needed
to improve society.
The first founder of sociology as a science was the French theorist Auguste Comte (1798-1857). He
gave sociology its name. The second founder of sociology was Herbert Spencer (1820-1903). He greatly
dominated scholarly thinking in his times by suggesting that societies are bound to change.
Few sociologists have had such a dramatic impact on many different areas within the discipline as
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) did. Above all, he will be remembered for his insistence that behavior
cannot be fully understood in individualistic terms, that it must be understood within a larger social
context. He developed a fundamental thesis to help understand all forms of society through intensive
study of group behavior.
Another important theorist who contributed to the scientific study of society was the German
philosopher Max Weber. He pointed out that much of our social behavior cannot reanalyzed without
studying the subjective meanings people attach to their actions — how they themselves view and explain
their behavior. He suggested that sociologists should thoroughly consider thoughts and feelings of the
people under study.
Contemporary sociology reflects the diverse contributions of earlier theorists and gains new insights
which help to better understand the workings of modern human society.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
I. Read and translate the text using a dictionaryif necessary.
II. Find in the text the English equivalents of the following:
покончить жизнь самоубийством (3), точка зрения, начать исследование, разработать теорию,
дать общее объяснение чему-либо, ряд утверждений, использовать общие концепции, разработать
широкое и цельное представление, на вид несвязанные явления, окружающая среда, отдельные
сведения, получить в ходе исследования, процент самоубийств, изменяться, иметь отношение к
чему-либо, не быть исключением, предмет исследования, различить, вышеописанная,
экспериментальные исследования, использовать (применять), древний, средневековый, господствовать в научном мире, вносить вклад в, придавать значение чему-либо, рассматривать,
проникнуть во что-либо.
III. Supplythe missing words and word combinations choosing among those given below.
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1) One traditional ... answer why people commit suicide is that people ... the desire to kill themselves.
2) Sociologists are ... interested in this problem. 3) They are ... with why people ... take their own lives.
4)... to undertake such research sociologists ... theories. 5) An ... theory will have both ... and ... power. 6)
An ... task in building any theory is to examine data that seem .... 7) Suicide, while a ... act, is related to
.... 8) The ... of suicide increases following ... televised stories about suicide. 9) There are theories ... the
causes of criminal behavior. 10) Sociologists find it useful... both of these. 11) They examine the social
forces that ... individuals to become criminals or ... 12) Philosophers of the past made ... about human
behavior. 13) A ... study of human behavior is needed to.... 14) The first... of sociology was Auguste
Comte. 15) Societies are ... to change. 16) Herbert Spencer had a ... on sociology. 17) Behavior cannot be
understood in ..., it must be understood within ... . 18) Contemporary sociology reflects the ... of earlier
theorists.
diverse contributions, individualistic terms, a larger social context, dramatic, impact, bound, founder,
systematic, improve society, countless observations, influence, delinquents, to employ, approaches,
concerning, incidence, nationally, solitary, group behavior, essential, completely unrelated, effective,
explanatory, predictive, in order, concerned, inherit, particularly, commonsense, in general, develop.
IV. Studythe following words and word combinations and use them in sentences of your own:
to drive smb to do smth, to develop a broad and integrated view, to lead to smth, to examine the
relationships between, to gather through research, to research a problem, to be primarily concerned with,
to vary from country to country, in conjunction with, a final statement, a means to classify, causes of, to
concentrate on, by contrast, to find it useful, to be bound to do smth, to develop a fundamental thesis,
intensive study, to point out, to attach smth to smth, reflect smth, the workings of human society.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
I. Reread the text and answer the following questions.
1) What are sociologists particularly interested in, while investigating a problem of human behavior?
2) What is a theory and what makes any theory especially effective? 3) Why is it very important to
examine the relationships between bits of data gathered through research? 4) How are theories classified?
5) What levels of analysis in sociology do you know? 6) Is sociology really a new science? 7) Who are
the two founders of sociology? 8) What other important theorists in sociology do you know?
II. Define the following key terms and memorize the definitions:
theory, sociological theory, macrosociology, microsociology.
III. Speak on the sociological theory and its aspects in brief and illustrate your report withsituations or
examples of your own.
IV. Speak on the origins of sociology, famous theorists of the past and their contributions to the
scientific study of society. Name some contemporarysociological scientists bothforeign and in this
country and discuss their impact on this academic discipline.
V. Comment on the increasing incidence of suicide in modern human society and factors that cause it
viewing the problem from the sociological perspective and theory.
VI. Provide sociological explanations for the causes of criminal behavior in Russia employing macrolevel and micro-level analyses.
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Revision Exercises on Unit One
I. Revise the active vocabulary and the definitions of the key terms of unit one and translate the
following intoEnglish.
1) Социология — это последовательное изучение общественного поведения групп людей. 2)
Как область исследования социология имеет чрезвычайно широкую сферу применения и
занимается изучением различных групп людей, организаций и их проблем. 3) Задачей социологии
является не только изучение внешних черт человеческих поступков, но и определение моделей
общественного поведения. 4) Пытаясь понять общественное поведение, социологи полагаются на
особый вид творческого мышления, социологическое воображение, которое помогает им
определить взаимоотношения между индивидуумом и обществом. 5) В отличие от других
общественных наук, социология особое внимание уделяет тому влиянию, которое общество
оказывает на человеческие отношения и поведение. 6) Рассматривая общественные явления с
разных точек зрения, мы можем лучше понять поведение людей. 7) В нашей повседневной жизни
мы полагаемся на здравый смысл, чтобы найти выход из сложных ситуаций, но, к сожалению, этот
источник знаний не всегда надежен. 8) Временами находки социологов могут показаться обычным
здравым смыслом, но важно отметить, что эти находки тщательно проверяются исследователями.
9) Чтобы предпринять какое-то исследование, социологи разрабатывают теории, которые
предлагают общее объяснение того или иного вида поведения людей. 10) Главная задача
социологической теории — это исследование взаимосвязей между отдельными сведениями,
которые на первый взгляд могут показаться абсолютно несвязанными. 11) Социологи разработали
теории, которые объясняют, как можно понять поведение отдельного индивидуума внутри
социального контекста. 12) Макросоциология изучает широкомасштабные явления или всю
цивилизацию. 13) Микросоциология основное внимание уделяет изучению небольших групп
людей и часто использует экспериментальные исследования в лаборатории. 14) Социологи считают полезным использование обоих этих подходов. 15) Философы и мыслители древности и
средневековья проводили многочисленные наблюдения человеческого поведения и предсказали,
что последовательное изучение человеческого поведения необходимо для улучшения общества.
16) Современная социология отражает весь этот разнообразный вклад древних мыслителей и создает новые представления, которые помогают глубже понять пути развития человеческого
общества.
II. Reread the texts of unit one again and discuss the problem-questions given in the learning
objectives in the introduction tothe unit.
III. Comment on the following quotation thinking like sociologists:
«To attempt to understand human behavior is ... the most exciting intellectual challenge in the world»
(Milton M. Gordon «The Scope of Sociology», 1988).
10
Unit Two. METHODS AND TECHNIQUES OF SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Looking Ahead
Unit two examines sociology as asocial science.The basic principles and stages of scientific method
are described. A number of techniques commonly used in sociological research are presented. Particular
attention is given to the practical and ethical challenges that sociologists face in studying human behavior
and to Max Weber's call for «value neutrality» in social science research.
Learning Objectives
After studying this unit, you should be able to answer the following questions:
1. How do sociologists use scientific method?
2. Why does the conclusion of a sociological study point the way to new research?
3. What are the practical and ethical challenges faced by sociologists who wish to conduct participantobservation research?
4. How can sociologists use unobtrusive measures to study social phenomena indirectly?
5. Why is it valuable for sociologists to have a code of professional ethics?
6. What is the objective of basic sociology, and what relationship should there be between basic and
applied sociology?
Text III. WHAT IS SCIENTIFIC METHOD?
How do sociologists study human behavior and institutions? Like the typical citizen on the street, the
sociologist is interested in the central questions of our time. Is the family falling apart? Why is there so
much crime? and such like. Such issues concern most people, whether or not they have academic training.
However, unlike the typical citizen, the sociologist must use scientific method in studying society.
Scientific method is a systematic, organized series of steps that ensures maximum objectivity and
consistency in researching a problem.
A key element in scientific method is planning. When sociologists wish to learn more about human
behavior, they do not simply walk out the door, or pick up the telephone, and begin asking questions.
There are five basic steps in scientific method that researchers follow in developing useful research.
These are:
1) defining the problem,
2) reviewing the literature,
3) formulating the hypothesis,
4) selecting the research design and then collecting and analyzing data,
5) developing the conclusion.
An actual example will illustrate the workings of scientific method. In the 1980s, people in the United
States became increasingly aware of the plight of the homeless in the nation's urban centers. In the past
the homeless were primarily older white males living as alcoholics in «skid row» areas. However, today's
homeless persons tend to be younger and include growing numbers of families without any shelter.
Defining the problem. The first step in any sociological research project is to state as clearly as
possible what you hope to investigate. In beginning their work on homelessness, a team of sociologists
headed by David Snow considered the question of who the homeless are. The researchers learned that the
mass media presented the homeless primarily as mentally ill. The sociologists developed a researchable
question: «How representative is the media image of the homeless?» After that they developed an
operational definition, i.e. an explanation of the abstract concept «mental illness». They classified
homeless persons as mentally ill «if they had contact with one or more mental health agencies and were
simultaneously diagnosed by the agency personnel as having one or more mental health problems.»
Reviewing the literature. By conducting a review of the literature, researchers refine the problem
under study, clarify possible techniques to be used in collecting data and may avoid making unnecessary
11
mistakes. When David Snow and his colleagues began considering mental illness among the homeless,
they turned to two types of literature. First, they reviewed «popular» magazines such as «Time»,
«Newsweek» and «People» and found a consistent image of the homeless as «street people» who had
previously spent some time in mental hospitals. Second, they examined the systematic studies done in
Boston and New York which indicated that homeless persons were usually found to have a diagnosable
mental illness. But were these studies representative of the homeless? Still further review showed that
when the researchers focused on the homeless in genеral, the proportions of homeless persons found to be
mentally ill were much lower.
Formulating the hypothesis. After reviewing the earlier research concerning homeless the researchers
developed a guess about the relationship between mental illness and homelessness. Such a speculative
statement about the relationship between two or more factors is called a hypothesis. A hypothesis
essentially tells us what we are looking for in our research. In order to be meaningful, it must be testable.
As part of the study of homelessness, one possible hypothesis might be: «Most homeless persons are
not mentally ill.»
In formulating a hypothesis, we do not imply that it is correct. We merely suggest that it is worthy of
study, that the hypothesis should be scientifically tested and confirmed, refuted or revised, depending on
the outcome of the study.
Collecting and analyzing data. In order to test a hypothesis and determine if it is supported or refuted,
researchers need to collect information. To guide them in collecting and analyzing data, they employ one
of the research designs, the most effective of them being selecting the sample. There are many kinds of
samples, of which the random sample is frequently used by social scientists. By using the random
sampling techniques, sociologists do not need to question everyone in a population.
In the study of homelessness the researchers drew a random sample of 800 names from the 13,881
homeless men and women who had registered at least once in the Salvation Army during a 14-month
period and then compared this sample with the records of six other states and local agencies such as
hospitals, mental health institutions, etc. Ultimately, a usable sample of 767 persons was selected for the
study of homelessness.
Developing the conclusion. Scientific studies do not aim to answer all the questions that can be raised
about a particular object. Therefore, the conclusion of a research study represents both an end and a
beginning. It terminates a specific phase of investigation, but it should also generate ideas for future
study. This is true of the research on the homeless conducted by David Snow and his colleagues.
Sociological studies do not always confirm the original hypothesis. In many instances, a hypothesis is
refuted, and researchers have to reformulate their conclusions, to reexamine their methodology and to
make changes in the research design. In the study discussed above, however, the data confirmed the
hypothesis: most homeless persons are not mentally ill. The researchers concluded that the homeless are
not typically mentally dysfunctional, they are merely trapped in economic conditions that lead to poverty
and despair. With this finding in mind further implications are evident: policy makers must begin to
address the issue of homelessness in a very different manner and greater attention must be given to the
structural problems of society that contribute to homelessness, including unemployment and the
inadequate supply of low-cost housing.
In Summary: Scientific Method
Let us briefly summarize the process of scientific method through a review of the example. The
researchers defined the problem (the relationship between homelessness and mental illness). They
reviewed the literature (other studies of the presence of mental illness among the homeless) and
formulated the hypothesis («Most homeless persons are not mentally ill»). Snow and his colleagues
collected the data by creating an appropriate sample of homeless persons and analyzed them. Finally,
they developed the conclusion: the typical homeless person is likely not to have a history of mental
illness. Thus, through the systematic application of scientific method, these researchers studied a
contemporary social issue and generated meaningful findings of interest to sociologists, mental health
workers and policy makers.
12
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
I. Read and translate the text using a dictionaryif necessary.
II. Find in the text the English equivalents of the following:
отдельная проблема (спорный вопрос), интересовать (касаться) кого-либо, гарантировать
объективность и последовательность, определить проблему, изучить литературу, сформулировать
гипотезу, выбрать план исследования, собрать и проанализировать данные, сделать вывод,
актуальный пример, главным образом, ясно определить, средства массовой информации,
персонал, провести обзор, четко определить проблему исследования, выявить технические
приемы, избегать ошибок, постоянный образ, соответствовать чему-либо, значимый, иметь в виду
(подразумевать), подтвердить, опровергать, пересмотреть, конечный результат исследования,
руководить (направлять), отбирать, случайный отбор, провести отбор для исследования,
завершить отдельную фазу исследования, создавать идеи для будущего изучения, попасть в
ловушку, представлять интерес для.
III. Supplythe missing words or word combinations choosing among those given below:
1) Like the ... on the street, the sociologist is interested in questions that... most people. 2) A... of
scientific method is planning. 3) Sociologists do not simply ... the door or ... the telephone to learn more
about human behavior. 4) People in the United States became ... of the plight of the homeless in the
nation's ... centers. 5) Sociologists try to develop ... questions. 6) First, they reviewed ... such as «Time»,
«Newsweek» and «People». 7) Second, they examined ... done in Boston and New York. 8) Still ...
review refuted this hypothesis. 9) A hypothesis ... tells us what we are looking for in our research. 10) In
formulating a hypothesis we ... suggest that it is ... study. 11) Sociologists ... one of the research designs.
12) The random sample is ... used by social scientists. 13) Scientific studies do not ... to answer all the
questions about .... 14) The conclusion of a research study... both an end, and a beginning. 15) The
homeless are merely trapped in economic conditions that lead to ... and .... 16)... further implications are
evident. 17)... contributes to homelessness. 18) Through ... of scientific method the researchers studied a
... social issue ... to sociologists,... and ... .
policy makers, mental health workers, contemporary, the systematic application, the inadequate
supply of low-costing housing, with this finding in mind, poverty, despair, represents, aim, a particular
object, frequently, employ, merely, worthy of, essentially, further, the systematic studies, «popular
magazines», researchable, aware, urban, walk out, pick up, key element, typical citizen, concern, of
interest.
IV. Studythe following words and word combinations and use them in sentences of your own:
to be interested in, to concern smb, (un)like smb, to ensure smth, the workings of a method, to be
aware of, to tend to smth, to state as clearly as possible, to present ... as ... , to be representative of, to
conduct a review, to avoid doing smth, further (review, investigation, etc.), to focus on, to imply, to be
worthy of, to depend on, ultimately, both ... and ..., to be true of, to confirm a hypothesis, to make
changes in, to be trapped, to lead to poverty and despair, to contribute to, an (in)adequate supply of, to be
of interest to smb.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
I. Reread the text and answer the following questions.
13
1) What questions are sociologists interested in? 2) What differs the sociologist from the typical
citizen? 3) What is scientific method and why is planning its key element? 4) What are the five basic
steps in scientific method? 5) What does it mean to define a problem? 6) How do sociologists review the
literature concerning a problem under study? 7) What is a hypothesis? Is it always correct? 8) How do
sociologists test a hypothesis? 9) Why do you think that the random sample is frequently used by social
scientists? 10) How do you understand that developing the conclusion is not the end of a research study?
11) What do researchers have to do if their hypothesis is refuted?
II. Define the following key terms and memorize the definitions:
scientific method, hypothesis, research design, random sample.
III. Speak on scientific method and its aspects in brief and illustrate your reports withsituations and
examples of your own.
IV. Employthe scientific method and its stages described in this text and comment on the problem of
the homeless in Russia.
V. Give some other actual examples of human behavior which can be analyzed with the help of this
scientific method of sociological research. Comment on them thinking like sociologists.
Text IV. RESEARCH DESIGNS FOR COLLECTING DATA. ETHICS OF RESEARCH
An important aspect of sociological research is the decision as to how data should be collected. A
research design is a detailed plan or method for obtaining data scientifically. Sociologists regularly use
experiments, participant observations, surveys and unobtrusive techniques to generate data for their
research.
Experiments. When sociologists wish to study a possible cause-and-effect relationship, they may
conduct experiments. An experiment is an artificially created situation that allows the researcher either to
confirm or to refute the hypothesis under study. In the classic method of conducting an experiment, two
groups of people are selected and compared: the experimental group which is exposed to the experiment
and the control group which is not.
Participant observation. It is a research technique in which an investigator collects information
through direct participation in and observation of a group or a community under study. In some cases, the
sociologist actually «joins» the group for a period of time to get an accurate sense of how it operates. In
conducting participant observation research the investigator may face several problems. Firstly, in our
society many people resent the feeling of '«being studied». Thus, if the group sees the researcher as an
outsider and an observer — rather than a member of the group — its members may feel uneasy and hide
many thoughts and emotions. On the other hand, if the researcher disguises his or her identity or purpose,
he or she is being somewhat dishonest and this may also distort the group process. Finally, sociologists
must learn to see the world as the group sees it. This raises a delicate question regarding the effect of the
group on the observer and the observer on the group. The sociologist must retain a certain level of
detachment from the group under study and the observer cannot allow the close associations or even
friendships that inevitably develop or influence the conclusion of the study.
Surveys. Almost all of us have responded to surveys of one kind or another. A survey is a study,
generally in the form of an interview or a questionnaire, which provides sociologists with information
concerning how people think and act.
Each of these forms has its own advantages. An interview can obtain a high response rate because
people find it more difficult to turn down a personal request for an interview than to throw away a written
questionnaire. On the other hand, questionnaires have the advantage of being cheaper. Also, since the
questions are written, the researcher knows that there is some guarantee of consistency, whereas five
interviewers can ask the same question in five different ways.
14
Unobtrusive measures. They include a variety of research techniques that have no impact on who or
what is being studied. Social scientists and students from the University of Arizona studied people's
spending and eating habits by examining household garbage left out on the street. This is an
unconventional example of the use of unobtrusive measures in social scientific research.
The basic techniques of unobtrusive measures are the use of statistics and studying cultural, economic
and political documents, including newspapers, periodicals, radio and television tapes, diaries, songs,
folklore and legal papers, to name a few examples.
It is important to realize that research designs need not be viewed as mutually exclusive. Two or more
methods used together may be especially informative. For example, unobtrusive methods have proved to
be valuable as a supplement to other research methods. One investigator wished to examine the
relationship between reported and actual beer consumption. He obtained a «front door» measure of
consumption by asking residents of houses how much beer they drank each week. At the same time, a
«backdoor» measure was developed by counting the number of beer cans in their garbage. This backdoor
method produced a considerably higher estimate of beer consumption.
Ethics of research. Most sociological research uses people as sources of information — as
respondents to survey questions, participants in experiments or subjects of observation. That is why in
conducting research sociologists must abide by the code of ethics that puts forth the following basic
principles:
1. Maintain objectivity and integrity in research.
2. Respect the subject's right to privacy and dignity.
3. Protect subjects from personal harm.
4. Preserve confidentiality.
5. Acknowledge research collaboration and assistance.
6. Disclose all sources of financial support.
The ethical considerations of sociologists lie not only in the methods used, but in the way the results
are interpreted. We recognize that sociologists will be influenced by their own personal values in
selecting questions for research but under no condition can a researcher allow his or her personal feelings
to influence the interpretation of data. In conducting research, sociologists must practice value neutrality
in Max Weber's phrase. And as part of this neutrality, investigators have an ethical obligation to accept
research findings even when the data run counter to their own personal views, to theoretically based
explanations, or to widely accepted beliefs.
The issue of value neutrality becomes especially delicate when one considers the relationship of
sociology to government. Max Weber urged that sociology remain an autonomous discipline, and not
become unduly influenced by any one segment of society. According to his ideal of value neutrality,
sociologists must remain free to reveal information that is embarrassing to government.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
I. Read and translate the text using a dictionaryif necessary.
II. Find in the text the English equivalents of the following:
что касается, план исследования, получить данные, наблюдения участника эксперимента,
опрос, ненавязчивый, причинно-следственные отношения, проводить эксперимент, искусственно
созданная ситуация, подвергаться чему-либо, ясно установить, исследователь (2), испытывать
неприязнь к, наблюдатель, испытывать неудобства, с другой стороны, исказить, щекотливый вопрос, относительно чего-либо (2), сохранять беспристрастность, тесные связи, участвовать в
опросах, анкета, высокий процент, отклонить личную просьбу, ряд приемов в исследовании,
нетрадиционный пример, взаимно исключающие, оценка (2), респондент, участник, объект
(предмет) наблюдения, честность, достоинство, конфиденциальность, сотрудничество, ни при
каких условиях, нейтральность оценки, этическое обязательство, противоречить чему-либо,
обнародовать информацию.
15
III. Supplythe missing words or word combinations choosing among those given below.
1) An... of sociological research is the decision ... how data should be collected. 2) Sociologists use
different techniques ... for their research. 3) When sociologists wish to study a possible ... they may
conduct experiments. 4) An experiment allows the researcher ... to confirm ... to refute the hypothesis
under study. 5) In conducting participant observation the investigator may... several problems. 6) If the
researcher acts as ..., the members of the group may .... 7) If the researcher ... his identity and purpose, he
is being somewhat.... 8) The observer cannot allow the close associations that... develop to influence the
conclusion of the study. 9) Almost all of us have responded to ... . 10) Since the questions are written,
there is some .... 11) Sociologists from Arizona studied people's spending and eating habits by examining
... . 12) Two or more research methods used together may be .... 13) Unobtrusive methods have proved to
be valuable as ... to other research methods. 14) The beer consumption experiment produced ... of beer
consumption. 15) It is very important how sociologists ... of their research. 16) Sociology should remain
... and not become ... influenced by government. 17) Sociology must ... to reveal information that is ... to
government.
remain free, embarrassing, an autonomous discipline, unduly, interpret the results, a considerably
higher estimate, a supplement, especially informative, household garbage, guarantee of consistency,
surveys of one kind or another, inevitably, disguises, dishonest, an outsider, feel uneasy, face, either ... or
... , cause-and-effect relationship, to generate data, important aspect, as to.
IV. Studythe following words and word combinations and use them in sentences of your own:
to obtain data scientifically, to be exposed to, to collect data through, to get an accurate sense of, to
face some problems, to resent smth, to disguise, to raise a delicate question, to provide smb with smth, to
throw away, to include a variety of research techniques, to have some (no) impact on, to name a few
examples, to prove to be ... , to abide by, under no condition, to accept research findings, to run counter
to, to urge, to remain free.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
I. Reread the text and answer the following questions.
1) What research techniques do sociologists regularly use to generate data? 2) What is considered to be
the classic method of conducting an experiment? 3) What problems does the sociologist face in
conducting participant observation research? 4) What are the advantages of an interview and a
questionnaire? 5) What basic techniques of unobtrusive measurement do you know? 6) Are different
research designs viewed as mutually exclusive? 7) What must sociologists abide by while conducting
research? 8) What are the basic principles of the code of ethics? 9) What else do the ethical considerations
of sociologists lie in? 10) What is the main ethical category that sociologists should practice in
conducting research? 11) What is important in the relationship of sociology to government?
II. Define the following key terms and memorize the definitions:
research design, experiment, survey, unobtrusive measures, code of ethics, value neutrality.
III. Speak on the researchdesign and researchtechniques in brief and illustrate your report
withsituations or examples of your own.
IV. Determine a social problem of dailylife that is of interest to you and try to work out a
researchdesign and choose researchtechniques to obtain and analyze data regarding it.
16
V. Speak on the ethics of research and comment on its basic princip les developing the idea. Do you
agree with all of them? Can you add any other principles to the Code of Ethics?
VI. Read the following and comment on the topics suggested.
1) On the surface, the principles of the Code of Ethics seem quite clear-cut. It may be difficult to
imagine how they could lead to any disagreement or controversy. However, many delicate ethical
questions cannot be resolved simply by following these six points. For example, should asociologist
engaged in participant-observation research always protect the confidentiality of subjects? What if the
subjects are members of a religious cult engaged in unethical and even illegal activities?
2) The Code of Professional Ethics expects sociologists to disclose all funding sources. But it does not
state whether sociologists who accept funding from a particular agency may also accept their idea on
what should be studied. In this case sociologists turn from basic sociological research to applied research
for government agencies and the private sector losing to a great extent the freedom to choose their own
problems and substituting the problems of their clients for those which might have interested them on
purely theoretical grounds. Two delicate questions arise here:
a) Is it possible that applied sociology, the use of the discipline for some specific and practical
applications, should get more prominent at the expense of basic sociology, the objective of which is to
gain a more profound knowledge of the fundamental aspects of social phenomena?
b) And can it be that Max Weber's ideal of value neutrality might be undermined too?
Revision Exercises on Unit Two
1. Revise the active vocabulary and the definitions of the key terms of unit two and translate the
following intoEnglish.
1) Как и обычный гражданин, социолог интересуется главными вопросами нашей повседневной
жизни, но делает это используя научный метод исследования. 2) Социологи не просто выходят на
улицу и начинают задавать вопросы, они разрабатывают план исследования и отбирают
технические приемы для сбора и анализа данных. 3) Существует пять основных стадий научного
исследования: определение проблемы, обзор литературы по данной проблеме, формулировка
гипотезы, выбор плана исследования для сбора данных и подведение итогов. 4) Формулируя гипотезу, социологи не подразумевают, что она обязательно верна; они просто предполагают, что ее
следует изучить. 5) В зависимости от конечного результата исследования гипотеза может быть
подтверждена, опровергнута или пересмотрена. 6) Существуют различные способы отбора
участников для проведения исследования, и случайная выборка является наиболее часто
используемым методом. 7) Научные исследования не имеют целью ответить на все вопросы
относительно данной проблемы, поэтому очень часто вывод исследования завершает отдельную
фазу, но создает идеи для будущих изысканий. 8) Так оказалось и в случае с исследованием
проблемы бездомных, проведенным американскими социологами. 9) Вывод исследования доказал,
что бездомные, в основном, умственно полноценные люди, но они оказались в ловушке тех
экономических условий, которые привели их к бедственному положению и отчаянию. 10) Таким
образом, благодаря последовательному использованию научного метода исследователи изучили
важную социальную проблему, и их выводы представляют интерес для социологов,
психотерапевтов и государственных деятелей. 11) Важным аспектом социологического
исследования является решение вопроса о том, как следует отбирать необходимые данные. 12) В
нашем обществе люди отрицательно относятся к тому, что их подвергают обследованию. 13) Если
исследователь скрывает свою личность и цель исследования, он поступает нечестно, и это может
исказить процесс его внедрения в наблюдаемую группу. 14) Возникает щекотливый вопрос относительно влияния наблюдателя на группу и группы на наблюдателя. 15) Наблюдатель не может
позволить, чтобы близкие отношения, которые неизбежно возникают, повлияли на выводы ис17
следования. 16) Мы все подвергались опросам того или иного рода в форме либо интервью, либо
анкетирования. 17) Людям труднее отказать в личной просьбе принять участие в интервью, чем
выбросить анкету. 18) Социологи университета штата Аризона изучали привычки людей в еде,
исследуя домашние отбросы и мусор, оставленные на улице. 19) В большинстве социологических
исследований люди используются как источники информации: они являются респондентами в
опросах, участниками экспериментов, объектами наблюдения. 20) Поэтому при проведении
научных исследований социологи должны придерживаться Кодекса Этики. 21) Макс Вебер
настаивал на том, чтобы социология оставалась независимой наукой и ни в коем случае не подвергалась влиянию со стороны какого-либо института общества.
II. Reread the texts of unit two again and discuss the problem-questions given in the learning
objectives in the introduction tothe unit.
III. Comment on the following quotation, thinking like sociologists:
«The great strategy of science — the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact» (Thomas H.
Huxley «Biogenesis and Abiogenesis», 1870).
Unit Three. ORGANIZING SOCIAL LIFE:
CULTURE
Looking Ahead
In unit three we begin our study of the organization of social life within human communities and
societies. Unit three examines the basic element of any society: its culture. It considers the development
of culture from its roots in the prehistoric human experience, cultural universals and variations among
cultures. The major aspects of culture — including language, norms, sanctions and values — are defined
and explored. The discussion focuses both on the general cultural practices found in all societies and on
the wide variations that can distinguish one society from another.
Learning Objectives
After studying this unit, you should be able to answer the following questions:
1. How do aspects of a culture develop? How do they spread from one society to another?
2. What are the cultural universals? In what do they differ in different societies?
3. Through what process do human cultures change and expand?
4. Why do sociologists make a useful distinction between elements of material and nonmaterial
culture?
5. Why is language viewed by sociologists as the foundation of every culture?
6. In what ways are norms and sanctions used to reward or to penalize human behavior?
7. Can you offer a list of basic human values typical of and common for all societies?
8. Should people maintain linguistic integrity within a particular society? Or should bilingualism be an
important aspect of the educational policy in any country?
Text V. DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURE
People live in human societies. A society is the largest form of human social organization that consists
of people who live in the same territory, are relatively independent of people outside their area and share
a common heritage or a common culture. Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted behavior.
It includes ideas, values and customs of groups of people. Members of a society learn this culture and
transmit it from one generation to the next. They preserve their distinctive culture through literature,
video recordings and other means of expression. If it were not for the social transmission of culture, each
generation would have to reinvent television, not to mention the wheel.
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The study of culture is an important part of contemporary sociological work. Through advances in
culture, human beings have come a long way from our prehistoric heritage. Human beings have made
dramatic cultural advances. We can send astronauts to the moon, we have such achievements as the
symphonies of Beethoven, the paintings of Van Gogh, the poetry of Byron and the novels of Dostoevsky.
Despite their differences, all societies have attempted to meet basic human needs by developing
aspects of shared, learned behavior known as cultural universals. Cultural universals are general
practices found in every culture. Anthropologists compiled a list of such universals that includes the
following: athletic sports, attempts to influence weather, bodily adornment, calendar, cooking, courtship,
dancing, dream interpretation, family, folklore, food habits, funeral ceremonies, games, gift giving,
language, laws, medicine, music, myths, numerals, personal names, property rights, religion, sexual
restrictions, tool making.
Many cultural universals are, in fact, adaptations to meet essential human needs, such as people's need
for food, shelter and clothing. Yet, the manner in which they are expressed will vary from culture to
culture. For example, one society will attempt to influence its weather by seeding clouds with dry ice
particles to bring about rain. Another culture may offer sacrifices to the gods in order to end a long period
of drought.
Each generation and each year most human cultures change and expand through the process of
innovation and diffusion. An innovation is the process of introducing an idea or object that is new to
culture. There are two forms of innovation: a discovery and an invention. A discovery involves making
known or sharing the existence of an aspect of reality. The identification of a new moon of Saturn is an
act of discovery. By contrast, an invention results when existing cultural items are combined into a form
that did not exist before. The bow and the arrow, the automobile and the television are all examples of
inventions, as are Protestantism and democracy. The term diffusion refers to the process by which a
cultural item is spread from group to group or from society to society, i.e. to the process of adopting
ideas, technology and customs from other cultures. For example, breakfast cereal comes originally from
Germany, candy from the Netherlands, chewing gum from Mexico and the potato chip from the America
of the Indians. Diffusion can occur through a variety of means, among them exploration, military
conquests, missionary work, the influence of the mass media and tourism.
Sociologists make a useful distinction between elements of material and nonmaterial culture. Material
culture refers to the physical or technological aspects of our daily lives including food items, houses,
factories and raw materials. Nonmaterial culture refers to ways of using material objects and to customs,
beliefs, philosophies, governments and patterns of communications.
Generally, the nonmaterial culture is more resistant to change than the material culture is. Therefore,
foreign ideas are viewed as more threatening to a culture than foreign products are. We are more willing
to use technological innovations that make our lives easier than ideologies that change our way of seeing
the world.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
I. Read and translate the text using a dictionaryif necessary.
II. Find In the text the English equivalents of the following:
человеческое общество, иметь общее наследие, ценности, передавать из поколения в поколение,
если бы не, пройти долгий путь развития, значительные успехи в культуре, несмотря на различия,
удовлетворить основные человеческие потребности в, составить список, вызвать дождь,
предложить идею (мысль), иметь место (происходить), четко разграничивать, убеждение, оказывать сопротивление чему-либо, рассматриваться, угрожать, испытывать желание, изменить способ
видения мира, распространяться, принимать идею (мысль).
III. Supplythe missing words or word combinations choosing among those given below.
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1) People in a society are ... of people outside the area. 2) Culture is the ... of learned, socially
transmitted behavior. 3) We preserve our ... culture through different means of expression. 4) The study
of culture is an important part of ... social work. 5) Through advances in culture human beings have come
a long way from our ... . 6) Human cultures change and ... each year. 7) Diffusion can occur .... 8)
Sociologists ... a useful distinction between elements of material and nonmaterial culture. 9) Material
culture refers to the ... or ... aspects of our daily life. 10)..., the nonmaterial culture is more resistant to ...
than the material culture is. 11) Therefore, foreign ideas are viewed as more ... to a culture than foreign
products are. 12) We are more willing to use technological innovations that ... than ideologies that ....
make our lives easier, change our way of seeing the world, threatening, generally, change, physical,
technological, make, through a variety of means, expand, prehistoric heritage, contemporary, distinctive,
totality, relatively independent.
IV. Studythe following words and word combinations and use them in sentences of your own:
to consist of, independent of, outside, to share smth, if it were not for, to come a long way from, to
involve doing smth, by contrast, to refer to, to be spread, to occur, to make a distinction between, to bring
about smth, to be resistant to, to be viewed as, to be willing to do smth.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
I. Reread the text and answer the following questions.
1) How do members of a society learn, transmit and preserve their distinctive culture? 2) Why do you
think the study of culture is an important part of contemporary sociological work? 3) What cultural
universals do anthropologists consider to be the most common for all human societies? 4) What do
cultural universals have in common and what differs them? 5) How do human cultures change and
expand? 6) Why do you think sociologists make a useful distinction between elements of material and
nonmaterial culture? 7) How can you account for the fact that nonmaterial culture is more resistant to
change than material culture?
II. Define the following key terms and memorize the definitions:
society, culture, cultural universals, innovation, discovery, invention, diffusion, material culture,
nonmaterial culture.
III. Speak on human culture and Its aspects in brief and illustrate your reports with examples and
situations of your own.
IV. Name the cultural universals and comment on them. Why do you think anthropologists have
selected these items of human culture as cultural universals?
V. Comment on the statement that culture is the totality of learned, sociallytransmitted behavior.
VI. Give your own examples of innovations (both discoveries and inventions) and diffusions in our
daily life.
Text VI. ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
The study of culture is an important part of contemporary sociological work. The major aspects of
culture include language, norms, sanctions and values.
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Language is a critical element of culture that sets apart humans from other living beings. Language is
the foundation of every living culture, though particular languages may differ in striking ways. Language
is an abstract system of word meanings and symbols for all aspects of culture. It includes speech, written
characters, numerals, symbols and gestures of nonverbal communication. People depend upon language
for it describes and shapes the reality of a culture. The word symbols and the grammar of a language
organize the world for us. Linguists suggest that language may influence our behavior and interpretations
of social reality. But they also think that language is not a «given», rather it is culturally determined and it
leads to different interpretations of reality and certain phenomena. For example, in the United States you
ask a hardware store clerk for a «flashlight», while in England, if you needed this item, you would have to
ask for «an electric torch». Languages differ in the number of colors that are recognized. There are 11
basic terms in English. But the Russian and Hungarian languages have 12 color terms.
The language barrier extends even to nonverbal communication. Many people in the United States
interpreted Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev's hands-clasped gesture following a 1973 White House
meeting with President Nixon as meaning «I've won» or «I'm the champ.» While that is indeed the
American meaning of this gesture, Russians use the gesture as asymbol of friendship.
Language is of great interest to the sociological perspective because it can shape how we see, taste,
smell, feel and hear. It also influences the way we think about the people, ideas and objects around us. A
culture's most important aspects are communicated to people through language. It is for these reasons that
the introduction of new languages into a society is such a sensitive issue in many parts of the world.
While the United States remains resistant to official use of languages other than English, other
societies experience the pervasiveness of the English language. The domination of English stems from
such factors as the demands of world trade, where English is used to negotiate many international
business deals. In addition, English pervades rock music throughout the world. The leading popular and
rock groups record in English.
This does not mean that English is being enthusiastically welcomed in all countries. For example,
«linguistic integrity» is somewhat a passion in France. The French minister of culture limited the number
of American songs that French radio stations and discotheques could play, but later dropped the idea
when a survey revealed 'that many discos would promptly have gone bankrupt. The government has gone
so far as to establish committees to abolish Anglicisms and invent suitable French alternatives, such as
«informatique» for «data processing». Responding with a dry sarcasm to such campaigns, the newspaper
Le Monde suggested that the widely used term «sandwich» could be replaced with «two pieces of bread
with something in the middle». Less concise but more French, Le Monde observed.
All societies have particular ways of encouraging what they view as appropriate behavior while
discouraging and punishing what they consider to be improper conduct. «Put on some clean clothes for
dinner» and «Thou shall not kill,» just as respect for older people are examples of norms found in human
culture. Norms are established standards of behavior maintained by a society.
Sociologists distinguish between norms in two ways. First, norms are classified as formal or informal.
Formal norms have been written down and involve strict rules for punishment of violators. In human
society we often formalize norms into laws, which must be very precise in defining proper and improper
behavior.
By contrast, informal norms are generally understood but are not precisely recorded.
Standards of proper dress are a common example of informal norms, while the rules of a card play are
considered formal norms.
Norms are also classified by their relative importance to society. When classified in this way, they are
known as mores and folkways. Mores are norms highly necessary to the welfare of a society. Thus human
society has strong mores against murder, treason and child abuse. Each society demands obedience to its
mores; their violation can lead to severe penalties.
Folkways are norms governing everyday behavior whose violation raises comparatively little concern.
Folkways very often are not shared in all societies. Let us look at one fascinating example: the folkways
that govern how far we should stand from people when interacting with them. The anthropologist Edward
Hall suggests that Americans and northern Europeans operate in four distance zones:
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1. Intimate distance: up to 18 inches. That is the distance of lovemaking, wrestling, comforting,
protecting and also of confrontation as in «Get your face out of mine!»
2. Personal distance: 18 inches to 4 feet. This is the conversational distance generally used with
friends.
3. Social distance: 4 to 7 feet. Within this distance we conduct impersonal business, such as purchasing
products or interviewing strangers.
4. Public distance: 12 feet and more. This is viewed as the proper distance for public occasions. It will
be used to separate a speaker or a famous person from admiring fans.
It is important to note that these distances are not universally upheld in all cultures. Southern
Europeans, Arabs and Latin Americans stand closer together when conversing and are more likely to
touch one another and maintain eye contact.
What happens when people violate a widely shared and understood norm? In this case they will
receive sanctions. Sanctions are penalties and rewards for conduct concerning a social norm. Positive
sanctions are a pay raise, a medal, a word of gratitude or a pat on the back. Negative sanctions include
fines, threats, imprisonment and even states of contempt.
The relationship between norms and sanctions in a culture reflects that culture's values and priorities.
Values are those collective conceptions of what is considered good, desirable and proper or bad,
undesirable and improper in a culture.
They indicate what people in a given culture prefer as well as what they find important and morally
right (or wrong). Values may be specific, such as honoring one's parents, or they may be more general,
such as health, love and democracy.
Values influence people's behavior and serve as criteria for evaluating the actions of others.There is a
direct relationship between the values, norms and sanctions of a culture. For example, if a culture views
private property as a basic value, it will probably have laws against theft and vandalism. The values of a
culture may change but most remain relatively stable during any one person's lifetime.
The sociologist Robin Williams has offered a list of basic American values, including achievement,
efficiency, material comfort, nationalism, equality and the supremacy of science and reason over faith.
Socially shared, intensely felt these values are a fundamental part of human lives in the United States.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
I. Read and translate the text using a dictionaryif necessary.
II. Find in the text the English equivalents for the following:
отделять ... от, значительно отличаться, очерчивать (придавать или принимать форму, вид),
влиять на наше поведение, толкование (объяснение) реальности, языковой барьер, неязыковое общение, представлять большой интерес для, передаваться через язык, именно по этим причинам,
остро ощущаемая проблема, сопротивляться чему-либо, требования мировой торговли, вести
переговоры о деловых сделках, отказаться от затеи, обанкротиться, учредить комитет, запретить,
поощрить, расхолаживать, неправильное поведение, принятые нормы, поддерживать (утверждать),
различать, нарушитель (закона), точный, простой пример, благосостояние общества, народный
обычай (нрав), повиновение чему-либо, нарушение (насилие), суровое наказание, разделять
мнение, яркий пример, придерживаться взгляда, отражать, чтить своих родителей, критерий
оценки, прямая взаимосвязь.
III. Supplythe missing words or word combinations choosing among those given below.
1) Language is ... of culture that sets apart humans from other living beings. 2) People depend upon
language, ... it describes and shapes our reality. 3) Languages differ in the number of colors that are .... 4)
The language barrier ... to nonverbal communication. 5) A culture's most important aspects are
communicated to people .... 6) Many societies experience ... of the English language. 7) English ... rock
22
music throughout the world. 8) English is not ... welcomed in all countries. 9) «Linguistic integrity» ia
somewhat ... in France. 10) A survey.... that many discos had gone bankrupt. 11) The newspaper Le
Monde responded to this campaign ... . 12) Violation of laws can lead to .... 13) Folkways ... how far we
should stand while ... with one another. 14) It is important... that this is not ... upheld. 15) Values ... as
criteria for ... the actions of others. 16) Most values remain ... during any one person's lifetime.
relatively stable, serve, evaluating, to note, universally, govern, conversing, severe penalties, with a
dry sarcasm, revealed, a passion, enthusiastically, pervades, pervasiveness, through language, extends,
recognized, for, a critical element
IV. Studythe following words and word combinations and use them in sentences of your own:
to set apart ... from, to differ in striking ways, to depend upon, to influence smth, to lead to, to ask smb
for, to extend to, to be of great interest to, it is for these reasons (this reason), a sensitive issue, to remain
resistant to, to experience, to stem from, to pervade smth, to drop the idea, to go bankrupt, to go so far as,
to view smth as appropriate behavior, to be precise in defining, to demand obedience to, to raise little
(great) concern, to be universally upheld, to be (un)likely, to serve as, a direct relationship, to view ... as
abasic value, socially shared.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
I. Reread the text and answer the following questions.
l)Why is it stated that the major aspects of culture include language, norms, sanctions and values? 2)
How can you account for the fact that language is a critical element of culture? 3) Do you agree that
people depend upon language in their life? State your reason. 4) Can you give any examples of gestures
of nonverbal communication that differ in different languages? 5) Why is language of great interest to the
sociological perspective? 6) What can you tell us about the efforts of the French government to maintain
the linguistic integrity in France? 7) What are the other aspects of a culture besides language? 8) How do
sociologists distinguish between norms? 9) What examples of formal and informal norms can you give?
10) Can you distinguish between mores and folkways? 11) What do you think about the classification of
distance zones suggested by the anthropologist Edward Hall? 12) What do sanctions indicate? 13) How
can you prove that values influence people's behavior?
II. Define the following key terms and memorize the definitions:
language, norms, mores, folkways, sanctions, values.
III. Speak on the elements of culture and their aspects in brief and illustrate your reports withexamples
or situations of your own taken from the Russian lifestyle.
IV. Speak about language as the foundation of culture.
V. Comment on the domination of other languages byEnglish. Can you name anyother reasons for this
domination besides the twoones mentioned in the text? Will English continue dominating the languages
of the world?
VI. Comment on the efforts of the French government to maintain the linguistic integrity in France.
Why aren't they effective? Do you share the sarcastic approach of the newspaper Le Monde to this
campaign?
23
VII. Express your opinion. Should we try to maintain the linguistic integrity in Russia? How can you
account for the domination of English in our country? May it lead to the domination of the American
culture over the Russian ways and traditions? What do you suggest we should dotoprevent it?
VIII. Comment on the statement that the United States remains resistant to official use of languages
other than English and to the introduction of bilingual, bicultural education. Don't you think that this
hostilitydoes more harm than good to the American culture robbing it of the cultural diversity?
IX. Name and comment on the American values suggested by the sociologist Robin Williams. Can you
go on with this list? Can you offer a list of basic Russian values and account for your choice?
Revision Exercises on Unit Three
I. Revise the active vocabulary and the definitions of the key terms of unit three and translate the
following intoEnglish.
1) Общество — это самая большая форма общественной организации людей. 2) Члены
общества изучают свою культуру и передают ее из поколения в поколение. 3) Благодаря успехам в
культуре человечество прошло долгий путь от доисторических времен до настоящего времени. 4)
Несмотря на различия, все человеческие общества старались удовлетворить основные
потребности человека, которые известны сейчас как культурные универсалии. 5) Многие
культурные универсалии одинаковы у разных народов, но выражаются они в разных культурах посвоему. 6) В каждом поколении каждый год большинство культур изменяется и расширяется
благодаря процессу нововведений и диффузии. 7) Социологи делают существенное различие
между материальной и нематериальной культурой. 8) Мы более склонны использовать
технологические нововведения, которые облегчают нашу жизнь, чем идеологии, которые
изменяют наше видение мира. 9) Язык — это основа каждой культуры, хотя отдельные языки
сильно отличаются друг от друга. 10) Язык включает речь, письменные символы, числительные и
жесты неязыкового общения. 11) Словесные символы и грамматика языка организуют мир для
нас. 12) Наиболее важные понятия культуры передаются людям через язык. 13) Господство
английского языка в мире определяется требованиями мировой торговли, где он широко
распространен при заключении различных деловых сделок. 14) Все общества имеют свои средства
поощрения правильного поведения и механизмы запрещения и наказания неправильных
поступков. 15) Нормы — это принятые стандарты поведения, поддерживаемые всем обществом.
16) Нарушение принятых норм может привести к серьезным наказаниям. 17) Ценности влияют на
поведение людей и служат критериями оценки человеческих поступков.
II. Reread the texts of unit three again and discuss the problem-questions given in the learning
objectives in the introduction tothe unit.
III. Comment on the following quotation thinking like sociologists:
«... The first wisdom of sociology is this — things are not what they seem... Social reality turns out to
have many layers of meaning. The discovery of each new layer changes the perception of the whole»
(Peter L.Berger «Invitation to Sociology», 1963).
24
Unit Four. SOCIALIZATION
Looking Ahead
Unit four presents the lifelong socialization process through which we acquire culture and are
introduced to social structure. It examines the role of socialization in human development. It begins by
analyzing the debate over the relative influence of heredity and environment factors. Particular attention
is given to how people develop perceptions, feelings and beliefs about themselves. The unit explores the
lifelong nature of the socialization process as well as important agents of socialization, among them the
family, the school, peer groups, the media and the workplace.
Learning Objectives
After studying this unit you should be able to answer the following questions:
1. What would happen if a child were reared in total isolation from other people?
2. Will identical twins show similarities in personality traits, behavior and intelligence if reared apart?
3. How do we come to develop self-identity?
4. What stages of socialization do we pass through during the life cycle?
5. How do the family, the peer group, the mass media and the workplace contribute to the socialization
process?
6. Can you employ your own experience or the experience of your parents and other «significant
others» in speaking on socialization and self-identity?
Text VII. THE ROLE OF SOCIALIZATION.
SELF-IDENTITY AND SOCIALIZATION
Each culture has a unique character which shapes the values and behavior of its members.
Socialization is the process whereby people learn the attitudes, values and actions appropriate to
individuals as members of a particular culture. Socialization occurs through human interactions. We will,
of course, learn a great deal from those people most important in our lives — immediate family members,
best friends, teachers and so forth. But we also learn from people we see on the street, on television and in
films and magazines. Through interacting with people as well as through our own observations, we
discover how to behave «properly» and what to expect from others if we follow or challenge society's
norms and values.
Socialization affects the overall cultural practices of a society and it also shapes the image that we hold
of ourselves. In this sense, socialization experiences can have an impact on the shaping of people's
personalities. In everyday speech, the term personality is used to refer to a person's typical patterns of
attitudes, needs, characteristics and behavior.
All researchers would agree that both biological inheritance and the process of socialization play a role
in human development. There is no consensus, however, regarding the relative importance of these
factors, which can lead to what is called the «nature versus nurture» (or «heredity versus environment»)
debate. We can more easily contrast the impact of heredity and environment if we examine situations in
which one factor operates almost entirely without the other.
Specialists have studied cases where children have been locked away, or severely neglected, or raised
in isolation and in these cases the consequences of social isolation have proved to be greatly damaging
because the children reacted and behaved like wild animals. Despite their physical and cognitive potential
to learn, it was very difficult to adapt them to human relationships and socialization.
Nowadays researchers are increasingly emphasizing the importance of early socialization experiences
for humans that grow up in normal environments. It is now recognized that it is not enough to care for an
infant's physical needs, parents must also concern themselves with children's social environment. If
children are discouraged from having friends, they will be deprived of social interactions with peers that
may be critical in their emotional growth.
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The isolation studies discussed above may seem to suggest that inheritance can be dismissed as a
factor in the social development of humans. However, the interplay between heredity and environment
factors is evident in the fascinating studies involving pairs of twins reared apart and brought up
separately. Two genetically identical persons developed quite different personalities and political and
cultural values because of their differing socialization experiences. Certain characteristics, such as the
twins temperaments, voice patterns and nervous habits appear to be strikingly similar. But there are far
greater differences between the twins' attitudes, values, types of mates chosen and even drinking habits.
These studies have found marked similarities in their tendency toward leadership or dominance, but
significant differences in their need for intimacy, comfort and assistance.
Researchers have also been impressed by the following fact: usually twin pairs brought up together
have similar scores on intelligence tests. At the same time identical twins brought up in dramatically
different social environments score quite differently on intelligence tests.
This finding indicates that, on the one hand, both genetic factors and socialization are influential in
human development but, on the other hand, it supports the great impact of socialization on development.
We all have various perceptions, feelings and beliefs about who we are and what we are like. Many
sociologists and psychologists have expressed interest in how the individual develops and modifies the
sense of self because of social interaction.
There are different sociological approaches to the self. In the early 1900s the sociologists advanced the
belief that we learn who we are by interacting with others, that our view of ourselves comes not only from
our personal qualities but also from our impressions how others perceive us.
Other scientists introduced the theory of the self which proposes that, as people mature, their selves
change and begin to reflect great concern about the reactions of others. They used the phrase «significant
others» to refer to those individuals who are most important in the development of the self. Parents,
friends, co-workers, coaches and teachers are often among those who play a major role in shaping a
person's self.
Contemporary sociologists have used the interaction approach to show that many of our daily activities
involve attempts to convey impressions of who we are. We learn to create distinctive appearances and to
satisfy particular audiences. People very often blunder in their daily activities but we tend to ignore their
mistakes. Therefore, the sound of a stomach rumbling in a quiet room is almost always ignored. This
polite behavior is intended to save face. And to maintain the proper image we often initiate face-saving
behavior.
This sociological approach of the contemporary social scientists represents a logical progression of the
sociological efforts begun by the sociologists of the past. The former stressed the process by which we
come to view ourselves and how we learned to interact with others, the latter emphasize the ways in
which we consciously create images of ourselves for others.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
I.. Read and translate the text using a dictionaryif necessary.
II. Find in the text the English equivalents of the following:
уникальный, правильный (соответствующий), происходить через взаимодействия людей, через
наши собственные наблюдения, следовать нормам и ценностям общества (нарушать), воздействовать на, полный (общий), опыт (переживание), биологическая наследственность, наследие,
окружение, почти полностью, следствие, наносить ущерб, познавательный потенциал,
подчеркивать важность, сейчас признано, заботиться о физических потребностях ребенка,
проявлять интерес к общественному развитию детей, не поощрять какое-либо действие, быть
лишенным чего-либо, сверстники, взаимосвязь, воспитывать отдельно (2), генетический, быть
удивительно похожим (сходным), заметное сходство, значительное различие, умственное
развитие, значительно отличающийся, с одной стороны... с другой стороны, проявлять интерес к, в
начале 1900-х, выдвигать утверждение, ощущать (осознавать), взрослеть, сотрудники, играть глав26
ную роль, создавать впечатление, создавать определенный вид (облик), удовлетворять аудиторию,
делать промах, иметь склонность, не замечать ошибки, представлять логическое продолжение,
делать акцент, подчеркивать (выделять), создавать образ, первый... последний, спасти (сохранить)
репутацию (престиж).
III. Supplythe missing words or word combinations choosing among those given below.
1) Each culture has a ... character which ... the values and behavior of its members. 2) We learn ... from
the people most important in our lives. 3) Through interacting with people ... through our own
observations we discover how to behave properly. 4) We learn what to expect from others if we ... or ...
society's norms and values. 5) Socialization experiences can ... on the shaping of people's personalities. 6)
There is no ... regarding the relative importance of these factors in human development. 7) The
consequences of social isolation have proved to be greatly .... 8) Children ... in isolation very often
react.... 9)... their physical and cognitive potential it is very difficult ... them to human relationships. 10)
Nowadays researchers are ... emphasizing the importance of early socialization experience for humans.
11) It is not enough ... children's needs; parents must also ... with their social development. 12) Children
should not be ... from having friends. 13) Inheritance should not be ... as a factor in the social
development of humans. 14) The ... between heredity and environment is evident. 15) Two ... identical
persons develop quite different personalities. 16) Certain ... appear to be ... similar. 17) Identical twins
brought up in ... different social ... score differently on ... . 18) Many sociologists have ... in how the
individual develops and ... a sense of self. 19) In ... the sociologists ... that we learn who we are by
interacting with others. 20) Other sociologists ... of the self. 21) The so-called ... play a ... role in shaping
a person's self. 22) People very often ... in their daily activities. 23) This polite behavior is intended ....
24)... we often initiate ....
to maintain the proper image, face-saving behavior, to save face, blunder, «significant others», major,
introduced the theory, the early 1900s, advanced the belief, expressed an interest, modifies, dramatically,
environments, intelligence tests, characteristics, strikingly, genetically, interplay, dismissed, discouraged,
to care for, concern themselves, increasingly, despite, to adapt, raised, like wild animals, damaging,
consensus, have an impact, follow, challenge, as well as, a great deal, unique, shapes.
IV. Studythe following word combinations and use them in sentences of your own:
appropriate to smb, to learn a great deal from, and so forth, to affect smb, to shape an image, to refer
to, both ... and, regarding smth, to be severely neglected, to be raised in isolation, to adapt smth to smth,
to care for, to concern oneself with, to discourage smb from doing smth, to be deprived of, to be reared
apart, to be brought up, to develop a personality, because of, to appear to be strikingly similar, far greater,
to find marked similarities, to find significant differences, to have different scores on intelligence tests, to
score quite differently on intelligence tests, on the one hand ... on the other hand.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
I. Reread the text and answer the following questions.
1) Through what processes does socialization occur and shape people's personalities? 2) In what way
do we discover how to behave properly and what to expect from others? 3) What two factors play a role
in human development? 4) What is a critical point in the «nature versus nurture» debate? 5) How can we
contrast the impact of heredity and environment on human development? 6) Why are researchers
increasingly emphasizing the importance of early socialization experiences for humans nowadays? 7)
Why can't we dismiss inheritance as a factor in the social development of humans? 8) What interesting
research has been done to prove that both the biological and the sociological factors play a very important
role in human development? 9) What sociological approaches to the self-identity do you know? Can you
27
comment on each of them? 10) How can you prove that all these sociological approaches represent a
logical progression?
II. Define the following key terms and memorize the definitions:
socialization, personality, inheritance (heredity), environment, self-identity.
III. Speak on socialization and self-identity in brief and illustrate your report withsituations and
examples of your own.
IV. Comment on the studycases described in the text. Can you give any other examples toprove that
both socialization and inheritance play a very important role in shaping personality and self?
V. Describe the experiences of your childhood. Did your parents care only for your physical needs or
did they concern themselves with your social development? Can you say that you were not deprived of
social interactions with your peers? Did your parents always approve of your choice of mates?
VI. Imagine that you are asked to make a speech on socialization and self-identity at a parents' meeting
in your former school. Outline the points you are going to speak on at your report and develop the ideas in
front of your group-mates.
Text VIII. SOCIALIZATION AND THE LIFE CYCLE.
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION
Stages of Socialization. The socialization process continues throughout all stages of the human life
cycle. But it is important to understand that we do not move from one stage to another in the clear-cut
way that we are promoted from one school grade to another. Our social development varies with the
individual and the social situations in which that person must function. Thus, in our shift from childhood
to adulthood we go through a prolonged period of transition known as adolescence. After that a person
will pass through a series of developmental stages.
The American psychologist Daniel Levinson in his book «The Seasons of a Man's Life» identified
three major transitional periods that occur primarily after adolescence. The first transitional period, the
early adult transition, begins at about age 17 and extends to age 22. It marks the time at which a male
gradually enters the adult world, perhaps moving out of the parental home, beginning a career, or entering
a marriage. The second transitional period, the midlife transition, typically begins at about age 40.
American men often experience a stressful period of self-evaluation commonly known as the midlife
crisis, in which they realize that they have not achieved basic goals and ambitions and have little time left
to do so. The final period of transition is the late adult transition which occurs between 60 and 65 years of
age. At this time many Americans begin restricting their occupational duties and preparing for retirement.
However, it is important to note that the nation's attitude toward aging has undergone a dramatic change
in recent decades. No longer is it widely accepted that old people should simply sit around passively,
waiting to die. Instead, there has been an increase in programs to socialize the elderly for meaningful
pursuits and continued living.
Levinson's formulation was developed to describe the life cycle of men in the United States. While his
conclusions are relevant for some women — especially those who follow the traditional career patterns of
men — they do not necessarily reflect the typical life for women. A key aspect of his work is the notion
that men have a dream of what the adult world is like — a vision that creates excitement and a sense of
possibility. Yet, until recently, most women were socialized into visions of the future centering on
marriage and children rather than achievements in paid labor force.
One stage of development identified by Levinson, the midlife crisis, is clearly evident in both sexes.
Social scientists are only beginning to explore the nature of the midlife crisis. In one study they developed
a scale ranking 43 stressful life events that may require important social adjustments and resocialization.
28
The events ranking as most stressful include marriage, death of a spouse or a close family member, a
divorce, serving a jail term, a personal injury or an illness, a dismissal from work, retirement, business
readjustment. The events ranking least stressful include Christmas, vacation, a change in eating or
sleeping habits, a change in social activities or recreation. The events ranking rather stressful are a change
in the financial state, troubles with in-laws, a change in living conditions, pregnancy, the gain of a new
family member, troubles with the boss.
Creating a self does not occur in a week. It is a lifelong transformation which begins in the crib and
continues as one prepares for death. The lifelong socialization involves many different social forces
which influence our lives and alter our self-images.
The family is the institution most closely associated with the process of socialization and is its most
important agent. We experience socialization first as babies and infants living in families; it is here that
we develop an initial sense of self. Most parents seek to help their children to be socialized into the norms
and values of both the family and the larger society. Like the family, the school is a very important agent
in socializing children into the norms and values of our culture. Schools foster competition through builtin systems of reward and punishment such as grades and evaluations by teachers.
As a child grows older, the family becomes somewhat less important in his or her social development.
Instead, peer groups increasingly assume the role of «the significant others». Peer groups are friendship
groups, youth gangs and special-interest clubs. Within the peer group young people associate with others
who are approximately their own age and who often enjoy a similar social status. A peer group maintains
a meaningful system of rewards and punishments. The group may encourage a teenager to follow pursuits
that the society considers admirable. On the other hand, it can encourage someone to violate the society's
norms and values.
Peer groups play a very important role in the transition to adult responsibilities. At home parents tend
to dominate; at school the teenager must contend with teachers and administrators. Bat within the peer
group each member can assert himself or herself in a way that may not be possible elsewhere.
Nevertheless, almost all adolescents in our culture remain economically dependent on their parents, and
most are emotionally dependent as well.
In the last 75 years such technological innovations, as mass media — radio, motion pictures and
television — have become important agents of socialization. Television, in particular, is a critical force in
the socialization of children. It permits imitation and role playing but does not encourage more complex
forms of learning. Watching television is a passive experience — one sits back and waits to be
entertained. Critics of television are further alarmed by the fact that children (as well as adults) are
exposed to a great deal of violence on television. But television is not always a negative socializing
influence. Creative programs can assist children in developing basic skills essential for schooling. In
addition, television programs and even commercials expose young people to lifestyles and cultures of
which they are unaware. But still parents should not allow the TVset to become a child's favorite playmate and should monitor this aspect of a child's environment just as carefully as they evaluate teachers,
play-mates and baby-sitters.
A fundamental aspect of human socialization involves learning to behave appropriately within an
occupation in a workplace. Scientists have divided occupational socialization into four phases. The first
phase is career choice, which involves selection of academic or vocational training appropriate for the
desired job. The next phase is anticipatory socialization which refers to the process of socialization
whereby people get acquainted with norms, values, and behavior associated with a social position before
actually assuming that status. For example, some children «inherit» their occupations from their parents.
The third phase, conditioning, occurs while a person starts actually occupying his work-related role after
adjusting himself or herself to the aspects of the job. And, if the job proves to be satisfactory, the person
will enter the fourth stage of socialization which is called continues commitment. At this point, the job
becomes an indistinguishable part of the person's self-identity.
Occupational socialization can be more intense immediately after one makes the transition from school
to the job, but it continues through one's work history. Technological advances may alter the requirements
of the positions and necessitate some degree of resocialization, that is the process of discarding former
29
behavior patterns and accepting new ones as part of a transition in one's life. In addition, people change
occupations, employers or workplaces during their adult years.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
I. Read and translate the text using a dictionaryif necessary.
II. Find in the text the English equivalents of the following:
четко определенным способом, переводить из класса в класс, переход от детства к зрелости,
проходить длительный период, переход (изменение), отрочество, проходить ряд стадий развития,
выявить три главных переходных периода, происходить (иметь место), главным образом,
отмечать, постепенно, начать карьеру, вступать в брак, в основном, переживать (испытывать)
период стресса, самооценка, общеизвестно, достигать цели, честолюбие (стремление),
преклонный, ограничивать свои служебные обязанности, уход на пенсию, стареть, подвергаться
значительному изменению, за последние десятилетия, пожилые, приносящее пользу занятие,
уместный (относящийся к делу), образец (модель), видение (предвидение), до недавних пор, четко
(явно), очевидный, исследовать природу кризиса, шкала, классифицировать, приспособлять
(регулировать), наиболее тесно связанный, первоначальный, поощрять соревнование,
вознаграждение и наказание, оценки (отметки), возрастные группы, сверстники (ровесники),
принимать (на себя), приблизительно, подросток (2), нарушать (закон), обязанности взрослого,
бороться (оспаривать), отстаивать свои права, тем не менее, быть зависимым от, средства
массовой информации, в частности, ролевая игра, быть встревоженным, подвергаться чему-либо,
насилие, творческие программы; развить основные умения (навыки), необходимые для школы;
кроме того, рекламный ролик, стиль жизни, не подозревать о чем-либо, осуществлять контроль,
оценивать (давать оценку), вести себя соответствующим образом, занятие (должность), рабочее
место, выбор, отбор, академическая подготовка, профессиональная подготовка, познакомиться,
унаследовать, неразличимый, самосознание, технологические достижения, изменять требования,
делать необходимым, отбрасывать (за ненадобностью), неизбежно.
III. Supplythe missing wolds and word combinations choosing among those given below.
1) The socialization process continues ... all aspects of the human life .... 2) Our social development...
with the individual and the social situations in which the person must .... 3) The first transition period ...
the time at which a male gradually enters the ... . 4) The American nation's attitude toward ... has
undergone a ... change in .... 5) Levinson's conclusions are ... for women who follow the traditional ... of
men. 6) Yet, ... , most women were socialized into the ... of the future ... on marriage and children. 7)
Creating ... does not... in a week. 8) The ... socialization involves many ... which influence our lives, and
... our self-images. 9) The family is the ... most closely associated with .... 10) We ... socialization first as
... and ... living in families. 11) The school is a very important ... in socializing children into ... and ... of
our culture. 12) Schools foster competition through ... systems of ... and .... 13) With teenagers peer
groups ... the role of ... . 14) At home parents ... to dominate. 15) Television, .... is a critical force in the
socialization of children. 16) Critics of television are ... alarmed by the fact that we are exposed to ... of
violence. 17) ... may alter the requirements of the position and ... some degree of resocialization.
technological advances, necessitate, further, a great deal, in particular, tend, assume, «the significant
others», built-in, reward, punishment, agent, the norms, the values, experience, babies, infants,
institution, the process of socialisation, lifelong, different social forces, alter, a self, occur, until recently,
visions, centering, relevant, career patterns, aging, dramatic, recent decades, marks, adult world, varies,
function, throughout, cycle.
IV. Studythe following word combinations and use them in sentences of your own:
30
to go through a prolonged period of transition, to pass through a series of developmental stages, to
enter the adult world, to begin a career, to experience a stressful period, to achieve basic goals and
ambitions, to undergo a dramatic change, no longer is it, to follow a career pattern, to create excitement,
until recently, to be clearly evident, to develop a scale ranking, to serve a jail term, to dismiss from work,
troubles with in-laws, to develop an initial sense of self, to associate with, to be approximately one's own
age, to encourage, smb to do smth, to violate, to assert oneself, to be dependent on, to be alarmed by, to
assist smb in doing smth, to expose smb to smth, to monitor smth, to evaluate smb, to involve doing smth,
to prove to be satisfactory, during one's adult years.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
I. Reread the text and answer the following questions.
1) How can you prove that the socialization process is a lifelong process but it does not develop in a
clear-cut way? 2) What book (and by whom) identifies the three major transitional periods in the human
life-cycle? Can you describe each stage? 3) Why was Levinson's formulation developed to describe the
life cycle of men? 4) What are the most important agents of socialization? 5) How can you prove that peer
groups play a very important role in the transition to adult responsibilities? 6) What role do mass media
play in the socialization of children? 7) Why is it stated that occupational socialization is a fundamental
aspect of human development?
II. Define the following key forms and memorize the definitions:
adolescence, the midlife crisis, a peer group, occupational socialization, career choice, anticipatory
socialization, conditioning, continuous commitment, resocialization.
III. Speak on socialization and the life cycle in brief and illustrate your reports withsituations and
examples of your own.
IV. Describe the «seasons» of a woman's life and speak about the role and place of a woman in
contemporarysociety in general and in Russia in particular.
V. Express your opinion.
Do you share the American nation's attitude toward aging? Speak on the problem of the elderly in
Russia and compare their social status with that of the American old people. What should we do to make
our elderly people happy?
VI. Speak about the midlife crisis. Goon withthe scale of stressful life events and rank them according
tothe degree of stress and adjustment. Interview your parents and describe their experience thinking like
sociologists.
VII. Speak about agents of socialization and describe your own experience.
VIII. Comment on the role of the mass media in Russia. Give examples of their negative and positive
socializing influence thinking like sociologists.
IX. Speak on occupational socialization and its phases. Illustrate each phase describing your parents
experience in this aspect.
Revision Exercises on Unit Four
31
I. Revise the active vocabulary and the definitions of the key terms of unit four and translate the
following intoEnglish.
1) Каждая культура имеет уникальный характер, который формирует ценности и поведение ее
членов. 2) Через взаимодействия с людьми, а также благодаря собственным наблюдениям мы
осознаем, как вести себя правильно и чего ожидать от других. 3) Процесс становления личности
влияет на всю культурную практику общества, а также создает представление о том, как мы
ощущаем себя. 4) Все исследователи соглашаются, что как биологическая наследственность, так и
процесс вхождения личности в общество играют важную роль в развитии личности. 5) Сейчас
признано, что недостаточно заботиться о физических потребностях ребенка; родители должны
проявлять интерес к общественному развитию своих детей. 6) Мы все имеем различные
представления и убеждения о том, какие мы. 7) Существуют различные социологические подходы
к понятиям «личность» и «самосознание». 8) Все эти подходы составляют логическую
последовательность, либо подчеркивая процессы, с помощью которых мы начинаем осознавать
себя и взаимодействовать с другими, либо выделяя способы, благодаря которым мы сознательно
создаем образы себя для других. 9) В нашем движении от младенчества к зрелости мы проходим
длительный период развития, включающий детство и отрочество. 10) В своей книге «Сезоны
мужской жизни» психолог Даниэль Левинсон описал жизненный цикл мужчин в Соединенных
Штатах. 11) Его выводы не подходят для описания жизненного цикла женщины, так как до
недавнего времени будущее женщины ограничивалось вступлением в брак и воспитанием детей, а
не достижениями в трудовой деятельности, приносящей доход. 12) Социологи стараются изучить
природу кризиса, который часто наступает в середине жизни человека. 13) Они создали шкалу,
включающую 43 жизненных события, которые вызывают стресс и требуют изменения
социального положения личности в обществе. 14) Существуют различные социальные силы,
которые влияют на нашу жизнь и изменяют наше представление о себе. 15) Одной из таких сил
являются возрастные группы, так как внутри своей возрастной группы молодые люди общаются
со своими сверстниками и обладают одинаковым социальным статусом. 16) Средства массовой
информации (радио, кино и телевидение) играют большую роль в становлении личности. 17)
Телевидение является пассивным способом приобретения жизненного опыта, и очень часто оно не
поощряет использование сложных форм обучения. 18) Важными факторами вхождения личности
в общество являются работа, рабочее место и взаимоотношения с сослуживцами. 19)
Технологические достижения могут изменить требования, предъявляемые к работе, и вызвать
изменения в социальном положении людей. 20) Кроме того, люди меняют свою работу, своих
работодателей и рабочие места во время своей взрослой трудовой деятельности.
II. Reread the texts of unit four again and discuss the problem-questions given in the learning
objectives in the introduction tothe unit.
III. Comment on the following quotation thinking like sociologists:
«Children have more need of models than of critics» (Joseph Joubert «Pensees», 1774).
32
Unit Five. SOCIAL INTERACTION AND
SOCIAL STRUCTURE. SOCIAL CONTROL
Looking Ahead
This unit examines social interaction and the major aspects of social structure. It begins by considering
how social interaction shapes the way we view the world around us. Then the unit focuses on the four
basic elements of social structure: statuses, social roles, groups and institutions, and contrasts different
sociological approaches to their study. Finally, the unit presents the relationship between conformity,
obedience, deviance and social control and the mechanisms of the latter used by societies to establish the
legal order. Particular attention is given to crime and its various types as viewed from the sociological
perspective.
Learning Objectives
After studying this unit you should be able to answer the following questions:
1. How do we redefine social reality through social interaction?
2. How do sociologists use the term «status»?
3. Why are social roles a significant component of social structure?
4. Why do we seek out social groups?
5. How do the social institutions contribute to a society's survival?
6. How does society bring about acceptance of social norms?
7. How does obedience differ from conformity?
8. How do sociologists view the creation of laws?
9. Why is certain behavior evaluated as deviant while other behavior is not? Can we learn deviant
behavior from others?
10. What types of crime do sociologists distinguish?
11. What are the distinctive features of crime in Russia?
Text IX. SOCIAL INTERACTION AND REALITY.
ELEMENTS OF SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Sociologists use the term social interaction to refer to the ways in which people act toward one
another when they meet. Social structure refers to the way in which a society is organized into
predictable relationships. These concepts are central to sociological study because they focus on how
different aspects of human behavior are related to one another.
The distinctive characteristic of social interaction among people is that human beings interpret or
«define» each other's actions. In other words, our response to someone's behavior is based on the meaning
we attach to his or her actions. Reality is shaped by our perceptions, evaluations and definitions. The
ability to define social reality plays a very important role in our socialization within a society because the
definition of the situation molds the thinking and the personality of the individual.
But social reality is not fixed, it changes and people very often take a different view of everyday
behavior. Thus people can reconstruct or redefine social reality and reshape it by negotiating changes in
patterns of social interaction. The term negotiation refers to the attempt to reach agreement with others
concerning some objective.
Negotiation occurs on many levels. Me may negotiate with others regarding time (When should we
arrive?) or space (Can we have a meeting at your house?) or even maintaining places in a shopping line.
In modern industrial societies negotiation can take much more elaborate forms. For example, the tax
structure of a country can hardly be viewed as fixed; rather it reflects the sum of negotiations for change
at any time. It is rather important to understand that negotiations are not merely an aspect of social
interaction; they underline much of our social behavior because most elements of social structure are not
static and are, therefore, subject to change through bargaining, compromising, exchanging.
33
We can add negotiation to our list of cultural universals (see Unit III) because all societies provide
guidelines or norms in which negotiations take place.
The important role of negotiation in social interaction is apparent in examining the elements of social
structure: statuses, social roles, groups and social institutions. These elements make up social structure
just as a foundation, walls, ceilings and furnishings make up a building's structure. We know that
furnishings can vary widely from those of an office building to the elaborate furnishings of a palace.
Similarly, the elements of the society's social structure can vary dramatically.
Statuses. When we speak of a person's «status» in casual conversation, the term usually conveys the
meaning of influence, wealth, and fame. However, sociologists use status to refer to any of the full range
of socially defined positions within a large group or society — from the lowest to the highest position.
Within a society, a person can occupy the status of president of a state, fruit picker, son or daughter,
violinist, teenager, resident of a city, dental technician or neighbor. Clearly, a person holds more than one
status simultaneously. For example, one can be an economist, an author, a sister, a resident of London, an
Englishwoman at the same time.
Some of the statuses we hold are viewed by sociologists as ascribed, while others are categorized as
achieved. An ascribed status is «assigned» to a person by society without regard for the person's unique
talents or characteristics. Generally, this assignment takes place at birth: thus, a person's race, gender, age
and other biological characteristics are all considered ascribed statuses. In most cases, there is little that
people can do to change an ascribed status. We have to adapt to our biological statuses, though we can
attempt to change the way in which society views an ascribed status.
Unlike ascribed statuses, an achieved status is attained by a person largely through his or her own
effort. Both bank president and burglar are achieved statuses, as are lawyer, pianist, advertising executive,
and social worker. One must do something to acquire an achieved status — go to school, learn a skill,
establish a friendship, or invent anew product.
Each person holds many different statuses, but certain statuses are more important than others. A
master status is a status that dominates others and determines a person's general position within society.
For example, while Jacqueline Kennedy Onuses served as a trade book editor at a New York publishing
company, her status as the widow of the late President John F. Kennedy far outweighed her status as an
editor.
Race and gender are given such importance in our society that they often dominate one's life. Indeed,
such ascribed statuses very often influence achieved statuses and can function as master statuses that have
an important impact on one's potential to achieve a desired professional and social status.
Social roles. Throughout our lives we are acquiring what sociologists call social roles. A social role is
a set of expectations for people who occupy a given social position or status. Thus, we expect that cab
drivers will know how to get around a city, that secretaries will be reliable in handling phone messages,
and that police officers will take action if they see a citizen being threatened. With each distinctive social
status — whether ascribed or achieved — come particular role expectations. However, actual
performance varies from individual to individual. One secretary may assume extensive administrative
responsibilities, while another may focus on clerical duties.
Roles are a significant component of social structure, because they contribute to a society's stability by
enabling members to anticipate the behavior of others and to pattern their own actions accordingly. We
learn how to fulfill a social role by observing the behavior and interactions of others.
Groups. In sociology, a group is any number of people with similar norms, values, and expectations,
who regularly and consciously interact. The members of a hospital's business office, of a college
fraternity or sorority, or of a professional basket-ball team constitute a group.
Every society is composed of many groups in which daily social interaction takes place.We seekout
groups to establish friendships, to accomplish certain goals, and to fulfill social roles that we have
acquired. Groups play a vital part in a society's social structure; they are an intermediate link between the
individual and the larger society and much of social interaction and behavior is influenced by the norms
and sanctions established by groups.
Social institutions. The mass media, the government, the economy, the family, and the health care
system are all examples of social institutions found in a society. Social institutions are organized patterns
34
of beliefs and behavior which are centered on basic social needs and which perform functions necessary
for a society's survival.
Sociologists have identified five major tasks, or functional prerequisites that a society must accomplish
if it is to survive. They are shown in the table below.
Other sociologists evaluate the social institutions from a conflict perspective and suggest that the
present organization of social institutions is no accident and the outcome of this organization is not
necessarily efficient and desirable. Moreover, they say that major institutions, such as education, help to
maintain me privileges of the most powerful individuals and groups within a society, while contributing
to the powerlessness of others. As one example, public schools in the United States are financed largely
through property taxes. This allows children from prosperous communities to be better prepared to
compete academically than children from poor communities. Thus, the structure of the American
educational system permits and even promotes such unequal ueatment of schoolchildren.
From a conflict view all institutions have a basic paradox: they are absolutely necessary, yet they are a
source of social problems. It has become fashionable to attack social institutions, such as the family and
the government, in recent years. But we should not forget that people depend on institutions for stability
and guarantees from chaos.
Social institutions affect our daily lives. Whether we are driving down the street or standing in a long
shopping line, our everyday behavior is governed by social institutions. Viewed from an interactionist
perspective, our social behavior is conditioned by the roles and statuses which we accept, by the groups to
which we belong, and by the institutions within which we function. And the roles, statuses, groups and
institutions are, in their turn, influenced by the overall social structure of the modern society.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
I. Read and translate the text using a dictionary if necessary.
II. Find in the text the English equivalents of the following:
предсказуемый (ожидаемый), отличительная черта, ответ (реакция) на, придавать значение
чему-либо, внутри общества, формировать, иметь иное представление о чем-либо, вести переговоры (договариваться) о чем-либо, попытка (пытаться), достигнуть соглашения, относительно
чего-либо (2), очередь в магазине, принимать гораздо более сложные формы, рассматривать чтолибо, отражать, просто (только), подчеркивать, подверженный изменениям, торговаться, идти на
компромисс, обменивать(ся), создавать структуру, значительно отличаться от, подобным образом,
в случайном разговоре, одновременно, иметь статус, в основном (главным образом), достигать,
определять, перевесить, на протяжении нашей жизни, ожидания (надежды), надежный, обходиться
35
(обращаться) с чем-либо, сообщение по телефону, брать на себя ответственность, канцелярские
обязанности,
важный
(значительный),
давать
возможность
(право),
предвкушать
(предчувствовать), моделировать что-либо, соответственно, сознательно, братство, женское
общество, добиваться целей, жизненный (насущный), промежуточное звено, здравоохранение,
убеждение, выживать — выживание, предпосылки, не случайно, поддерживать привилегии,
беспомощность, налог на собственность, процветающая община, содействовать, способствовать
(делать вклад), источник социальных проблем, зависеть от кого-либо в чем-либо, гарантировать,
управлять (регулировать), рассматривать с точки зрения, обусловить, в свою очередь.
III. Supplythe missing words or word combinations choosing among those given below.
1) These concepts focus on how different aspects of human behavior are ... to one another. 2) Our ... to
someone's behavior is based on the meaning we ... to his or her actions. 3) The ... to define social reality
plays a very important role in our socialization ... a society. 4) Thus, people can ... or ... social reality and
... it. 5) In modern society negotiations can take ... forms. 6) Most elements of our social behavior are not
.... and are, therefore,... to change. 7) The elements of a society's social structure can vary ... . 8) In ...
conversation the term «status» usually ... the meaning of influence, wealth, and fame. 9) A person ... more
than one status ... . 10) We have to ... to our biological statuses, though we can ... to change the way in
which they are .... 11) A master status ... others and ... a person's social position. 12) With each ... status
come ... role expectations. 13) However, ... performance varies from individual to individual. 14) Roles
are a ... component of social structure. 15) We learn how ... a social role by ... the behavior and interaction
of others. 16) The members of a college ... or ... constitute a group. 17) We ... groups to establish
friendships. 18) Much of our social interaction is ... by the norms and sanctions ... by groups. 19)
Sociologists have ... five major tasks that a society must ... if it is .... 20) Other sociologists ... the social
institutions from a conflict perspective. 21) The outcome of this organization is not ... efficient and
desirable. 22) Public schools in the USA are ... largely through property taxes. 23) This allows children
from communities to be prepared better ... than children from poor .... 24) It has become ... to attack social
institutions. 25) Social institutions ... our daily life. 26) Our everyday behavior is ... by social institutions
and is ... by the overall social structure of the modern society.
governed, influenced, affect, fashionable, prosperous, to compete academically, communities,
financed, necessarily, evaluate, identified, accomplish, to survive, conditioned, established, seek out,
fraternity, sorority, to fulfill, observing, significant, actual, distinctive, particular, dominates, determines,
adapt, attempt, viewed, holds, simultaneously, casual, conveys, dramatically, static, subject, much more
elaborate, reconstruct, redefine, reshape, ability, within, response, attach, related.
IV. Studythe following word combinations and use them in sentences of your own:
to refer to, to be related to, in other words, to take a different view of, to negotiate changes, to reach
agreement, to be viewed as fixed, to be subject to change, to provide guidelines, to make up smth, to vary
dramatically, without regard for, to far outweigh smth, to dominate one's life, to influence smth, to have
an important impact on, to acquire smth, to handle smth, to assume some responsibilities, to contribute to
smth, to enable smb to do smth, to anticipate smth, to pattern one's actions (behavior) accordingly, to be
composed of, to accomplish a goal, to establish smth, to center on smth, to identify a prerequisite, to
preserve order, to be no accident, to maintain a privilege, to be financed, to promote (un)equal treatment
of smb, to attack smb, to depend on smb for smth, to affect smth, to govern smth, to condition smth, to
belong to smb.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
I. Reread the text and answer the following questions.
36
1) How can you prove that social interaction and social structure are central to sociological study? 2)
Why do we have to reconstruct, redefine and sometimes reshape social reality? 3) Why is it important to
understand that negotiations are not merely an aspect of social interaction? 4) What elements make up the
social structure of a society? 5) How can you account for the fact that a person may hold several statuses?
6) Why are social roles a significant component of social structure? 7) Why do groups play a vital part in
a society's structure too? 8) What social institutions are described in this text? 9) Why has it become
fashionable to attack the social institutions in recent years?
II. Define the following key terms and memorize the definitions:
social interaction, social structure, negotiation, status, ascribed status, achieved status, master status,
social role, social group, social institutions.
III. Speak on social interaction, social reality and the elements of social structure in brief and illustrate
your reports withsituations and examples of your own.
IV. Speak about the status and its kinds, the social role and the social group using your own experience
to illustrate these sociological terms.
V. Speak about the social institutions and different perspectives used by sociologists to view them.
Which of these perspectives do you share and accept? Why?
VI. Comment on the table given in the text and develop the ideas introduced in it.
VII. Comment on the following statements and give your reasons for or against them:
1) We can add negotiations to our list of cultural universals. 2) Race and gender are given such
importance in our society that they often dominate one's life. 3) Social roles contribute to a society's
stability. 4) Much of our social interaction and behavior is influenced and conditioned by the social
groups we belong to. 5) The present organization of social institutions is no accident and the outcome of
this organization is not necessarily efficient and desirable because it often permits and promotes the
inequality of a society's members. 6) We should not forget that people depend on social institutions for
stability and guarantees from chaos.
VIII. Speak about the social reality and the social structure of the Russian society. Have they any
distinctive characteristics that differ our society from the others? Can you suggest any changes that we
should negotiate toreshape our reality? How do the Russian social institutions affect our dailylife? Do
they help any members of our society (whom?) to maintain their privileges (which ones?) and do they
contribute to the powerlessness of others?
Text X. CONFORMITY AND OBEDIENCE.
DEVIANCE AND CRIME
Every culture and society has distinctive norms governing what is called appropriate behavior. Laws,
dress codes, bylaws of organizations, course requirements and rules of sports and games all express social
norms. The term social control refers to the techniques and strategies for regulating human behavior in
any society.
Social control occurs on all levels of society. In the family we obey our parents. In peer groups we
obey informal norms, such as dress codes, that govern the behavior of members. In organizations workers
must cope with a formal system of rules and regulations. Finally, the government of every society
legislates and enforces social norms.
37
Most of us respect and accept basic social norms and assume that others will do the same. Even
without thinking we obey the instructions of police officers, follow the day-to-day rules at our jobs, and
move to the rear of elevators, when people enter. If we fail to do so, we may face punishment through
informal sanctions, such as fear of ridicule, or formal sanctions, such as jail sentences or fines.
Techniques for social control can be viewed on both the group and the society level. Conformity,
obedience and deviance are human responses to real or imagined pressures from others. Conformity goes
along with one's peers — individuals of a person's own status, who have no special right to direct that
person's behavior. By contrast, obedience is defined as compliance with higher authorities in a
hierarchical structure. Thus, a recruit entering military service will typically conform to the habits and
language of other recruits and will obey the orders of superior officers.
The sanctions used to encourage conformity and obedience — and to discourage violation of social
norms — are carried out through informal and formal social control. Informal social control is used by
people casually; examples of such control include smiles, laughter, raising an eye-brow, and ridicule.
Formal social control is carried out by authorized agents, such as police officers, judges, school administrators, employers, military officers and managers of organizations.
Some norms are considered so important by a society that they are formalized into laws controlling
people's behavior. In a political sense, law is the body of rules made by government for society,
interpreted by the courts and backed by the power of the state. Some laws, such as the prohibition against
murder, are directed at all members of society. Others, such as fishing and hunting regulations, are aimed
primarily at particular categories of persons. Still others govern the behavior or social institutions
(corporation law).
Sociologists have become increasingly interested in the creation of laws as a social process. In their
view, law is not merely a static body of rules handed down from generation to generation. Rather, it
reflects continually changing standards of what is right and wrong.
The term opposite to conformity is deviance. For sociologists this term does not mean perversion or
depravity. Deviance is behavior that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or
society. Alcoholics, gamblers, persons with mental illnesses are all classified as deviants. Being late for
class is categorized as a deviant act; the same is true of dressing casually for a formal wedding. On the
basis of the sociological definition, we are all deviant from time to time. Each of us violates common
social norms in certain situations.
Deviance involves the violation of group norms including not only criminal behavior but also many
actions not subject to prosecution. The public official who takes a bribe has defied social norms, but so
has the high school student who refuses to sit in an assigned seat or cuts class. Therefore, deviation from
norms is not always negative, let alone criminal.
Deviance can be understood only within its social context. A photograph of a nude woman or man may
be perfectly appropriate in an art museum but would be regarded as out of place in an elementary school
classroom.
Standards of deviance vary from one group, society or culture to another. In our society it is generally
acceptable to sing along at a rock or folk concert, but not at the opera. Just as deviance is defined by the
social institution, so too is it relative to time. For instance, having an alcoholic drink at 6 p.m. is a
common practice in our culture, but engaging in the same behavior immediately upon arising at 6 a.m. is
viewed as a deviant act and as symptomatic of a drinking problem.
Deviance, then, is a highly relative matter. Russians and Americans may consider it strange for a
person to fight a bull in an arena, before an audience of screaming fans. Yet, we are not nearly so shocked
by the practice of two humans fighting each other with boxing gloves in front of a similar audience.
The highest form of deviation from formal social norms is represented by crime which is a violation of
criminal law for which formal penalties are applied by governmental authority. Crimes are divided by law
into various categories, depending on the severity of the offense, the age of the offender, the potential
punishment and the court which decides this case.
Sociologists distinguish between types of crime on a somewhat different basis and classify crimes in
terms of how they are committed and how the offenses are viewed by society. Thus, viewed from the
sociological perspective, there are five types of crimes:
38
1. Index crimes. This category of criminal behavior generally consists of those serious offenses that
people think of when they express concern about the nation's crime problems. Index crime includes
murder, rape, robbery and assault — all of which are violent crimes committed against people — as well
as the property crimes of burglary, theft, and arson.
2. Professional crime. Many people make a career of illegal activities. A professional criminal is a
person who makes crime as a day-by-day occupation, developing skilled techniques and enjoying a
certain degree of status among other criminals. Some professional criminals specialize in burglary,
safecracking, pick-pocketing, and shoplifting.
3. Organized crime. This term refers to the work of a group that regulates relations between various
criminal enterprises involved in narcotics wholesaling, prostitution, gambling, and other activities.
Organized crime dominates the world of illegal business, allocates territory, sets prices for illegal goods
and services, and acts as an arbitrator in internal disputes.
4. White-collar crime. Certain crimes are committed by «respectable» people in the course of their
daily business activities, and include offenses by businesses or corporations as well as by individuals. A
wide variety of offenses, classified as white-collar crimes, are income tax evasion, stock manipulation,
consumer fraud, bribery, embezzlement, misrepresentation in advertising, computer crime or electronic
fraud.
5. Victimless crimes. In white-collar or index crimes, people's economic or personal well-being is
endangered against their will or without their knowledge. By contrast, sociologists use the term victimless
crimes to describe the willing exchange among adults of widely desired but illegal goods and services:
gambling, prostitution, public drunkenness, and use of drugs.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
I. Read and translate the text using a dictionaryif necessary.
II. Find in the text the English equivalents of the following:
определять (регулировать), постановления (какой-либо организации), подчиняться, справиться
с чем-либо, наконец, создавать законы, проводить в жизнь (закон), предполагать, оказаться в
состоянии сделать что-либо, оказаться перед опасностью наказания, страх, насмешка, тюремное
заключение, штраф, метод (средство), соответствие, подчинение, давление, согласие (уступчивость), вышестоящие власти, иерархический, новобранец, поступать на военную службу,
старшие офицеры, осуществлять, случайно (непостоянно), поднять бровь (в знак удивления), свод
законов, суд (учреждение), поддерживать, быть направленным на правило (положение), быть
нацеленным на, извращение, испорченность (развращение), нарушать нормы поведения, акт
неподчинения, то же самое относится к, не подлежать преследованию, брать взятку, бросать
вызов, вызов (открытое неповиновение), отклонение от норм, не говоря о, неуместный, подпевать,
относительный, кричащие болельщики, применить наказание, строгость (суровость), проступок,
правонарушитель, различать, совершить преступление, проявлять заботу о, убийство,
изнасилование, грабеж, нападение, кража со взломом, воровство, поджог, незаконная
деятельность, взлом сейфа, карманная кража, ограбление магазина, продажа наркотиков, азартные
игры, размещать, назначать цены, третейский судья, внутренние разборки, уклонение от уплаты
налогов на доходы, биржевые манипуляции, обман потребителей, взяточничество, растрата, искажение сведений при рекламе, жертва, личное благосостояние, против воли, добровольный обмен,
пьянство, наркотики (2).
III. Supply the missing words or word combinations choosing among those given below.
1) Every culture and society has destructive norms ... what is called ... behavior. 2) In organization we
must... with a formal system of rules and .... 3) Without thinking we follow the ... rules at our jobs. 4)...
for social control can be viewed on both the group and society ... . 5) The sanctions used to ... conformity
39
and obedience and to ... violation of social norms are... through informal and formal social control. 6)
Informal social control is used by people .... 7) Formal social control is carried out by .... 8) Sociologists
have become ... interested in the creation of laws as a social process. 9) In their view, law is not... a static
body of rules ... from generation to generation. 10) Being late for class is ... as a ... act. 11) Deviance
involves both ... behavior and many actions not ... to prosecution. 12) Standards of deviance ... from one
group to another. 13) In our society it is generally considered ... to ... at a rock or folk concert, but not at
the opera. 14) Sociologists classify crimes in terms of how they are ... and how the offenses are ... by
society. 15) Index crimes consist of serious offenses that people think of when they ... about the nation's
crime problems. 16) Many people make a career of ... . 17) Organized crime refers to the work of a group
that... relations between various criminal ... . 18) Certain crimes are committed by ... people in the course
of their .... 19) There is a wide ... of offenses that are classified as ... . 20) In white-collar or index crimes,
people's economic or personal... is ... against their ... or without their .... 21)... sociologists use the term
victimless crimes to describe the ... exchange among ... of widely ... but ... goods and services.
by contrast, willing, adults, desired, illegal, well-being, endangered, will, knowledge, variety, whitecollar crimes, «respectable», daily business activities, regulates, enterprises, illegal activities, express
concern, committed, viewed, acceptable, sing along, vary, criminal, subject, categorized, deviant, merely,
handed down, increasingly, authorized agents, casually, encourage, discourage, carried out, techniques,
level, day-to-day, cope, regulations, governing, appropriate.
IV. Studythe following word combinations and use them in sentences of your own.
to govern smth, to occur on a level, to obey smb, to cope with smth, to legislate smth, to enforce smth,
to respect and to accept smth, to follow the day-to-day rules, to fail to do smth, to face smth, a response to
smth, to go along with smth, to direct smth at smb, to conform to smth, to encourage smb to do smth, to
discourage smb from doing smth, to carry out smth, to back smth, to be aimed at smth, to become
increasingly interested in smth, to be opposite to smth, to violate the standards of conduct, to be late for
smth, on the basis of smth, to be subject to prosecution, to take a bribe, to defy social norms, to cut
classes, let alone smth, to be out of place, to be relative to smth, to be a common practice, to be
symptomatic of smth, to be divided into various categories, to distinguish between smth, in terms of, to
consist of smth, to express concern about smth, to make smth as a day-by-day occupation, to develop
skilled techniques, to specialize in smth, to commit a crime, to misrepresent in advertising, to endanger
one's well-being.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
I. Reread the text and answer the following questions.
1) What aspects of human life can express social norms? 2) On what levels can social control occur? 3)
What may happen if we fail to obey basic social norms? 4) How can conformity and obedience be
established in society? 5) Can you give examples of informal and formal social control? 6) How are laws
formalized and who are they directed and aimed at? 7) Why have sociologists become increasingly
interested in the creation of laws? 8) Can you give examples of deviants and deviant acts? 9) How can
you prove that deviance involves both criminal behavior and many actions not subject to prosecution? 10)
Can you prove that standards of deviance vary from society to society? 11) What examples can you give
to show that deviance is a highly relative matter? 12) On what basis do sociologists distinguish between
types of crime? 13) How many types of crimes are there if they are viewed from the sociological
perspective?
II. Define the following key terms and memorize the definitions:
social control, conformity, obedience, law, deviance, crime.
40
III. Speak on the following topics in brief and illustrate your reports with situations and examples of
your own:
1. Social control and its mechanisms.
2. Deviance, its types and variations.
3. Crime as it is viewed from the sociological perspective.
IV. Comment on the following statements and give your reasons for or against them employing your
own experience:
1) Techniques for social control can be viewed on both the group and the society level. 2) On the basis
of the sociological definition, we are all deviant from time to time because each of us violates common
social norms in certain situations. 3) Deviance is a highly relative matter.
V. Speak about conformity, deviance, and social control:
a) in the Russian society in general; b) in your peer group, in particular.
Revision Exercises on Unit five
I. Revise the active vocabulary and the definitions of the key terms of unit five and translate the
following intoEnglish.
1) Отличительной чертой социального взаимоотношения между людьми является то, что люди
интерпретируют или определяют поступки друг друга. 2) Иными словами, наша реакция на поведение других основывается на том значении, которое мы вкладываем в их поступки. 3) Но
общественная реальность непостоянна, она изменяется, и люди часто воспринимают поведение
окружающих по-другому. 4) Важная роль переговоров в социальном взаимодействии становится
особенно очевидной при рассмотрении элементов социальной структуры. 5) Когда мы упоминаем
статус личности в случайном разговоре, термин обычно означает влияние, богатство и славу. 6) Во
многих обществах большое значение имеют при определении статуса расовая принадлежность и
пол. 7) Каждому отдельному статусу соответствуют особые виды на будущую общественную
роль. 8) Мы выбираем социальную группу, чтобы завязать дружбу, добиться определенных целей
или выполнить выбранную общественную роль. 9) Социальные институты влияют на нашу
повседневную жизнь. 10) С точки зрения социологии наше общественное поведение обусловлено
статусом и ролью, которую мы принимаем; группой, к которой мы принадлежим, и
общественными учреждениями, в которых мы функционируем. 11) Каждая культура и каждое
общество имеют свои нормы, регулирующие то, что принято называть правильным общественным
поведением. 12) Большинство людей уважают и принимают основные общественные нормы,
предполагая, что другие поступают так же. 13) Средства общественного контроля можно
рассматривать как на уровне группы, так и на уровне общества. 14) Некоторые нормы
рассматриваются обществом как особенно важные, и они формулируются в законы, контролирующие поведение людей. 15) В политическом смысле закон — это свод правил, созданных
государственной властью для общества. 16) На основе социологического определения мы все
отступаем от установленных норм время от времени. 17) Преступления подразделяются законом
на различные категории в зависимости от степени уголовной ответственности, возраста
правонарушителя, потенциального наказания и суда, рассматривающего дело. 18) Социологи
подразделяют преступления на несколько другой основе и классифицируют их с точки зрения
того, как они совершаются и как они оцениваются обществом.
II. Reread the texts of unit five again and discuss the problem-questions given in the learning
objectives in the introduction tothe unit.
41
III. Comment on the following quotations thinking like sociologists:
1) All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts...
(William Shakespeare «As You Like It», 1599-1600).
2) «When is conduct a crime, and when is a crime not a crime? When Somebody Up There — a
monarch, a dictator, a Pope, a legislator — so decrees» (Jessica Mitford «Kind and Usual Punishment»,
1971).
42
Unit Six. SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS:
THE FAMILY, THE RELIGION
Looking Ahead
This unit starts considering sociological analysis of the major social institutions. First, it focuses on the
family and its importance as a cultural universal. Particular attention is given to the functions of the
family. Then the unit presents religion and the world's major religious faiths. The basic functions of
religion are explored and different sociological approaches to studying religion are introduced. Finally,
the unit analyzes the process of secularization in modern industrial society on the one hand, and the
increasing influence of religion within contemporary human life on the other hand.
Learning Objectives
After studying this unit you should be able to answer the following questions:
1. Are all families necessarily composed of a husband, a wife, and their children?
2. How do societies vary in the way that power within the family is distributed?
3. What functions does the family perform for society?
4. What are the basic forms of religious organization? Which of them prevails in modern industrial
society and why?
5. What sociological approaches to the functions of religion are known? Why did Karl Marx view
religion as a form of social control within an oppressive society?
6. Will religion survive despite the process of secularization?
Text XI. THE FAMILY: UNIVERSAL BUT VARIED
The family as a social institution is present in all cultures. A family can be defined as a set of persons
related by blood, marriage (or some agreed-upon relationship) or adoption who share the primary
responsibility for reproduction and caring for members of society. Although the organization of the
family can very greatly, there are certain general principles concerning its composition, descent patterns,
residence patterns, and authority patterns.
Composition: What Is the Family?
In human society the family has traditionally been viewed in very narrow terms — as a married couple
and their unmarried children living together. However, this is but one type of family, what sociologists
refer to as a nuclear family upon which larger family groups are built. But only a certain part of
households will fit this model. A family in which relatives other than parents and children — such as
grandparents, aunts and uncles — live in the same home is know as an extended family. While not
common, such living arrangements do exist. The structure of the extended family offers certain
advantages. Crises, such as death, divorce, and illness involve less strain for family members, since there
are more individuals who can provide assistance and emotional support. In addition, the extended family
constitutes a larger economic unit than the nuclear family. If the family is engaged in a common
enterprise — for example, running a farm or a small business — the additional family members may
represent the difference between prosperity and failure.
In considering these differing family types, we have limited ourselves to the term of marriage which is
called monogamy. The term monogamy describes a form of marriage in which one woman and one man
are married only to each other. Some observers, noting a high rate of divorce in modern society, have
suggested a more accurate term «serial monogamy» under which a person is allowed to have several
spouses in his or her life but can have only one spouse at a time.
Some cultures allow an individual to have several husbands or wives simultaneously. This form of
marriage is known as polygamy. You may be surprised to learn that most societies throughout the world,
past and present, have exhibited a preference for polygamy, not monogamy. Polygamy cultures devalue
the social worth of women.
43
Descent Patterns: To Whom Are We Related?
The state of being related to others is called kinship.The family and the kin group are not necessarily
the same. While the family is a household unit, kin do not always live or function together. Kin groups
include aunts, cousins, in-laws, and so forth.
Family Residence: Where Do We Live?
Formally, a married couple is expected to establish a separate household. However, if we take a crosscultural view, it is relatively uncommon. In many societies, the bride and groom live either with his or her
parents. The reason for it is that the new couples need the emotional support and especially the economic
support of their kinfolk.
Authority Patterns: Who Rules?
Imagine that you are recently married and must begin to make decisions about the future of your new
family. Immediately, an issue is raised: «Who has the power to make the decision?», in simpler terms,
who rules the family?
Societies vary in the way that power within the family is distributed. If a society expects males to
dominate in all family decision making, it is termed a patriarchy. Women hold low status in such
societies. By contrast, in a matriarchy, women have greater authority than men. But researchers have
come to the conclusion that in modern history there is not a society which truly has this pattern of family
organization.
Some marital relationships may be neither male-dominated nor female-dominated. The third type of
authority pattern, the egalitarian family, is one in which spouses are regarded as equals. This does not
mean, however, that each decision is shared in such families. Mothers may hold authority in some
spheres, fathers in others. In the view of many sociologists, the egalitarian family has begun to replace the
patriarchal family as the social norm.
Functions of the Family: Do We Really Need the Family?
A century ago Frederick Engels, a colleague of Karl Marx, described the family as «the ultimate
source of social inequality». More recently other theorists have stated that the family contributes to social
injustice, denies opportunities to women, and limits freedom in sexual expression and mate selection.
In order to evaluate such issues, it is helpful to examine the functions the family fulfills. There are six
of them:
1. Reproduction. For a society to maintain itself, it must replace dying members.
2. Protection. Human infants need constant care, economic security, upbringing.
3. Socialization. Parents and other kin monitor a child's behavior and transmit the norms, values and
language of a culture to the child.
4. Regulation of sexual behavior. Standards of sexual behavior are most clearly defined within the
family circle.
5. Affection and companionship. The family is obliged to serve the emotional needs of its members.
We expect our relatives to understand us, to care for us, and to be there with us when we need them.
6. Providing of social status. We inherit a social position because of the «family background» and
reputation of our parents. Moreover, the family resources affect our ability to pursue certain opportunities
such as higher education and specialized lessons.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
I. Read and translate the text using a dictionaryif necessary.
II. Find in the text the English equivalents for the following:
быть связанным узами крови (брака), заранее определенные отношения, делить
ответственность, заботиться о ком-либо (любить), очень отличаться, состав (семьи),
рассматриваться очень узко, семья (домашние, хозяйство), подходить (соответствовать) чемулибо, развод, так...как, оказывать помощь и поддержку, вести хозяйство, процветание, неудача
(провал), ограничиваться чем-либо, жениться на (выйти замуж за), состоять в браке с, высокий
44
уровень разводов, супруг(а), одновременно, оказывать предпочтение чему-либо, обесценивать
социальную значимость, происхождение, родство — родственники (2), родственники (со стороны
жены или мужа), и так далее, местожительство, жить отдельно, жених и невеста, принимать
решения, возникает проблема, проще говоря, супружеские отношения, иметь вес (влияние),
заменять, основной источник, общественное неравенство, вести к социальной несправедливости,
лишать женщин возможностей, ограничивать свободу, выбор партнера (супруга), несовершеннолетний, нуждаться в постоянной заботе, безопасность, воспитание, внутри семейного
окружения, любовь, товарищество (общение), реализовать возможности.
III. Supply the missing words or word combinations choosing among those given below.
1) A family can be defined as a set of persons related by some ... relationship. 2) There are certain
general principles ... the family organization. 3) In human society the family has been traditionally viewed
in very ... . 4) The structure of the extended family ... certain advantages. 5) Crises involve less ... for
extended families. 6) Extended families are often ... in a common enterprise. 7) Some sociologists, noting
a high ... of divorce, have suggested a more ... term «serial monogamy». 8) Most societies ... the world
have ... a preference for polygamy, not monogamy. 9) The state of being related to other is called ... but...
do not always live or function together. 10) Formally, a married couple is expected ... a separate
household. 11) Societies vary in the way that power within the family is ....12) Some ...relationships may
be neither ... nor ... . 13) In the egalitarian family ... are regarded as ... . 14) This does not mean that in the
egalitarian family each decision is ... . 15) For a society ... itself, it must ... dying members. 16) Human ...
need ... care, economic ... and ... . 17) We ... a social position because of the «family background» and the
... of our parents. 18) Moreover, the family resources ... our ability ... certain opportunities.
affect, to pursue, inherit, reputation, infants, constant, security, upbringing, to maintain, replace,
shared, spouses, equals, marital, male-dominated, female-dominated, distributed, to establish, kinship,
kin, throughout, exhibited, rate, accurate, engaged, a train, offers, narrow terms, concerning, agreedupon.
IV. Studythe following word combinations and use then in sentences of your own.
to be related by, to share responsibilities, to care for, to vary greatly, to be viewed in very narrow
terms, to fit smth, to offer certain advantages, to involve strain for smth, to provide assistance and
support, to be engaged in a common enterprise, to limit oneself to, at a time, to exhibit, a preference for,
to devalue smb's social worth, to establish a separate household, either ... or ... , a reason for, to make
decisions about, to be termed, to come to a conclusion, neither ... nor ..., to be regarded as equals, to hold
authority, in order to do smth, to need constant care, to monitor smth, to be obliged, to pursue certain
opportunities.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
I. Reread the text and answer the following questions.
1) What is the family as far as its composition is concerned? 2) What living arrangements exist in
human society? 3) How can you prove that the extended family offers certain advantages over the nuclear
family? 4) What forms of marriage do you know? 5) What does the cross-cultural view about the family
residence show? 6) How do societies vary in the way that power within the family is distributed? 7) Do
you agree that in the egalitarian family spouses are regarded as equals? 8) Do you believe that the
egalitarian family will replace the patriarchal family in our society? 9) What are the functions of the
family in modern society? 10) Why do you think it is helpful to examine the functions the family fulfills?
II. Define the following key terms and memorize the definitions:
45
family, nuclear family, extended family, monogamy, «serial monogamy», polygamy, kinship,
patriarchy, matriarchy, egalitarian family.
III. Speak on the family, its aspects, structure, patterns and functions in brief and illustrate your reports
withexamples and situations of your own.
IV. Comment on the title of the text «The family: Universal but Varied».
V. Speak about your family, your parents and kin viewing them from the sociological perspective and
employing the sociological terms described in the text.
VI. Comment on the following and give your reasons for or against.
1) Most societies throughout the world, past and present, have exhibited a preference for polygamy,
not monogamy. 2) Researchers have come to the conclusion that in modern history there is not a society
which truly has the matriarchal pattern of family organization. 3) In the egalitarian family the mother
holds authority in some spheres, the father — in others. 4) «The family is the ultimate source of social
inequality» (Friedrich Engels). Does it still hold true?
Text XII. RELIGION
We have already studied cultural universals, i.e. general practices found in every culture — such as
dancing, food preparation, the family, and personal names. Religion is clearly such a cultural universal
and religious institutions are evident in all societies. At present, an estimated 3.6 billion persons belong to
the world's major religious faiths.
Religion is found throughout the world because it offers answers to such ultimate questions as why we
exist, why we succeed or fail, and why we die. It is difficult to determine with certainty when religious
behavior began, but anthropological evidence suggests that such behavior was evident at least 100 000
years ago.
Nowadays the world's principal religions include the following religious faiths:
1. Christianity or the Christian religion. This religion is based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ
and is named after him. Jesus Christ was expected to save the Jews. He established Christianity and was
considered by the Christians to be the son of the God. Christianity was established in the 1st century AD.
and later developed into a ruling religion. Now it is one of the world's major religions.
In the course of time Christianity was divided into several branches. Roman Catholicism is a branch
of the Christian religion, the Roman Catholic Church, whose leader, the Pope, rules from Rome.
Protestantism is a part of the Christian Church that separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the
16th century. These two religious faiths are the national religions of many countries in Europe, North and
South America, and Australia. The third major branch of Christianity is Orthodox. The Orthodox Church
or the Eastern (Greek) Church is contrasted with the Roman or Western Church. It came into being with
the fall of the Roman Empire in the 4th century and developed into a world's major religion in the IX—XI
centuries in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire, Byzantium. Nowadays the Orthodox Church includes
the national churches of Eastern Europe. Among the other Christian faiths is the Anglican Church or the
Church of England which was established in the 16th century as a branch of the Christian Church and
now it has about 30 min followers. All in all, there are over 1.6 billion total Christians in the world.
2. Islam. The founder of this religion is the great Arabian prophet Mohammed or Muhammad (570(?)632 AD). The followers of Islam are called Moslems or Muslims. This religious faith is the national
religion of many countries in Asia and Africa. The followers of this religion worship Allah (the Arabic
word for «God»).
46
3. Buddhism. This religion is founded by Buddha, the great religious teacher who lived in India about
2500 years ago. The followers of this religion are called Buddhists. This is the national religion of India
and some other countries of Asia.
4. Judaism, the religion of the Jews.
5. Hinduism, the religious system of the Hindus (the largest social and religious subdivision of the
population of India).
6. Chinese Folk Religions. Although some particular religious faiths dominate some areas and
countries of the world, nowadays even within the same society, there is a diversity of beliefs, rituals, and
experiences that characterize its religious life, and people turn to a variety of religions for answers to
ultimate questions of existence.
In modern societies religious behavior is organized in four basic forms: the ecclesia, the denomination,
the sect, and the cult.
An ecclesia is a religious organization that claims to include most of or all the members of a society
and is recognized as the national or official religion. Examples of an ecclesia include the Lutheran church
in Sweden, the Catholic church in Spain, Islam in Iran. In a society with an ecclesia the political and
religious institutions often act in harmony and mutually reinforce each other, though within the modern
world, the ecclesia tends to be declining in power.
A denomination is a large, organized religion that is not officially linked with the state or government.
Though considered respectable within a society, it lacks the official recognition and power held by an
ecclesia. No nation of the world has more denominations than the United States because many settlers in
«the new world» brought with them the native religions of their homelands. Thus, there is a diversity of
Christian religions in the United States and some non-Christian faiths as well.
A sect is a relatively small religious group that has broken away from some other religious
organization to renew what it views as the original vision of the faith. Sects are fundamentally at odds
with society, they are often short-lived and do not seek to become established national religions.
A cult is a generally small, secretive religious group that represents either a new religion or a major
innovation of an existing faith.
Sociologists have recognized the critical importance of religion in human societies. They see its appeal
for the individual and due to that appeal they view religion as a social institution and evaluate its impact
on human societies.
Since religion is a cultural universal, it fulfills several basic functions within human societies. In
viewing religion as a social institution sociologists stress the following major functions of religion in
modern society: integration, social control, and social support. Religion offers people meaning and
purpose for their lives, it gives them certain ultimate values which help a society to function as an
integrated social system, reinforce other social institutions and the social order as a whole. Religion can
offer people social support. Most of us find it difficult to accept the stressful events of life — death of a
loved one, serious illness, bankruptcy, divorce, and so forth, especially when something «senseless»
happens. Religion encourages us to view our personal misfortunes as relatively unimportant, as being
«God's will». This perspective may be much more comforting than the terrifying feeling that any of us
can die senselessly at any moment. Besides, religion offers consolation to people by giving them hope
that they can achieve eternal happiness in an afterlife.
But not all social scientists look upon religion in this perspective. Karl Marx described religion as an
«opiate» particularly harmful to oppressed peoples. In his view and later in the view of conflict theorists,
religion often drugged the masses into submission by offering them a consolation for their harsh lives on
earth: the hope of happiness in an ideal afterlife. In simpler terms, religion keeps people from seeing their
lives in political terms and diverts their attention from earthly problems. From Marx's perspective,
religion promotes stability within society and therefore helps to maintain social inequality. Religion
reinforces the interests of those in power and the subordination of the powerless. Finally, Marxists
suggest that religion lessens the possibility of collective political action that can end oppression and
transform society.
47
In contemporary industrial societies, scientific and technological advances have increasingly affected
all aspects of life, including the social institution of religion. The term secularization refers to the process
through which religion's influence on social life diminishes. But despite the fact that this process is
evident and other social institutions — such as the economy, politics, and education — maintain
independence of religious guidance at present, it would be incorrect to conclude that religion is in decline.
Religion will survive in the private spheres of individual and family life and on a personal level because
people appear to be turning to religion as they lose confidence in other important institutions of social
life. At present, religion continues to be an important influence on human society.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
I. Read and translate the text using a dictionaryif necessary.
II. Find in the text English equivalents of the following:
вера (вероучение), по крайней мере, с течением времени, отделиться от, сравниваться с
(противопоставляться чему-либо), возникнуть, падение Римской империи, установить, последователь, основатель (основать), пророк, поклониться кому-либо, разнообразие (2), экклесия (верность
церкви), вероисповедание (отличное от официальной религии), секта, культ, претендовать
(заявлять), взаимно усиливать друг друга, терять власть, не иметь официального признания,
отделиться (порвать с), привлекательность, социальная поддержка, несчастье, утешать
(успокаивать), бессмысленно, утешение, приводить кого-либо к покорности, тяжелая жизнь,
проще говоря, отвлекать чье-либо внимание от земных проблем, обеспечивать стабильность,
сохранять неравенство, власть предержащие, бесправные, успехи, уменьшаться (снижаться),
несмотря на, руководство, выжить, терять веру в, вечные ценности.
III. Supplythe missing words and word combinations choosing among those given below.
1) Cultural universals are ... found in every culture. 2) Religion is ... such a cultural universal, and
religious institutions are ... in all societies. 3) It is difficult to ... with certainty when religions behavior
began. 4) Christianity is ... on the life and ... of Jesus Christ. 5) The Orthodox Church is ... with the
Roman Church. 6) Although some particular religious faiths ... certain areas and countries of the world,
people turn to ... of religions for answers to ... questions of existence. 7) In a society with an ecclesia, the
political and religious institutions often act ... and mutually ... each other. 8) Most of us find it difficult to
accept ... events of life. 9) Religion ... us to view our personal ... as ... unimportant. 10) Religion offers ...
to people by giving them hope of ... happiness in ... . 11) Karl Marx described religion as particularly ... to
oppressed peoples. 12) From Marx's perspective, religion ... stability and helps ... social inequality. 13) In
... industrial societies, scientific and technological ... have ... affected all aspects of life. 14) At present,
other social institutions maintain ... of religious ... . 15) People ... to be turning to religion as they lose ...
in other important institutions of social life. 16) At present, religion continues to be an important ... on
human society.
influence, appear, confidence, independence, guidance, contemporary, advances, increasingly,
promotes, to maintain, harmful, consolation, eternal, an afterlife, encourages, misfortunes, relatively,
stressful, in harmony, reinforce, dominate, a variety, ultimate, contrasted, based, teachings, determine,
clearly, evident, general practices.
IV. Studythe following word combinations and use them in sentences of your own:
to belong to, to offer answers to ultimate questions, in the course of time, to come into being, to be
recognized, to decline in power, to break away from, to renew smth, to be at odds with, to offer social
support, to offer consolation, to look upon smth, to drug smb into submission, to keep smb from doing
48
smth, to reinforce the interests of those in power, to lessen a possibility to do smth, to maintain
independence of, to lose confidence in, to be an important influence on.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
I. Reread the text and answer the following questions.
1) Why do you think that religion is a cultural universal? 2) What are the world's principal religions?
3) What are the basic forms of organized religious behavior? What is the difference between them? 4)
Why do you think sociologists have recognized the critical importance of religion in human societies? 5)
What are the major functions of religion, if viewed from the sociological perspective? 6) How are these
functions fulfilled by religion? 7) In what perspective did Karl Marx and other conflict theorists look
upon religion? 8) What diminishes the role and influence of religion within the contemporary society? 9)
How can you prove that religion will survive and remain an important aspect of life in modern industrial
societies?
II. Define the following key terms and memorize the definitions:
religion, ecclesia, denomination, sect, cult, secularization.
III. Speak on the following topics:
1) The world's principal religions. 2) Basic forms of religious behavior. 3) Functions of religion as a
social institution. 4) Different sociological approaches to religion. Which of them do you share and why?
5) Secularization of modern society. 6) The increasing influence of religion within the contemporary
Russian society.
Revision Exercises on Unit Six
I. Revise the active vocabulary and the definitions of the key terms of unit six and translate the
following intoEnglish.
1) Хотя организация семьи значительно отличается в разных обществах, существуют
определенные общие принципы определения ее состава, происхождения, местожительства и
старшинства. 2) Некоторые исследователи, отмечая высокий уровень разводов в современном
обществе, предложили более точный термин «последовательное единобрачие». 3) Вам будет
интересно узнать, что большинство обществ во всем мире отдали предпочтение многобрачию, а не
единобрачию. 4) Исследователи пришли к выводу, что в современной истории нет общества, которое действительно имело бы организацию семьи, называемую матриархатом. 5) Родители и другие
родственники контролируют поведение ребенка и передают ему поведенческие нормы, нравственные ценности и язык данной культуры. 6) Семья обязана проявлять любовь и дружеское
участие к своим членам. 7) Мы надеемся, что наши родственники поймут нас, позаботятся о нас и
будут рядом с нами, когда мы в них нуждаемся. 8) Трудно определить наверняка, когда возникла
религия, но антропологи утверждают, что религиозные отношения существовали по крайней мере
уже 100 000 лет назад. 9) Хотя определенные религиозные вероучения господствуют в некоторых
областях и странах мира, сейчас даже внутри одного общества существует большое разнообразие
верований и обрядов, которые характеризуют религиозную жизнь этого общества. 10) В
современном мире экклесия имеет тенденцию ослаблять свою власть. 11) Ни одна нация в мире не
имеет столько вероисповеданий, как Соединенные Штаты, так как переселенцы в «Новый свет»
привезли с собой религию своей родины. 12) Социологи признают важное значение религии в
человеческом обществе и ее привлекательность для отдельного индивидуума. 13) Религия
предлагает людям вечные ценности, которые помогают обществу укрепить другие социальные
49
институты и общественный порядок в целом. 14) Религия предлагает людям утешение, давая
надежду на вечное счастье в загробном мире. 15) Карл Маркс и другие теоретики рассматривали
религию как опиум, особенно опасный для угнетенных народов, так как религия отвлекала их
внимание от земных проблем и снижала возможность коллективного политического действия,
направленного на то, чтобы покончить с угнетением и преобразовать общество. 16)
Секуляризация современного общества ослабляет влияние религии на общественную жизнь, но
было бы неверно заключить, что религия в наше время находится в упадке.
II. Reread the texts of unit six again and discuss the problem — questions given in the learning
objectives in the introduction tothe unit.
III. Comment on the following quotations thinking like sociologists.
1) «The couple is a basic unit of society. It is the unit of reproduction, the wellspring of the family, and
most often the precinct of love, romance, and sexuality» (Philip Blumstein and Pepper Schwartz
«American Couples», 1983).
2) «Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the feelings of a heartless world.... It is the opiate of
the people» (Karl Marx «Introduction to the Critique of the Hegelian Philosophy of Right», 1844).
50
Unit Seven. SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS:
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS. THE ECONOMY
Looking Ahead
This unit continues considering the sociological analysis of social institutions. First, it studies politics,
its sources and basic types of government in a political system. Special attention is given to political
socialization and citizens' participation in political life. The question «Who does rule in a society?» is
posed and models of power structure are contrasted. Then, the unit examines the economic classification
of societies and modern economic systems with particular emphasis on the rise of multinational
corporations and their negative impact on the economic and political life of both industrialized and
developing nations.
Learning Objectives
After studying this unit, you should be able to answer the following questions:
1. How are systems of power and authority organized?
2. How does a democracy differ from a totalitarian state?
3. How do we acquire our political beliefs?
4. Who does rule in a society?
5. How do capitalism and socialism differ as ideal types?
6. What impact do multinational corporations have on the world's industrialized and developing
nations?
Text XIII. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
A political system is a cultural universal and a social institution formed in every society. Each society
must have a political system because polities is deciding who gets what, when and how.
Power is at the heart of a political system, for it is defined as the ability to exercise one's will ever
others. Power relations can involve large organizations, small groups, or even people in an intimate
association.
There are three basic sources of power within any political system — force, influence and authority.
Force is the actual or threatened use of coercion to impose one's will on others. When leaders imprison or
even execute political dissidents, they are applying force; so, too, are terrorists when they seize an
embassy or assassinate a political leader.
Influence, on the other hand, refers to the exercise of power through a process of persuasion. A citizen
may change his or her political position because of the newspaper editorial, an expert testimony, or a
stirring speech at a rally by a political activist.
The term authority refers to power that has been institutionalized and is recognized by the people over
whom it is exercised. Sociologists commonly use this term in connection with those who hold legitimate
power through elected or publicly acknowledged positions.
Each society establishes a political system by which it is governed. In modern industrial societies there
are five basic types of government:
monarchy, oligarchy, dictatorship, totalitarianism and democracy.
A monarchy is a form of government headed by a single member of a royal family, usually a king, or a
queen. At present, monarchs hold true governmental power in only a few nations, such as Monaco. Most
monarchs have little practical power and primarily serve ceremonial purposes.
An oligarchy is a form of government in which a few individuals rule. Today, it usually takes the form
either of military rule, like in the developing nations of Africa, Asia and Latin America, or of a ruling
group as is the case with the Communist Parties of some countries in Europe and Asia, the Soviet Union
including.
51
A dictatorship is a government in which one person has nearly total power to make and enforce laws.
Typically, dictators seize power by force and are usually bitterly hated by the population over whom they
rule with an iron hand.
Frequently, dictatorships develop such overwhelming control over people's lives that they are called
totalitarian. Totalitarianism involves complete governmental control over all aspects of social and
political life in a society. Both Nazi Germany under Hitler and the Soviet Union after the October
Revolution are classified as totalitarian states.
Political scientists have identified six basic characteristics of a totalitarian state: 1) Large-scale use of
ideology. 2) One-party system. 3) Control of weapons. 4) Terror. 5) Control of the media. 6) Control of
the economy. Through such methods totalitarian governments have complete control over people's
destinies.
In a literal sense, democracy means government by the people. The word «democracy» is originated in
two Greek roots — «demos», meaning «the common people», and «kratia», meaning «rule». Of course, it
would be impossible for all the people of a country to vote on every important issue that comes about.
Consequently, democracies are generally maintained through a mode of participation known as
representative democracy, in which certain individuals are selected to speak for the people.
Each society has its own ways of governing itself and making decisions, and each generation must be
encouraged to accept a society's basic political values and its particular methods of decision making.
Political socialization is the process by which individuals acquire political attitudes and develop patterns
of political behavior.
The principal institutions of political socialization are the family, schools, and the media. Many
observers see the family as playing a particularly significant role in this process, as parents views have an
important impact on their children's outlook. The schools can be influential in political socialization, too,
since they provide young people with information and analysis of the political world. All societies, even
democracies, use educational institutions for this purpose and political education generally reflects the
norms and values of the prevailing political order. Like the family and schools, the mass media can have
obvious effects on people's thinking and political behavior. Today, many speeches given by a nation's
leaders are designed not for immediate listeners, but for the larger television audience. Yet, a number of
studies have reported that the media do not tend to influence the masses of people directly. Messages
passed through the media first reach a small number of opinion leaders including teachers, religious
authorities, and community activists, and later, these leaders «spread the word» to others over whom they
have influence.
In theory, a representative democracy functions most effectively if the majority of its citizens gets
involved in the political process. Unfortunately, this is hardly the case in our contemporary societies.
Though the majority is familiar with the basics of the political life, but, only a small minority (often
members of the higher social classes) actually participates in political organizations on a local or national
level.
Sociologists note that people are more likely to participate actively in political life if they feel that they
have the ability to influence politicians and the political order. In addition, citizens are willing to become
involved if they trust political leaders or feel that an organized political party represents their interests.
Without question, in an age marked by revelation of political corruption at the highest level, many
members of all social groups feel powerless and distrustful. As a result, many view political participation,
including voting at presidential elections, as a waste of time.
When we speak about models of power structure, it is important to answer the following questions:
Who really holds power in a society? Do «we the people» really run the country through elected
representatives? Or is there a small elite of people that governs behind the scenes? It is difficult to
determine the location of power in a society as complex as modern industrial ones. In exploring these
critical questions, social scientists have developed two basic views of a nation's power structure: the elite
and the pluralist models.
The elite model is a view of society as ruled by a small group of individuals who share a common set
of political and economic interests. Very often it is the power elite, if all power — industrial, military,
governmental — rests in the hands of a few who control the fate of a state. Some sociologists do not fully
52
accept this power elite model and suggest that, in this case, a society is run and controlled by a social
upper class, that is a ruling class that exercises the dominant role in politics, economy and government.
By contrast, the pluralist model is a view of society in which many conflicting groups within a
community have access to governmental officials and compete with one another in an attempt to
influence policy decisions.
Without question, the pluralist and elite models have little in common and each describes a
dramatically different distribution of power. Yet, each model offers an accurate picture of the political life
in contemporary society. Power in various areas rests in the hands of a small number of citizens (elite
view), yet within contemporary society there are a great number of political institutions and agencies with
differing ideas and interests (pluralist model). Thus, we may end this discussion with one common point
of the elite and pluralist perspective — power in a contemporary political system is unequally distributed;
all citizens may be equal in theory, yet those high in a nation's power structure are «more equal».
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
I. Read and translate the text, using a dictionaryif necessary.
II. Find in the text English equivalents of the following:
осуществлять свою волю над кем-либо, принуждение, навязывать волю, заключить в тюрьму,
совершить политическое убийство, убеждать (убеждения), передовица, показание (свидетельство),
страстная речь, применять власть над кем-либо, обладать законной властью, руководить
(управлять), править, как в случае, создавать и проводить в жизнь законы, захватывать власть
силой, часто, широкомасштабный, судьба (2), в буквальном смысле, голосовать, следовательно,
выбирать, говорить от имени народа, приобретать политические взгляды, взгляды родителей,
мировоззрение, преобладать (преобладающий), оказывать явное влияние на, мышление,
теоретически, к сожалению, быть знакомым с основами, участвовать (участие), доверять,
представлять интересы, несомненно, обнаруживать (признание, открытие), недоверчивый,
президентские выборы, пустая трата времени, выборные, представители, за кулисами, исследовать
критический вопрос, иметь общие интересы, иметь доступ к чему-либо, государственные
чиновники, иметь мало общего, находиться в руках (власть).
III. Supplythe missing words and word combinations choosing among those given below.
1) Power is the ability to ... one's will over others. 2) Force is the actual or ... use of coercion ... one's
will on others. 3) Influence is the exercise of power through a process of ... . 4) Authority refers to those
who hold ... power through ... or publicly ... positions. 5) Each society ... a political system by which it is
... . 6) Most monarchs have little practical power and primarily ... ceremonial purposes. 7) A dictator is a
person who has nearly ... power to make and ... laws. 8) Frequently, dictatorships develop ... control over
people's lives. 9) One of the characteristics of a totalitarian state is ... use of ideology. 10) Political
socialization is the process by which individuals ... political ... and develop ... of political behavior. 11)
The family plays a particularly ... role in political socialization. 12) Parents'... have an important ... on
children's ... . 13) Schools ... young people with information and analysis of the political world. 14)
Political education generally ... the norms and values of the ... political order. 15) The mass media can
have ... effects on people's ... and political behavior. 16) A number of studies have ... that the media do
not ... to influence the masses of people .... 17) Unfortunately, this is ... the case in our contemporary
societies. 18) Citizens are ... to participate in political life if they ... political leaders or feel that they ...
their interests. 19) In an age ... by revelation of political... people feel powerless and .... 20) As a result,
many view political participation as ... . 21) ... the pluralist and elite models have little ... and each
describes a ... different distribution of power. 22) Power in various areas ... in the hands of a small
number of citizens.
53
rests, without question, in common, dramatically, a waste of time, marked, corruption, distrustful,
willing, trust, represent, hardly, reported, tend, directly, obvious, thinking, reflects, prevailing, provide,
views, impact, outlook, significant, acquire, attitudes, patterns, large-scale, overwhelming, total, enforce,
serve, establishes, governed, legitimate, elected, acknowledged, persuasion, threatened, to impose,
exercise.
IV. Studythe following word combinations and use them in sentences of your own:
to exercise one's will over smb, to impose one's will on smb, to apply force, to assassinate a political
leader, because of, in connection with, to hold legitimate power, to enforce laws, to seize power by force,
to be bitterly hated by, to develop overwhelming (complete) control over, in a literal sense, to vote on an
issue, to speak for the people, to acquire political attitudes, to provide smb with smth, to have an effect
(an impact) on, to influence smb directly, to have influence over, in theory, to get involved in; to trust
smb, to be willing to do smth, to be likely to do smth, to represent smb's interests, to feel distrustful, to
view smth as a waste of time, to run a country (to govern country), to govern smth behind the scenes, to
share interests, power rests, to have access to, to compete with, to have little (much) in common with.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
I. Reread the text and answer the following questions.
1) Why is a political system a cultural universal? 2) How can you prove that power is at the heart of a
political system? 3) What basic sources of power are there within any political system? 4) What differs
«force» from «influence» as sources of power? 5) In what connection do sociologists commonly use the
term «authority»? 6) What are the basic forms of government in contemporary industrial society? 7) What
differs the monarchy from the oligarchy? 8) Why do dictatorships frequently develop into totalitarianism?
9) What are the basic characteristics of a totalitarian state? 10) What does «democracy» mean in a literal
sense and in practice? 11) Through what process do members of a society acquire their political attitudes
and develop patterns of political behavior? 12) How can you prove that the family, schools and the media
are the principal institutions of political socialization? 13) How can you characterize the process of
involving people in political activities in theory and in practice? 14) What models of power structure do
you know? 15) Do they offer an accurate picture of the political life in contemporary society? Why so?
16) What is one common point of both models? Do you agree with this statement?
II. Define the following key terms and memorize the definitions:
political system, politics, power, force, influence, authority, monarchy, oligarchy, totalitarianism,
democracy, representative democracy, political socialization, elite model, power elite model, ruling class,
pluralist model.
III. Speak on government and politics in brief and illustrate your reports withexamples and situations
of your own.
IV. Discuss the following topics thinking like sociologists.
1) The former Soviet Union: a representative democracy or a totalitarian state? 2) The present
organization of the Russian system of power and authority. 3) Political socialization and its agents in the
Russian society. 4) The process through which you have acquired your political outlook. 5) The influence
of the Russian mass media on the country's political campaigns. Can Russians be considered active or
apathetic in their political behavior? Why? 6) The distribution of power in the Russian political system:
are there any citizens «more equal» in our country?
54
Text XIV. THE ECONOMY
The term economic system refers to the social institution through which goods and services are
produced, distributed and consumed. Like the other social institutions, it shapes some aspects of the social
order and is, in turn, influenced by them.
Sociologists have developed a classification of societies on the basis of their economic systems. The
first category of society according to this classification is the preindustrial society. This type of society
was composed of rather small settlements of people almost always related to one another. As a result, the
family took on a particularly important role. The technology within this society remained rather limited as
it mostly relied on the physical power of humans and animals. Members of this society were primarily
engaged in the production of goods and later, of tools and household objects. But at the last stage of the
preindustrial society a social surplus was created, i.e. the production by a group of people of enough
goods to cover their own needs, while, at the same time, sustaining individuals who were not engaged in
these tasks. As a result, the division of labor into specialized tasks was more extensive. The political
institutions became more elaborate, and the concepts of property rights took on growing importance.
The industrial revolution, which took place largely in England during the period 1760 to 1830, was a
scientific revolution that focused on the application of nonanimal sources of power to labor tasks. The
process of industrialization produced significant changes and had distinctive consequences. Thus, the
second type of society according to the economic classification introduced by sociologists is the
industrial society, which, in general terms, can be defined as society that relies chiefly on mechanization
for the production of its economic goods and services.
As for the contemporary industrial societies, there are two basic types of economic systems that exist:
capitalism and socialism. Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are largely
in private hands and the main goal of economic activity is the accumulation of profits.
In practice, capitalist systems vary in the degree to which private ownership and economic activity are
regulated by government. During the period immediately following the industrial revolution, the
prevailing form of capitalism was what is termed a free enterprise system which allowed people to
compete freely with minimal government intervention in the economy.
Two centuries later, capitalism has taken on a somewhat different form which is characterized by
extensive government regulation of economic relations. Without restrictions, business firm can mislead
consumers, endanger the safety of their workers, and even defraud the companies' investors.
Contemporary capitalism also differs from the early capitalist stage in another important respect...
monopolistic practices. In numerous industries, a few companies are monopolies because they dominate
and control the field and exclude new enterprises from entering the marketplace.
Socialism is an economic system under which the means of production and distribution are
collectively owned. The basic objective of this economic system is to meet people's needs rather than to
make profits. Socialists reject the idea of free competition and believe that basic economic decisions
should be made by the central government, which acts as the representative of the people. Therefore,
government ownership of all major industries is a major feature of socialism as an ideal type.
As described above, capitalism and socialism serve as ideal types of economic systems. No nation
precisely fits either model. Instead, the economy of each industrial state represents a mixture of capitalism
and socialism.
The significant changes in the contemporary industrial societies have led social scientists to call
technically advanced nations postindustrial societies, i.e. societies whose economic systems are based on
the production of information rather than goods. Large numbers of people become involved in
occupations devoted to the teaching, generation, or spreading of ideas.
In a very real sense, the world is not as large as it once was: one can travel from New York to Tokyo,
or reach someone a continent away much more quickly than has ever been possible. Therefore, a cultural
item is spread from group to group or society to society. One result is that the world can now be
conceived of as a single marketplace. But, while the common marketplace is gradually being organized,
the profits of business are not equally shared. There remains a great disparity between the world's «have»
55
and «have not» nations. Two forces particularly responsible for this are colonialism and multinational
corporations.
Colonialism is the maintenance of political, social, economic and cultural domination over a people by
a foreign power for an extended period of time. By the 1980s colonialism had largely become a
phenomenon of the past because most of the world's peoples had achieved political independence and
established their own governments. However, former colonies were unable to develop their own industry
and technology and their economic dependence on more industrialized nations has continued. Such
continuing dependence and foreign domination is known as neocolonialism.
A key role in the neocolonialism of the 1990s is played by multinational corporations, i.e.
commercial organizations which, while headquartered in one country, own or control other corporations
throughout the world. Though multinationals can have a positive impact on the developing nations of the
world bringing jobs and industries, on the whole, their negative social impact on workers in both
industrialized and developing nations is great. Social and political scientists have reported that moving
factories out of countries such as the United States multinationals increase both unemployment in these
countries and economic inequality and dependence within developing nations. In many respects, the rise
of multinational corporations has become a threat to national sovereignty. At present, managers of Fiat,
British Petroleum, and similar firms have more power than most sovereign governments to determine
where people will live and what work (if any) they will perform.
By the year 2000 a few hundred corporations will account for more than half the value of goods and
services produced in the entire world. Clearly, multinational corporations are reshaping the economic life
and are transforming the societies in which they function.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
I. Read and translate the text using a dictionaryif necessary.
II. Find in the text English equivalents of the following:
производить (распределять, потреблять) товары (услуги), состоять из, поселение, оставаться
ограниченным, полагаться на, заниматься чем-либо, предметы домашнего обихода, на последней
стадии, создать прибыль (излишек), обеспечить свои потребности, поддерживать, разделение
труда, право собственности, иметь специфические последствия, главным образом (2), что касается,
средства производства, отличаться по степени, право на владение частной собственностью,
свободно конкурировать, вмешательство правительства, ограничение, ввести потребителей в
заблуждение, подвергать опасности, обманывать вкладчиков, находиться в коллективной
собственности, цель (2), удовлетворить потребности, получить прибыль, государственная
собственность, соответствовать одной из двух моделей, разрабатывать и распространять идеи,
неравенство (несоответствие), длительный период времени, бывшие колонии, штаб (центр),
безработица, во многих отношениях, угроза чему-либо.
III. Supplythe missing words and word combinations choosing among those given below.
1) Like the other social institutions, the economic system ... some aspects of the social order and is ...
influenced by them. 2) Technology within the preindustrial society remains rather ... as it mostly ... on the
physical power of humans and animals. 3) But at the last ... of the preindustrial society a social surplus is
.... 4) As a result, the division of labor into ... tasks is more ... . 5) The industrial revolution focused on the
... of ... sources of power to labor tasks. 6) The process of industrialization produced ... changes and had
... consequences. 7) The industrial society relies ... on mechanization for the ... of its economic goods and
services. 8) In practice, capitalist systems ... in the degree to which private ... and economic activity are ...
by government. 9) The free enterprise system allows people ... freely with minimal government ... in the
economy. 10) Without ... business firms can ... consumers, ... the safety of their workers and even ... the
companies' investors. 11) The basic objective of the socialist economic system is ... rather than .... 12) No
56
nation ... fits ... model. 13) The world today can be ... of as a single ... . 14) Most former colonies ...
political independence and ... their own governments. 15) Multinationals ... in one country but ... or ...
other corporations throughout the world. 16) By the year 2000 a few hundred corporations will ... for
more than half the value of goods and services produced in the ... world.
account, entire, headquarter, own, control, achieved, established, conceived, marketplace, precisely,
either, to meet people's needs, to make profits, restrictions, mislead, endanger, defraud, to compete,
intervention, vary, ownership, regulated, chiefly, production, significant, distinctive, application,
nonanimal, specialised, extensive, stage, created, limited, relies, shapes, in turn.
IV. Studythe following word combinations and use them in sentences of your own:
in turn, according to, to be composed of, to be related to, to remain limited, to rely on, to be engaged
in, to take on growing importance, to focus on, to produce significant changes, to have distinctive
consequences, as for, in practice, to compete freely with, to mislead smb, to endanger smth, to defraud
smb, to differ from... in, to exclude smb from doing smth, to be privately owned, to be collectively
owned, to be government owned, to meet one's needs, to reject an idea, to make profits, to be devoted to,
to generate (to spread) ideas, to be (un)equally shared, to be responsible for, dependence on,
independence of, to become a threat to, to account for.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
I. Reread the text and answer the following questions.
1) On the basis of what do sociologists classify societies? 2) What are the main features of the
preindustrial society? 3) What is characteristic of the last stage of the preindustrial society? 4) What is the
industrial society characterized by? 5) What are the main features of the capitalist economic system? 6)
Can you distinguish between the forms of capitalism? 7) What differs socialism from capitalism? 8) How
can you prove that no nation can fit either model? 9) What has led social scientists to introduce the term
«postindustrial society»? 10) How can you prove that the modern world may be conceived of as a single
marketplace? 11) Why aren't the profits equally shared between the world's nations? 12) What differs
colonialism from neocolonialism? 13) How do multinational corporations reshape the economic life and
transform the contemporary society?
II. Define the following key terms and memorize the definitions:
economic system, preindustrial society, social surplus, industrial revolution, industrial society,
postindustrial society, capitalism, free enterprise system, monopoly, socialism, colonialism,
neocolonialism, multinational corporation.
III. Speak on the economyand its aspects in brief and illustrate your reports withexamples and
situations of your own.
IV. Think like sociologists and compare the economic system of the former Soviet Union with that of
contemporary Russia. Prove that the economy of Russia is a mixture of capitalism and socialism. Which
system will prevail in future and which one will benefit Russians more?
Revision Exercises on Unit Seven
I. Revise the active vocabulary and the definitions of the key terms of unit seven and translate the
following intoEnglish.
57
1) Каждое общество должно иметь политическую систему, потому что государственная
политика определяет, кто получает что, когда и как. 2) Когда властные структуры заключают в
тюрьму или казнят политических диссидентов, они применяют силу. 3) Гражданин может
изменить свою политическую позицию в результате прочтения передовой статьи в газете,
свидетельства эксперта или вдохновенной речи политического активиста на массовом митинге. 4)
Социологи обычно используют термин «власть, полномочия» по отношению к тому, кто обладает
законной властью благодаря выборному или общественно признанному положению. 5) В
настоящее время олигархия принимает форму либо военного правления, либо правящей
группировки. 6) Каждое общество имеет свои собственные способы правления и принятия
решений. 7) Многие наблюдатели рассматривают семью как особо значимый фактор в процессе
политической социализации, так как взгляды родителей оказывают определяющее влияние на
мировоззрение детей. 8) В буквальном смысле демократия означает «власть народа». 9) Хотя
большинство граждан знакомо с основами политической жизни, но только небольшое
меньшинство действительно принимает участие в политических организациях на местном и
национальном уровне. 10) В настоящее время, когда выявлена политическая коррупция на самом
высоком уровне, представители всех социальных групп не доверяют политическим лидерам и
чувствуют свое бесправие. 11) Обе модели структуры власти имеют одну общую точку
соприкосновения: власть в современном обществе распределяется неравномерно. 12) Экономическая система общества показывает, как товары и услуги производятся, распределяются и
потребляются. 13) Процесс индустриализации вызвал значительные изменения и имел важные последствия. 14) Преобладающей формой капитализма сразу после промышленной революции была
так называемая система свободного предпринимательства. 15) Без контроля со стороны правительства фирмы могут ввести потребителей в заблуждение, подвергнуть опасности жизнь своих
рабочих и даже обмануть вкладчиков своих компаний. 16) Хотя мир сегодня можно воспринимать
как единый рынок, прибыли в бизнесе распределяются неравномерно. 17) Получив политическую
независимость, бывшие колонии не смогли создать свою собственную промышленность и
технологию, поэтому их экономическая зависимость от развитых стран продолжается. 18)
Появление международных корпораций увеличило безработицу в развитых странах и
способствовало росту неравенства и экономической зависимости развивающихся стран. 19) Во
многих отношениях они превратились в угрозу политическому суверенитету этих стран. 20)
Вполне очевидно, что международные корпорации изменяют экономическую жизнь и
преобразуют общества, в которых они действуют.
II. Reread the texts of unit seven again and discuss the problem-questions given in the learning
objectives in the introduction tothe unit.
III. Comment on the following quotations thinking like sociologists.
1) «Politics is war without bloodshed, while war is politics with bloodshed» (Мао Tse-tung, 1966).
2) «Politics is the art of acquiring, holding and wielding power» (Indira Gandhi, 1975).
3) «One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one
extraordinary man» (Albert Hubbard «The Philistine», 1899).
4) «From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs» (Karl Marx).
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Unit Eight. EDUCATION AS A SOCIAL INSTITUTION. SOCIAL INEQUALITY
Looking Ahead
Unit eight presents the last social institution, education. It considers different sociological perspectives
on education and examines its functions. Particular attention is given to three factors that promote
differential access to higher education.
Then the unit focuses on the structure and processes of social inequality. It defines stratification as a
most important and complex subject of sociological investigation and examines its different forms.
Learning Objectives
After studying this unit, you should be able to answer the following questions:
1. How does education transmit the norms and values of a culture and function as an agent of social
control and change?
2. How does education function to meet the needs of modern societies?
3. Is it possible to change anyone's behavior simply by treating the person differently?
4. Can life be organized without inequality and stratification?
5. How do sociologists measure social class?
6. What types of contact exist between dominant and subordinate social groups?
7. Why is it that, despite outnumbering men, women are viewed by sociologists as a subordinate
minority both outside and inside the home?
8. Do humans tend to accept a negative attitude to the elderly? Do the elderly precisely fit the
definition of a minority group?
Text XV. EDUCATION
In a sense, education is an aspect of socialization — the lifelong process of learning the attitudes,
values, and behavior appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture. Thus, education is a
process of learning in which some persons consciously and formally teach while others adopt the social
role of learner.
Like with other social institutions there are different sociological perspectives on education. The
functionalist view stresses the functions that education performs. The most basic function of education is
the transmission of knowledge. Sociologists call it a rather conservative function because education in
any society transmits the dominant, or the existing culture. Through schooling, each generation of young
people studies the existing beliefs, norms, and values of a distinctive culture. They learn respect for social
control and established social institutions, such as religion, the family, and government.
Promoting social and political integration is another important function of education because it
transforms a population composed of different racial, ethnic, and religious groups into a society whose
members share — to some extent at least — a common identity. Schools socialize children into the
norms, beliefs, and values of the dominant culture. The integrative function of education is obvious
through its emphasis on promoting a common language.
The third function of education is maintaining social control. Schoolchildren are introduced to
standards of proper conduct in public life, students are trained for what is ahead in their adult lives. Like
other social institutions, education prepares young people to lead productive and orderly lives in the
larger society. They are taught various skills and values which will be essential in their future labor
positions, whether it be the assembly line or the office.
Thus far, we have discussed the conservative functions of education. Yet, education can stimulate or
bring about desired social change if it is open to new ideas and social and political viewpoints.
Another sociological approach to education is the conflict perspective. It takes a critical view of the
social institution of education in the contemporary capitalist society by stating that education maintains
59
social class differences and sorts pupils according to their social class background. Conflict theorists point
out three factors that contribute to this role of education:
1. Public versus private schooling. Private high schools provide a better education than public high
schools and students who graduate from private schools are much more likely to enter colleges and
universities than public school graduates are. Thus, schools deliberately sort and select students either for
future high-status positions or for subordinate ones.
2. Economic disparities between school communities. Very often schools are financed through local
property taxes. Therefore, upper-and middle-class schools get more funding, better facilities, and more
experienced teachers than low-class schools do.
3. Tracking (or streaming) students into curriculum groups. This refers to the practice of placing
students in specific curriculum groups on the basis of intelligence test scores and other criteria. Tracking
begins very early, often during the first grade and puts children from low-income families at a
disadvantage.
Differential access to higher education and tracking are evident in many nations around the world. In
the view of conflict theorists, the educational inequalities resulting from funding disparities and tracking
are designed to meet the needs of modern capitalist societies.
In George Bernard Shaw's play «Pygmalion» the flower girl Eliza Doolittle is transformed into a
«lady» by Professor Henry Higgins. He changes her manner of speech and teaches her the etiquette of
«high society». But is it actually possible to change anyone's behavior simply by treating the person
differently? Researchers who view education from interactionist perspective have been particularly
interested in this question. They suggest that if we treat people in particular ways, they may fulfill our
expectations. The authors of the book «Pygmalion in the Classroom» prove that teacher's expectations
about a student's performance can sometimes have an impact on the student's actual achievements.
Clearly, education has become a vast and complex social institution throughout the world. It prepares
citizens for the various roles demanded by other social institutions, such as the family, government, and
the economy. In many respects, today's educational institutions, when viewed as formal organizations, are
similar to factories, hospitals, and business firms.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
I. Read and translate the text using a dictionaryif necessary.
II. Find in the text English equivalents for the following:
пожизненный (непрерывный), сознательно, принимать роль, взгляд (точка зрения) на,
подчеркивать (выделять), господствующий, обучение, уважение к, учрежденный, содействовать
(способствовать), расовый, этнический, представлять единство (идентичность), до некоторой
степени, общий язык, поддерживать (осуществлять), нормы поведения, общественная жизнь,
дисциплинированный, существенный, до сих пор, вызывать изменения, точка зрения, подход к,
иметь критическую точку зрения о, классовые различия, подразделять в соответствии с классовым
происхождением, указывать на (отмечать) что-либо, намеренно, экономическое неравенство,
община (общность), налог на собственность, финансирование, оборудование, опытный, организация групп с особой программой обучения, коэффициент умственного развития, критерий —
критерии, учебная программа (Sg, P1), поставить кого-либо в невыгодное положение, дифференцированный (отличительный) доступ к, проистекать от (иметь результатом), обращаться с
кем-либо, ожидание (надежда), во многих отношениях, подобный (сходный).
III. Supplythe missing words and word combinations choosing among those given below.
1) In a sense, education is an aspect of ... — the ... process of learning the attitudes, values, and
behavior... to individuals as members of a ... culture. 2) Education in any society transmits the ... or the ...
culture. 3) Through ... young people study the existing ..., norms, and values of a ... culture. 4) Education
60
transforms a population into a society whose members ... a common identity. 5) The integrative function
of education is ... through its ... on promoting a ... language. 6) Education prepares young people to lead
... and ... lives in the larger society. 7) Education can stimulate or ... desired social control. 8) Conflict
theorists state that education maintains ... . 9) Education sorts pupils according to their social class .... 10)
Very often schools are ... through ... property taxes. 11) Tracking puts children from ... families.... 12) The
educational inequalities... from these factors are designed to... of modern capitalist societies. 13)
Professor Henry Higgins changes Elise's manners of speech and teaches her the etiquette of ... 14)
Interactionist theorists suggest that, if we ... people in particular ways, they may ... our expectations. 15)
Teacher ... about a student's ... can have an impact on the student's actual .... 16)... today's schools are ... to
factories, hospitals, and business firms.
in many respects, similar, expectations, performance, achievements, treat, fulfill, «high society»,
resulting, meet the needs, low-income, at a disadvantage, background, financed, local, social class
differences, bring about, productive, orderly, obvious, emphasis, common, share, schooling, beliefs,
distinctive, dominant, existing, socialization, lifelong, appropriate, particular.
IV. Studythe following word combinations and use them in sentences of your own:
appropriate to, through schooling, to have respect for (but: to respect smth), to promote smth, to
transform smth into smth, to some extent, to socialize smb into smth, through an emphasis on, to maintain
smth, standards of proper conduct, to be ahead, to teach various skills, to bring about smth, to take a view
of, to provide a better education, to graduate from a private (public) school, to be financed through, to get
better facilities, to put smb at a disadvantage, differential access to, to result from, to treat smb.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
I. Reread the text and answer the following questions:
1) What is education if viewed as an aspect of socialization? 2) What is the functionalist view on
education? 3) What are the functions of education in modern society? 4) How can you prove that there are
the conservative functions of education? 5) Can education bring about desired social change? 6) What is
the conflict perspective on education? 7) What factors prove that education maintains social class
differences? 8) Why are educational inequalities evident in many nations around the world? 9) How do
interactionist theorists view education? 10) How can you prove that education has become a vast and
complex social institution throughout the world? 11) Speak on education as viewed from different
sociological perspectives. Which of them do you share? Give your arguments for or against.
III. Describe the educational system in Russia and its distinctive features employing the ideas and
terms from the text.
IV. Comment on the following topics thinking like sociologists.
1) Public versus private schooling. Are you for or against it? 2) Tracking students into curriculum
groups. What about tracking talented and gifted students into curriculum groups? 3) A teacher-expectancy
impact. Do you accept or question the validity of this «Pygmalion effect»? Were there «Pygmalion's in
the classroom» among your school teachers?
V. Express your opinion:
a) of the education you got at school: its level, school facilities, teachers and administrators. Are you
proud of your school? Were your school years happy?
61
b) of the education you are getting at Ivanovo State Power University. Does the РИТМ* technology
truly promote good academic teaching, encourage student creative thought and develop students'
aspirations? What do you think of its emphasis on precise and constant current control of students' actual
achievements in studies?
* Система РИТМ — the Individual Creative Thinking Development Technology, introduced by the University Academic
Council in 1987.
Text XV I. SOCIAL INEQUALITY
Ever since people began to speculate about the nature of human society, their attention has been drawn
to the differences that can be easily observed between individuals and groups within any society. The
term social inequality describes a condition in which members of a society have unequal amounts of
wealth, prestige, or power. Wealth accounts for all of a person's material assets, including land and other
types of property. Prestige refers to the respect with which a person's occupation is regarded by society.
Power is the ability to exercise one's will over others.
All cultures are characterized by some degree of social inequality. When a system is based on a
hierarchy of groups having unequal economic rewards and power in a society, sociologists call it
stratification.
Stratification is one of the most important and complex subjects of sociological investigation because
of its great influence on human interactions and institutions. Of course, each of us wants a «fair share» of
society's rewards, and we often come into conflict over how these rewards should be divided. Family
members argue over who should be given money to buy new clothing or take a vacation; nations go to
war over precious resources such as oil or minerals. As a result, sociologists have directed their attention
to the implications of stratification in ranking members of a society and the ways in which social
inequalities are passed on individuals, groups and generations.
Stratification is universal and social scientific research has revealed that inequality exists in all
societies. Viewed from the sociological perspective stratification has several forms:
1. Stratification by social class, based on income differences and unequal sources of wealth. American
sociologists have worked out the class system of the United States using a five-class model. About 1
percent of Americans are categorized as upper-class, a group limited to the very wealthy. These people
form intimate associations with one another in exclusive clubs and social circles. By contrast, the lower
class, consisting of approximately 20 percent of Americans, is populated by many of the elderly, as well
as single mothers with dependent children and people who cannot find regular work. This class lacks both
wealth and income and is too weak politically to exercise significant power.
Between these two classes are the upper middle class, the lower middle class, and the working class.
The upper middle class, numbering about 10 percent of the population, is composed of professionals such
as doctors, lawyers, and architects. They participate extensively in politics and exercise leadership roles in
different associations. The lower middle class, which accounts for approximately 30 percent of the
American population, includes less wealthy professionals, such as teachers and nurses, owners of small
businesses, clerical workers. The working class, about 40 percent of the population, are people holding
regular manual or blue-collar jobs (as contrasted to white-collar jobs, i.e. employees). Yet, certain
members of this class, such as electricians, may have higher incomes than people in the lower middle
class.
2. Stratification by race and ethnicity, based on minority groups division. When sociologists define a
minority group, they are primarily concerned with the economic and political power, or powerlessness of
this group. Thus, a minority group is a subordinate group whose members have significantly less control
or power over their own lives than the members of a dominant or majority group have over theirs.
However, in certain instances, a group which constitutes a numerical majority can still be a minority
group in sociological terms (for example, women).
62
The term «racial group» is used to describe a minority (sometimes a rather dominant) group which is
set apart from others by obvious physical differences. Whites, blacks, and Asian Americans are all
considered racial groups within the United States.
Unlike racial groups, an ethnic group is set apart from others primarily because of its national origin
or distinctive cultural patterns, for example, Jews.
In most societies, physical differences tend to be more visible than ethnic differences, that is why
stratification along racial lines is less subject to change than stratification along ethnic lines. But in a
biological sense, there are no «pure races» and no «physical» traits that can be used to describe one group
to the exclusion of all others.
Racial and ethnic groups can relate to one another in a wide variety of ways, ranging from friendships
and intermarriages to behaviors caused by prejudice, i.e. a negative attitude towards an entire category of
people. This negative attitude can have different forms: racism (the belief that one race is superior and all
others are innately inferior), discrimination (denying opportunities and equal rights to individuals and
groups), genocide (the deliberate, systematic killing of an entire people or nation), segregation (physical
separation of two groups of people in terms of residence, workplace, and social functions) and its extreme
form apartheid (separation of blacks, coloreds, and Asians from the dominant whites), anti-Semitism
(Anti-Jewish prejudice). Contrasted to all these negative attitudes is pluralism, i.e. mutual respect
between the various groups in a society for one another's cultures, which allows minorities to express
their own cultures without experiencing prejudice.
3. Stratification by gender, based on sexism, i.e. the ideology that one sex is superior to the other.
Although numerically a majority, in many respects women fit the definition of a subordinate minority
group within contemporary society. Sociological studies indicate that this is a men's world and there are
no societies in it in which women play the decisive role.
There are obvious biological differences between the sexes which contribute to the development of
gender identity, i.e. the self-concept of a person as being male or female. But many societies have
established social distinctions between the sexes which do not result from biological differences. The so
called gender roles are defined as expectations regarding the proper behavior, attitudes, and activities of
males and females. The application of traditional gender roles leads to many forms of differentiation
between men and women. Men have traditionally been viewed as the providers for the family, while
women have been expected to assume almost total responsibility for child care and household duties. In
addition, our culture views many forms of work as «women's work» or «men's work». Both sexes are
capable of learning to cook and to type, yet these tasks are usually performed by women. Both men and
women are capable of learning to fly airplanes, but this function is generally assigned to males. When one
looks at the political structure of contemporary countries, one has to look hard to find many women.
However in modern industrial societies there has been an evident change in the application of
traditional gender roles to sexes.
Few social roles are completely restricted to either men or women. In terms of power dynamics,
women clearly gain some additional degree of power by earning their own incomes. Women are
increasingly participating in their nations' paid labor force. But barriers still remain. Very few women
occupy historically defined «men's jobs» that carry great financial rewards. They do either inferior work
or occupy inferior positions in the same work. Significantly fewer women than men hold senior
management positions and most of women report to male chief executives. In short, women face many
difficulties within the paid labor fore.
The social consequences of women's employment are also serious. In theory at least, women should
gain in self-esteem and power within the family as they move outside the home and function as
productive wage earners and men would have more time and opportunity to become involved in the care
and socialization of children. But in practice, as women have taken on more and more hours of paid
employment outside the home, they have been unable to get their husbands to take a greater role in homemaking duties, including child care. Sociological studies have proved that in industrial societies the social
role of being a father is greatly de-emphasized: the longest time period of father—baby interaction is 10
minutes 26 seconds, the average period being 38 seconds per day! In dual-career marriages very often
63
wives have the longest total workweeks (often as many as 75 hours per week, including both paying jobs
and household), while men have the shortest workweeks.
Thus, women's growing participation in the paid labor is hardly bringing them greater freedom and
power. As a result, more wives are moved to protest.
4. Stratification by age, based on age differentiation. Some of this age differentiation seems inevitable;
it would make little sense to send young children off to war or to expect most older citizens to handle
physically demanding tasks such as loading goods at shipyards.
Age, like race and gender, is an ascribed status. «Being old» is a master status that sometimes
overshadows all others. Moreover, this status is generally viewed in negative terms. Sociological studies
report widespread perceptions of older citizens as stubborn, touchy, quarrelsome, bossy and meddlesome.
These studies also show that elderly persons receive less respect as they get older. Abuse and neglect of
elderly members within the family have received increasing public attention in recent years. The
competition in the labor force is not in the elderly's favor either; very often younger adults view older
workers as «job stealers». This belief does not only intensify age conflict but leads to age discrimination.
And last but not least, the elderly are especially likely to be victims of age segregation. Many have to live
in special nursing houses in which they are very often at a disadvantage and feel lonely and unhappy.
Thus, the subordinate status of the elderly is quite evident in all societies and the elderly fit all the
properties of a minority group with one crucial difference: all of us will eventually assume the ascribed
status of being an older person and an increasing proportion of any population is composed of elderly
citizens.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
I. Read and translate the text using a dictionaryif necessary.
II. Find in the text English equivalents of the following:
имущество, иерархия, справедливая доля, вознаграждение, конфликтовать, причастность
(вовлечение), классифицировать, разница в доходе, источники богатства, приблизительно, одинокий, испытывать недостаток, насчитывать, руководящая роль, конторские служащие, профессии
служащих, рабочие должности, меньшинство — большинство, отделяться от, этнический,
физические свойства, исключительность, предрассудок, превосходящий, стоящий ниже,
врожденный, обделять кого-либо, сознательный (намеренный), уважение к, численно,
соответствовать определению, подчиненный, социальные различия, являться результатом, так
называемый, применение (использование), различие, забота о детях, домашние обязанности,
ограничивать, с точки зрения, оплачиваемая рабочая сила, подчиняться руководителям-мужчинам,
служба (занятость), приобрести самоуважение, снижаться; браки, в которых оба супруга работают;
неизбежный, иметь мало смысла, затмевать, широко распространенный, упрямый, обидчивый,
сварливый, командирский, надоедливый, пожилые, оскорбление, пренебрежение; последний по
порядку, но не по значению; интернаты для престарелых, все возрастающая часть.
III. Supplythe missing words and word combinations choosing among those given below:
1) All cultures are ... by some degree of social inequality. 2) Of course, each of us wants ... of society's
rewards. 3) Sociologists have ... their attention to the implications of stratification in ... members of
society. 4) The upper class people form ... associations with one another in ... clubs and social .... 5) The
lower class ... both wealth and income and is too weak politically to ... significant power. 6) The working
class are people ... regular manual or ... jobs. 7) The racial group is a minority ... from others by obvious
physical differences. 8) Racial and ethnic groups can relate to one another in a wide variety of ways ...
from friendships and ... to behaviors caused by .... 9) Many societies have ... social ... between the sexes.
10) Few social roles are completely ... to ... men ... women. 11) The social ... of women's employment are
very serious. 12) In modern industrial societies the social role of being a father is greatly .... 13) In ...
64
marriages wives have the longest workweeks, while men have the shortest ... . 14) «Being old» is a ...
status that sometimes ... all others. 15) And ..., the elderly are especially ... to be victims of age
segregation.
last but not least; likely, master, overshadows, dual-career, total, workweeks, de-emphasized,
consequences, restricted, either... or, established, distinctions, ranging, intermarriages, prejudice, set
apart, holding, blue-collar, lack, exercise, intimate, exclusive, circles, directed, ranking, a «fair share»,
characterized.
IV. Studythe following word combinations and use them in sentences of your own:
to speculate about, to draw one's attention to, to account for, to regard smth with respect, to exercise
one's will over, to come into conflict over, to argue over, to take a vacation, to direct one's attention to, to
workout a system, to exercise leadership roles, to hold a job, to be concerned with, to be set apart from, to
be subject to, to range from ... to ..., to deny opportunities and equal rights to, respect for, to be superior
to, to establish social distinctions, to result from, to assume a responsibility for, to be capable of doing
smth, to be assigned to, to report to smb, to make little sense to do smth, to handle a task, to receive
public attention; last but not least; to be at a disadvantage, to feel lonely and unhappy, to fit the properties
(definition) of, to be composed of.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
I. Reread the text and answer the following questions:
1) What is social inequality usually based on? 2) Why is stratification one of the most important and
complex subjects of sociological investigation? 3) What forms of stratification exist in all societies? 4)
What is stratification by social class? 5) What is the difference between a racial group and an ethnic
group? 6) Does a minority group always constitute a numerical minority? 7) Are there «pure races» in a
biological sense? 8) How can different social groups relate to one another in a society? 9) What patterns
of intergroup relations do you know? 10) What is stratification by gender based on? 11) How can you
prove that ours is a men's world? 12) What are the traditional male and female gender roles? 13) What
shows that women gain some degree of power at present? 14) Do barriers still remain? 15) What are the
social consequences of women's employment? 16) What is stratification by age? 17) How can you prove
the subordinate status of the elderly in all societies?
II. Speak on social inequality, stratification and its firms in brief and illustrate your reports
withexamples and situations of your own.
III. Speak about the social inequality and stratification in the Russian society commenting on the
following problems:
1) The roots of social inequality in our society. 2) Class distinctions and division in Russia. 3) Russian
women — the oppressed majority. 4) The attitude to the elderly in our society.
IV. Describe your own experiences as a member of our society:
Do you feel any social inequality? Do you hold any class consciousness? Are you a member of a
minority or a majority group? Do you think that your gender identity determines your gender role? Are
there any problems in «being young»? Will all these distinctions influence your future opportunities and
in what ways?
65
Revision Exercises on Unit Eight
I. Revise the active vocabulary and the definitions of the key terms of the unit eight and translate the
following intoEnglish.
1) Передача знаний — одна из основных функций образования. 2) Обеспечение социальной и
политической интеграции общества — это еще одна важная функция образования. 3) Третья
функция образования — это поддержание общественного контроля. 4) Образование также может
стимулировать и вызывать необходимые социальные изменения. 5) Теоретики конфликтного
подхода к образованию утверждают, что образование сохраняет классовые различия в обществе.
6) Неравный доступ к высшему образованию очевиден во многих странах мира. 7) Стратификация
— это один из самых важных и сложных предметов социологического исследования, так как она
оказывает большое влияние на человеческие взаимоотношения и социальные институты. 8)
Стратификация по социальному классу основана на различиях в получении дохода и на неравных
источниках приобретения богатства. 9) Расовая и этническая стратификация основана на различиях между группами меньшинств и группой социального большинства. 10) Стратификация по
полу основана на теории сексизма, т.е. на превосходстве одного пола над другим. 11)
Подчиненный статус пожилых существует во всех обществах мира, и это еще одна форма
стратификации.
II. Reread the texts of unit eight again and discuss the problem-questions given in the learning
objectives in the introduction tothe unit.
III. Comment on the following questions thinking like sociologists.
1) «All animals are equal. But some animals are more equal than others» (George Orwell «Animal
Farm», 1945).
2) «The sociologist is a person intensively, endlessly, shamelessly interested in the doings of people»
(Peter L. Berger «Invitation to Sociology», 1963).
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CONTENTS
ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ ........................................................................................................................................ 3
UNIT ONE. THE NATURE OF SOCIOLOGY ....................................................................................... 5
LOOKING AHEAD ........................................................................................................................................................................ 5
LEARNING OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................................................... 5
TEXT I. WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY? ............................................................................................................................................. 5
VOCABULARY PRACTICE .................................................................................................................................................... 6
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES ............................................................................................................................................ 7
TEXT II. WHAT IS SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY? ORIGINS OF SOCIOLOGY ...................................................................... 7
VOCABULARY PRACTICE .................................................................................................................................................... 8
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES ............................................................................................................................................ 9
REVISION EXERCISES ON UNIT ONE .......................................................................................................................................... 10
UNIT TWO. METHODS AND TECHNIQUES OF SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH ...................... 11
LOOKING AHEAD ...................................................................................................................................................................... 11
LEARNING OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................................................. 11
TEXT III. WHAT IS SCIENTIFIC METHOD?......................................................................................................................... 11
IN SUMMARY: SCIENTIFIC METHOD .......................................................................................................................................... 12
VOCABULARY PRACTICE .................................................................................................................................................. 13
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES .......................................................................................................................................... 13
TEXT IV. RESEARCH DESIGNS FOR COLLECTING DATA. ETHICS OF RESEARCH ................................................... 14
VOCABULARY PRACTICE .................................................................................................................................................. 15
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES .......................................................................................................................................... 16
REVISION EXERCISES ON UNIT TWO ......................................................................................................................................... 17
UNIT THREE. ORGANIZING SOCIAL LIFE: .................................................................................... 18
CULTURE .................................................................................................................................................. 18
LOOKING AHEAD ...................................................................................................................................................................... 18
LEARNING OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................................................. 18
TEXT V. DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURE ............................................................................................................................. 18
VOCABULARY PRACTICE .................................................................................................................................................. 19
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES .......................................................................................................................................... 20
TEXT VI. ELEMENTS OF CULTURE ..................................................................................................................................... 20
VOCABULARY PRACTICE .................................................................................................................................................. 22
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES .......................................................................................................................................... 23
REVISION EXERCISES ON UNIT THREE ...................................................................................................................................... 24
UNIT FOUR. SOCIALIZATION ............................................................................................................ 25
LOOKING AHEAD ...................................................................................................................................................................... 25
LEARNING OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................................................. 25
TEXT VII. THE ROLE OF SOCIALIZATION. ........................................................................................................................ 25
SELF-IDENTITY AND SOCIALIZATION ............................................................................................................................ 25
VOCABULARY PRACTICE .................................................................................................................................................. 26
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES .......................................................................................................................................... 27
TEXT VIII. SOCIALIZATION AND THE LIFE CYCLE. ....................................................................................................... 28
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION ............................................................................................................................................. 28
VOCABULARY PRACTICE .................................................................................................................................................. 30
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES .......................................................................................................................................... 31
REVISION EXERCISES ON UNIT FOUR ........................................................................................................................................ 31
UNIT FIVE. SOCIAL INTERACTION AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE. SOCIAL CONTROL ...... 33
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LOOKING AHEAD ...................................................................................................................................................................... 33
LEARNING OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................................................. 33
TEXT IX. SOCIAL INTERACTION AND REALITY. ............................................................................................................ 33
ELEMENTS OF SOCIAL STRUCTURE ................................................................................................................................ 33
VOCABULARY PRACTICE .................................................................................................................................................. 35
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES .......................................................................................................................................... 36
TEXT X. CONFORMITY AND OBEDIENCE DEVIANCE AND CRIME ............................................................................ 37
VOCABULARY PRACTICE .................................................................................................................................................. 39
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES .......................................................................................................................................... 40
REVISION EXERCISES ON UNIT FIVE .......................................................................................................................................... 41
UNIT SIX. SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS: THE FAMILY, THE RELIGION......................................... 43
LOOKING AHEAD ...................................................................................................................................................................... 43
LEARNING OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................................................. 43
TEXT XI. THE FAMILY: UNIVERSAL BUT VARIED .......................................................................................................... 43
VOCABULARY PRACTICE .................................................................................................................................................. 44
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES .......................................................................................................................................... 45
TEXT XII. RELIGION .............................................................................................................................................................. 46
VOCABULARY PRACTICE .................................................................................................................................................. 48
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES .......................................................................................................................................... 49
REVISION EXERCISES ON UNIT SIX ........................................................................................................................................... 49
UNIT SEVEN. SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS: GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS.
THE ECONOMY....................................................................................................................................... 51
LOOKING AHEAD ...................................................................................................................................................................... 51
LEARNING OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................................................. 51
TEXT XIII. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS ........................................................................................................................ 51
VOCABULARY PRACTICE .................................................................................................................................................. 53
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES .......................................................................................................................................... 54
TEXT XIV. THE ECONOMY ................................................................................................................................................... 55
VOCABULARY PRACTICE .................................................................................................................................................. 56
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES .......................................................................................................................................... 57
REVISION EXERCISES ON UNIT SEVEN ...................................................................................................................................... 57
UNIT EIGHT. EDUCATION AS A SOCIAL INSTITUTION. SOCIAL INEQUALITY................. 59
LOOKING AHEAD ...................................................................................................................................................................... 59
LEARNING OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................................................. 59
TEXT XV. EDUCATION.......................................................................................................................................................... 59
VOCABULARY PRACTICE .................................................................................................................................................. 60
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES .......................................................................................................................................... 61
TEXT XV I. SOCIAL INEQUALITY ....................................................................................................................................... 62
VOCABULARY PRACTICE .................................................................................................................................................. 64
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES .......................................................................................................................................... 65
REVISION EXERCISES ON UNIT EIGHT ....................................................................................................................................... 66
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