Download INTRODUCTION OF SOCIOLOGY

INTRODUCTION OF SOCIOLOGY
CHAPTER # 1
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COMPOSED BY: MAIRAJ UDDIN BALOCH
DEFINITIONS OF SOCIOLOGY
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Sociology the study of society, social institutions, and social
relationships.
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The study of human social behavior, especially the study of the
origins, organization, institutions, and development of human
society.
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Analysis of a social institution or societal segment as a selfcontained entity or in relation to society as a whole.
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SOURCE AND DEVELOPMENT
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During both the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries advances in science
and technology encouraged people to believe that there could be a normal
explanation for everything and that scientific study could lead to the solving
of all of the problems faced by human beings. First, the post-Newtonian
physical sciences had promised comprehensive explanations of the Earth
and its place in the universe.
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The post-Darwinian natural sciences presented explanations of life on
Earth with the theory of growth and the source of the class. Finally, it was
expected that the social sciences would extend this ´explanation project´
into explanations of the collective activities and relationships of human
beings. In fact, Auguste Comte, who gave the name to sociology, confidently
expected that it would provide the highest level of scientific explanation in
establishing laws of human society itself.
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SOURCE AND DEVELOPMENT
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Sociology was first taught in Britain at the beginning of the 20th century but the
expansion here took place much more recently and was at first greatly influenced
by US sociology. During the 1960s, especially, it became a major social science
subject, taught in universities and colleges, and with the development of the
sociology ´A´ level during the 1970s it became a major subject in schools too. Now,
as well as being an academic subject in its own right, sociology forms part of many
other programs such as business studies, medical training, geography and
environmental science and the newer sports and health sciences.
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The ´classical sociologists´ of the nineteenth century were European and mainly
from France and Germany but the great expansion of the discipline took place in
the USA during the mid-twentieth century. Whereas the contribution from Europe
was mainly theoretical, North Americans were determined to exploit its practical
potential through investment in observed research projects connected with the
continuing development of their society and its enormous economic potential.
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Modern Sociology
From its original purpose as the ´science of society´, sociology has moved on to
more reflexive attempts to understand how society works. It seeks to provide
insights into the many forms of relationship, both formal and informal, between
people. Such relationships are considered to be the ´material´ of society. Smaller
scale relationships are connected to larger scale relationships and the totality of this
is society itself. Human beings have wants, needs and desires but the form that
these take is related to attachments to social groupings and participation in social
institutions. The latter are patterns of human communication which become
´instituted´ over time. People therefore identify them and position their actions
towards
them.
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Alternatively, people may respond against social institutions. Either way it is the
actions of people that help both to reproduce society and to effect the changes that
are a constant feature of the process. Developments in communication have faster
over the past few decades and whether we refer to societies in the plural or to one
human society, there are clearly huge three-dimensional connections. It is a
development referred to as globalization but it does not detract from temporal
connections in terms of how the present form of human society relates to past
forms and to likely forms in the future.
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Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
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Responsible for coining the term
“sociology”
Set out to develop the “science of
man” that would be based on
empirical observation
Focused on two aspects of society:
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Social Statics—forces which produce
order and stability
Social Dynamics—forces which
contribute to social change
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Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
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Authored the first sociology text,
Principles of Sociology
Most well known for proposing a
doctrine called “Social Darwinism”
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Suggested that people who could not
compete were poorly adapted to the
environment and inferior
This is an idea commonly called survival of
the fittest
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Karl Marx (1818-1883)
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Marx is the father of conflict theory
Saw human history in a continual
state of conflict between two major
classes:
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Bourgeoisie—owners of the means of
production (capitalists)
Proletariat—the workers
Predicted that revolution would
occur producing first a socialist
state, followed by a communist
society
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Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
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Emile Durkheim
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Durkheim moved sociology fully
into the realm of an empirical
science
Most well known empirical study
is called Suicide, where he looks
at the social causes of suicide
Generally regarded as the founder
of functionalist theory
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Max Weber (1864-1920)
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Much of Weber’s work was a critique or
clarification of Marx
His most famous work, The Protestant
Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism directly
challenged Marx’s ideas on the role of
religion in society
Weber was also interested in
bureaucracies and the process of
rationalization in society
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NATURE OF SOCIOLOGY
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Sociology is the branch of knowledge and it has its own characteristics.
Sociology has different nature in society. It is different from other sciences
in certain respects. The following are the main characteristics of sociology
as enlisted by Robert Bierstadt in his book " The Social Order" and they
are as follows:Sociology is an independent science :- It is not treated and studies as a
branch of any other science like philosophy or political philosophy or
history.
Sociology is the social science and not a physical science :- As a social
science it concentrates its attention on man, his social behaviour, social
activities and social life.
Sociology is the categorical and not a normative discipline :- Sociology
"Confines itself to statement about what is, not what should be or ought to
be". As a social science sociology is necessarily silent about questions of
value and it is ethically neutral.
COMPOSED BY: MAIRAJ UDDIN BALOCH
NATURE OF SOCIOLOGY
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Sociology is the pure science and not an applied science :- The main aim of pure science is the
acquisition of knowledge and it is not bothered weather the acquired knowledge is useful or
can be put to use.
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Sociology is the relatively an abstract science and not a concrete science :- Sociology does
not confine itself to the study of this society of that particular society or social organization,
or marriage, or religion, or group and so on. It is in this simple sense that sociology is an
abstract nor a concrete science.
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Sociology is the generalizing and not a particularizing or individualizing science :- Sociology
tries to find out the general laws or principles about human interaction and association, about
the nature, from, content and the structure of human groups and societies. It tries to make
generalizations on the basis of the study of some selected events.
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Sociology is the general science not a special science :- The area of inquiry of sociology is
general not specialized. It is concerned with human interaction and human life in general. It
only studies human activities in a general way. Anthropology and social psychology often claim
themselves to be general social science.
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Sociology is both rational and an empirical science :- There are two broad ways of approach
to scientific knowledge. Empiricism is the approach that emphasis experience and the facts
that result from observation and experimentation. Rationalism is stresses reason and the
theories that result from logical inference.
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SOCIOLOGY IS A KNOWLEDGE
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The sociology of knowledge is the study of the
relationship between human thought and the social
context within which it arises, and of the effects
prevailing ideas have on societies.
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BRANCHES OF SOCIOLGY
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Theoretical Sociologist
It includes micro theory or small/middle/large theory. The theories of Karl Marx, August
Cimte, Max Wever, Emmile Durkhaim, Sorokin, etc are studied under the theories of
sociology.
Eg. The theories of “Economic determinism” and the theory of “Class Struggle” of Karl
Marx.
Eg. “Theory of Sucide” by Emmile Durkhaim.
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Historical Sociology
It is the study of social facts and social groups. It studies the background of any social
events. How and when different social groups or organizations originated ?
Eg. The history of Hindu, Roman, Greek, etc. and other major civilizations were studied by
P.A. Sorkin.
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Sociology of Knowledge
The newly emerged branch of sociology indicates that our knowledge is the product of
social phenomena. This means our knowledge is always influenced by society. The economic
religious political and other interests save the human belief and idea.
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BRANCHES OF SOCIOLGY
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Criminology
This branch of sociology studies the criminal behavior of individuals or groups. Origin of
crime its types nature, causes as well as law, punishment, police, etc. come under this
study, The efforts for the improvement is also studied.
Different organizations establish to control the crime as well as their role also come
under its study.
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Sociology of Religion
This branch studies the structure of the religion in social system as no society is free
from the influence of it. It analyses the social behavior of human beings. It also studies
the religious constitutions and their role in the society.
Augste Comte, Emmile Durkheim, Herbet Spencer did the study of elementary forms of
religious life.
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Sociology of Economy
This branch of sociology studies production, distribution, consumption and exchange of
goods and services.
This branch also studies the economic activities of the society in which the focus is
given about the socio-cultural factors. The access in production, the mode of
distribution, the real consumers, the role of culture in such activities are studied under
it.
Eg.. “Why Hindus don’t eat Cow?”
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BRANCHES OF SOCIOLOGY
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Rural Sociology
This branch of sociology studies the way of life of rural people as the rural population is
higher than the urban. The patterns of life such as behavior, belief, culture, tradition norms,
values, etc. are totally different than of urban people. So, it studies the rural society in
scientific way. It also studies rural life, social institutions, social structure, social processes,
etc. of the rural society.
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Urban Sociology
This branch of sociology studies the way of life of urban people. It gives information about
the social organizations and instution of urban society as well as social structure and social
interaction. It also studies the social pathology of urban society such as discrimination)
crime, corruption, robbery, beggary, loot, theft, unemployment, prostitution, environmental
pollution, etc.
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Political Sociology
This branch of sociology studies different political moments of the society. It includes the
study of different political ideology (view), their origin, development and functions. In this
study, different political parties are considered as social institutions. Various activities and
behavior of political parties are studied in this branch. As they are the part of social
system.
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BRANCHES OF SOCIOLOGY
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Sociology of Demography
Demography of scientific mathematical and statically study of population. It studies about
size, situation, composition, density, distribution, and measurement etc. of the population.
In this branch of sociology, we study the distribution of human population with the analysis
of population change in sociological perspectives. It also finds out the determining factors
of population change and its trend.
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Sociology of Law
Sociology of law and legal system are considered as the part of society, as social institution.
Law is one of the very important means of social control. Law is related with other
different social sub systems. Such as economy, nature of distribution, authority, structure of
family kinship relationships, etc. So, this branch of sociology is related to moral order for
the society as formulation and implementation of rules and regulations, law and order
come under this.
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Industrial Sociology
This branch of sociology is concerned with the industrial relationship of the human beings.
It studies the different industrial organizations and institutions. As well as their
interrelationship and links with other various institutions of society. It also studies the inter
relationships of industrial institutions with various aspects of human life such as culture,
beliefs, customs, religion or the way of life.
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MAJOR THEORITICAL PRESPECTIVES
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Sociology includes three major theoretical perspectives: the
functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic
interactionist perspective (sometimes called the interactionist
perspective, or simply the micro view).
EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE
Ecological-evolutionary theory (EET) is a sociological theory of
sociocultural evolution that attempts to explain the origin and changes
of society and culture. Key elements focus on the importance of
natural environment and technological change. EET has been described
as a theory of social stratification, as it analyzes how stratification has
changed through time across different societies. It also has been
viewed as a synthesis of the structural functionalism and conflict
theory. Proposed by Gerhard Lenski, the theory perhaps is best
articulated in his book, Ecological-Evolutionary Theory: Principles and
Applications (2005). His major collaborators, Jean Lenski and Patrick
Nolan, also are said to have contributed to
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MAJOR THEORITICAL PRESPECTIVES
CONFLICT PRESPECTIVE
 A third important sociological framework is the conflict theory. Unlike
the structural functional theory, which views society as a peaceful unit,
conflict theory interprets society as a struggle for power between groups
engaging in conflict for limited resources. Karl Marx is the founder of
conflict theory.
INTERACTIONALIST PRESPECTIVE
 sociology, interactionism is a theoretical perspective that derives
social processes (such as conflict, cooperation, identity formation) from
human interaction. It is the study of how individuals act within society.
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SOCIOLOGY IS SCIENCE
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Sociology is a science every bit as much as
biology or chemistry. Social sciences, like
natural and biological sciences, use a
vigorous methodology. This means that a
social scientist clearly states the problems
he or she is interested in and clearly spells
out how he or she arrives at their
conclusions
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TYPES OF SCIENCE
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The natural taxonomy of the empirical sciences would break the sciences
down into three basic groups: the physical sciences (physics, astronomy,
chemistry, geology, metallurgy), the biological sciences (zoology, botany,
genetics, paleontology, molecular biology, physiology), and the psychological
sciences
SOCIAL SCIENCE
 The social sciences are academic disciplines concerned with the study of
the social life of human groups and individuals including anthropology,
economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, social studies,
and sociology.
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What is difference between Sociology
and Economics
(1) Sociology is the study of
social relationships or social
activities but Economics is the
study of only the economic
activities of man.
(2) Sociology is abstract in nature
whereas Economics is concrete.
(3) The scope of Sociology is
much wider than that of
Economics.
(4) Sociology is a general social
science but Economics is a special
social science.
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(5) In Sociology society is
regarded as the unit of study
whereas in Economics the
individual is the target of study.
(6)
Both
Sociology
and
Economics differ from each other
in respect of various methods
they use for their study.
(7) Sociology studies man as a
social animal but Economics
studies man as an economic
being.
(8) Sociology is the youngest of
all the social sciences but
Economics is older than sociology
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What is difference between Sociology
and Political Science
1. Sociology is the science of political science; on the other hand, it is the science of
state and government. Sociology studies society as a whole and man as a social being
where as political science deals with a particular aspect of society, which is regarded
as a politically organized unit. Therefore, political science is a more specialized science
than sociology.
2. Sociology has wider scope than that of political science. Sociology deals with social,
political, economic, cultural and other aspects of society and studies will be the social
institutions such as family, marriage, religion, kinship, caste and so on. But political
science deals with political aspect and studies a specific political institution like state
and government only. Thus, sociology is regarded as a general science while political
science is viewed as a specialized social science.
3. Sociology studies forms of associations and institutions where as political science
deals with the state and government which are known as specific forms of association.
That is why professor Garner remarks "Political science is concerned with only human
form association such as state, sociology deals with all forms of association."
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What is difference between Sociology
and Political Science
4. Sociology studies all kinds of social relationship in a general way. But political science
studies only the political aspect of social relationship in a particular way.
5. Sociology studies both organized and disorganized societies. But political science
studies only the politically organized societies.
6. Sociology deals with both formal as well as informal relations of the society, which
are based on customs, traditions, folkways, mores, norms etc. But political science deals
only with formal relations based on laws and order of the state.
7. Sociology is the study of all means of social control. Political science, on the other
hand, is the study of only government-recognized means of control.
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What is difference between Sociology
and History
1.
Sociology is interested in the study of the present social
phenomena with all their complexities. But History deals
with the past events of man. It is silent regarding the present.
2.
Sociology is relatively a young social science. It has very short
history of its own. It is not even two centuries old. But
history is an age-old social science. It has a long story of
2000 years or even more.
3.
Sociology is an analytical science. But history is a descriptive
science.
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What is difference between Sociology
and History
4. Sociology is abstract in nature. It studies mostly regular, the recurrent and
the universal. For example, the sociologist’s does not study all the wars or
battles Waged by the mankind. But History is concrete.
The historian is interested in the Unique, the particular and the individual. For
example, the historian studies all the wars waged by mankind in the past-the
wars, the world wars, the Indo- Pak war, etc. For him each war is unique and
significant.
5. Sociology is a generalizing science. Sociology seeks to establish
generalizations after a careful study of the social phenomena. But History is an
individualizing science. History rarely makes generalisations.It seek to establish
the sequence in which events occurred.
6. Sociology follows the sociological approach. It studies human events from
the sociological point of view, i.e., from the view point of social relationship
involved. But History studies human events in accordance with the time and
order. Its approach is historical.
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SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY
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Many institutions combine both disciplines into one
department due to the similarities between the
two. The key difference between the two social
sciences is that sociology concentrates on society
while anthropology focuses on culture.
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SOCIOLOGY AND STATICS
statistics supports the theories of sociology like any other kind of research.
CRIMNOLOGY AND EDUCATION
Criminology and criminal justice are hot. Even in these financially constrained times,
colleges can't seem to get enough of these programs. Arizona State University last
month announced a new online bachelor of science degree in criminology and criminal
justice. Nyack College is starting a bachelor's degree. So is Rockhurst University, with a
commitment to placing students in internships. Rochester Institute of Technology
recently started a master's program. Texas State University is starting a doctorate. The
list could go on and on.
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IMPORTANCE OF SOCIOLOGY
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Prior to the emergence of sociology the study of society was
carried on in an unscientific manner and society had never
been the central concern of any science. It is through the study
of sociology that the truly scientific study of the society has
been possible. Sociology because of its bearing upon many of
the problems of the present world has assumed such a great
importance that it is considered to be the best approach to all
the social sciences.
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Physiology
is the study of normal function within living creatures. It
is a sub-section of biology, covering a myriad of topics
including organs, anatomy, cells, biological compounds
and how they interact together to make life possible
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