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What is Sociology?
Sociology is the study of human social life. Because human social life is so
expansive, sociology has many sub-sections of study, ranging from the analysis
of conversations to the development of theories to try to understand how the
entire world works. This handout will introduce you to sociology and explain why it is
important, how it can change your perspective of the world around you, and give a
brief history of the discipline.
The term sociology was coined by Auguste Comte (1798-1857) in 1838 from the
Latin term socius (companion, associate) and the Greek term logia (study of,
speech). Sociology is a relatively new academic discipline which emerged in the
early 19th century in response to the challenges of modernity. Sociology has
its roots in significant societal changes (e.g., the industrial revolution, the creation
of empires, and the enlightenment of scientific reasoning. Some early
sociological theorists (e.g., Marx, Weber, and Durkheim) were disturbed by the
social processes they believed to be driving these changes.
The early founders of sociology were some of the earliest individuals to employ
what C. Wright Mills (1959) called the sociological imagination: the ability to
situate personal troubles within a broader social context. As Mills saw it, the
sociological imagination could help individuals cope with the social world by helping
them to step outside of their personal worldview and thus seeing the events
and social structure that influence their behaviour, attitudes, and culture.
Humans like to attribute causes to events and attempt to understand what is
taking place around them. However, in order to test their theories, sociologists get
up from their armchairs and enter the social world. They gather data and evaluate
their theories in light of the data they collect. Sociologist test their theories about
how the world works using the scientific method. However, Sociologists, like all
humans, have values, beliefs, and even pre-conceived notions of what they might
find in doing their research.
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Debates going on in Sociology
Nature or Nurture?
Is the behaviour of humans due to genes, biology, evolution etc or is it due to social
circumstances like upbringing, historical or geographical situation, and structures like
gender, class and race? Sociologists fall heavily on the side of Nurture – Obviously !
Individual or Society?
Is it better to study individuals and their interactions or the broader structures in
society? Is there such a thing as SOCIETY which is separate to the behaviour of
individual people? If we collect rich Qualitative data like a case study for example of
one person’s experiences, how can we generalise the findings to a whole
population? If we only collect Quantitative data like statistics, how can we gain a true
picture of individual motives, attitudes and experiences?
Free-will or Determinism?
Do individuals have freedom to choose e.g lifestyle, sexuality, occupation or are we
determined by the structure of society? This debate is sometimes referred to as
Agency vs Structure. Structural perspectives such as Marxism and Functionalism
explain human behaviour in terms of the structure of society. It is as if we behave as
we do because we are pushed by powerful pressure from the social system. There is
not much consideration of free will or choice from these perspectives.
Is Sociology a Science?
Sociology like Psychology studies human beings and they can be very
unpredictable, diverse and awkwardly change their behaviour when they know they
are being studied ! Some believe that this makes it difficult to adhere to strict
scientific methods, particularly the one that says that science should be objective.
Social Science subjects are gaining ground in moving from being Arts or Humanities
subjects to being Sciences but there is still much debate around this as some argue
that humanity is simply too complex to study in the same way as chemistry or biology
studies static phenomena which do not have consciousness.
How do we view society?
Because of some of these debates, various theories about how society works have
been developed by different writers such as Karl Marx, Durkheim, or Max Weber.
These are described below.
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Functionalism
Functionalism is a structural theory (macro approach) as it examines the structure
of society as a whole. It is based on Consensus theory which basically states that
most individuals within society agree upon what is acceptable and work towards
meeting the needs of society as a whole.
Key ideas:

It is a macro approach – society is seen as a social system consisting of
system parts, functionally interdependent and interrelated.

It uses an organic analogy – society is seen as a living organism or
mechanism. Change in one part will have its effects elsewhere and a diseased
part will contaminate others.

For Parsons, society has a set of needs or functional imperatives that are met
by four subsystems: economic, political, kinship and cultural.

Social order is maintained through value consensus whereby values are
internalised through the early socialisation process and individuals learn norms
and values of their social position. Interdependence is created through the
division of labour and the obligations of social relationships.

Conflict is minimised as individuals accept the inevitability and necessity of
social inequalities (individuals have different talents and abilities).

Society is made of system parts such as family, education, religion and media
which all reinforce social solidarity.
Evaluation
Positive

It was one of the first major attempts to produce a grand theory of society.

It demonstrates successfully those social institutions are linked together.

It allows us to understand the functions of social rituals and social institutions.

It examines the importance of primary socialisation for any social order to be
possible.
Negative:

It places too much emphasis on harmony and fails to take into account
competing interests.

It fails to provide an adequate explanation of social change – change is seen as
evolutionary

It is accused of accepting the status quo and thus taking an inherently
conservative view of society.

It is accused of being teleological i.e. it explains the origins of an institution by
the function it performs for society.
Key concepts- Social solidarity, function, social order, social integration,
interdependency, interrelatedness, harmony, consensus, system parts, social
institutions, social roles, equilibrium, goal attainment, adaptation, integration, latency.
Key thinkers- Durkheim, Parsons, Davis and Moore, Merton.
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Marxist Perspective
Marxism is a structural conflict theory. It is structural because its starting point is a
theory about how society is constructed. It is a conflict theory because it claims that
at the heart of society is a conflict between classes. Two classes exist: a dominant
class, the bourgeoisie (upper/ruling class), and a subordinate class, the
proletariat (working classes), and the system is centred around the exploitation of
the proletariat by the bourgeoisie. Exploitation occurs when the bourgeoisie, who
own all the property (factories, mines, shops, offices, banks etc), pay their proletarian
workers less than the value of their labour and keep what remains for themselves.
This “profit” Marx called surplus value. The result is the dominant class becomes
richer and the subordinate class merely survives. According to Marx the whole of
society is organised around this relationship.
Marx was one of the first to use the term “ideology”. By this he meant all the ideas
and beliefs of a particular class that reflected the interests of that class, e.g the upper
classes might believe in lower taxes and minimal welfare benefits to the poor as this
would protect their interests the most (since they don’t need benefits because they’re
rich !!). Marx said that the dominant ideology in a society will most likely be the
ideology of its ruling classes because they are the most powerful and own
institutions like the media which can influence people. They will seek to hold onto
this position as long as possible and preserve the status quo. In contrast Proletarian
ideology is revolutionary. It seeks to transform society so that class and exploitation
are abolished.
Marx called this class consciousness (the working class become conscious of the
fact that they are being exploited). If however the proletariat accepted the ideas
(ideology) of the dominant class they were suffering from false class
consciousness (they are unaware of their own exploitation and believe society is
fair). Marx is quoted as saying that the point is not just to write about society but to
change it. Society is capitalist (defined as an economic system in which the means
of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is
governed by the accumulation and reinvestment of profits).Marx predicted that
capitalism was doomed and would eventually be overthrown by a proletarian
revolution to be replaced by Communism (defined as a society in which all property
is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and
needs).
Criticisms of Marx’s theory
 It is out of date we now live in a post-modern world.
 The class structure has in fact become more complex and people are much better
off than in Victorian times.
 The working class have become less rather than more class conscious.
 It is too deterministic. Not every aspect of society is determined by the mode of
production.
 Feminists believe that Marx ignored the exploitation of women.
Neo-Marxism Newer perspectives which focuses more on the means of power and
control other than capital and the means of production e.g the media, politics,
education and cultural power. Main thinker – Antonio Gramsci (1970).
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Feminism - an Overall view of feminist beliefs
Feminism is a Conflict theory similar to Marxism but feminists believe the main
conflict in society is between men and women rather than between classes.
Men have exploited women for a long time. They call this patriarchy
Patriarchy exists in the family, the work place, the government and throughout
society. The level of exploitation reflects the economic organization of the time
Men can exploit women because childbirth makes them vulnerable (imagine a
womens life without birth control even today).The fact that men are physically
stronger than women comes into it but is exaggerated by gender role socialization
There are other options, had men not chosen to exploit women there are fairer ways
to share wealth and workload.Men are aware of this but choose exploitation.
2 Waves of feminism
The suffragettes
 Focussed on political equality and the right to vote.
 1918 Women over 30 with property got right to vote
 1928 Women got universal suffrage (ie equal rights to men, vote once 21)
10yrs later
Womens liberation movement
 Began in the early 1960s and concentrated on equal rights for women in the
law and workplace
 Equal pay act 1970 was a landmark victory
 Although it was calculated in 2008 that womens pay averaged 2 thirds of
mens and far less after she is 40. (women do different jobs and often same
job but different title)
The impacts of feminism
Feminism presents an eloquent and powerful challenge to all the key theoretical
perspectives and believes most Sociological research is ‘Malestream’ or it ignores
sociological issues relevant to women. Feminism has had an impact on many areas
of womens lives over the past hundred years in areas such as the law e.g equal
property rights etc, the workplace e.g maternity leave, equal pay, education e.g entry
into universities and in the family e.g rape within marriage laws and progress in
domestic violence. This is hard to quantify some say women do have more say in
many family matters as they often contribute financially now as well as through their
labour. But many feminists feel women now have a duel burden or work and
housework. Clearly many women no longer totally defer to their husbands will as
they had to in the past and at least obey is out of most modern couples wedding
service.
Different forms of Feminism
Radical Feminism – Strong belief that women are exploited.
Marxist and Socialist Feminism – Capitalism is the source of women’s oppression.
Liberal Feminism – Focusses on progress already made and changing the law.
Black Feminism- Consider the different position of black women to white women.
Post-Modernist feminism – Accepts that individual women have varying situations
and interests.
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Postmodernism
Postmodernist sociologists claim that changes that took place in the 20th century
have rendered exiting sociological theories redundant. Such theories were devised
to make sense of the modern era with its industrial societies and nation states.
Today, they claim, these societies have altered so much that we need a new type of
sociology to make sense of them.
Key changes that have created the postmodern world.
ICT. The development and spread of information and communication technology has
increased people’s exposure to ideas, images and information from around the
world.
Consumerism. Buying goods and services has become increasingly central to
peoples lives. What we buy helps to define who we are. We purchase branded
goods that allow us to create our own identities. These are no longer determined by
class, gender, age, region etc: in other words, the kind of factors that sociologists
used to employ to make sense of social life.
Movement of people. People are increasingly exposed to different societies and
different ways of life. Nations are becoming increasingly multi cultural.
Risk and uncertainty. A sense of growing social and environmental risk makes
peoples lives increasingly insecure. Jobs are no longer for life, neither are marriages.
With global warming and worldwide pollution, our environment appears increasingly
dangerous.
Globalisation. The boundaries between nation states are breaking down. We now
have transnational organisations like the EU and transnational companies. These
have lead to an intensification of interaction between states.
Authority. Sources previously regarded as authoritative such as scientists, the
clergy and politicians, are now regarded with scepticism.
Identity. In postmodern society peoples identities are constructed through personal
choice rather than determined by class, gender etc. As a result they are more fluid.
Time and space. Postmodern society has seen a restructuring of time and space.
Distance no longer provides a barrier to communication – people can talk to each
other from anywhere at any time. This provides immediate access to cultures,
practices, ideas and belief systems, which were once remote and inaccessible.
Criticisms
 Choice. For the vast majority of people choice is an illusion. They do not have the
power or resources to exercise choice. Post modernism ignores the inequalities
that constrain choice.
 Identity. Large numbers of people still define themselves or are defined by others
in very traditional ways in relation class, gender and ethnicity
 Anthony Giddens disputes the use of the term “postmodern”. He recognises that
some changes have occurred but prefers to call it “late modernity”
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Interpretivism (Social Action Theory)
“Interpretivism” usually refers to range of approaches to sociology which consider
how the actions of individuals creates the reality of society. It is considered therefore
a Micro theory as it does not look at broad structures like the Macro theories of
Functionalism and Marxism but focuses on the finer interactions between people.
Interpretivism includes an approach called symbolic Interactionism.
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There is a fundamental difference between the subject matter of natural
science and that of sociology and it is therefore a mistake to attempt to apply
the same methodology. Human beings have consciousness and free will –
they choose how to act. They are not simply caused to do things by external
pressures acting upon them as things do in the natural world. E.g. heat
causes water to boil, water does not choose how to react to heat.
Human beings attach meanings to experiences or events that they
encounter. How they interpret these events is more important than the event
itself. If made redundant, a worker might interpret this in a number of ways
and it is this interpretation that will influence action rather than the event or
social pressure itself. Water, to continue the analogy, does not attach a
meaning to heat.
Things in the social world like crime, unemployment or poverty do not exist in
the same way that natural phenomena exist. A “crime” is only a crime
because that is what we say it is or how we choose to categorise it; a “suicide”
is a meaning that someone has attached to a death as opposed to another
meaning such as “disease” or “murder”. Water however is water and heat is
heat whatever we choose to call them.
In social science, objectivity is neither possible nor desirable, values,
beliefs and expectations will always colour research. Objectivity is itself a
value treasured by the scientific community that does nothing to reveal the
truth.
Interpretivists favour methods of research which are qualitative i.e case
studies, diaries or letters showing personal feelings and interpretations of
individuals and their world. Interactionists might use close observation of the
day-to-day interactions of people and how they shape our understanding of
the social world.
Interactionists use the term ‘labelling’ to describe how some groups are
negatively labelled through interactions with others. For example, being
labelled a ‘chav’ may have negative consequences for an individual.
Criticisms



The perspective is accused of being non-scientific because of its use of
qualitative research methods which cannot be analysed statistically.
The perspective uses labelling which could be seen as deterministic.
The perspective may understate the important of social structures like
class, gender which influence how people can live their lives.
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AS Sociology Introductory Assessment.
Due on first day of term without exception.
In Advanced Level Sociology you will be required to read a fair amount of material
and put it into your own words in the form of essays. You will also be required to
think critically about this information and offer alternative viewpoints. You will
improve these skills as the course progresses. I have set you a challenging piece of
work as an initial test of your ability to read and assimilate some complex information
and then summarise it in your own words. There will be many terms that you are
unfamiliar with. Don’t panic if you don’t understand it all straightaway, but you must
give this your best and ensure you bring it with you on the first day back!
Task
In your own words write a short (approx 500-800 word) essay summarising the
five sociological perspectives (Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism, Postmodernism and Interpretivism) discussed in this booklet. Then go to our
Sociology blog at www.stcmsoc.wordpress.com and leave a comment on the
post ‘Yr 12 Induction’ saying which is your favourite perspective and why. You
will need an e-mail address to do this and don’t forget to put your name on the
comment also.
I hope you have a great summer holiday
See you in September!
Mrs Leigh Rust Ashford
Teacher of Sociology
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