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Sociology

The word social, is derive from “Latin” word social associate or companion and the
Greek word logy mean theory. There are several outers who have giving different type of
definition.

1. The study of human social behavior, especially the study of the origins,
organization, institutions, and development of human society.
2. Analysis of a social institution or societal segment as a self-contained entity or in
relation to society as a whole.

[French sociologie : socio-, socio- + -logie, study (from Greek -logiā; see -logy).]

sociologic so'ci·o·log'ic (-ə-lŏj'ĭk) or so'ci·o·log'i·cal (-ĭ-kəl) adj.


sociologically so'ci·o·log'i·cal·ly adv.
sociologist so'ci·ol'o·gist n.

Sociology is the study of the social world around us, the social causes and consequences
of human behavior. Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and
societies, and how people interact within these contexts. Since all human behavior is
social, the subject matter of sociology ranges widely, from the family to the anonymous
crowd, organized crime to organized religion, from inequality along the lines of race,
gender and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture, and from the sociology
of work to the sociology of sports.

Sociology offers a unique way of observing and understanding the social world in which
we dwell. Sociology looks beyond taken-for-granted views of reality to provide deeper,
more illuminating and challenging understandings of social life. Through its particular
analytical perspective, theoretical approaches, and research methods, sociology expands
our awareness of social relationships, cultures, and institutions that profoundly shape
both our lives and human history.

Sociology also helps us to understand more clearly the forces shaping the particulars of
our own lives. The ability to see and understand this connection between large-scale
social forces and personal experience, what C. Wright Mills called "the sociological
imagination," offers invaluable academic preparation for our personal and professional
lives in an ever-changing society.

Sociology is the study of human societies. It is a social science (with which it is


informally synonymous) that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical
analysis to develop and refine a body of knowledge and theory about human social
activity, often with the goal of applying such knowledge to the pursuit of social welfare.
Subject matter ranges from the micro level of agency and interaction to the macro level
of systems and social structures.

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Sociology is both topically and methodologically a very broad discipline. Its traditional
focuses have included social stratification (i.e., class relations), religion, secularization,
modernity, culture and deviance, and its approaches have included both qualitative and
quantitative research techniques. As much of what humans do fits under the category of
social structure and agency, sociology has gradually expanded its focus to further
subjects, such as medical, military and penal institutions, the internet, and even the role of
social activity in the development of scientific knowledge. The range of social scientific
methods has also broadly expanded. The linguistic and cultural turns of the mid-20th
century led to increasingly interpretative, hermeneutic, and philosophic approaches to the
analysis of society. Conversely, recent decades have seen the rise of new mathematically
and computationally rigorous techniques, such as agent-based modeling and social
network analysis.

Why take sociology?

Many of the pleasures and pains you encounter in life result from the fact that you depend
upon others for what you want -- parents, friends, employers, musicians, technicians --
the list could go on and on. And if you look beyond yourself to the lives of others you
cannot help but notice that the same is true for them. At the heart of sociology is the fact
of human interdependence. Not only what you want and what you get from others, but
also who you are, what you can do, must do, and how much pleasure and pain comes
your way, all depend upon these relationships of interdependence. Taking sociology can
help you understand the patterns of human interdependence that shape your daily life.

Taking sociology classes will also help you gain important skills. You may learn specific
marketable skills, such as how to use statistical software. More generally, you will learn
how to engage in critical analysis, an ability that will serve you well no matter what your
future career.

What can I do with Sociology?

People who get a B.A. in sociology are often employed in the helping professions, in
business, and in various public welfare positions, especially those dealing with social
programs and their implementation. Only those students who graduate from our M.A.
program are employed in jobs with the title "sociologist," since that title requires graduate
training.

Career opportunities for students with a degree in sociology include: administration,


advertising, banking, counseling (family planning, career, substance abuse, etc.),
community planning, health services, journalism, group and recreation work, marketing
and market research, sales, teaching, human resources/personnel, social services, and
social research.

A sociology minor aids those going into such varied fields as business, counseling, health
services, teaching and the social services. People who work in these fields often have to
make decisions based on analysis of social trends and phenomena. The minor gives

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professionals some of the grounding in methodology and technique that they need to do
their work.

Here are some web sites that offer information on jobs and careers for sociology majors:

What is a Theoretical Perspective?

Perspectives might best be viewed as models.

• Each perspective makes assumptions about society.


• Each one attempts to integrate various kinds of information about society.
• Models give meaning to what we see and experience.
• Each perspective focuses on different aspects of society.
• Certain consequences result from using a particular model.

No one perspective is best in all circumstances. The perspective one uses may
depend upon the question being asked. If one is exploring bureaucratic
organization, then one might like to use a perspective that is concerned with
social order. On the other hand, if one is concerned with social inequality, then
perhaps the conflict perspective is more useful.

Perhaps the best perspective is one which combines many perspectives.

II. The Functionalist Perspective

• The origins of the functionalist perspective can be traced to the work of


Herbert Spencer and Emile Durkheim.
• The problem of maintaining social order is a central problem for
understanding society.
• Understanding society from a functionalist perspective is to visualize
society as a system of interrelated parts. All the parts act together even
though each part may be doing different things.
• Institutions, such as family, education, and religion are the parts of the
social system and they act to bring about order in society.
• Integration of the various parts is important. When all the "parts" of the
system work together, balance is maintained and the over all order of the
system is achieved.
• Social structures in society promote integration, stability, consensus, and
balance.

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A. A System With Parts

The parts of society, while performing different functions, work together to


maintain the stability of the whole social system. In order to understand the idea
of "social system," it may be helpful to visualize a different kind of system. For
example, biological organisms are systems. In fact, many sociologists use
biological models to explain human society. The biological metaphor is
successful in that it calls attention to how a social "organism" consists of various
unique parts. Those parts, in turn, function together to support and maintain the
whole system.

B. What's the Purpose?

Functionalists, like Emile Durkheim, Vilfredo Pareto, Talcott Parsons, and Robert
Merton, are interested in how the parts of the social system contribute to the
continuation of the social system. When functionalists encounter the various
aspects of society, they may ask "What is its purpose?" A primary purpose of all
parts (institutions like police, newspapers, religion) is to encourage consensus.

Merton (see Robertson, 1989:12) distinguishes between manifest functions,


latent functions, and dysfunctions.

1. Manifest Functions

Manifest functions refer to functions that are obvious.

Examples:

The manifest function of schools is to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic.

The manifest function of the military is to defend the nation.

The manifest function of criminal justice is to keep the streets safe for a society's
citizens.

2. Latent Functions

Latent functions are functions that are unrecognized. They may even be
important functions, but their consequence is not obvious.

Example:

• College students, in the course of pursuing their


education, may make good friends.
• Merton described college as a "mate selection
market" where students meet prospective marriage partners.

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3. Dysfunctions

A perspective that is highly concerned about order is by definition concerned


about what happens when social order breaks down. Merton uses the term
dysfunction, which refers to a negative consequence that may disrupt the
system. Dysfunction also conjures up the notion that a social phenomenon can
be functional in one setting and dysfunctional in another.

Examples:

Over Population

Pollution

C. Critique of Functionalism

1. Functionalism Resists Change

Invoking a biological model has certain built-in assumptions connected to it.


Biological organisms do not perform very well when they encounter great change
in their environment. Society, however, is not biological. It is social. Social
systems can tolerate much greater change than can biological systems.

2. Functionalism is Inherently Conservative

Change tends to be viewed as a negative consequence. All the parts of society


act as a part of a unified system. Altering one part of the system has impact on
all the other parts. There fore, there is a tendency is to protect existing
institutions out of a fear that change in one area of society will adversely
influence other parts of society. Fear of creating disorder in society is often used
as a justification for avoiding change.

III. The Conflict Perspective

Conflict theorists see society less as a cohesive system and more as an arena of
conflict and power struggles. Instead of people working together to further the
goals of the "social system,"

• People are seen achieving their will at the expense of others.


• People compete against each other for scarce resources.
• Basic inequalities between various groups is a constant theme of conflict
theory.
• Power, or the lack of it, is also a basic theme of conflict theory.
• Since some people benefit at the expense of others, those who benefit
use ideology to justify their unequal advantage in social relationships.

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Marx is a conflict theorist. He argued that the struggle between social classes
was the major cause of change in society. Much change, in fact, happens as rich
people and poor people compete over scarce resources.

Not all conflict theorists are Marxist. Weber is also a conflict theorist. Where as
Marx focused on class conflict as the "engine" of historic change, others see
conflict among groups and individuals as a fact of life in any society. Conflict can
occur over many other aspects of society unrelated to class. For example,
conflict can occur over water rights (in West Texas and New Mexico). Conflict
occurs when two people have a car accident. Conflict occurs between men and
women.

A. Conflict and Change

As a result of tension, hostility, competition, and disagreements over goals and


values, change is one of the basic features in society. In general, change occurs
because of inequality and the battle over scarce resources. Conflict occurs
because people want things (power, wealth, and prestige) that are in short
supply. One should realize that conflict is not intrinsically bad. Conflict provides
grounds where people unite in order that they may act on their common interests.
Conflict is the motor for desirable change.

B. Who Benefits?

Like the functionalists, conflict theorists recognize the existence of social


structures, but instead of structures existing for the good of the whole system,
social structures (institutions) serve the interests of the powerful. One should also
recognize the flip side of this coin. Structures that serve the powerful also are
designed to keep other groups in society in their place for the privilege of others.

Instead of following the functionalist path of addressing dysfunction (i.e.


something that doesn't work) conflict theorists would ask "Who Benefits?"

Example: Acid rain

Acid rain is not "bad" for everyone. The powerful people who control polluting
industries stand to make huge profits by not providing proper air purification.

C. Ideology

Cooperation is not assumed.

• The idea of society being an integrated system based on


consensus is a manufactured idea.
• The powerful influence or coerce the rest of the population
into compliance and conformity.

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• Social order is maintained, not by popular agreement, but
rather by the direct or indirect exercise of power."

IV. The Interactionist Perspective

The Interactionist perspective takes the position that it is people who exist and
act. All the other "structures" found in society are nothing but human creations.
For the Interactionists, society is always in a process of being created, and this
occurs through communication and negotiation.

• Symbolic Interactionists are called micro-sociologists.


• The scope of investigation for these sociologists is very small.
Interactionists prefer to explore the interaction of individuals or groups of
individuals.
• Interaction is generally face-to-face and addresses "everyday" activities.
Society occurs as a result of interaction between individuals and small
groups of individuals over long periods of time.
• They are interested in the way individuals act toward, respond to, and
influence one another in society.
• People negotiate meaning in their lives. Each communication produces
new perspectives, expectations, and boundaries that individuals use to
assure continual interactions in the future.
• Micro-sociologists are not interested in institutions (e.g., the economy and
government), social class, and nation-states.

A. Change

• Society is dynamic.
• Change occurs as a result of interaction between individuals.
• Continuous change, not stable patterns, characterizes the
real nature of society. This kind of change is much less
deterministic than change associated with the conflict perspective.
Marxists look for change that is determined by characteristics in the
social structure. Change from the Interactionist perspective is free-
form.

B. Reference Groups

Much interaction takes place in "reference groups."

• Reference groups include professional organizations,


friendship groups, doctors and medical people, education, and the
community in which we live.
• Some are more stable than others, but change is a common
feature in all reference groups.
• Change occurs as people communicate with one another.

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C. Symbolic Interaction

Symbolic interaction is a major sub-category of the Interactionist perspective.


Robertson (1989:15) argues that "the interaction that takes place between people
occurs through symbols." He calls a symbol "anything that can meaningfully
represent something else."

D. Shared Meaning

As individuals and small groups first negotiate patterns of social interaction, and
then come to reply on those patterns, expectations become more fixed in social
structure. Eventually, people come to accept those patterns as part of their
reality. Often they cannot see beyond that reality. Choices are made within that
reality. Once people that accept certain aspects in society are "real," real
consequences flow from that realty. The "witches" at Salem discovered this the
hard way.

Culture and Society


A. What is Culture?

Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted behavior.

• Culture is all the values, norms, and customs that people


share with one another.
• Culture includes language and beliefs
• Culture is all of the material objects such as monuments,
three-piece suites, the lottery, fur coats, and fine automobiles.
• Culture is ideas (like the belief in democracy and freedom)
found within a society.
• Culture is what individuals think is right and important as
they interact (Schaefer, 1992:67).

Culture is a way of life. When people talk about "the way of life" of people with a
distinctive life style, whether they live in Appalachia or Norway, they are talking
about culture. It defines what is important and unimportant. Culture refers to
everything that people create. Values, norms, goals, and culture in general,
develop as people interact with one another over time.

Culture accounts, in part, for the unprecedented success of the human species. It
allows us to adapt to extreme environments. We could not survive without our
culture. In a sense, we create our culture, but our culture, in turn, recreates us
(See Robertson, 1989:38-42).

Culture provides the context (back ground) that we use to interact with each
other. It defines boundaries that we use to distinguish us from them.

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B. Language

Henslin (2006:38-40) notes that language is the primary way people


communicate with one another.

• It’s a system of symbols which all us to communicate


abstract thought (Henslin, 2004:40).
• It’s a perspective which allows culture to exist.
• Language is universal in that all cultures have it, but it is not
universal in that people attach different meanings to particular
sounds.

1. The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis argues that language provides categories through


which social reality is defined and constructed. It argues that thinking and
perception are not only expressed through language but also shaped by
language.

C. Perspectives

We need to keep in mind the notion of perspective when talking about culture. A
culture is a "shared perspective." It is not absolute truth. Perspectives are limited
by their nature. They allow us to see life from only a certain angle. As we interact,
we come to share ideas about the way the world is. Perspectives filter what we
see (Charon, 1986:199-203).

Example: "The Allegory of the Cave"

D. Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism, according to Farley (1988:16-17), refers to the tendency to view


one's own culture as the norm. There is a tendency to assume one's culture is
superior to others. "Our" truths and values are so central to whom "we" are that it
is difficult to accept the possibility that our culture represents only one of many. A
particular culture does not represent universal "TRUTH." This is not to say that to
be proud of one's heritage is inappropriate. On the contrary, a little ethnocentrism
is beneficial because of its bonding effect. Ethnocentrism becomes a problem
when we expect others to become like us.

Example

An American who thinks citizens of another country are barbarian because


they like to attend bull fights is an example of ethnocentrism.

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E. Cultural Relativism and Verstehen

To accurately study unfamiliar cultures, sociologists have to be aware of


culturally-based biases. Max Weber advocates the use of "value-free" Sociology,
which means that one should eliminate, as much as possible, bias and prejudice.

Weber calls attention to the German idea of verstehen to describe the practice of
understanding unique culture from the standpoint of others. Cultural relativism
refers to the understanding of a culture on its own terms. In essence "you have to
be able to stand in the other persons shoes." When you can "see" from the
perspective of another, then you can understand that culture.

II. Components of Culture


A. Cultural Universals

Cultural universal refers to a cultural item that exists in all cultures part and
present.

Items like religion and language are found in every culture. They are examples of
cultural universals

B. Innovation

Innovation is the process of introducing an idea or object that is new to culture.


There are two forms of innovation: discovery and invention.

C. Diffusion

Sociologists use the term diffusion to refer to the process by which a cultural item
is spread from group to group or society to society. Cultures learn from one
another.

Diffusion can occur through a variety of means, among them exploration, military
conquest, missionary work, etc. (Schaefer & Lamm, 1992: 70).

Henslin (2004:51) contends that when groups make contact with one another,
they most often exchange nonmaterial culture.

D. Cultural Leveling

Henslin (2004:51) uses cultural leveling to describe a situation in which cultures


become similar to one another as a result of travel and communication. The fact
that one can find a McDonalds or a Coke nearly every where in the world is an
example of cultural leveling.

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E. Material Vs. Nonmaterial

1. Material

Culture is easily divided into material or nonmaterial concepts (See Robertson,


1989:29). Material culture includes:

• weapons
• machines
• eating utensils
• jewelry
• art
• hair styles
• clothing

Anthropologists study material artifacts when exploring cultures which have been
extinct for hundreds or thousands of years. All which remains from ancient
cultures are artifacts of their material culture.

2. Nonmaterial

Often Sociologists will investigate nonmaterial aspects. Nonmaterial culture


refers to abstract human creations. Included in this category are:

• language
• gestures
• values
• beliefs
• rules (norms)
• philosophies
• customs
• governments
• institutions

F. Ideal Culture and Real Culture?

Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:42) contend that ideal culture refers to the
norms and values that a society professes to hold. Henslin (2004:49-50) ideal
culture describes models to emulate and which as worth aspiring to.

Real culture refers to norms and values that are followed in practice.

Example: Henslin (2004:49-50) notes that Americans glorify academic


achievement and material success. However, most students do not graduate
with honors and most citizens are not wealthy. Thus there is a gap between
ideal culture and real culture.

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G. Culture Lag

Culture lag refers to the tendency for culture to be slow to adapt to changes in
technology. Technological change can happen over night while some times it
takes culture a few generations to adapt to changes in technology (Henslin,
2004: 50).

Example: When Napster provided free music exchange, the record producers
argued that the practice was unfair, but yet no laws existed which made music
sharing illegal. This example highlights the lag between technology and social
adaptation.

Henslin (2004:50) calls this the distinction between material and non material
culture. Material culture runs ahead of non material culture.

H. Culture Shock

As people grow, they develop a sense of what to expect in their familiar


surroundings. "Culture becomes the lens through which we perceive and
evaluate what is going on around us" (Henslin, 1999:36). We don't generally
question these assumptions. When one travels into a completely different culture,
for example, a rural village in Africa, one encounters different assumptions that
might violate what we come to expect as normal. An individual suddenly
immersed in a unique and unfamiliar setting experiences disorientation. This is
known as culture shock (see Henslin, 2004:35).

Example

A rural individual who is suddenly taken to a large city

III. Norms and Values

Norms are rules that govern our lives and values are the goal of our lives. Norms
are the expectations, or rules of behavior, that develop out of values. Norms are
guidelines for our behavior.

Norms may be informal or they may be formalized into laws.

Values are principles, standards, or qualities considered worthwhile or desirable.

Norms are rather specific while values are abstract and general in nature.

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A. Norms

Norms are the shared rules or guidelines that govern our actions in society.
Norms can be laws, but they also can be procedures, morals, customs or
expectations. Many times, One's position within the social structure determines
the definitions of norms. Often norms are outward expressions of a society's
deeply held and shared values.

Norms are important for defining boundaries. The text uses gangs as an example
again. In order to belong to a gang, a potential gang member has to learn the
"norms" of the gang. Norms define us and them.

1. Folkways

Folkways are norms that ordinary people follow in everyday life. Conformity is
expected, but not absolutely insisted on. Folkways are not strictly enforced.

Example: "No shirt, no shoes, no service"

2. Mores

Mores are norms are taken more seriously and are strictly enforced. Henslin
(1999:44) considers them as "essential to our core values." Henslin suggests that
we insist on conformity.

Example: Flag burning, murder

3. Taboo

Taboos approximate super mores. Henslin (1999:44) argues that taboos are so
"strongly ingrained that even the thought of its violation is greeted with revulsion."

Examples are Incest and cannibalism.

4. Laws

A law is a norm that is formally enacted by a political authority. The power of the
state backs laws.

5. Social Control

Society always establishes a way of ensuring that people "behave in expected


and approved ways"

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6. Sanctions

Henslin (1999:43) contends that sanctions are positive or negative reactions to


the ways in which people follow norms. They can be either positive or negative.
Rewards accrue for conformity and punishment for nonconformity. They can be
material, such as a fine for not adhering to a norm, but they can also be gestures,
"such as frowns, stares, harsh words, or raised fists" (Henslin, 1999:43).

B. Values

• Each culture has a general consensus of what is worth


working for (ends).
• Values refer to that which we consider important or
unimportant, desirable or undesirable, good or bad, and beautiful or
ugly.
• They guide most of our actions.
• Values are long range commitments to ends that people
share culturally.
• Values are abstract and general.
• Essentially, values describe our "moral" goals in society.
• Values indicate the standards by which people define their
ideas about what is desirable in life.

IV. Variations Within Cultures:


Sub-Cultures and Counter Cultures

Some cultures in the U.S. have remained relatively isolated from the dominant
culture. These are subcultures. Charon (1986:199) points out that subcultures
have goals, values, and norms that are different from those of the dominant
culture. Although their culture differs from the dominant culture, they do not
openly oppose the dominant culture. Members of subcultures are usually content
to avoid the dominant culture.

Countercultures, on the other hand, like the SDS, Hippies, and the Black
Panthers are examples of subcultures that openly oppose the dominant culture.
Countercultures actively seek to change the dominant culture.

The following are two examples of subcultures. They are not counter cultures.
Neither group seeks to change the status quo.

A. The Amish

The Amish represents a subculture. Hostetler (1980 in Charon, 1986:218)


describes the Amish as governed by the teachings of the Bible. There is a strong
desire among the Amish to separate themselves from the outside world. They
have a dualistic view of the world. They see good and evil, light and darkness,

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truth and falsehood. The Amish have little interest in improving the material
world. Instead they seek salvation.

The goal of the Amish to separate themselves (as much as possible) from the
"negative." They define negative as urban and distant from god. They see the
city as the "center of leisure," of nonproductivity, and wickedness. To avoid evil,
the Amish forbid all intimate contact with outsiders. Contamination by the outside
world tempts one away from the kingdom of god. Part of the separation from the
outside includes not using electricity, telephones, or automobiles. Married men
grow beards, but are not allowed to grow mustaches. They do not encourage
formal education past elementary school. The Amish use horses and other
nonmechanical equipment for farming.

B. The Vice Lords

The Vice Lords is another subculture. In a book called Vice Lords R. Lincoln
Keiser (in Charon, 1987:221-4) discussed four aspects [which Keiser calls
ideological sets] that the Vice Lords use to define their world and guide their
actions. Keiser defines four ideological sets which he calls Heart ideology, Soul
ideology, brotherhood ideology, and game ideology.

1. Heart Ideology:

Heart ideology refers to the displays of courage and daring which are important
for the Vice Lords. A member has to show that he's willing to put his personal
safety on the line. An individual who talks a lot about fighting, but who doesn't
back up his rhetoric is a "punk."

2. Soul Ideology:

Soul for the Vice Lords has the same general connotation as it does for the Black
community. Soul refers to ways of conducting ones self that strips away the
superficial surface and gets down to the nitty-gritty. Soul is the essence of the
Black community. The Vice Lords judge one another in terms of soul.

3. Brotherhood Ideology:

The spirit of brotherhood is also important. Drinking wine is an important shared


social experience for the group. Each person contributes what money he has for
a "bottle." Each then gets an equal amount regardless of how much money he
puts in. Drinking wine reinforces the brotherhood.

4. Game Ideology:

In "game ideology" the gang member attempts to manipulate other gang


members by playing games. Manipulating others through games is a significant

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part of the Vice Lords life. Such games may include hustling money from
strangers. A "light weight" game player may simply ask for money. More than
likely he gets turned down. A "heavy" on the other hand may concoct a story that
another street gang is going to jump the stranger. There for the stranger should
pay protection money to the "lords."

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