Basics in Social Science ( A,B,C, D, E & G)
Lecture sheet-1, What is sociology? “ It ain’t the things we
don’t know that gets us in
trouble. It’s the things we
know that ain’t so”.-
Artemus Ward
What is Society?
A group of sentient beings
A group of physically interested individuals (Ell Good)
Society is a state of quality of mind (MackIver)
An association of individuals organized, for given ends (Bushee)
Society is the system of social relationships in and through which we live
What is the definition of science?
An objective, logical and systematic method of analysis of phenomena
devised to permit the accumulation of reliable knowledge.
Knowledge achieved through research.
What is Sociology?
No concrete definition of sociology because each & every sociologist view
society, people, events & changes from different perspective.
“Sociology is the scientific study of society”-(Parato).
According to Kenrick Thompson, “Sociology is the study of the groups and
societies that people create and of how these, in turn, affect the people
who create and maintain them.” He also argued that sociology seeks to
explain patterns of human behavior.
According to Max Weber, “Sociology is a science which attempts the
interpretative understanding of social action in order thereby to arrive at a
causal explanation of its causes and effects.”
According to Morris Ginsberg, “In the broadest sense, sociology is the
study of human interaction and interrelations, their conditions and
consequences.”
James W. vander Zanden, “Scientific study of social interaction and
organization.”
T.B.Bottomore argued that “The fundamental conception or directing
idea, in sociology, is the social structure.”
Study of social rules & processes that bind, and separate people-not only
as individuals, but as members of groups, associates & institutions.
David dressler: Scientific study of human interactions.
Emile Durkheim, Science of institutions.
The systematic study of developing models that can help to predict social
changes, and how people will respond to social changes.
Sociology is concerned /interested in our behavior as social beings-thus the field
of sociology ranges from the Analysis of short contacts between
anonymous people on the street to the study of global social process.
Evolution of Sociology:
Sociology was born out of the French Revolution. It was a time of social and
economic changes, also the industrial revolution in England brought about
displacement of peasants, who were replaced with wage laborers.
~ the scientific study of human interactions (David Dressler)
~ the science of social actions (Max Weber)
~ the science of institutions (Émile Durkheim)
Watch out the word ‘science’ in all definitions. Can you say why it
is a science??
~ The systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective
behavior of organized groups of human beings.
The Gradual Development of Sociology:
Founder emphasized that the study of society must be scientific urged
sociologists to employ systematic observation, experimentation, and
comparative historical analysis as their methods
Feminist and Methodologist wrote the first book on social research
methods and was among the first to do systematic, scientifically based, social
research her comparative analysis of slavery and the position of women in
the Western world showed the way for feminist scholarship and the further
study of gender equality
Social Darwinist–i.e. promoter of the Darwinian concept of survival of the fittest
to the social world depicted society as a system, a whole made up of interrelated
parts.
class conflict theorist believed that society is divided into those who own the
means of producing wealth and those who do not, giving rise to class conflict
focused his search for the basic principles of history on the economic environments in
which societies develop
Advocate of social integration and social facts was especially concerned
with social solidarity contended that the distinctive subject matter of sociology
should be the study of social facts
Highlighted that a critical aspect of the sociological enterprise is the study
of the intentions, values, beliefs, and attitudes that underlie people’s behavior.
In USA, sociology and the modern university system arose together. The first
department of sociology was established at the University of Chicago in 1893, and
Chicago served as a ‘social laboratory’ at the beginning of the century Mid century
sociologists crafted survey techniques and refined models of society “New breed”
sociologists in the 1960s and 1970s refined Marxism and established new research
approaches and perspectives.
Contemporary movements in sociology include critical theories, feminism, modernity,
and postmodern social theories.
Why do we consider sociology a science?
Science means performing test, experiment, observation
and analysis. Sociology does the same thing. Sociologists
apply all kinds of scientific methods/structures for
observation & analysis of events.
Myth/Public belief/value has no science basis.
Like all scientists, sociologists follow five basic principles for
establishing and explaining facts:
1. Sociology relies on evidence gathered through
systematic observation; sociologists demand proof. In
everyday conversation, we often rely on hearsay and
beliefs because they seem obvious or logical.
Scientists are professional skeptics: They demand
empirical, or factual, evidence.
2. Sociology is concerned with minimizing error and
bias. Sociologists use a variety of techniques (e.g.
controls, randomization, etc.) in order to minimize
bias and error. These strategies must be used
religiously in order to be scientific.
3. Sociology is a public venture. Open discussion and
examination of research gives sociology a self-
correcting mechanism. Conclusions are never taken as
final and absolute, but are always open to question,
testing, and revision. No theory or finding, however
famous, is accepted uncritically.
4. In everyday discussions, we often use a single, vivid
illustration to make a point. But a single case may be
the exception to the rule. Sociology is concerned with
generalizations. Scientists study particular cases in
order to arrive at generalizations.
5. Sociology seeks to relate facts to one another and to
underlying principles in order to produce theory;
sociologists pursue not only descriptions, but also
explanations. Theory helps sociologists to predict,
understand, and explain events.
Sociology and common sense
On occasion, sociological findings and common
sense do overlap, but often, sociology challenges
popular wisdom. Common sense holds that ‘seeing
is believing’. Sociologists found that the reverse is
also true: what we believe often determines what
we see; our perceptions are fi
ltered through the lens of our previous
experiences, attitudes, and beliefs.
Subjectivity and objectivity:
Subjective: An attitude toward a situation in
which cultural/personal variations are permitted
to affect observation & judgment.
Objective: An attitude toward a situation in
which cultural/group evaluations and personal
bias/interest are absent/controlled/reduced to
minimum.
The promise of sociology:
Society is changing rapidly. Perhaps the most
immediate task of sociology is to provide a
framework for understanding such changes, in
both our public and private lives.
I. Sociology can make people aware of the
different ways in which social arrangements
shape their lives. The discipline can enlighten
the general public concerning the nature and
the effects of such social arrangements.
II. Sociology permits the user to examine the
assumptions underlying conventional wisdom,
and to correct popular ideas that are incorrect.
III. Sociology permits the identification of
problems that the public has not yet recognized
IV. Sociologists can design and evaluate
alternative solutions to social problems.
V. Sociology can help people better understand
their own experiences, problems, and
prospects. Sociological imagination helps
people see that personal failings and personal
failures are often the result of social forces and
permits their personal problems to be seen in
perspective.
The subject matter of sociology:
1. Social Interaction
2. Social institutions
3. Social fact (Science of social phenomenon)
4. Social action
5. Social change
6. Social control
7. Social customs
8. Social mobility
9. Social problem
10. Objective of united life.
11. Social evolution.
Specialized areas of sociology:
Economic sociology
Sociology of family
Environmental sociology
Industrial sociology
Medical sociology
Political sociology
Urban sociology
Rural sociology
Historical sociology
Sociology of religion
Sociology of education
Sociology of law
Sociology of disaster
Social change
Social psychology
Social statistics
Demography.
Economic development
Human ecology
Program evaluation
Micro, Macro, Pure, Empirical &Applied Sociology
Importance of the study of Sociology
Study about society, man, social class and class structure, social fact,
social rule, social change, social structure, social activities and
customs, political facts.
To solve social problems
To drive social action
Realizing development strategy
Study economic function in society
