Soc 1-2 the Origins of Sociology Final

8/8/2019 Soc 1-2 the Origins of Sociology Final

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INTRODUCTION

TO

SOCIOLOGY


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THE ORIGINSOF

SOCIOLOGY

Lecture 1


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Definition:

Sociology derived from two words:

Socius Latin word for society.

Logos Greek word for knowledge.

Knowledge at a high level scientificknowledge.

Sociology is the scientific study of human sociallife, groups, and societies.

Science includes: empirical + logical

It is a rigorous study. Not just common sense. Itis a systematic study


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No sociology as a distinct

discipline before theadvent of 19th century.


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3factors led to the dev of sociology

The first was the industrial revolution.

Urbanization.

The second factor that stimulated the

development of sociology was imperialism

The third impetus for the development of

sociology was the success of the naturalsciences


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First Factor

By the mid 19th

century Europe waschanging from agriculture to factory

production. Emergence of new occupations

as well as new avenues of employmentaway from the land

Masses of people migrated to cities in search

of jobs. Pull and push factors People in these industrial cities developed new

ideas about democracy and political rights

Ideas about nation states


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Second Factor Europeans successfully conquered many

parts of the world. Exposure to radically

different cultures.

Startled by these contrasting ways of life,

they began to ask why cultures differed


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Third Factor

People moved to question fundamental

aspects of their social world.

They started using the scientific method

(systematic observation, objectivity) to

the study of human behavior.


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Auguste Comte

The idea of applying the scientific

method to the social world, known aspositivism, was apparently first

proposed by Auguste Comte(1798-

1857).

Auguste Comte happened to be a

French Mathematician.


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Comte became interested in

the two interrelated issues:

Social statics. Order, stability Social dynamics. change


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Social statics What holds the society together

(Why is there a social order)?


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Social dynamics

What causes it to change?


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Comte concluded:

The right way to answer such questions was

to apply the scientific method to social life.

There must be laws that underlie the

society. Discover these principles by applying

scientific method to social world.

Apply these principles for social reform


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Science of Sociology

This will be a new science and

Comte named it as Sociology(1838) the study of society.

Comte is credited with being the

founder of sociology


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Other early pioneers in sociology Herbert Spenser (1820-1903)

Englishman.

Karl Marx (1818-1883)

German.

Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

French Max Weber (1864-1920)

German.


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Subject Matter

of

Sociology


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The Fields of Sociology

Big diversity in fields of

interest.


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Biosociology

Collective Behaviour/Social MovementsCommunity

Comparative Sociology//Macrosociology

Criminal JusticeCriminology/Delinquency

Cultural Sociology

DemographyDevelopment/Modernization

Deviant Behaviour/Social Disorganization


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Economy and Society

Education

Environmental Sociology

Ethnomethodology

History of Sociology/ Social Thought

Human Ecology

Industrial Sociology

International development/Third World

Law and SocietyLeisure/Sports/Recreation

Marriage and the Family


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Mass Communication/Public Opinion

Mathematical sociology

Medical Sociology

Methodology: QualitativeApproaches

Methodology: QuantitativeApproaches

Microcomputing/ComputerApplications

Military Sociology


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Occupations/Professions

Penology/Corrections

Political Sociology

Race/Ethnic/Minority Relations

Religion

Rural Sociology

Small Groups

Social Change

Social ControlSocial Networks

Social Organizations/formal/complex


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Social Psychology

Socialization

Sociological Practice/Social Policy

Sociology ofAging/Social Gerontology

Sociology ofArt/Literature

Sociology of Knowledge

Sociology of Language/Social Linguistics

Sociology of Markets

Sociology of Mental HealthSociology of Science

Sociology of Sex and Gender


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Sociology of Work

Sociology of World Conflict

Stratification/Mobility

Theory

Urban SociologyVisual Sociology

Source:American Sociological association Guide to Graduate

departments, 1992 : 290-308.


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Thank You


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Lecture 2

THE SOCIOLOGICAL

PERSPECTIVE


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Perspective means: A view, or

An outlook, or An approach, or

An imagination.


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Sociological Perspective:

An approach to understandinghuman behavior by placing it

within its broader socialcontext.


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Human lives seem to follow

certain predictable pattern

y Our lives do not unfoldaccording to sheer chance.

y Nor do we decide for ourselves

how to live, acting on what iscalled free will.


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For human beings the existence

of society is essential:

For the survival of humanchild Nature

For social experience Nurture


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Cases of isolated children:

A

nna [discovered at age 5] Isabelle [discovered at age 6]

Genie [discovered at age 13]


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Focus on:

Seeing the general in t

hepartic

ular

Identifying general patterns in the

behavior of particular people.


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Look

Society acts differently on various

categories of people (childrencompared to adults; women

compared to men)

General categories to which webelong shape our experiences.


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Age is socialconstruction .


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Societies define thestages of life differently


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Gender is also a socialconstruction


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Society affects what we do.

Suicide a personal matter.Individuality in social context.

Look at the social forces that areat work.


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Society determineswho we are


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Conclusion General categories to which we

belong shape our experiences. This is called sociological

imagination.

(C. Wright Mills).


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Think sociologically

cultivating sociological

imagination.


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Soc 1-2 the Origins of Sociology Final