GE 415 SOCIETY AND CULTURE (with Family Planning)
QCRS COLLEGE
PRELIM
Outline Topic for
Week 1 & 2 I. INTRODUCTION
A. Nature and Beginnings of Sociology and Anthropology
1. What is Sociology?
2. Difference between Microsociology and Macrosociology
3. Why do we need to study Sociology?
4. Scope of Sociology
5. Social Sciences
B. Perspective in Understanding the Society:
DEVELOPING A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
1. Sociological Perspective
2. Global Perspective
3. Theories and Theoretical Approaches
4. Sociological Paradigm
5. Early Theorist in Sociology
What is SOCIOLOGY?
A science guided by the basic understanding that the social matters: our lives are affected not only by our individual
characteristics, but by our place in the social world.
Sociology aims to study how human beings interact as members of society and the way in which human behaviour
takes on a social meaning.
As a social science it endeavours to examine human interaction, which is by its nature subjective.
A branch of science of human behavior that seeks to discover the causes and effects that arise in social relations
among persons and their interaction.
SOCIOLOGY is the systematic and objective study of human society and social interaction. Sociologists use research
techniques similar to those of the natural sciences. They often conduct research using scientific method. That is, they establish
testable hypotheses and decide ahead of time which results will lead them to accept or reject the hypotheses. It is this
commitment to scientific methods that makes sociology different from the nonscientific disciplines of the humanities.
HOWARD BECKER defined sociology as the study of people “doing things together.” This reminds us that society
and the individual are inherently connected, and each depends on the other.
Sociologists study this link: how society affects the individual and how the individual affects society. We can study
society from different levels:
1. MICROSOCIOLOGY is the level of analysis that studies face-to-face and small-group interactions in order to
understand how they affect the larger patterns and institutions of society. Micro sociology focuses on small-scale
issues.
2. MACROSOCIOLOGY is the level of analysis that studies large-scale social structures in order to determine how
they affect the lives of groups and individuals.
INSIGHTS FROM SOCIOLOGY
Humans cannot be understood apart from social context (i.e. society)
Society makes us who we are by structuring out interactions and laying out an orderly world before us
Society is a social construction, that is, it is an idea created by humans (i.e. doesn’t exist in the biological world but
only in the social world) through social interaction and given a reality through our understanding of it and our
collective actions.
Why we need to study SOCIOLOGY?
To obtain factual information about our society & different aspects of our social life.
It enables us to understand our society more objectively and to see our place in it.
It broadens our experience as we learn to discard our prejudices and become more understanding of the customs of
other people.
To see the connection between our own personal experience and the social forces in the bigger social world.
The Benefits of Sociology
Using the sociological perspective makes us wiser, more active, and more powerful citizens and professionals.
We can assess the truth of common sense
We can see the opportunities and constraints in our everyday lives
We can be active participants in our society
We are able to live in a diverse world
Scope of Sociology
The scope of sociology: studying all human relationships, groups, institutions, and societies. E.g., romantic love &
marriage, gay family & marriage. Health & illness, racial & ethnic conflicts, poverty, education, immigration, sexuality, gender,
class, and crime & punishment, environment & economic development all come under the scope of sociology.
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Social Sciences are the related disciplines (fields) that study various aspects of human social behavior. The other social
sciences include: history, anthropology, psychology, economics and political science.
1. ANTHROPOLOGY: the study of past and present cultures. It’s the most similar to sociology. Anthropologists
focus / concentrate on the past cultures and present simple cultures or less advanced societies. While sociologists
are more interested in group behavior in complex more advanced societies.
2. PSYCHOLOGY: deals with the behavior and thinking of organisms. Psychology focuses more on individual
behavior. While sociology is focused on group behavior.
3. ECONOMICS: is the study of the choices people make in an effort to satisfy their needs and wants. Economists
focus on the process in which goods and services are produced, distributed and consumed.
4. POLITICAL SCIENCE: is the examination of the organization and operation of governments. Some areas of
political science and sociology overlap, such as the formation of political parties and with voting patterns.
5. HISTORY: is the study of past events. Sociologists are also interested in the past. Like many social historians,
sociologists study past events in an effort to explain current social behaviors and attitudes.
DEVELOPING A SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
a. What Is the Sociological Imagination?
– What we believe to be true or “natural” is strongly influenced by historical and social forces
– Thinking imaginatively and detaching from preconceived ideas about social relationships
• Putting things in a wider context
• Seeing daily activity as a reflection of larger social issues
b. Developing a Global Perspective
– American society is influenced everyday by globalization
– We are connected to people all over the world
• Our actions have consequences for others and vice versa.
Theories and Theoretical Approaches
– Sociology not only explores how things happen by also why they happen
– We need theories to help us make sense of facts
– Sociologists disagree about how to study human behavior and how to interpret results
Sociological Theories
1. SOCIAL-CONFLICT APPROACH – society is a place for conflict, groups of people are in conflict,
and society is constantly changing.
2. GENDER-CONFLICT APPROACH - looking at conflict and inequality between men and women
3. RACE-CONFLICT APPROACH - looking at the conflict between racial and ethnic groups
4. SYMBOLIC-INTERACTION APPROACH – society is the product of everyday actions of individuals
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE THREE MAJOR SOCIOLOGICAL PARADIGMS?
1. Functionalism:
Defines society as a system of interrelated parts; primarily a macro orientation because it focuses on larger social
structures rather than individuals. Society is a system of connected parts working together to keep society intact it
is important to consider the function of any issue society is fairly stable, which means that things occur in society
for a specific function suggests society will find a balance point of its own.
2. Conflict Theory:
Views society as an unequal system that brings about conflict and change; focuses on macro issues and supports
the idea that the struggle for scarce resources holds a society together; concerned with inequality as it relates to
wealth and power. Focuses on social classes and their drastic differences in wealth, power, and prestige upper
class controls society’s wealth and resources and exploits the lower class once a group has power, they want to
keep it, so they are likely to create advantages for themselves.
3. Symbolic interactionism:
Focuses on how individual people interact with other people in their everyday lives; studies how the use of
“symbols” influence how people communicate; follows a micro approach because it is concerned with the
individual’s role in creating society. Believes the root of society comes from its symbols society is fluid, meaning
it is always in the process of change because the symbols we use and their interpretations change disputes arise
when people do not share the same definitions of symbols.
The Development of Social Thinking: Early Theorists
AUGUSTE COMTE
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:
• Social Statics—forces which produce order and stability
• Social Dynamics—forces which contribute to social change.
HERBERT SPENCER
Authored the first sociology text, Principles of Sociology
Most well known for proposing a doctrine called “Social Darwinism”
• 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.
KARL MARX
Marx is the father of conflict theory
Saw human history in a continual state of conflict between two major classes:
• 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
Social change is mainly prompted by economic influences
Society is not cohesive; it is divided by class differences
Capitalism breeds conflict
Ruling class seeks to exploit workers and working class seeks to overcome
exploitation
EMILE DURKHEIM
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 - Functionalism sees society as a system of highly
interrelated parts that work together harmoniously. The image that functionalists use to understand society
is a living organism. Each part of society works together for the benefit of the whole much like a living.
MAX WEBER
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
Ideas and values have as much impact on social change as economic factors
Advance of bureaucracy inevitable
Society becomes more efficient but poses problems for democratic participation
