Week 1, an introduction to the systematic study of society

F-Soc: Sociology Foundation in Business, Law and Social Sciences

Contents

1. Society2. Social norms and values3. Social institutions4. Industrialisation and French Revolution5.Summary

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Part I: What is a society?Definition: a group of people living in a bounded territory who share common cultural features such as language, values and basic norms of behaviour (Giddens and Sutton 2015: 7)

The key features:•Members of each society share common characteristics which makes them different from members of other societies•One can be part of diverse societies at the same time (e.g. student, athlete, volunteer, etc.)•Societies are made up of social institutions.


Values

Definition: ‘Ideas held by human individuals or

groups about what is desirable, proper, good or

bad’.

•Represent key aspects of variations in human

culture.

•Strongly influenced by the specific culture in

which individuals live.

•Passed down from generation to generation

through social institutions.


Norms

5

•Rules of behaviour that reflect or embody a

culture’s values, either prescribing a given type of

behaviour or forbidding it (Giddens and Sutton 2015)

Social institutions:

The enduring patterns formed by relationships among people, groups and institutions form the social structure of a society.

Social institutions are structures within society, creating rules and regulations for the members of society to maintain social order such as government, schools, work, family… etc.

Examples: •Family: Parents create rules that children must follow at home in order to maintain order in the home.

•School: Teachers and school staff enforce rules that pupils are required to follow.

•Government: The government also has rules and regulations that we all must follow or suffer the consequences e.g. traffic regulations.


Effective from September 2015 | F_Soc USIC Sociology week 3 - Society

Origins of systematic studies of social life: During the Medieval Period in Europe (5th-15th

centuries) the Catholic Church was a major role player in social and political affairs.

Religious beliefs ( e.g perceptions of heaven and hell) were used as strong bases for social control.

The Catholic Church not only controlled people’s beliefs but their working lives as well.For example, peasants paid 10% of their earnings to the Church known as ‘tithe’. Payment was either in money or goods e.g seeds, harvested grains, animals, etc.


The history of sociological thinking resulted from two revolutionary transformations: Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) and French Revolution (1789)

These events challenged traditional ways of life and conventional religious beliefs. The early sociological scholars aimed to understand such radical changes by developing a more systematic scientific ways of looking at the social world.

Industrial Revolution (1760-1840)


Industrialisation: the process in which machines are widely used in the production of goods. For instance, the development of factories and the ability to mass produce consumer goods.

The Industrial Revolution transformed material conditions of life and ways of making a living and increased urbanisation (movement of the population into towns and cities).

Britain was the first society to undergo industrialisation. In 1800s less than 20% of British population lived in towns and cities and London was home to 1.1 million people. By early 20th century this increased to 7 million.

Urbanisation: A city is an inhabited central place differentiated from a

town or village, by its greater size, and by the range of activities practiced within its boundaries, usually religious, military-political, economic, educational and cultural.

World’s first cities appeared around 3500 BCE in river valleys of the Nile in Egypt, Tigris (tī′grĭs) & Euphrates (y o-frā′tēzo͞ ) (Iraq) and the Indus in Pakistan.

The urbanisation of the human population has continued to expand over the last 250 years. Large cities have become the centre of urban life characterised by large populations and various cultural influences.


French Revolution (1789)

• The French Revolution marked the end of the old European agrarian

organisations and the monarchy’s control towards ideals of freedom,

liberty and citizenship rights.

• The revolution was the starting point of scientific thinking – a move away

from the control of the church and religious indoctrination.

• Enlightenment thinkers believed that scientific knowledge could help

society move passed it superstitious, faith-based past.


The impacts of French Revolution:• Strong political challenge to the monarchy and aristocracy that ruled

one of the most powerful nations in the world.

• The birth of Enlightenment (18th century) where philosophers viewed advancement of reliable knowledge in the natural sciences (e.g. astronomy, physics and chemistry) as a path to the way forward; the aim was to discover similar laws, using similar methods, in social and political life.

• The English physicist Sir Isaac Newton for example was singled out as an exemplary scientist whose ideas of Natural law and scientific method appealed to Enlightenment scholars.


Sociology originally emerged as a discipline to study dramatic social changes associated with the Industrial Revolution and French Revolution.

Contemporary sociologists have done much to identify the dynamics of urban development and the social problems associated with cities.


• Read Sociology, Giddens and Sutton (2015)chapter one, ‘what is sociology’ and take notes.

• Review lecture notes and prepare questions from lecture for seminar one.

Homework


Week 1, an introduction to the systematic study of society

Education

Transcript of Week 1, an introduction to the systematic study of society