2.Evolution of Sociology

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Lecture 2Evolution of Sociology


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The discipline of sociology :

Has its roots in the period

after the French Revolution

when political conflict,rapid urbanization and

social turmoil convulsed

European societies


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society - a group of people

that form a semi-closed

social system, in which

most interactions are withother individuals belonging

to the group.


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ELEMENTS OF SOCIETY

Family

Religion

Government

Education

Work Trends

Social Norms

Mass Media


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Evolution of societies

hunters and gatherers

simple agricultural

advanced agricultural

industrial


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Over time, some cultures haveprogressed toward more-complex forms of organizationand control. This cultural

evolution has a profound effecton patterns of community.Hunter-gatherer tribes settledaround seasonal foodstocks to

become agrarian villages.Villages grew to become townsand cities. Cities turned intocity-states and nation-states.


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BIO CULTURAL SYSTEMS


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Characteristics of society

The following threecomponents are common to alldefinitions of society:

Social networks

Criteria for membership, and

Characteristic patterns oforganization

Society: an extended socialgroup having a distinctivecultural and economicorganization


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MAN IS A SOCIAL ANIMAL

One common theme forsocieties in general is that theyserve to aid individuals in a timeof crisis. Traditionally, when an

individual requires aid, forexample at birth, death,sickness, or disaster, membersof that society will rally others to

render aid, in some formsymbolic, linguistic, physical,mental, emotional, financial,medical, or religious.


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AFRICAN KRAAL


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"community"

a sense of common identityand characteristics

more immediate than society.

A body of direct relationships

from the organizedestablishment of the state.

the sense of immediacy orlocality was strongly developedin the context of larger andmore complex industrialsocieties. I

A commune (French)


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1. Local groupings based onproximity and sometimes face-to-facerelationships (as in local community,community work);

2. Community of interests (as in

research community, businesscommunity); and characteristics (as inethnic community).

3. Quality of relationships - sharing ofcommon goals, values, identities;participatory decision-making andsymbolic production; and connectedwith these - emotional and moralinvestments.


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more direct more total

more significant

relationships of community

and the more formalmore abstract more

instrumental

relationships of society


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Group :

In sociology, a group is usuallydefined as a collectionconsisting of a number ofhumans who share certain

aspects, interact with oneanother, accept rights andobligations as members of thegroup and share a common

identity. Using this definition,society can appear as a largegroup.


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While an aggregate comprisesmerely a number of individuals,a group in sociology exhibitscohesiveness to a larger

degree. Aspects that membersin the group may share includeinterests, values,ethnic/linguistic backgroundand kinship.A group becomes a

group when communication isinvolved, if there is nocommunication, there is nogroup.


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Primary groups consist of small groupswith intimate, kin-based relationships:

families, for example. They commonlylast for years. They are small anddisplay face to face interaction.

Secondary groups are large groupswhose relationships are formal and

institutional. Some of them may lastfor years but some may disband aftera short lifetime. The formation ofprimary groups happens withinsecondary groups.

Throughout the world, societies aresplit into distinct, albeit sometimesoverlapping, social groups.


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Independence

A further characteristic of a

society is that it is not a

subgroup of any othergroup.


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Social InstitutionsMeans of Social Control

Family- Marriage/ Milestones

of Birth & Death

Economic Organizations ofSociety- Primary or

Agrarian/Secondary or

Manufacture/Tertiary or Trade

Religion

Political Organization -State


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Social groupsdefined along income and non-income axes

A basic axis of social differentiation is personal income. A

three-category distinction among the poor, the middle classand the rich, can be too rough to capture all theintermediate nuances but still help characterize differentsocieties.

The unit of analysis can be - but not need to be only - theindividual. A second element should be kept into accountwhen judging the individual's position: the size and

composition of the household to which he or she belongs.Larger families pay less per-person for certain sharedexpenditure (like housing) and they can have more than oneincome-bearer. If not, a large family with only one income-bearer would be much poorer than a one-componentfamily.

A third consideration is linked to the stability of income over

time, with people having larger fluctuations in incomebelonging to different social groups than people reachingsystematically. and without renegotiation similar levels ofincome.


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Another crucial axis of socialdifferentiation is the ownership of assets.Families that own their home - having

already paid back any financialinstruments to buy it - can devote moremoney to active savings andconsumption than families with thesame level of income but that have to

pay the rent. The ownership of durable goods is animportant status element aidingdifferent aspects of life. Financial. assets(as Treasury bonds, shares, controllingmajorities in firms,...) can constituteelements of common material interestsfor certain social groups.


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Employment is an extremely

important element in defining

identities and common interests

Equally important are culture,common languages and values

and levels of education.


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Societies may be organized

according to

their POLITICAL structure

their ECONOMIC structure


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POLITICAL structure

By form of Government-

Monarchy

Capitalism

Communism

Socialism

Fascism

Other isms


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ECONOMIC structure

By Income/ wealth -

High/ Middle/ Low/

Economically Weaker

Sections By Occupation-

Primary SectorAgriculture

Secondary SectorManufacturing

Tertiary Sector - Services


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Social consequences of industrialization

Industrialization split the

society into two major

groups- The workers and

the capitalists General Standards of living

improved from social and

economic points of view.

More interest in education

arts and s science


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Political Awakening

Society democratized

Growth of Capitalism

increased Production

Growth In tradeeconomic crises

Unemployment

Class conflict Decline of rural industry.


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Modernity and the Evolution ofWorld Society From about the seventeenth century,

the European powers began tooutstrip the rest of the world in thesophistication of their ideas, thedevastating force of their military

technology, the strength of theirnavies and the organization ofeconomic production.

This astonishing transformation inEuropes fortunes eventually enabledit to spread its new institutions all over

the globe and triggered thephenomenon we call modernity, thelogical precursor to the current era ofglobalization.

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2.Evolution of Sociology