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Introduction To Sociology For Elementary Level Students
Introduction To Sociology For Elementary Level Students
ABSTRACT
Sociological studies start from the basic premise that human life is social life. Most of us
are constantly involved in interactions with other humans. From the family we were born into,
through school, work, and game friends, retirement, and even meeting ones commemorate our
deaths. Humans spend life in that rug woven from interrelated social arrangements. Sociology
focuses on these arrangements, including how they are created, how they change, and how they
influence life, the opportunities and choices available (Rebach and Bruhn 2001). The word
sociology itself actually comes from the Latin word socius (companion) and the Greek word logos
(study of). Thus, sociology is literally the study of friendship (Abercrombie, Hill, and Turner
2000). Textbook definitions often extend literal definitions of sociology to understand something
of the complexity of society, the closest definition is the scientific study of the development,
structure, interaction, and collective behavior of social relations. However, this definition tends to
be problematic. What does this definition actually mean? Why is sociology important? Why should
someone study sociology? What does sociology offer us in our personal lives? And what does it
offer the general public? This book attempts to answer these basic questions by introducing core
concepts in sociology and describing how this field is highly dynamic and relevant. Quoting
Lemert (2001), that those who are involved in the study of sociology understand the relationships
and interactions that make up our social world, a world that includes "everything that makes up
the collective life of the group. Starting from the economy, politics, mental life, culture, and many
more.
A. INTRODUCTION
The study of sociology encompasses this diversity of the social world, from intimate
relationships, between one person and another, between one person and another, to the impersonal
encounters of large numbers of people. The focus can be as small as a couple, or it can be much
larger. It can include families, communities, entire cities, and even countries, or the relationships
and interactions between countries. In addition, "virtual" social worlds such as those in cyberspace
are also included in sociological studies. People who practice sociology are called sociologists. In
his classic Invitation to Sociology, Peter Berger (1963) describes the sociologist as someone who
is intensely, relentlessly, unabashedly interested in human behavior. For sociologists, the social
world is a living laboratory and moving images that never stop (Rebach and Bruhn 2001). Since
every aspect of the social world is fair game for sociological study, the potential topics of study
are limitless. Simply put, being a sociologist means never being bored because the sociologist is
A sociological view of the world provides a number of unique benefits and perspectives.
identify the social rules that govern our lives. Sociologists study how these rules are created,
maintained, modified, passed down between generations, and shared among people living in
different parts of the world. They also learn what happens when these rules are broken. Sociology
helps us understand how the social systems in which we live our lives work. Sociologists place
our interactions with other people in a social context. This means they see not only behavior and
relationships, but also how the larger world we live in influences these things. Social structures,
or the way society is organized around the ways in which people are governed, relate to one another
and regulate social life and social processes, or the way society operates, are at work shaping our
lives in ways that are often unrecognized. Because of this perspective, sociologists will often say
that, as individuals, we are a social product. Even though we recognize their existence, these
structures and processes may appear to people in everyday life as through what Lemert (2001:6)
calls a mysterious haze. Sociologists seek to bring these things out of the fog, to reveal and study
them, and to examine and explain their interrelationships and their impact on individuals and
groups. By describing and explaining these social settings and how they shape our lives,
sociologists help us understand the world around us and better understand ourselves.
Sociology helps us understand why we see the world the way we do. We are inundated
with messages of all kinds about how we, and the world around us, both are and should be. These
messages come in many forms such as guidance from parents and teachers, laws handed down by
religious and political entities, and advertisements ranging from offering athletic shoes to feeding
hungry children. Sociology helps us examine the types of messages we continually receive, their
sources, how and why they affect us, and our own role in producing, perpetuating, and
transforming them. Sociology helps us identify what we have in common within, and between,
Sociologists know that, even though people in different parts of cities, countries, or the
world dress differently, speak differently, and have many different beliefs and customs, many of
the same kinds of social forces are at work shaping their lives. This is a particularly important
perspective in a world where media headlines are often accused of focusing on divisive issues.
Sociologists seek what social structures and processes mean for various groups. They see how
various groups shape, and are influenced by, society. Sociologists can help groups discover
common concerns, understanding group perspectives. others, and find ways to cooperate rather
Sociology helps us understand why and how society changes. Obviously, the social
world is constantly changing. These changes have been a major concern of sociologists from the
discipline's inception. However, many sociologists believe that sociology must not stop at simply
explaining society and how and why the world changes. They argue that sociologists too have an
obligation to act, using their unique skills and perspectives to work to improve the world.
Sociology, they argue, is "a field of inquiry that is simultaneously concerned with understanding,
explaining, critiquing, and improving the human condition" (Restivo1991). Armed with a
sociological perspective, we can more effectively take action if we don't like what is happening.
We can better participate in shaping the future for ourselves and others. Sociology provides us
with theoretical perspectives to frame this understanding and research methods that allow us to
study social life scientifically. Sociology is a social science. That means sociologists work to
understand society in highly structured and disciplined ways. Like scientists studying the physical
world, sociologists follow scientific guidelines that incorporate a variety of theories and methods
In the case of sociology, theory focuses on how social relations operate. They provide a
way to explain this relationship. The scientific method provides a way to produce accurate research
results. The main theoretical perspectives used by sociologists are discussed in detail in chapter 2,
while the ways sociologists conduct scientific research are discussed in chapter 10. Sociology is
The results of sociological research may be unexpected. They often point out that things
are not always, or even usually, as they seem at first. “People who like to avoid shocking
discoveries, who prefer to believe that society is what is taught in Sunday school, who like the
security of the rules and principles of what Alfred Schultz called 'the world'. taken for granted',
This challenge means that sociological findings often contradict so-called common
sense, or things that “everyone knows”. What we think of as common sense, or something that
everyone knows, is actually based on our own experiences and the ideas and stereotypes we hold.
It gives us a very limited view of how the bigger world really is. Taking a sociological perspective
requires that we look beyond our individual experiences to better understand everyday life (Straus
1994).
It allows us to look for the social forces that influence our lives and shape those experiences. Once
we have a solid understanding of these forces, we can better deal with them. For example, the
general perception is that suicide is the act of those with individual psychological problems.
However, early sociological studies of suicide by Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) revealed the
importance of social factors, including relationships within the church and family, in suicide
(Durkheim 1966).
HISTORY OF SOCIOLOGY
Sociology is rooted in the works of philosophers, including Plato (427-347 BC), Aristotle
(384-322 BC), and Confucius (551-479 BC). Several other early scholars also took a sociological
perspective. The Chinese historian Ma Tuan-Lin developed, in the thirteenth century, sociological
history by looking at social factors influencing history in Wen Hsien T'ung K'ao's encyclopedia of
general knowledge (General Studies of Literary Remains). Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406 who in his
Enlightenment thinkers also helped set the stage for the sociologists who would follow.
The Enlightenment was the first time in history that thinkers attempted to provide a general
explanation of the social world. They were able to break away, at least in principle, from
elaborating some of the existing ideologies and trying to lay down general principles that explain
social life (Collins 1994). Writers of this period include a number of famous philosophers, such as
John Locke, David Hume, Voltaire (FrançoisMarie Arouet ), Immanuel Kant, Charles-Louis de
Macionis (1995) explains that scholars or intellectuals have been interested in the nature of society
throughout history. They usually focus on what an ideal society would be like.
During the 1800s, however, they began to study how society really was and how social
arrangements actually operated (how society "worked"). Armed with this knowledge, they feel
they can better address social problems and bring about social change (Collins 1994). These
intellectuals became the first sociologists. The term sociology was coined by the French
philosopher Auguste Comte (1798–1857), who became known as the Father of Sociology. He first
publicly used the term in his work Positive Philosophy (1896, orig. 1838; Abercrombie, Hill, and
elementary school 7 secretaries and student of the French social philosopher Claude Henri de
Rouvroy Comte de Saint-Simon (1760–1825). Saint-Simon was an advocate for scientific and
social reform. He advocated the application of scientific principles to study how society is
organized. Armed with this knowledge, he believes he can determine the best way to transform,
and organize, society to address social problems such as poverty. Comte saw history as divided
into three intellectual stages. The first, or theological, stage includes the medieval period in which
society was seen as a reflection of the will of a god. The second, or metaphysical, stage emerged
during the Enlightenment and focused on the power of "nature", rather than God, to explain social
events
Comte regarded his own time period as the third stage, which he called the positivistic,
or scientific, stage. During Comte's lifetime, scientists learned more about the laws that govern the
physical world. For example, in the field of physics, Sir Isaac Newton (1641-1727) has developed
the law of gravity. Advances were also made in other natural sciences, such as biology. Comte felt
that science could also be used to study the social world. Just as there are testable facts about
gravity and other laws of nature, Comte thought that scientific analysis could also discover the
laws that govern our social life. It was in this context that Comte introduced the concept of
positivism to sociology - a way of understanding the social world based on scientific facts. He
believes, with this new understanding, people can build a better future. He envisioned a process of
social change in which sociologists play an important role in guiding society. Other events of that
period also influenced the development of sociology. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries were
a time of many social upheavals and changes in social order that caught the attention of early
sociologists. As George noted Ritzer (1988, 6-12), the political revolutions that swept through
Europe during the eighteenth and the nineteenth led to a focus on social change and the formation
of social order which is still a concern of sociologists today. Many early sociologists were also
concerned with the Industrial Revolution and the rise of capitalism and socialism. In addition, the
growth of cities and the transformation of religions led to many changes in people's lives. The
early founders of sociology all shared the vision of using sociology not only to explain social
problems, but also to find solutions to them (Turner 1998, 250). Sharing Comte's beliefs, many
early sociologists came from other disciplines and made significant efforts to draw attention to
social problems and bring about social change. In Europe, for example, the economist and
philosopher Karl Marx (1818-1883) collaborated with the wealthy industrialist Friedrich Engels
many factory workers were extremely poor, they attacked the inequalities that were rampant at the
time and focused on the role of the capitalist economic structure in perpetuating this inequality. In
Germany, Max Weber (1864–1920) was active in politics. Meanwhile, in France, Emile Durkheim
advocated educational reform. In the United States, social worker and sociologist Jane Addams
(1860-1935) became an activist on behalf of poor immigrants. Addams founded Chicago's Hull
House, a residential home that provided community services such as kindergartens and daycares,
a job bureau, and a library. It also provides cultural activities, including an art gallery, music and
arts classes, and America's first Little Theater. Louis Wirth (1897–1952) built a child guidance
clinic. He applies sociology to understand how social influences impact children's behavior
problems and how children can be helped by using this knowledge. During World War II,
sociologists worked to improve soldier life by studying soldier morale and attitudes as well as the
Sociologists are also responsible for some aspects of our daily life that are now known.
For example, the sociologist William Foote Whyte (1914–2000) improved restaurant service by
developing the spindle that waiters in many restaurants use to send food orders to the kitchen
(Porter 1962). Robert K. Merton (1910–2018) developed the concept of what would become a
focus group, which is now widely used in the business world. The sociological perspective is also
the basis of many of the concepts and terms we use every day. Lawyers invoke "mitigating
circumstances" on their client's behalf, acknowledging the sociological position that social forces
influence human behavior. Of course it is important to talk about "against the system" as well as
recognizing that social structures exist and influence our lives (Babbie 1996). Sociologists have
also been actively involved throughout the civil rights movement. Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862–
1931) published and spoke extensively against lynching. WEB Du Bois (1868–1963) was engaged
for nearly a century in the study of race and social activism. Gunnar Myrdal's An American
Dilemma (1944) focused public attention on race. Charles G. Gomillion's voter rights efforts in
the 1940s and 1950s were instrumental in the US Supreme Court decision defeating a conspiracy
that had excluded nearly all black people in the Macon district from the ballot (Smith and Killian
1990, 113).
Although they have traditionally received no recognition from their white male
counterparts, women and sociologists of color have made significant contributions to the discipline
since its founding. In recent years, attempts have been made to revive this lost voice for
sociologists. What we know about their life and work points to some very remarkable
achievements. For example, Comte's Positive Philosophy (1896, orig. 1838) was translated into
English by Harriet Martineau (1802-1876). The Comte was so pleased with the translation that the
summary was translated back into French. Martineau was a prolific writer and bestselling author
of various social issues. Her work earned her recognition as the first female sociologist and placed
SOCIOLOGY IN SOCIETY
make a difference in various areas of society. Many sociologists, of course, are teachers and
researchers. However, sociologists actively use their skills throughout society in ways that
transcend academia and the classroom. Some sociologists, called applied or clinical sociologists,
use their skills to find answers to practical problems. For example, they apply their unique
perspectives on conflict and social life to find new ways to assist in mediation and dispute
resolution (Diaz's Introduction to Sociology for 11th Grade Students 2001; Rebach 2001), improve
community services (e.g. find ways to expand telephone services). for people with speech
disabilities [Segalman 1998]), increasing assistance to victims of violence (Kilpatrick, Resick, and
Williams 2001), or even in designing more effective social settings for human interaction from
day care centers to offices to nightclubs (DuBois 2001) . Some sociologists have also started
working in high-tech fields (Guice 1999). Sociologists have even worked with scholars in multiple
disciplines for future studies (Bell 1997; Masini 2000; Shostak 2018.
SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION
Sociologists talk about the relationship between learning to understand and then
changing society as the sociological imagination. C. Wright Mills (1916-1962), a colorful and
controversial professor at New York's Columbia University, coined this term. Sociological
imagination is the ability to see the interrelationships between biography and history, or the
relationship between our individual lives and the larger social forces at work that shape our lives,
for example racism or political agendas. Mills urges us to understand that our personal wealth or
problems, eg job gain/loss, marriage/divorce must be understood in terms of larger public issues,
eg economic health, social changes in the institution of marriage. In simple terms, understanding
that a teenager beats his friend is not only seen as a form of violence or juvenile delinquency, but
also must be seen by various other factors, such as interactions within the family, interactions in
the neighborhood, interactions within the school. , to the culture of violence that may arise in
schools. Or in other words, sociologists try to understand a social phenomenon by widening its
context and boundaries to provide a broader picture, thus, discovery events cannot be fully
Mills opens his acclaimed classic The Sociological Imagination by noting how social
forces and personal life are intertwined: When a society is industrialized, a farmer becomes a
worker; a feudal lord liquidated or became a businessman. When class rises or falls, a man is either
employed or unemployed; when investment rates go up or down, a man either takes a new heart
or goes bankrupt. When the war broke out, an insurance salesman became a rocket launcher; shop
clerk, radar officer; a wife lives alone; a child grows up without a father. Neither individual life
nor the history of society can be understood without understanding both. (1959, 3) Without a
individual terms.
Introduction to sociology for elementary 13 students We may find that both the source
of a problem and the solution to that problem lie within the individual. Unemployment, for
example, is an individual problem for the unemployed person which may be due to its
characteristics such as work ethic, work skills or opportunity. If this person is one of the city's few
unemployed, then a job can be guaranteed if these factors change at the individual level: the person
decides to wake up when the alarm goes off and work hard enough to keep a job, get job training,
or move to the city. others where there is a demand for their existing skills. However, as
unemployment rates soar and large numbers of people are unemployed, it is clear that something
While it is certain that there will still be lazy or unskilled people among the unemployed,
the millions of cases of unemployment cannot be explained at this individual level, and individual
solutions will not solve the problem. Working harder, getting more training, or looking for a
different place of work will not produce a job when the economy is bad and there are no jobs to
be found. As Mills says, the structure of opportunity has collapsed (1959, 9). Finding solutions to
these large-scale problems requires examining the structure of society (Mills 1959). Mills felt that
developing a sociological imagination would help us avoid becoming “victims” of social forces
and take better control of our own lives. By understanding how social mechanisms operate, we can
Economics is the first social science. This science grew out of the practical application
of gathering factual information to business and taxation during the 1700s. In the early 1800's,
history developed as an academic discipline. Psychology then grew from medicine, philosophy,
and pedagogy. Anthropology developed from European discoveries in the Americas, Africa and
Asia. Sociology is one of the youngest academic disciplines, established as a distinct field of study
in Europe only during the 1400s. It was initially indistinguishable from political science, and most
of the early sociologists wrote about political issues outside the field of sociology (Collins 1994,
30-32).
The earliest sociologists discussed throughout this book came to sociology from a variety
of disciplines. Emile Durkheim and Max Weber had studied law. Charles Horton Cooley (1864-
1929) was an economist, Lester Ward (1841–1913) was a biologist, Georg Simmel (1858–1918)
was a philosopher. Even today, sociologists come to the discipline from various backgrounds, such
as Andrew M. Greeley (1928–), a Catholic priest who became a sociologist. The growth of
sociology as an academic study coincided with the founding and upgrading of many universities
to include a renewed focus on graduate departments and curricula on modern subjects, particularly
on US and European campuses (Collins 1994, 41). In 1876, William Graham Sumner of Yale
University (1840–1910), taught the first course identified as "sociology" in the United States. The
University of Chicago established the first graduate sociology department in the United States in
1892. By 1910, most colleges and universities were offering sociology courses, though not in a
separate department. Thirty years later, most of these schools have established sociology
Sociology was first taught in high schools in 1911–12 (DeCesare 2002, 303) Sociology
grew out of, and overlaps with, many disciplines. However, it also expands the boundaries of many
traditional disciplines. As shown in table 1.1, sociologist James M. Henslin (2001c: 11-12)
Economy Trading structures, The social consequences of Focus on more than one structure,
financial markets, production, interrelationships between
transactions distribution, and structures
consumption
History Context and relationship Understanding the social Focus on situation now
to past events context with past events
Focus on the past
now
Politics Group competition for Patterns and consequences Focus on more than structure, the
Knowledge power, scarcity of of power and government interrelationships between
resources in the context structures
of politics and
government
Antropology Variation among Cultural patterns, types and Focus on public industry
different cultures consequences of intra-
communication and
interaction
and inter-community
Many concepts originating in sociology have been adopted by other disciplines. Sociologists have
also adopted concepts from other disciplines. For example, Herbert Spencer (1820–1903), one of
the earliest sociologists, profiled in chapter 2, used the concept of structure used today in
anthropology and political science (Dogan 2000). Sociologists also work with specialists in other
disciplines. Sociology provides a wealth of theory and research that social workers apply in their
practice. The field of social psychology has even developed which incorporates an individualistic
Changes in our social world require sociologists to focus on it in new ways. Among these
changes is the growth of internationally connected systems and technologies that increasingly
enable our interactions to be conducted in ways other than face-to-face (for example, the Internet
and e-mail). Although more than 6 billion people now live on Earth, many sociologists and others
argue that the advent of jet planes, the telephone, the Internet, and round-the-clock news services
broadcast by satellites around the world have made the world a smaller place. , at least in a social
sense. They often argue that the process of globalization is underway. With globalization,
geographical constraints on social and cultural patterns are reduced, and people are becoming more
and more aware of these changes (Waters 2001). Globalization is demonstrated in various events
such as the growing popularity of football in the United States—a sport largely imported from
abroad—the worldwide demand for American films, blue jeans, and athletic shoes, the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and even the offensive September 11, 2001. Other
terms that refer to forms of globalization include the world economy, world markets, and world
systems. These terms are often used to refer to the economic aspects of globalization. Sociologists
have studied these networks since at least the early 1970s (ChaseDunn and Grimes 1995, 387–88).
to sociology for elementary students Globalization is a controversial issue. The literature on this
topic is constantly evolving, and perspectives abound. Debate even surrounds when the process
begins. Dawn of history? Trade routes centuries ago? When did Europeans travel to America?
Colonialism and the presence of oppression of colonized people? The post-World War II era?
Whether the ultimate impact of globalization is positive, negative, or both is a matter of debate
(eg, Barber 1996; Guillen 2001; Gros 2018). However, regardless of their position on these issues,
globalization requires that sociologists extend their traditional scope across society, culture, and
national boundaries by examining the interrelationships that make the social world increasingly
Method
Research Understanding what sociologists do and how they do it requires an introduction to the
guidelines that incorporate various theories and methods that provide accuracy in gathering,
processing, and understanding information. Conducting scientific research provides a way for
sociologists to accomplish one of sociology's central tasks, “gathering factual information about
the work of social life” (Sherman 1985, 23). Research methodology is one of the most important
subfields of sociology (Simon and Scherer 1999). Emile Durkheim (1858–1917) conducted early
research showing that sociology could be used to scientifically examine the impact of social factors
on our lives. The topic is suicide, an event which at first seems entirely dependent on internal
(1966) looks at suicide rates. Using data taken from government sources, he was able to show that
there were social forces at work. By looking for social factors that increase the likelihood of
suicide, Durkheim showed that suicide is related to social integration, or the strength of the social
ties that connect individuals to society. He found suicide rates were higher among men and the
wealthy. Rates are also higher among Protestants than Catholics, the unmarried than the married,
and the childless than the parents. Suicide rates are lower in rural areas. Each of these factors, he
argues, is related to how integrated these groups are into the social fabric.
CONCLUSION
Sociologists share and communicate what they find in a variety of ways. The most
common methods of sharing their findings are by presenting them at professional meetings of
sociologists or by publishing the findings in professional sociology journals. These two places are
designed to enable sociologists and other students to learn more about topics and the theories and
methods used to conduct research. They also allow researchers to receive feedback from other
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