HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT

PRINCIPLES OF
SOCIOLOGY (HRM 115)
NOTES

By Dr. Chipo Hungwe

2016

MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY, P. BAG 9055 GWERU ZIMBABWE

TOPIC 1: INTRODUCTION

What is sociology?
Sociology is the scientific study of human behaviour and how the group influences it. It is
the study of human behaviour in society. Sociology is sometimes referred to as the
science of society or the study of human societies. Ritzer (2015:5) defines sociology as
“the systematic study and the ways in which people are affected by, and affect, the social
structures and social processes that are associated with the groups, organisations, cultures
societies and the world in which they exist”. Giddens (1993:08) defines sociology as the
systematic study of human societies, giving special emphasis to modern industrialized
societies. Sociology studies industrialised societies with an aim of understanding and
predicting the future. Sociology tries to understand the individual‟s place in society, and
society‟s effect on the individual. Sociology studies human social interactions at both
micro and macro levels. The discipline came into being in order to explain the social
transformations and upheavals that took place in Europe in the 19 th century. Auguste
Comte a French philosopher coined the term sociology in 1838.

Sociology and other disciplines

 Sociology differs from anthropology in that while anthropology studies traditional
“other” societies, sociology studies modern societies. However anthropology helps
sociologists in understanding the different forms of human social life that exists.
 Sociology is different from history, which looks at the past.
 While psychology deals with mental processes and how they influence human
behaviour, sociology looks at culture and how it influences human behaviour.

Why study sociology?

 Helps us to understand how human behaviour is shaped by the
group/society. Sociologists are concerned with the relationship/continuum between the
micro (small scale, face to face) and macro (groups, organisations, culture) phenomena.
 Sociology offers a sociological imagination. The term sociological
imagination was first used by sociologist CW Mills (1959). The sociological imagination

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is the ability to situate personal troubles and life trajectories within an informed
framework of larger social processes. Ritzer (2015:17) defines the sociological
imagination as a way of linking private troubles with public issues. It is a distinctive way
of looking at data and reflecting on the world around them. Early thinkers such as Marx
and Weber tried to understand the larger processes that were affecting their own personal
experiences of the world. An example that distinguishes private troubles from public
issues is given by Mills (1959:9) in Matthewman et al (2013: xiii) is that “when in a city
of 100 000 only one man is unemployed, that is his personal trouble, and for its relief we
properly look to the character of the man, his skills and immediate opportunities. But
when in a nation of 50 million employees, 15 million men are unemployed, that is an
issue and we may not hope to find its solution within the range of opportunities open to
any one individual”. Therefore the sociological imagination helps us to understand where
personal troubles end and public issues begin and to be able to offer solutions to these.
 Prediction in order to control – sociological research helps us predict how
the future will be like and thus gives us the ability to control the future.
 Helps by providing a means of increasing our cultural sensitivities. In
terms of social policy, it helps by enabling policy makers make suitable and culturally
appropriate societies.
 In terms of human resource management sociology helps managers to be
able to formulate appropriate policies that are acceptable within certain cultures.

Basic concepts in sociology

Culture
According to Taylor (1871 in Cheater 1989:103-123) culture is “that complex whole
which includes knowledge, beliefs, morals, laws, customs and any other capabilities and
habits acquired by man as a member of society.” This definition can be criticized for
being vague because it has been applied to a wide range of phenomena (It is too broad).
 Giddens (1993:08) argues that culture is the way of life of the members of a
society or groups within a society. Culture differs from society in that while
culture looks at the way of life of a group, society refers to the system of

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 interrelationships connecting individuals within a group. However the difference
is not really great and the two are connected.
 Keesing (1974:80) defines culture as a set of shared meanings and values. Thus
culture can be viewed as a cognitive system where it consists of standards for
deciding what to do about it and for deciding how to go about doing it
 Popenoe (1994) defines culture as shared values, language, knowledge and
material objects. People learn culture over time.

Culture as a resource – culture can be liked to a super market where people pick and
choose the things they want. Thus people pick and choose the norms and values to use in
everyday life. Men and women use several aspects of culture either to attack others or
defend themselves.
Culture as an instrument of domination
(Bourdieu 1984) maintains that culture plays a major role in maintaining social
inequality. Based no their social origins, individuals acquire capacities for interpreting
and using culture codes that affect their opportunities to maintain or change their social
position. In a patriarchal situation, it is culture that upholds the position of men over
women. Cheater (1986:06) goes on to argue that culture can be viewed as a set of
ideological precepts that can be mobilized into socio-political interacts.
Culture as a way of life
O‟Connor and Downing (1995:03) highlight that culture is the essence of a people‟s way
of life, e.g. how they dress, their marriage system, religion etc
Culture industries
These include newspapers, books, art, music who maintain/perpetuate a people‟s way of
life.

The 3 symbols that constitute culture

Peterson (1979:137) argues that norms, values and beliefs are the symbols that constitute
culture:

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 a) Values – these are choice statements that rank behaviour or goals. They are
abstract ideals held by members of a given society. Values can also be defined
as ideas shared by people about what is desirable, acceptable and right.
b) Norms – these are more specific than values. They refer to the “dos” and
“don‟ts” of social life. These are the rules governing social life which people
are expected to observe. Norms can be formal/ written down or informal.
Three types of norms are folkways, mores and taboos. Folkways are norms of
little strength that may be easily broken without any formal sanctions. Mores
(pronounced MO-RA-YS) are strong norms whose violation leads to formal
punishment. Taboos are the strongest proscriptive norms considered sacred
governing what one must not do. They spell out acts considered unimaginable
and unthinkable. Violation of taboos has serious consequences.
c) Beliefs – these are existential statements about how the world operates that
often serve to justify norms and values. Popenoe (1994) defines them as any
statement that purports to describe some aspect of collective reality. Beliefs
are what people hold to be true or have confidence/faith in. They help us
construct our reality and matters of spirituality and cosmology.
Culture therefore refers to the norms, values, beliefs, and material goods created by
people in society. Norms can be divided mores, folkways and taboos.
Subculture- a distinctive culture of a small group existing within mainstream culture
Counterculture- a culture of a group that directly challenges mainstream culture
What are sanctions?-rewards and punishment for particular conduct. So sanctions can be
positive and negative.
What is a social institution? - A relatively stable cluster of social structures that is
intended to meet the basic needs of societies. Examples include families, schools, and
churches.
What is society? – Ritzer (2015:7) defines it as a complex pattern of social relationships
that is bounded in space and persists over time”. Lenski and Lenski (1995) define a
society as people who interact in a defined territory and share culture.

Lenski and Lenski’s (1995) theory of the evolution of society

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These authors differentiate societies by forms of technology. Societies with simple
technology (e.g. hunter gatherers) have little control over the nature and therefore can
support a few number of people. Societies with complex technology are not better but can
support a large number of people who live highly specialised lives. They described 5
types of societies.
(a) Hunting and gathering societies
These are the simplest forms, using simple tools to hunt animals and gather fruits and
vegetation. They consist of small bands of a few dozen people who are nomadic, moving
on as they deplete vegetation in an area or follow migratory animals. They rarely form
permanent settlement. Everyone‟s life is much the same and is focused on getting the
next meal. They only have spiritual leaders. Women are the primary providers of food.
The societies existed around 12 000 years ago. Examples include the Pygmies of central
Africa and Bushmen of southern Western Africa.

(b) Horticultural and pastoral societies

-people discovered the use of hand tools and started raising crops. They also
engaged in pastoralism (domestication of animals) e.g. the Tuaregs. These groups
remain nomadic but had more populations than the hunter gatherers. Social
inequality emerged as societies engaged in slavery, protracted warfare and even
cannibalism. Such societies existed between 10-12 000 years ago.

(c) Agrarian societies

These societies had discovered agriculture. They engaged in large cultivation
using ploughs harnessed by animals or more powerful machines. There are high
levels of social inequality compared to the previous two, landowners are more
important than everyone else. Agriculture propels men into a position of social
dominance.

(d) Industrial societies

These started around the 1750s. They are based on industrialisation (the
production of goods using advanced sources of energy to drive large machinery.

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 Industrial societies emerged as a result of the industrial revolution, with the
building of railway lines, discovery of machines and creation of factories. They
are characterised by occupational specialisation, loss of traditional values and
kinship ties, changes in family organisation, (such as divorce and single
parenting) and huge populations concentrated in cities.

(e) Post-Industrial societies

The term post-industrial society was coined by Daniel Bell (1973). These
societies are based on post industrialism (technology that supports an information
based economy). There is a move from an economy based on factories and
machinery to that based on computers and other electronic devices that create,
process, store and apply information. This is also referred to as the information
society which is also characterised by the growth of the service industry (ranging
from high status service providers such as doctors and lawyers to lower status
house cleaners and those who work behind the counters of fast food restaurants).

What is socialisation?
When children are born into society they are socialised into the way of life of that group.
Socialisation is a process of inculcating societies‟ norms and values into an individual.
Socialisation takes place in two levels: primary and secondary.
Primary socialisation is a process whereby an infant/child acquires the skills/ways of life
of a society into which he/she is born. It mainly takes place at home and is done by the
parents or family of the young child.
Secondary socialisation happens in schools, workplaces, universities, etc. where
individuals continually learn to adjust to the demands of society.
Socialisation is a life long process that starts from birth and end in the grave or death
Roles
As an individual is socialised into society‟s norms and values, he/she learns to take a role.
Roles are socially defined expectations that a person in a given status or social position
follows. It is the duty one carries out whether at home, in the workplace or at school. For
example, my role is to lecture and yours is to be attentive students. Roles are allocated to

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individuals by society. Where these roles become too many for an individual they can
cause role strain/role conflict/role confusion. For example, where one is a student, father,
brother, worker, husband, boyfriend, son and an uncle

Status
This refers to a position that one occupies in the society. It is linked to roles in that for
one to perform a certain role they have to occupy a certain social position. For example,
to be a teacher you have to occupy a certain position. It can either be achieved or
ascribed. An achieved status is not that an individual puts some effort or strives to
achieve, e.g. being a teacher, nurse, doctor etc. One is not born in that position. The
ascribed status does not require any effort form the individual. One finds herself/ himself
in that position, mostly by birth. For example being a prince, chief, woman, man.

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Topic 2: THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGY

The discipline of sociology can be said to have developed as a result of the following
factors:
1. The enlightenment thinkers
2. Industrialization
3. Urbanization
4. Growth of communism
5. The French Revolution
6. The influence of Auguste Comte

The enlightenment thinkers: Philosophical foundations

The general arguments pursued by enlightenment thinkers were:
a) Belief in empiricism – they believed that everything must be empirical, that is,
proved through experiments or other methods. It is through empiricism that
knowledge is increased. If one said the earth is spherical then one had to prove
their claim. Empiricism was an attempt to depart from explaining things using the
supernatural “eternal verities” to explain social reality using reason and science.
b) Rejection of Papal infallibility – they rejected the view that the pope is
infallible/does not sin and argued that everyone responsible for his/her actions.
They also rejected the point that the new pope was appointed by God and argued
that people had the right elect presidents into office, that is, to remove and install
governments into office.
c) Social and moral progress through science.
d) Individualism- seen as the starting point of all knowledge.
e) The search for general laws and freedom.

Rousseau and Montesquieu: the 2 thinkers we shall study in detail

Montesquieu (1698 – 1755)
In his book, Spirit of the laws, he sought laws social and historical development. He
argued that social institutions have an interdependent and correlative relationship with

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one another and are dependant on the form of the whole. Therefore, the whole is greater
than the sum of its parts. Montesquieu studied forms of government such as the republic,
aristocracy, monarchy and despotism. He can be credited for being the first to use the
comparative method of social research (where he compared several governments from
different societies). He also used the ideal type method that was later adopted by Weber
on bureaucracy. On power – Montesquieu argued that power should not be concentrated
in the hands of one man but be distributed among individuals and groups of society. He
believed that liberty is best preserved where interest groups check on the government and
where laws provide for such checks.
His perception of individuals
Montesquieu looked at people not as a multitude of individuals but as a society that could
be distinguished from others by its customs and institutions. He can be regarded as one of
the founders of the sociology of knowledge. Because he argued that the way individuals
perceive customs and ideas of society depends on the social position one occupies and
hence on the cultural perspective one adopts (which is the whole essence of the sociology
of knowledge)

Rousseau (1712 – 1778)

“Individuals are born free but are everywhere in chains.” His main objective was to find a
social order whose laws were in harmony with fundamental laws of nature. He sought an
alternative to the prevailing order, which, to his mind, precluded man‟s perfectibility and
even deformed and violated his nature. Culture, for Rousseau, is an invention of man and
it suppresses man‟s freedom. On government – he argued that governments originated in
order to protect the property of the rich. Karl Marx later adopted this idea in his study of
class struggles.

Why Rousseau is the forerunner of sociology

a) He was among the first philosophers to address systematically the origins, forms
and consequences of inequality in society.
b) He saw clearly that inequality is the main cause of strife and war within and
among societies

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On gender
In his writings of Emile and Sophy Rousseau argued that “men should be strong and
active while women should be weak and passive.” This view influenced how he looked at
education, for example, where he argued that a woman‟s education must be planned in
relation to man. Women, in as far as he was concerned, existed in order t be pleasing in
man‟s sight, to win his respect and love. These are the ideas heavily criticized by
feminists.
The ideas of E.T led to an uproar among French conservatives who not only regarded
them as dangerous but also as leading to the French reverend and the general upheavals
that took place in Europe in the 18th century.

The Conservative Reactions de Bonald & de Maistre (French)

These men were disturbed by the ideas of the E.T, which they regarded as destructive.
They therefore developed a catholic counter – revolutionary philosophy that called for a
restoration of the old order/regime (ancient regime) that had been destroyed by the Rev.
of 1789. They yearned for the golden past and tried everything in their will to turn back
the hands of the clock.
These philosophers advanced several propositions on how society should operate. It is
those propositions that directly influenced Auguste Comte, Durkheim who were the
founding fathers of sociology.
Their Propositions were as follows:
a) They argued that society is greater than the individuals who comprise it. This was
a direct attack on the view held by E.T who stated that only individuals exist and
that society is simply the name one gives to those individuals in their
interrelationships.
b) Far from individuals constituting society, it is society that crates the individuals
by means of moral education or what Durkheim later called social facts.
c) Every institution in society is positively functional – no institution disrupts or is
bad for society. They also argued that institutions are parts of a society, which are
interdependent and interrelated.

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1. Importance of religion and rituals – unlike the E.T who viewed religion, rituals,
and ceremonies and worship as irrational practices of the past, the C.Rs viewed all these
as necessary for the unity of society.

Conclusion
The discipline of sociology developed as a reaction to the ideas of E.Ts. It developed
mainly as counter reaction to the enlightenment era. There are; however, some ideas or
notions that were adopted by classical sociologists such as Saint Simon and Comte that
directly came from Rousseau and Montesquieu.

Urbanisation and industrialisation

Industrialisation greatly changed Europe and its people. The discovery and invention of
machines such as the Spinning Jenny, led to the construction of factories and
workhouses. This led to changes in the laws enacted e.g. the Corn Laws of England 1832
and the factory laws etc. The enclosure act led to the grabbing of land from peasants thus
greatly changing in their lifestyles. Poverty increased and there was need to explain all
these in sociological terms. It can be argued then, that sociology as a discipline developed
in order to explain, describe and understand the social upheavals that took place in
Europe. The social reforms had to be understood and an attempt to predict the future
made. This led to the people such as German theorist, Ferdinand Tonnies who described
the change from traditional societies into modern societies as the move from
Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft. It was the move from a community to a society. Durkheim
in his book Division of labour and Marx in his Das Kapital depict the changes brought in
by the new capitalist system. A social satire was also presented by Charles Dickens in
Oliver Twist (where he depicted the effects of the British poor laws of 1834).

The French Revolution of 1789

It is mainly blamed on the E.T. whose ideas are said to have fuelled the Revolution. It
culminated in the overthrow of the ancient regime or the Catholic Church rule. This
caused much alarm among conservatives who feared the Rev might spread to other

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countries and topple existing regimes. That is why, such philosophers as Comte and
Durkheim were bent on instilling order, progress and social control.

The influence of Auguste Comte (1789 – 1857)

He is credited for coining the word sociology, which to him meant a study in social
physics. Comte regarded sociology as the last science to develop but also as the most
significant and complex of all sciences. Comte was greatly influenced by Saint Simon
and the conservative reactionaries. He regarded sociology as a new religion of which he
was the high priest. For Comte sociology was a “positive philosophy” in the sense that it
emphasized order, progress and social control. His philosophy is positive in the sense that
it opposes the views held which Comte regarded as negative since they had resulted in
the French Rev. Comte believed that questioning time-honoured institutions was
destructive and threatened to undermine all social life. In terms of gender Comte despised
individualism, which he believed was destructive. He was against equality of sexes and
he argued that the females or sex is in a state of perpetual infancy therefore could not be
equated to males. Moreover women knew nothing about issues of state and governance
therefore they should not be allowed to talk. He argued that people who do not know
anything about a certain topic should keep quiet and leave everything to the intellectuals.
If these people were allowed to talk they brought in dangerous ideas that caused social
anarchy.

His method of research

Comte emphasized his techniques as observation, experiments and comparative analysis
as the best of data collection and analysis. He wanted sociology to be modelled along the
lines of natural sciences and he believed that like the natural scientists, sociologists would
formulate laws to explain human behaviour.

Three stages of societal development identified by Comte

1. The theological stage (dominated by religious views)
2. Metaphysical stage (there is a move from religious society to viewing society as a
natural system)

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3. Scientific stage- where there is application of scientific methods to understand
society.

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TOPIC 3: CLASSICAL SOCIOLOGICAL PESPECTIVES

The traditional three main perspectives in sociology are functionalism (Structural

Functionalism by Radcliffe Brown), Conflict theory and Symbolic
Interactionism/Interpretive sociology. Haralambos and Holborn (2013) highlight other
recent perspectives such as feminism, critical theory, phenomenology, queer theory and
postmodernism.

Functionalism
Functionalism is the analysis of society in terms of function with regards to specific
institutions in a particular society. Examples of institutions include the family, church,
school, army police etc. Macionis and Plummer (2005:24) define it as “a framework for
building theory that envisages society as a complex system whose parts work together to
promote solidarity and stability”. Functionalism is not a unified body of knowledge but
has several strands to it, which include Structural Functionalism by Radcliffe Brown,
ideas by Parsons, B. Malinowski etc. Ritzer (2015:37) defines structural functionalism as
a set of ideas focused on social structures as well as the functions and dysfunctions that
such structures perform. It has a positive view of social structures- that they are desirable,
necessary and even impossible to do without. Giddens (1979) argues that functionalism
has often been closely associated with the idea that biology provides the appropriate
model for sociology. Functionalists argue that society is like a human body where every
organ is functional and works for the good of the whole. This whole is greater than the
sum of its parts, that is, the society is sui generis.

Talcott Parsons
He believed that society is a social system and he argued that the central task of sociology
is to analyse society as a system. This system has functionally interrelated variables.
Parsons (like Durkheim and Comte before him) was preoccupied with maintaining order
in the social system. For example during socialisation the basic objective is the
inculcation of norms and values of the social system. Parsons assumed that individuals
are passive during the socialisation process and thus he concentrated in analysing how the

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system controlled the individuals rather than how the individuals acted t create the social
system. For Parsons, institutions performed the following roles:
a) Adaptation – family or school
b) Latency/pattern maintenance – prisons, police
c) Integration – e.g. churches
d) Goal attainment – e.g. schools, universities, workplaces

Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

Books on suicide, Elementary forms of religious life and Division of Labour.
 Was interested in knowing what holds people together. He was greatly influenced
by A. Comte
 He is best known for his view that sociology should study social facts as things –
meaning that social life can be analysed as vigorously as objects or events in nature.
 He was born in France but was a descendant of a Jewish Rabbi. He spent most of
his time teaching moral education in French universities. He was thus bent on
maintaining social order and repairing the social morality of society.

On social facts, Religion and Collective Conscience

For Durkheim the subject matter of sociology should be the study of social facts. These
are “things” external to the individual but constraining and overwhelming individual
behaviour. Norms, values and culture are good examples of non-material social facts.
Other social facts include social morality, collective conscience and religion.
Durkheim defined religion as: “a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred
things. It is these beliefs and practices that unite people into a single moral community.
Various symbols are used in religion. Religion defines the sacred and the profane
(everyday). The various systems are, for example, totems which are represented by
animals/material objects. The totems symbolize sacred energy and serve as an identity for
a clan/group e.g. Shumba, Shiri, Nzou, Hove, etc. In religion men and women feel
overpowered by a force greater than themselves resulting from the collective nature of
the ceremony (collective effervescence). This collective conscience/morality was
reported by Durkheim to be very high in traditional societies e.g. belief in ancestors.

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Mechanical and organic solidarity
Durkheim distinguished two types of morality that exist in traditional and modern
society. These are mechanical an organic solidarity. Mechanical solidarity is dominant in
small-scale societies while organic solidarity is dominant in industrial societies. Under
mechanical solidarity people in small-scale societies are unified because they are engaged
in similar activities with similar responsibilities. In mechanical solidarity individuals
share a common view of the world and a common collective conscience. They think feel
and act the same and therefore act in concert. The nature of the collective thoughts is
limited to the immediate surroundings while the kin group and tribe are the centre and
limits of their universe. Such groups tend to be very religious.
However, under organic solidarity people are held together by their differences (due to
specialization) in urban areas where a high level of interdependency exists e.g. a
household in a city needs a supermarket, baker, butchery, telephone etc.

Anomie
 A term coined by Durkheim to describe a state of normlessness (absence of
norms). It comes from the Greek word anomia meaning without law or without
regulation.
 It is argued that the transition from small scale to industrial societies led to a
decline in common morality. Individuals are said to be experiencing anomie because they
sufficient moral restraints, because they have no clear concept of what is and what is not
proper behaviour. Durkheim went to an extent of arguing that extreme anomie might lead
individuals to commit suicide.

Critique of Durkheim’s social facts, Paradigm

1. On coercion vs. consensus - Durkheim‟s emphasis on common morality as the
force that binds societies together has problems of its own. Societies are not
necessarily held together simply by consensus/common morality. Structures as
forms of social organizations are often held together by force or constraint. This

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 creates tensions, which in some cases results in revolutions e.g. the French Rev
and the 2nd Chimurenga.
2. Sectional interests - Another major weakness is that it glosses over the importance
of sectional interests in creating the so-called common morality/conscience
collective. The sectional interests have various foundations/bases e.g. class, race,
ethnicity, age.

Durkheim’s study of suicide (1952)

It was designed to show that certain kinds of social conditions were necessary for
individuals to want to continue living. While suicide may seem to be an individual act it
is an act that is socially caused by the level of integration one has to his/her society. He
argued that people whose integration into society is either too great or too little are more
likely to destroy themselves. Several types of suicide identified by Durkheim include:
i. Egoistic
ii. Anomic
iii. Altruistic
iv. Fatalistic
Egoistic – occurs because a person lacks strong supporting ties. Too much individualism
means less integration of an individual into society; suicide. Unmarried people more than
married or Protestants more than Catholics commonly committed this type of suicide.
Anomic – occurs due to individual‟s normlessness. It is when society‟s regulation of the
orientation of the individual was broken-down. The absence of norms leaves people
without rules to guide behaviour. This kind of suicide occurs during times of upheavals
or great transformations in the society / in times of general unrest/war.
Altruistic – caused by too much integration into society. It is found among strongly
unified social groups e.g. the military, the Moslems (fighting a holy war) where an
individual loses a sense of self /individuality and puts the interests of the groups before
his or her own e.g. a soldier fighting for his country or Indian women in suttee.
 However Durkheim‟s analysis can be criticized because he used government
statistics, which might have been manipulated by whoever collected them.

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 Fatalistic suicide – happens in extremely oppressive societies people may lose the
will to live and prefer to die rather than continue in misery e.g. the inmates of
concentration camps during the World War 2.

CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE
This perspective traditionally included feminism and critical theory which have now
become stand alone perspectives.
Def: “It is a framework for building theory that envisages society as an arena of
inequality that generates conflict and change” (Macionis and Plummer 2005:26).
According to Ritzer (2015:39) conflict theory is a set of ideas focusing on the sources of
conflict within society: this theory sees society as held together by coercion and focuses
on its negative aspects. Conflict theory is based on the works of Karl Marx though it
involves other thinkers such as Ralph Dahrendorf, Lewis Coser, Louis Althusser and
W.E.B Du Bois.

KARL MARX (1818 – 1883): Conflict theory

 He was a renowned but poor philosopher who relied on the wealth of his friend
Engels. He was of Jewish descent and was born in 1818 and spent his time writing about
the evils of capitalism and suggesting how that system could be overthrown. The main
notions advanced by Marx include: alienation, mode of production, means of production,
ideology, class struggle and religion, historical materialism.
Marx on religion
He argued that religion is the opium of the mind (it numbs the mind). It is also the sigh of
a poor man. Religion is a form of ideology put in place by the ruling class in order to
justify their position.
Marx’s materialist conception of history (historical materialism)
For Marx social change is brought about by economic influences. These are linked to
conflicts between classes. It is these conflicts that provide the motive power of historical
development; therefore history is the history of class struggle. It is through class struggle
than one mode of production is displaced by another e.g. feudalism by capitalism. Marx
argued that in any one time there is a mode of production (system of productive relations)

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that is in place. He identified several modes of production in the history of humankind.
These are:
(a) Primitive communalism
(b) Slavery
(c) Feudalism
(d) Capitalism
(e) Socialism- resources and means of production are collectively owned. Transitory
phase towards communism.
(f) Communism- an economic and political system where all societal members are
socially equal It is sometimes viewed as the same as socialism, however it is the finest
form of socialism.

Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system in which resources and means of producing goods and
services are privately owned (Macionis and Plummer 2005). The common characteristics
of capitalism are: private ownership of property, pursuit of personal profit (greed) and
free competition, consumer sovereignty and markets (laisseiz faire approach, no
government regulation and interference in the market).
Marx highlighted the problems of the capitalist mode of production and the classes that it
formed. He argued that capitalism sowed its own seeds for destruction “capitalism is its
own grave digger.” Marx also identified means of production, which include: land,
labour, capital (these are also referred to as factors of production). The bourgeoisie
owned the land and capital while labour was owned by the proletariat or the working
class. Marx also stated that the capitalist mode of production has two main features; the
base and the superstructure. The base contains all the economic factors of production
while the superstructure is said to contain institutions whose functions are governed by
the relations found in the base. Such institutions include: schools, hospitals, prisons,
workplaces, the family, church etc.

Superstructure (ideology, myths, laws, politics, cultural and educational institutions)

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Base (also referred to as the infrastructure comprises the means of production and
relations of production)

 Basic argument= whatever happens in the area of politics, law, family, etc. it is
determined by the economic base. Therefore those will automatically wield political
power. The base determines the superstructure.
 For Marx the state reflects property relations and class differences. The political
state is the true mirror of various aspects of private interests and at its ultimate height the
state tends to be private property.
 Therefore, individual rights e.g. the right to association, freedom of expression
etc, are illusory. This is because in a capitalist system it is the propertied that often enjoy
these rights and not the property less. Because the lawmakers are recruited from the
propertied class, it is the propertied that enjoy the rights enshrined within the constitution.
 While Marx argues that order in society is a result of the dissemination of the
ruling class ideology and the suppression of weaker classes, Durkheim and the
functionalists believe that order is a result of the collective conscience.

SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
Special emphasis will be laid on the ideas by GEORGE MEAD, CHARLES HORTON
COOLEY, GOFFMAN & BLUMER (theories of development and socialisation)
Def: a perspective that is concerned with the meanings that people place on their own and
other people‟s behaviour. Ritzer (2015:45) defines it as a sociological perspective
focusing on the role of symbols and how their meanings are shared and understood by
those involved in human interaction [words, gestures and even symbols are symbols-they
stand in for things].
Aims and key assumptions of Symbolic Interactionism
 To show how individuals interpret and make sense of the social world in which
they live.
 To show that society‟s institutions are ultimately created, changed and maintained
by people through interaction.

21
 To highlight that people do not act or react automatically but carefully consider
and even rehearse what they intend to do.
 People take into account other people involved and the situation in which they
find themselves. The expectations and reactions of other people greatly affect an
individual‟s behaviour.
 People give meanings to things/ symbols and act or react on the basis of these
meanings. The symbolic meanings are intimately connected with our understanding of
what it is to be and to behave as a human being.
The looking glass self concept by Cooley (1934)
It describes the three processes through which each of us develops a sense of self (who
we are). These are;
A. We imagine how our actions appear to others
B. We imagine how other people judge these actions
C. We make some sort of self judgement based on the presumed judgements
of others
*Therefore other people become the mirror or looking glass that we use to judge our
selves.
George Mead on the significant and the generalised others
Significant others = Individuals who are most important in our development, parents,
friends etc.
Generalised others=society at large
*Argument= we act or behave by taking into consideration the viewpoints, attitudes and
expectations of society as a whole or a community of people whom we are aware of.

The three stages of development by Mead

1. The preparatory stage (2yrs) stage of developing self consciousness
2. The play stage (5yrs) = child tries to act out certain roles of other people
especially parents by behaving as they do. The significance of the play stage is that it is
likely to involve the child in a great deal of role-playing. Through taking the roles of
others the child is able to know who she is by being who she is not. The role in each case
is organised by norms as the child learns them.

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3. The game stage (8years) -this is where the child learns to adjust her behaviour to
the expectations of the general others.
*Society becomes part of us because of our learned understanding of its expectations
(norms) that we internalise in our personality structure. We learn this understanding
through language (a symbol) and we integrate it into our personality through the use of
language and role-playing.

FEMINISM
Feminist theory is a set of ideas critical of the situation confronting women and offering
solutions for improving, if not revolutionising, their situation (Ritzer 2015:41). Unlike
Marxists, feminists see the exploitation of women by men as the most important source
of exploitation, rather than the working class by the ruling class (Haralambos and
Holborn 2013). There are various strands of feminism, however feminists have certain
common ideas, such as the belief in male domination (patriarchy) and that sociology as a
discipline has for a long time been malestream/male dominated. Some of the feminist
thinkers are Ann Oakley(1974), Judith Butler (1990), Valerie Bryson (1999), Mary Daly
(1978), Shulamith Firestone (1972) Sylvia Walby (2011), Bell Hooks (1982 [writes on
black feminism)] and Kate Millet (1970).

POSTMODERNISM
This perspective began in the 1970s and gained momentum in the 1980s and 1990s.
There are various stands of postmodernism, however the main arguments include: a
rejection of the traditional theories of explaining behaviour (functionalism, Marxism and
Interactionism- these are the grand theories). Ritzer (2015:45) defines postmodernism as
a set of ideas oriented in opposition to modern theory, by, for example, rejecting or
deconstructing the grand narratives of modern social theory. It is sometimes referred to as
Anti-modernism. Haralambos and Holborn (2013) state that postmodernists believe that
social behaviour is no longer shaped as it used to be by people‟s background and
socialisation. They argue that factors such as class, gender and ethnic group influence
people a great deal less than they used to, as people are much freer to choose their own
identity and lifestyle. For example people have a choice as to whether to be heterosexual

23
or homosexual, where they live, what clothes to wear etc. Some of the thinkers are: Jean
Baudrillard (1983) and Jean Lyotard (1984). Lyotard believes that all attempts to come
up with general theories (grand explanations) of society are doomed to failure because
society is too complex to be understood from a single perspective. Baudrillard argues that
society has been bombarded by media images to the extent that individuals cannot
distinguish between reality and media image and characters. He writes about „the
dissolution of life into TV” and says “TV watches us, TV alienates us, TV manipulates us
and TV informs us” (Haralambos and Holborn 2013:990). Thus society is characterised
by simulation (an inauthentic or fake version of something) and hyper-consumption
(where we consume more than we really want or can afford).

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TOPIC 4: SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
DEF: Social stratification refers to the ways in which the members of a society rank
people as superior or inferior to one another in social standing. All human societies even
the simplest have levels of social rank as one of the mechanisms influencing how their
members relate to one another. Social stratification is an example of social
differentiation, a means by which individuals distinguish themselves from one another.
Giddens (1993) views stratification as the structured inequalities between different
groupings of people. According to Matthewman et al (2013) social stratification refers to
the systemic ways that groups of people are organised unequally within a broad social
hierarchy. Stratification ranks people in a hierarchy.

Key notions
 Stratification is a characteristic of society that leads to differential access to
resources.
 It persists across generations as social positions shift from parents to their children
thus remaining in the same social position. However some people may experience social
mobility.
 Stratification is everywhere but varies from society to society.
 It sometimes involves beliefs.
 People belonging to a particular group or hierarchy share an identity.
 Stratification describes both a condition and a process (Matthewman et al 2013).

Theories of class and stratification

1. MARXISM 2. WEBERIAN 3. FUNCTIONALISM
Marxism
Main argument = history is the history of class struggles (workers have nothing to lose
except their chains).
An individual‟s class position is determined by his/ her relationship to the means of
production. In capitalism there are two main classes that struggle for resources. Marx
predicted that eventually the working class would realise their exploitation by capitalists

25
and they would unite in a revolution to destroy the capitalist system. The working class
would institute a more benign form of economic system – the communist system.

Key points raised by Marx

1. He wanted to explain social inequalities brought in by different modes of
production. He however, concentrated on the differences in wealth brought in by
capitalism.
2. He defined a class as a group of people sharing the same relationship to the means
of production. This is economic determinism (criticised by Weber as a monocausal
explanation).
3. Where individuals in a class realise their common situation and common enemy
and unite in order to change the situation, they are said to have class-consciousness.
Therefore they are a class for itself. However, where such realisation has not been made
(among peasants who are in competition with each other), the class is said to be a class in
itself (meaning that they are a class objectively but not in subjective).
4. Marx foresaw class polarisation that would ultimately lead to two great classes
fighting each other. Polarisation was defined as a situation where remnant classes from
past modes of production were either absorbed into the working class or the capitalist
class. Since classes are in perpetual conflict, a revolution is not only inevitable but also
necessary to remove inequality.
5. According to Marx the working class is a growing force and a nucleus for social
change. It is the working class that would lead the revolution against the capitalists.
6. With increasing mechanisation, specialisation and division of labour, workers
would become deskilled and lose their individual craftsmanship. They would no longer
be able to claim products as heirs but would become alienated and increasingly
replaceable. Because they are paid low wages workers would be pauperised.

Weber’s (1864-1920) theory of class

He was the first critic of Marx. While agreeing that the economic factors were a major
determinant of stratification, Weber also postulated that STATUS (prestige) and PARTY
(power) were important.

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* Life chances and marketability (a recognised skill or capacity that is deemed to
have a particular value within the labour market.
Key points
1. He defined a class as a plurality of people sharing the same market situation or
market value. In short class = market situation. This definition would produce an infinite
number of classes since small differences exist between people. Weber‟s classes are not
necessarily conscious of their situation.
2. He believed there are 3 sources of stratification, economic class, social status
and political power. A status group is defined as a group of people sharing the same
social honour or lifestyle. Status, unlike class is not objectively given but depends on
people‟s subjective evaluations of social differences. It is based on prestige or esteem.
However, status groups are shaped by lifestyles that are in turn affected by income,
values and education. There is therefore a relationship between economic class and social
status since those in a high social status tend to have greater economic power. However
this is not always the case since an aristocratic family may still have social honour but
living in genteel poverty, in the same manner that a rich person may be denied respect in
society because of their background or social ties. This is very true of the Jewish people
in Europe who own many businesses but lack political power. Soldiers and police officers
of our day also yield much legal power but have few or no property. This disputes Marx
argument that the base determines the superstructure.
3. Weber argued that society is not composed of two classes only but there is a
middle class that is divided into upper and lower middleclass. They belong to the white-
collar category though they also do not own property but they enjoy the advantageous life
chances that come with their skills. He also divided the working class into unskilled
manual workers, semi-skilled manual workers and skilled manual workers. They all fall
within the blue-collar category and own no property they only have manual skills.
4. Weber therefore did not believe in the polarisation of classes since there are
small differences that exist among and between workers. The revolution was therefore
not inevitable but only possible according to Weber.
5. Because of advantageous life chances Weber argued that the middle class
would grow and workers would enjoy high-class positions and grow rich. Thus Weber

27
believed in the embourgeoisement of the middle class (doctors, lawyers) through for
example buying shares in organisation. This process would slowly make the middle class
owners of property. Because of this process it would now be difficult for individuals to
strike let alone unite in a revolution.
6. Classes perpetuate themselves through social closure (boundary formation and
difficult upward social mobility) and social reproduction (from one generation to the
other).

Similarities between Marx and Weber’s theorisation of stratification

1. Both argue that the bourgeoisie exploits the working class in order to have
surplus value/ profits
2. The worker must and is compelled by the whip of hunger to sell his labour for
survival.
3. The worker is a free human being in the sense that he is not a slave (he is paid
for services) and also that he does not own any property.
4. Group conflict is a basic ingredient of society.
5. People are motivated by self interest,
6. Those who do not have property can defend their interests less well than those
who own property.
7. Economic institutions are of fundamental importance in shaping the rest of
society.
8. Those in power promote ideas and values that help them maintain their
dominance
9. Only when exploitation becomes extremely obvious will the powerless revolt.

THE FUNCTIONALIST VIEW OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

 Emphasis is mainly placed on the views of Kingsley Davis and
Wilbert Moore.

Key arguments

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 1. Stratification is functional and necessary. Some jobs are more important than
others and require hard training e.g. medical doctors, pilots etc. therefore after
training the individuals deserve better rewards for their efforts.
2. Class is universal in complex human societies because it serves to produce and
maintain division of labour that is believed to be necessary for any society.
3. Some tasks (such as farming and health care) are essential to the survival of
society and people must be motivated to undertake them. However, some of these
essential tasks are more difficult and require some skill and training.
4. Society must motivate people to take up these jobs and must also select the most
talented people and motivate them to take the jobs requiring their particular
abilities.
5. This motivation is done by highly rewarding some tasks thereby making them
more attractive and ensuring an ample supply of applications. This system of
differential distribution of social rewards is social stratification.
6. Social stratification persists even in democratic societies devoted to ideologies of
social equality because of the need to ensure that significant social positions will
be filled and conscientiously performed.

Critique of the functionalist argument

i. There are problems in defining an important job. What is an important job? How
come some jobs are important for survival but they are lowly paid (e.g. farming).
ii. Not all highly rewarded positions are difficult or socially imperative (air
hostesses, movie stars) nor are all similar statuses rewarded similarly in all
societies. Therefore high rewards do not demonstrate the importance of the job or
the degree of skill needed to perform it.
iii. It is not necessarily true that the most talented and intelligent people occupy these
high rewarding jobs but sometimes, chance and opportunity determines.
iv. Class positions tend to be inherited from one generation to the other.
v. While division of labour is necessary, a class system is not necessary to carry it
out (see division of labour in pre capitalist societies).
Contemporary theories of stratification

29
(See arguments by Goldthorpe, Erik Wright, Ohlins and Runciman). Runciman
(1990) identified 7 classes existing in Britain: the Upper -Upper class (forming about
0,2%. Born rich utilising „old money‟), the lower Upper class (about 10%, the „working
rich‟), Upper middle class (15%), lower middle class (20%), skilled working class (20%),
unskilled working class (30%) and the underclass (5%, they are politically and socially
excluded or marginalised, e.g. vagabonds, misfits, poor old people and single parents)

STARTIFICATION IN PRE-CAPITALIST SOCIETIES

Stratification in pre-capitalist or traditional societies was mainly in the form of Caste,
slavery and estates.
The caste system
Whereas class is a form of stratification based on wealth caste is based on birth. It is
inherited and therefore unchangeable, fixed at birth e.g. the ancient caste system in India.
In Zimbabwe there was stratification according to race/ colour. This also happened in the
apartheid South Africa. There were 4 main castes in India (called Varnas). These were (in
order of descending social standing) the (a) Brahmins (priests) (b) Kshatriyas (warriors)
(c) Vaisyas (artisans and merchants) (d) Sudras (menial labourers)
There were also large numbers of the untouchables (the pariah) that made up the fifth
caste. These did all the dirty and polluting work (e.g. grave digging).

General principles of a caste system

1. Caste is fixed at birth with the individual inheriting the caste standing of his/her
father.
2. It is closely related to the Hindu belief of reincarnation or rebirth where it is
believed that individuals who fail to abide by the rituals and duties of their caste
will be reborn in an inferior position in their next incarnation. The Hindu religion
rationalised the continuation of the caste system.
3. Principle of endogamy = legitimate marriages only took place within each caste
though non-marital sexual unions could take place across caste lines.

30
 4. Every major social institution reflected the caste system for example residence
was geographically segregated. Even child rearing patterns and other family
related matters reflected caste distinctions.
A. There is no upward social mobility in a caste system. The caste acts as an absolute
break on the upward mobility of members of any caste except the highest. In
contemporary USA there is a caste like system where a non-white person cannot climb
the social ladder into the class of whites.

SLAVERY
It is the worst form of stratification where some individuals are literally owned by others
as their property. They can be bought and sold without their consent (see „A‟ level history
on the Trans-Atlantic slave trade).
ESTATES
An estate is defined as a closed system of stratification in which a person is defined by
law and membership is determined primarily by inheritance.
It was common in feudal Europe. It consisted of several strata with differing obligations
to each other. These included the aristocracy, the clergy, the gentry, merchants, artisans
peasants, serfs etc. (see Victorian and Elizabethan literature). Unlike in the caste system a
degree of tolerance was there for intermarriages and individual upward mobility was
tolerated. For example commoners could be knighted for their special service to the
monarchy.

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TOPIC 5: VARIOUS EXPLANATIONS ON THE ORIGINS OF WORK

What is work?
Work is defined in terms of the dynamic relationship between man and nature. Karl Marx
saw work as essentially man‟s transformation through technology, of his natural
environment that reacts in turn by modifying man‟s own nature. Some, however, define
work as an activity whose main function is the satisfaction of elementary human needs.
In industrial societies people work in order to satisfy the needs that are constantly
expanding. Since the reward of work is no longer the direct satisfaction of needs but the
financial means by which they may be satisfied, work comprises a certain economic
dependence which then functions as a basis for distinguishing between work activities
according to whether they are wage earning, self employed etc.
Brown (1978:56) views work as: “physical and mental activities which are intended to
transform natural materials into a more useful form to improve human knowledge and
understanding of the world and or to provide distribute goods and services to others, in
whatever context such activities are carried out”.
The difference between work and employment
Work refers to a general category of an economically oriented transformative activity
while employment is a specific work relationship associated with capitalism. Occupation
refers to a socially structured and socially recognised set of work activities, the carrying
out of which produces goods and or services for which others would be willing to pay.

THE CONFLICT/MARXIST EXPLANATION OF THE ORIGINS OF WORK

*Main concept = Alienation.
Marx believed that modern conditions of work produced alienated labour. In a capitalist
society (where there are class relations) work becomes a distorted and degraded activity
where the labourer is alienated from his products. The worker denies himself in his work,
he feels miserable and unhappy because he cannot identify with the end product. Labour
therefore becomes forced and involuntary because the employer by virtue of his
ownership of capital controls the product and the manner in which work is performed.
Marx also argued that a broad social alienation occurs in society where people stand in an

32
instrumental relationship to one another (labour and capital). Marx contrasted the might
of capital, the huge accumulation of private property, the development of the central stat,
private ownership of cultural and artistic projects with the impoverishment of the mass of
working people who lack control over their own labour. These labourers have therefore
become subject to the industries and technological systems that others have designed and
built and are powerless in the face of market forces. This alienation characterises the
unequal relations found within capitalism.
The labour process
At the heart of Marx‟s theory of the labour process was the emergence of the wage
relationship and of labour as a commodity. When labour is bought and sold on a market
of exchange it becomes an object of commercial investment and this dehumanises work.
Thompson (1986) proposes the following as features of the analysis of the labour
process:
1. The employment relationship as a basic producer of wealth occupies a privileged
position in the analysis.
2. The employment relationship is highly dynamic. Competing capitalists have to
seek even greater profit and hence the labour process will continuously be
transformed in the pursuit of greater productivity.
3. Capital is compelled to increase its control over labour. The means of control are
often very complex and some forms of controls exist outside the labour process
and the degree of control is never total.
4. The employment relationship is both of production and exploitation hence
although it contains aspects of cooperation; conflict remains an endemic and
structural feature of the labour process.
Main point = the alienation of labour has become the root cause of industrial
conflict.

MAX WEBER’S IDEAS: THE PROTESTANT ETHIC AND THE RISE OF

CAPITALISM

33
Refer to: Weber, M.1958 The protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism and Eells and
Walton 1961 pg 29-30 Conceptual foundations of business.

Weber argued that changes in the religious ethic resulting from the reformation and the
protestant movement provided an ethical hence economic climate that was highly
favourable to the progress of capitalism. This was especially true for Protestantism in
England, Scotland, The Netherlands and the New England that were among the first
countries to undergo industrial development.
Luther‟s emphasis on individual enterprise, on the biblical interpretation and on the
importance of work was reinforced and expanded by Calvin, who placed frugality, thrift
and industry (virtues dear to those earlier businessmen) high on his schema of values.
Furthermore, by focusing on the notion that worldly success might be construed as signs
of God‟s approval of the elect, Calvin provided a religious incentive that harmonised
effectively with the spread of the profit motive in western society. The following are
some of the values of the Protestants according to Benjamin Franklin:
1. Use of time= time is money and ought to be used productively. One must not be
idle.
2. Credit is money= if credit becomes overdue one must demand interest.
3. Money can beget money= there is much sense in investing (making money makes
sense) the more there is of it, the more it produces so that the profits rise quicker
and quicker.
4. Honesty = emphasised punctuality and justice in all their dealings “never keep
borrowed money an hour beyond the time you promised”.
5. Hard work and self-determination= denial of pleasure (frugality and asceticism).
“The sound of the hammer at 5 in the morning or 8 at night, hard by a creditor
makes him cry six months longer, but if he sees you at a billiard table, or hears
your voice at a tavern, when you should be at work, he sends for his money the
next day and demands it in a lump”.
6. Record keeping = keeping an account of both your expenses and income.

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TOPIC 6 ORGANISATIONS

What are organisations? Organisations can be defined using their characteristics for
example goals or formality. Etzioni (1964) defined organisations as social units that are
deliberately constructed and reconstructed to seek specific goals. Scott and Blau (1963)
defined an organisation as a formal status structure with clearly marked lines of
communication and authority. Weber defined bureaucracies (organisations) as a social
relationship with clearly marked lines of communication and authority.
Why study organisations?
 Everything happens within the context of organisations: the modern society is
an organisational society.
 Organisations are pervasive (everywhere)
 What is good for society is achieved through organisations but the reverse is
also true.
Origins of organisations (see exodus 18 vs. 17 Jethro’s advice to Moses. He
emphasised hierarchy of authority, delegation and selection of leaders on the basis
of ability).

FORMAL ORGANISATIONS
These are entities that coordinate their activities in the pursuance of some common
explicit goals. This is achieved through division of labour and function and also through
the hierarchy of authority.
Characteristics of a formal organisation
 It is deliberately planned and created.
 It is concerned with the co-ordination of activities.
 It is hierarchically structured with stated objectives, specification of tasks and a
defined relationship of authority and responsibility.
 Communication is through formal channels (top to bottom) and is usually very
slow but high on accuracy.

35
 The basis for interaction among individuals is the individual‟s position or
functional duties.
THE INFORMAL ORGANISATION
This arises out of the interaction of people working in the organisation, their
psychological and social needs
And the development of groups with their own relationships and norms of behaviour,
irrespective of those defined within the formal structure.
Characteristics of the informal organisation
 It is flexible and loosely defined
 Relationships may be left undefined
 Membership is spontaneous and with varying degrees.
 Communication is through the grapevine. In terms of speed informal
communication is fast but the degree of accuracy is very low.
 The basis for interaction is not the functional duties but personal
characteristics, ethnic background and status of individuals.

FUNCTIONS OF THE INFORMAL ORGANISATION

1. It provides satisfaction of member‟s social needs and a sense of
personal identity and belonging.
2. It provides for additional channels of communication for example
through grapevine information of importance to particular members is communicated
quickly.
3. It provides a means of motivation, for example through status, social
interaction and informal methods of work.
4. It provides a feeling of stability and security through informal “norms‟
of behaviour the organisation can exercise a form of control over members.
5. It also highlights the deficiencies/ weaknesses of formal organisation,
for example areas of duties/ responsibilities not covered in job descriptions/ outdated
systems and procedures. The informal organisation may also be used when formal
methods would take too long or will not be appropriate to deal with an unusual or
unforeseen situation.

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THE BUREAUCRACY
Refer to: Moyo (1992) The politics of administration (this book is available in the main
library). Moyo (1992) defines bureaucracy as a formal arrangement of functions, duties
and technical competence. For Weber, bureaucracy is simply an organization
characterized by a hierarchy of full time paid officials.

Weber’s social action theory

Weber came up with 3 types of action. These are affective, traditional and rational.
Affective action arises from the emotional state of the actor and does not result from any
prior planning or thinking, for example, action from loss of temper. Traditional action is
based on the way things have always been done. Prior thinking and planning precedes
rational action. It results from a cost benefit analysis and an awareness of set goals.
Bureaucracy is therefore an expression of institutionalised or formalized rationality.

Bureaucracy and control

Bureaucracy is a system of control and not just an arrangement of functions. This control
allows for strict supervision of subordinates by superiors through a hierarchical
arrangement of positions where power decreases as one moves down the hierarchy and
vice versa. Weber argues that for people to accept the exercise of power over them they
must perceive that power is legitimate. Legitimate power is called authority. There are 3
types of authority- traditional, legal-rational and charismatic authority. An individual who
commands respect because of their extra ordinary powers and qualities possesses
charismatic authority. Such individuals create organizations with ill-defined rules and
regulations since they are the embodiment of the organization. Traditional authority is
accepted on the basis of the belief in the rightness or correctness of the traditional order.
This type of authority can sometimes result in hierarchical arrangements for example
chiefs in rural areas. Rules are arbitrary. People are connected to the past. Rational- legal
authority is where there is acceptance of a set of rational rules (well thought out). They
are impersonal and they regulate the relationship between the leader ad followers.

37
Anybody can be a leader. This legal rational authority produces a bureaucratic structure
of organisation.

The ideal type bureaucratic structure

The ideal type is a mental construct. In reality there can never be such a structure with all
the characteristics listed by Weber. They include the following:
1. Clearly defined areas of responsibility- every member of the organisation has a
specific area or task of operation.
2. Hierarchical arrangement of offices forming a chain of command where authority
and communication flow from top to bottom.
3. Use of abstract rules- these govern relations between members of the
organisation. Obedience to one‟s superiors is an acceptance of these rules. People
respect the position not the individual him/herself.
4. Impersonality- officials carry out their duties in a spirit of formalistic
impersonality (no hatred or passion).
5. Appointment of officials is on the basis of knowledge and expertise. Promotion is
also based on these.
6. Separation of private and official duties- no room for private gains.
7. Immortality of the organisation- people come and go but the organisation remains.
It does die with the leader, as might be the case in charismatic leadership.
Critique of bureaucracy
1. In reality there is so much overlap of responsibility- there are no clearly defined
responsibilities.
2. Communication is not always hierarchical from top to bottom but can also be
influenced by kinship relations and informal relations.
3. In some cases rules are just an appearance, they can be bent, broken or ignored.
4. Impersonality is impossible in our African context.
5. Bureaucracy is a threat to human freedom by over reliance on rules. This creates
an iron cage.
6. It stifles creativity and initiative because it encourages uniform behaviour.

38
 7. It creates specialists without spirit (without morality feeling for self and others)
see bureaucrats in government offices in Zimbabwe.
8. Marxists argue that bureaucracy is a characteristic of capitalist societies.
Therefore in communist societies bureaucracy is not necessary. It can only be
understood in terms of the ownership of means of production; therefore
bureaucracy is an instrument of control and coercion by those who own the means
of production. Bureaucracy is a means of controlling labour by the ruling class.

The ideas of Robert Michels as a critique to bureaucracy

He wrote a famous book called Political parties (1962). He is best known for his saying
that who says organisation says oligarchy. He was concerned with the relationship
between bureaucracy and democracy. He wrote about political parties and trade unions
with an emphasis on the German Socialist Party. Democracy can be defined as self-rule.
Today self-rule is through representatives in parliament. Michels argues that democracy
is inconceivable without organisations. People have to come together to form an
organisation in order to advance their interests for example, through trade unions, student
unions. However, there is a paradoxical situation created. The paradox is that as soon as
people try to organise themselves bureaucracy steps in. As soon as bureaucracy sets in
democracy disappears. According to Michels bureaucracy brings with it oligarchy (rule
by a few) which kills democracy. As the organisation grows bigger and complicated it
becomes difficult for everyone‟s views to be heard. The more representation there is the
less democracy there is. The few representatives chosen as servants of the people end up
being masters of the people ands they become difficult to remove. The following are the
reasons why democracy is impossible in organisations as given by Michels in Zeitlin
(1996):
 The nature of the human being – it is man‟s inherent nature to crave power and
once having attained it seek to perpetuate it.
 The nature of the political struggle- it is such that people must choose
representatives with expertise, specialisation and objective knowledge to advance
their cause. This creates the perennial incompetence of masses that are ignorant of
most issues. It however, creates a gulf between the leaders and the followers.

39
  The tendency of leaders to develop interests peculiar to themselves and a creation
of a cult where leaders are viewed as heroes. Leaders create an impression that
they are indispensable and whenever their views are challenged they threaten to
resign.
 The enormous populations in modern organisations render it technically
impossible for all members to govern or administer directly their common affairs.

Therefore while organisations are positive they have a natural tendency to kill democracy
as they become more and more bureaucratised.

Gouldner’s critique of bureaucracy

His 1954 study entitled Patterns of industrial bureaucracy shows how bureaucracy varies
especially in a mining plant where due to the unpredictable nature of especially
underground mining, bureaucracy is limited. Workers do not follow strict rules but rely
on the informal group.
Robert Merton’s (1940) study
Merton was concerned with examining the dysfunctions of bureaucracy, discovering the
manifest and latent functions of organisations and suggesting the functional alternatives
of organisational arrangements. Merton argued that bureaucratic structures have certain
characteristics that transform the personality of members of organisations. This is due to
the emphasis on the reliability and predictability of behaviour in bureaucratic
organisations. This results in the reduction of personal relationships where individuals are
treated as cogs of a machine and as role actors. Such treatment creates friction between
the bureaucrats and the public. The public view these officials as cold and unfeeling.
There is also excessive internalisation of rules for their sake such that there is goal
displacement where the goal becomes doing something according to the rulebook and not
according to organisational needs. Such action could lead to organisational inefficiency
and ineffectiveness. There is also lack of innovativeness in such organisations because no
one is prepared to try out new ways of doing things.
Selznick’s 1948 study of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

40
The article is entitled “foundations of the theory of organisations “in the American
Sociological Review 13 pages 25-35. His major argument was that organisations are not
self-contained entities isolated from the environment. Organisations contain both rational
and irrational elements. The rational aspects cannot cope with the irrational nature of
human beings leading to the problem of recalcitrance (inconsistencies). This is mainly
because organisations are made up of individuals whose goals may not necessarily be
consistent with the goals of the organisation. The organisation deals with this problem
through cooption. This means incorporating or bringing in new elements into the decision
making process so as to prevent this from becoming a threat to the survival of the
organisation. Selznick illustrated this in his study of the TVA, a development agency
created by the US government in 1933. It was a democratic organisation tasked with the
development of the area through working with the grassroots level individuals who
happened to be poor blacks. However, because the authority‟s survival was threatened by
the exclusion of rich whites that had the capacity to destroy it, the organisation co-opted
them. By co-opting them the authority lost focus and ended up benefiting the powerful
whites at the expense of the poor blacks for whom it had been created. The organisation
did so because of the need to survive.
Peter Blau’s critique of bureaucracy
Blau‟s critique is contained in his two publications: The dynamics of bureaucracy (1963)
and On the nature of organisations (1974).
Blau was concerned with the informal aspects of organisations. He criticised Weber‟s
ideal type for ignoring informal groups. Blau argued that far from creating inefficiency,
informal groups actually enhanced efficiency in organisations. He demonstrated this
through a study that involved the observation of workers employed to inspect business
practices and determine laws dealing with employment standards and the degree of their
compliance. Those employed in the study were not supposed to discuss among
themselves their observations (because they would influence each other). They were
supposed to report all their problems to their superiors. However, workers wee afraid to
consult their leaders on their problems for fear of being judged incompetent. They
decided to consult each other. Because of that it was discovered that workers beca me
more efficient. This was because of 2 main reasons: they saved time by not going to the

41
superior and discussing among themselves. They also were able to increase their
information base because they pulled their knowledge and experience together to
facilitate problem solving. Therefore instead of creating inefficiency, the unofficial
practices led to organisational efficiency.

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TOPIC 7: DEVIANCE, CRIME AND SOCIAL CONTROL
Deviance is the violation of rules and norms of a particular social group. Goode (1978)
defines it as behaviour that some people in society find offensive and which excites or
would excite in these people disapproval, punishment, condemnation or hostility. While
this definition might be useful to some extent, it is limited in that not all deviant acts are
offensive and not all deviant acts attract negative sanctions, for example a soldier who
risks his life over and above the call of duty is a deviant but that kind of act may be
rewarded as bravery. This means that deviance can either have negative or positive
sanctions.
Deviance varies in terms of time (where the war veterans of today were once called
terrorists), context (where for example, homosexuality is a crime in Zimbabwe and not in
South Africa) and the person who is committing the deviant act (for example, sex by
young unmarried adults and sex by married couples).
Distinguishing deviance from crime
Deviance is that type of behaviour that does not conform to society‟s norms and values
while crime is behaviour that violates the laws of the land and attracts official
punishment. Therefore crime is formally punishable deviance. But this does not mean
that those acts that are made law are more serious than deviance in general. There are
however, other deviant acts that are not criminal offences for example, mental illness and
divorce.

A look at crime statistics in Zimbabwe (from the Zimbabwe prison statistics 2012)
Marital status
Married males constitute 65% of all male prisoners, divorced/separated=2%, widowed
=15 and the never married=32%. Among female prisoners married females=48%, never
married = 31%, divorced/separated =13% and widowed =8%.
Age
The age with the highest number of prisoners is 20-29. Common crimes for the never
married men= common assault, theft and rape. For the married men the common crimes
are housebreaking and theft and common assault.

43
The common crime for those males below 15 and over 60 years of age= rape.
Religious affiliation
64% of prisoners claimed to be Christian, 22% had no religion and 12% were
traditionalists.
Education
51% of male prisoners and 50% of female prisoners had form 3 to 4 as the highest level
of education completed, while 26% males and 27% females had primary education.
Males with no education were imprisoned on rape charges. Prisoners with diplomas and
degrees mainly commit fraud.
Employment status
59% males and 75% females were unemployed, 25% males and 11% females were
employed while 16% males and 14% females claimed to be self employed.

THEORIES OF DEVIANCE AND CRIME

1. Spiritual /religious explanations of deviance

The belief is found in both African Traditional Religion and Christianity where deviance
is said to be caused by evil spirits. Both the cause and the cure are said to be found in the
supernatural. The world is viewed as a battleground between two opposing forces (evil
and good) that compete to control the world including the minds, behaviour and lives of
people. Though people are at every point of their lives at the mercy of these 2 opposing
forces, there is a degree of choice on the part of the humans. Certain things can be done if
people want to avoid control by evil spirits. In Christianity one has to be born again and
claim the protection of God (Jesus Christ) who is more powerful than evil spirits. In
African Traditional Religion one must live peacefully with one‟s ancestral spirits that
protect the individual. The manifestation of the evil spirits takes place in 2 ways; through
temptation and possession (where the evil spirit takes over the control of the human being
causing them to do things they would otherwise not do). The solution is that one must
consult diviners or church pastors.

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 2. The pathological approach to deviance
The approach is twofold; the physiological and the psychological. Both view deviance as
an illness.
Biological explanations
a) These are influenced by writings of Lombrosso an Italian doctor who wrote in his
book The criminal man that criminals have certain biological characteristics
peculiar to them. During his autopsy of Villela a famous criminal, Lombrosso
discovered that Villela‟s skull was shaped like that of an ape. Lombrosso
concluded that Villela was an atavist (an evolutionary throwback (backward).
Therefore according to Lombrosso all criminals are atavists, who are a result of
evolutionary accidents. The atavists are more of animals and therefore prone to
acts of crime. Lombrosso argued that there are genetic characteristics that are
manifested in the physical appearance of deviants. These include: large jaws,
large nipples, high cheekbones, large ears, extra toes, extra fingers and
insensitivity to pain.
b) The explanation by Sheldon and Glueck- they associate deviance with a body type
called a mesomorph. This is an athletic, aggressive, boisterous and tense
individual and therefore prone to criminal tendencies.
c) The British criminologists (1960) they argued that crime resulted from
chromosome abnormality. Normal individuals have XX for women and XY for
men. There are instances where in men there is an extra Y and this is what leads
to an inclination towards deviant behaviour.

Psychological explanations- deviance is either caused by psychologically inherited

personality or incomplete socialisation. Hans Eysenck (1970) argues that people who
are extroverts are likely to commit crimes because they like excitement, taking risks
and chances that are impulsive. Bowlby also argues that children who do not
experience emotional support from their mother will suffer from maternal
deprivation. They will also develop a psychopathic personality (acting impulsively
without regard for consequences of their actions and without any sense of guilt).

45
Critique of all these theories from Taylor, Walton and Young (1973) The new
criminology
a) To use physical appearance is biased because children from the working class are
more likely to have characteristics of mesomorphs. This results from the
environment in which they grow up (involvement in manual labour makes them
physically fit).
b) Those who make the laws usually have a bias towards those in lower strata
therefore the working class people are likely to be thieves because of their
economic conditions.
c) Psychological theories ignore cultural and social factors that affect individuals in
adult life. Individuals are not captives of their childhood experiences but are
capable of changing.

3. The Functionalist Perspective of Deviance

(a) Deviance is viewed as a necessary function. According to Durkheim a limited
amount of crime is necessary and beneficial to society. Society cannot do without
deviance. However, too much crime can bring about the collapse of society.
Through deviance boundaries of acceptable behaviour are constantly defined and
made known to all. Thus some form of publicity/drama or public punishment is
needed to reaffirm the norms of society. These days newspapers, televisions and
radios perform this publicity function with their often lurid accounts of criminal
acts. Deviance increases in times of anomie. The only criticism levelled on this
kind of thinking is that it emphasises on the idea that the law reflects collective
conscience whereas it ignores that power is an important factor that can influence
the lawmaking process.
(b) Cohen on the functions of prostitution - He argued that it is a safety valve; it
provides a relatively harmless way of expressing discontent and in the process
protecting the marriage. It is also viewed as a warning device- a sign that some
aspects of society are ineffective and draws the attention of decision makers and
policymakers that something should be done. Deviance is therefore not the

46
 disease but only a symptom. What we should be worried about is not the deviant
behaviour but the causes of such behaviour.
(c) Merton‟s strain theory - it was formulated in the 1930s in response to the great
depression period of enormous unemployment and social upheavals in the USA.
He argued that crime was one possible outcome of a society that attempted to
impose upon people values that were incompatible with the economic reality. He
also argued that there was a tremendous cultural stress on being successful (the
goal) yet it was virtually impossible for the majority of the population to achieve
success in a socially acceptable manner (means). The desire to achieve socially
stressed goals actively promoted deviant behaviour.

Responses to the situation Means Goals

Conformity + +
Innovation - +
Ritualism + -
Retreatism - -
Rebellion + +
- -

Because people are socialised differently different classes respond differently to the
situation. The working class are then more likely to rebel than any other group.

4. Interactionists and deviance

Interactionists are concerned with 2 things; how an individual comes to be labelled as a
deviant and the consequences for that person being so labelled (the process of labelling
and the deviant career) and how certain acts come to be defined as deviant (the process of
law creation). Howard Becker advanced the labelling theory where he argued that social
groups create deviance by making rules whose infraction constitutes deviance. In other
words without rules there would be no deviance. Deviance therefore is not in the quality
of the act but rather in that the act violates certain rules and functions created by society.

47
Three concepts advanced by labelling theorists are:
a) Variability- that the process of labelling is not straightforward but varies
according to age, gender, etc. for an act to be defined as deviant it depends on
who has committed it, when and where, for example being naked is normal
behaviour in certain circumstances, in the presence of certain people but in
other circumstances nudity is deviance.
b) Negotiability- that some people may have the power to reject a negative label
while others are unable to master enough resources to deny the negative label
and so must accept it. Therefore, a deviant is one who the label of deviant has
been successfully applied. Any act can become deviant when others choose to
define it as such. Thus according to Becker, the difference between the
criminals and us is that criminals get caught. Once a person is labelled a
deviant and the label sticks, this will affect their future behaviour. If a person
accepts the label and behaves according to it, this is called a self-fulfilling
prophecy. This is the stage where deviance becomes a career and the
individual behaves in a deviant way in order to fulfil the label. However,
Lauer (1982:210) says some people may have been accidentally labelled as
deviants and put in institutions meant to correct their behaviour but
unfortunately these institutions have created deviance in them by hardening
these people. Therefore far from serving as a deterrent or as a place for
rehabilitation, prisons are more likely to be good training grounds for further
deviance.
c) Master status- once a label is successfully applied it takes precedence over all
other labels and all actions of the individual are interpreted in light of the
deviant label.

Edwin Lemert argues that societal reaction to an act is the most important factor in
explaining deviance. He identifies primary and secondary deviance, where primary
deviance includes the small deviant and widespread acts which are common and tend to
be regarded as normal. All of us have committed such acts though we have not been

48
publicly labelled. Secondary deviance is where one gets caught and the deviant label is
applied to them.
[Other theories on Interactionism include the differential association theory and routine
activities theory. Students are instructed to research on these!].

Critique of Interactionism (from Taylor, Walton and young in The new criminology
(1973)
a) The argument that deviance is created during the interaction process is inaccurate
since acts are deviant even before being defined as such for example murder is
deviant regardless of who defines it.
b) They overlook the question of power in the definition of deviance. For example
why is it deviance to smoke marijuana and legal to smoke Madison?

5. The Marxist view of deviance

Their main question is who makes the laws and for whose benefit? The definition of what
is criminal reflects the dominant social values. The law therefore serves the interests of
the powerful. The less powerful are more likely to be arrested and put in prison. The
crimes of the powerful, compared to the relatively powerless, go unpunished because it is
not the purpose of the law as it is enforced, to punish them. The main question is; why is
causing the death of another person while in a fit of temper during a street fight, regarded
as murder, while the death of workers due to exposure to dangerous chemicals is
considered at worst as worth a fine? This is besides the fact that management is quite
aware of risks involved. Among the working class crime acts as a redistributive
mechanism where the poor steal from the rich.
Criticism of Marxism
a) They ignore the consequences of street crimes where the poor steal from the poor.
b) They do not explain crime in communist societies that have at least as high crime
rates as capitalist ones.

49
 6. Sub- cultural views on crime and deviance (Cohen 1955 and Miller 1962)
Deviance is a subculture. Cohen (1955) who studied delinquent boys discovered that
there is nothing wrong with delinquents- they simply perceive the world in a different
way and act accordingly. A subculture is a distinctive set of values that guide behaviour.
It exists within mainstream culture. Lower class boys suffer from status
frustration/deprivation therefore they develop alternative ways of gaining status and may
thus lead to delinquency. Some of these acts are not motivated by economic ends, for
example graffiti writing and vandalism.

 Students are instructed to read on control theories of deviance (e.g.

explanations by Travis Hirschi and Walter Reckless.

50
TOPIC 8: THE SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION

The key aim is to show how classes are reproduced through the educational system
especially the reproduction of the working class. Youth entry into the labour market from
school is affected by the following:
1. The class position of the family- resources used by the family to secure better
employment (through connections).
2. The gender of the new job seeker.
3. Locality within which work is sought
4. Educational skills possessed by the job seeker
5. State policies on youth employment and training

What is education?
Education is the social institution that formally socialises members of society.
What is learning? It is the lifelong process of social and personal experiences that alters
an individual's knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. Education is the formal institution
that directs many of the learning experiences within a particular society (Popenoe 1994).
It is a way of socialisation where people are taught the values of society. In modern
society formal education has largely replaced informal ways of socialisation. In many
cases this formal socialisation is accompanied by certification (diplomas, degrees) such
that the modern society has become a credential society. This shows the importance of
certificates in determining job eligibility and other life chances although in many cases
these certificates are not particularly relevant to the task at hand. The paper becomes
more important than the ability to perform a task.
Credentialism is the increase in the lowest level of education needed to enter a particular
field. It reinforces inequality in that the rich are more able to increase their qualifications
and certificates.

FUNCTIONALISM AND EDUCATION

Functionalists are interested in explaining the functions of education in society. They
argue that imparting knowledge and skills enables people to perform their roles

51
effectively and efficiently in society. This is the reason why educational institutions exist
and enjoy the support of the taxpayer. Besides ensuring that roles are performed,
education has the following functions:
1. Transmission of cultural values from generation to generation.
2. Social integration (Adaptation, Goal attainment Integration Latency/pattern
maintenance [AGIL] argument by Parsons) - education helps to mould students
into a cohesive unit (although coming from different backgrounds); a sense of
belonging is created through the curricula. This sense of shared identity is
particularly encouraged where students put on uniforms (thus giving a sense of
belonging).
3. Gate keeping -functions where schools determine occupations into which people
enter, by matching people‟s abilities with job requirements. It is the educational
institutions that direct people into different academic and practical ways.
4. Social placement - stratification- education assists those students with high
intellectual capacity to go higher than those that do not have.
5. Promotion of personal change - students are encouraged to think critically about
the world around them and themselves. Usually educated people tend to be more
liberal while uneducated ones tend to be more conservative. Education exposes
people to other views, and opinions so that people begin to understand that there
is another reality besides that which they know.
6. Social change - it is promoted through the development of liberal ideas and
through research.
7. Replacement of the family or some traditional functions of the family - for
example pre-schools perform a dual function of being a school and a baby sitter.
This relieves the working parents‟ function of looking after children.
8. Assisting parents in educating children - especially true on issues that families
cannot handle, either because of lack of knowledge or some cultural inhibitions
for example, sex education system therefore fills the gap of lack of knowledge by
parents.

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Less visible functions of education
1. Matchmaking - educational institutions are contexts where people meet and
identify their future spouses, for example, Bill and Hillary Clinton met at college.
These are contexts where people identify similar interests and training.
2. Social networking - where education creates and maintains friendships. These
lead to social networks even after graduation. They are maintained through old
students associations, business networks, and political networks, drinking circles.
3. Stabilisation of employment – because educational institutions keep part of the
labour force out of the labour market for many years (16 – 20). In Zimbabwe the
strategy of creating as many educational institutions as possible keeps people in
school as much as possible. Even the maximisation of intakes at universities is a
strategy by policy makers meant to stabilise labour force while in the meantime
seeking solutions to their problems. In a context where no such mechanisms are
available a crisis of expectations is created.
4. Social control- one way of promoting social control is by teaching children to
idealise their nations' leaders.
5. Assimilation- the absorption of newcomers into the dominant society by teaching
them the values of that society.

THE CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE

Marxists argue that education exists to maintain inequality. It is used by the ruling class
to maintain dominance over other classes.
The concept of the hidden curriculum by Ivan Illich
The hidden curriculum refers to the latent functions of education (these functions that
education serves besides what we see). The hidden curriculum refers to the unwritten
rules of behaviour and attitudes such as obedience to authority and conformity that the
education systems help to promote. Schools use this hidden curriculum to perpetuate
social inequality and in this sense preparing students for life outside the school. This
implies teaching students from subordinate classes how to be loyal and support
capitalism. Jackson (1968) says the HC refers ways in which pupils learn to accept the
denial, delay and interruption of their personal desires. Worsley (1970) defines the HC as

53
those values and patterns of behaviour that are often not normally taught but are an
integral part of schooling, as we know it. They help reinforce the status of the powers that
be. In Zimbabwe the educational system inherited from the colonial masters is an
example where the education was not geared towards the production of entrepreneurs but
towards production of reliable, subservient workers.
Schaefer (2006:346) defines the hidden curriculum as the standards of behaviour that are
deemed proper by society and are taught subtly in school. Bowles and Gintis (1976) state
that it is not the content of lessons and the examinations that students take which are
important, but the form that teaching and learning take and the way that schools are
organised. They further state that schools create an illusion of equality of opportunity
when in fact they are legitimating inequality. Education reproduces inequality by
justifying privilege and attributing poverty to personal failure. It efficiently disguises the
fact that economic success runs in the family and that privilege begets privilege
(Haralambos and Holborn 2013).

Evidence of the hidden curriculum in Zimbabwe

1. The insistence that one must pass English that is an official language in the
business world.
2. Emphasis on academic courses at the expense of practical courses.
3. Inequality in the funding of school.

The correspondence principle (Bowles and Gintis 1976)

Bowles and Gintis have used the correspondence principle to show how schools reflect
social structures. The argument is that almost in every aspect the school system agrees
with or reflects the status quo. As a result schools should not be seen as agents of change
but as agents of the reproduction of the status quo. Bowles and Gintis studied the
American society and came up with the following comparisons:
1. Society believes in a capitalism of free enterprise. This is reflected in the
education institutions that reward individual effort and competition among
students (these compete for prizes, positions and awards). This individual reward

54
 system is a reflection of the capitalist spirit of one man for himself and God for us
all.
2. Social inequality - the unequal functions of school. Some schools get more
funding from the state than others. Some are more expensive than others.
Inequality is a reflection of society.

SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM (LABELLING PERSPECTIVE) AND

EDUCATION
The interest of Interactionists in the sociology of education is on the face-to-face
interaction between the teacher and students in a classroom situation. The performance of
the student is affected by perceptions of the teacher as well as negotiations between the
two parties.
The classroom as a negotiated order
Cotgrove (1980:85) argues that both the teacher and student size up their strengths and
weaknesses in their respective bargaining positions to discover what resources each can
mobilise. The classroom is seen as essentially a focus for a struggle for power in the
process of negotiating behaviour. Thus students will adopt a variety of strategies to
influence the day-to-day activities in the classroom- including the content of the lessons
and the teacher‟s expectations of what they should do. Negotiations take place around
how work is assessed, marks are queried and what counts as a correct answer may be
argued about. The performance of the student is not measured objectively but is coloured
by perceptions of the teacher, the background of the student and power relations.

The study by Rist

Rist studied a black American school where he discovered that the teacher‟s perceptions
influenced the student‟s ability. Within 8 days of the commencement of the classes the
teacher already knew or felt she knew the abilities of the students to the extent that she
could screen them into 3 groups- slow learners, average learners and fast learners. The
screening was not based on any test but on the perceptions of the teacher. Those placed in
the slow learners‟ group were also placed furthest from the teacher. Further investigation
showed that social class was a very significant factor in determining which group one
went into. More attention was given to fast learners because they were perceived to be

55
bright, exciting, challenging and willing to learn while those in other groups were given
little attention. The argument is that the awareness of the teacher motivated the fast
learners to perform better while other groups were de-motivated. Therefore at the end the
fast learners excelled. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The labelling theory argues that those labelled as intelligent and bright put more effort to
fulfil the prophecy. The labelling theorists argue against the whole idea of screening. The
argument being that the tests used for assessing ability have a bias. People who
administer them are also biased. The bias comes from the class of the individual who
does the testing. Therefore failing an examination is not a sign of lack of intelligence but
an indication that you have not been asked things that you know.
Summary of the Sociology of education
The sociology of education discusses the origin and persistence of educational
inequalities and the relationship between education and the economy in general. It
discusses access and opportunity to education. Reimer (1971) argues that the failures of
schooling are intrinsic to the school system. Gintis (1972) argues that the school mirrors
the inequalities of a capitalist society and reproduces them. The main question that this
topic attempts to answer is on the role of formal education in social and cultural
reproduction and the extent to which any changes in the educational system merely
reproduce the status quo in society or contradicts.

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TOPIC 9: COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOUR
Ritzer (2015:454) defines collective behaviour as action generated or engaged in by a
group of people. It is also defined as social processes and events which do not reflect the
existing social structure (laws, social conventions, institutions) but which emerge in a
spontaneous way. It is the behaviour of a group of people bypassing the usual norms that
guide their behaviour making them do something unusual (Turner and Killian 1987). It
can also be defined as extraordinary activities carried out by a group of people. These
include lynchings, rumours, panics, moral panics, urban legends, fads and fashions.
Collective behaviour occurs in response to a common influence or stimulus in relatively
spontaneous, unpredictable, unstructured and unstable situations (Henslin 1999: 475).
Here the goals and expectations of people involved are relatively unclear, the social
situation is poorly defined and the mechanisms of control are weak e.g. behaviour in
response to a fire, traffic accident etc.

Some characteristics of collective behaviour

1. It is limited and short lived social interaction
2. It has no clear boundaries
3. It generates weak and sometimes unconventional norms
4. It is not governed by everyday rules and expectations.

Forms of Collective Behaviour

1. Riots - a riot is an angry crowd behaviour aimed against people and property.
According to Ritzer (2015:456) a riot is a temporary unruly collective action that
causes damage to persons or property. In urban areas it is mainly caused by
frustration and anger at deprivation. Riots are fuelled by general unrest.
2. Panics- a panic is the condition of being so fearful that one cannot function
normally and may even flee (natural disasters may cause panics).
3. Moral panics- fear that grips large numbers of people that some evil group or
behaviour threatens the well being of society, followed by the intense hostility,
sometimes violence, towards those thought to be responsible (Henslin 1999).
4. Rumours - unfounded information spread among people (e.g. many times, there

57
 have been rumours that the president is dead).
5. Fads- a new temporary pattern of behaviour that catches people's attention. The
behaviour emerges suddenly and mainly spread through imitation, suggestion and
identification with people already in a fad. The media also plays a role.
6. Fashions-refer to currently valued styles of appearance or behaviour. Fashions last
longer than fads. They may refer to clothing, hairstyles, home decorations and
designs and even language (see the development of slang language over time in
Zimbabwe).
7. Urban legends- a story with an ironic twist that sounds realistic but is false.

CROWDS AND COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOUR

A crowd is a temporary grouping of people, physically close together and sharing a
common focus of attention. The characteristics that distinguish a crowd from a more
conventional social grouping include feelings of uncertainty and a sense of urgency
(Popenoe 1995).

Types of crowds
Generally crowds may be casual (a loose collection of people with no real interaction,
e.g. people at a mall, there are minimum levels of emotional engagement and interaction)
or conventional (more structured and behaviour is quite predictable- e.g. audiences at
concerts and sporting events).
a. Expressive crowds – these are designed for high levels of emotional engagement
and interaction e.g. crowds celebrating festivals, religious ceremonies. Here
though the behaviour of people may seem 'wild' and unrestrained their roles and
norms are still present and people know acceptable and unacceptable behaviour in
those contexts.
b. Solidaristic crowds-these provide members with a strong sense of social
unity/solidarity (Turner and Killian, 1987). For example, rallies, religious
revivals. Governments sometimes sponsor these to build a sense of solidarity
among people.

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 c. Acting crowds - these are typically angry and hostile groups. They include mobs
and riots. A mob is an angry crowd whose focus is a single target. They often
disband after the single target has been achieved e.g. lynchings. Most mobs have
leaders and some kind of structured. See the killing of Farai Kujirichita by an
angry mob in Diepsloot, South Africa on the 22 nd of January 2011. A riot is also a
violent crowd which however tends to express generalised anger over many
hours, days, weeks etc. rioters usually attack groups they dislike, looting
destroying property and generally flouting the law. Rioters are frequently people
experiencing social problems for which there seem to be no effective institutional
solutions, for example, economic strain (Paige 1971).

THEORIES OF CROWD BEHAVIOUR

1. The herd mentality theory by Charles Mackay (1852) - this is the oldest way of
understanding crowd behaviour where it was believed that people literally 'went
mad' in a crowd.
2. Gustav LeBon's (1896) Contagion theory- Le Bon was a French psychologist who
believed that crowds make people feel anonymous, as though they are not
accountable for what they do. People develop a collective mind and then think
and act in extraordinary ways. There are three reasons for the development of this
collective mentality: (a) a feeling of invincibility, the power that comes with great
numbers (b) contagion-rapid spread of new ways of thinking (c) suggestibility -
people are inclined to accept passively and mimic behaviours of others in the
crowd.
3. Robert Park's circular reaction theory – Park was a US Sociologist who believed
that crowd behaviour resulted from back and forth communication between
members of a crowd whereby a collective impulse is transmitted. This theory is a
slight variation of the contagion theory. It is argued that ' social unrest...is
transmitted from one individual to another...so that...the manifestations of
discontent in A (are) communicated to B, and from B reflected back to A' (Park
and Burgess 1921a). It is argued that seeing the agitation exhibited by others
causes the first person to become even more emotional. However, this theory has

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 suffered the same criticisms as the first two because of its belief that individuals
become irrational in a crowd.
4. Herbert Blumer's theory of the acting crowd-It is a synthesis of Park and Le Bon's
ideas. He identifies five stages that precede an acting crowd. These are (a) tension
or unrest-disturbed about some conditions of society, people are restless,
apprehensive and vulnerable to rumours and suggestions. (b) Exciting event-an
exciting event occurs one so startling that people become preoccupied with it. (c)
Milling-here people are standing, walking around talking about the exciting event.
Then a circular reaction sets in. (d) a common object of attention- here people's
attention becomes riveted on some aspect of the event. They get caught up in the
collective excitement. (e) Common impulse- here a collective agreement about
what should be done emerges. What stimulates these common impulses is social
contagion, a sense of excitement that is passed from one person to another
5. The convergence theory – it states that people who join a crowd already share
tendencies to see things the same way and to act in a similar fashion. In fact it is
these common tendencies that bring these people together as a crowd in the first
place.
6. The emergent norm theory by Ralph Turner and Lewis Killian (1987) - the term
emergent norms refers to the development of new norms to cope with a new
situation especially among crowds. Turner and Killian argue that in our everyday
situations we are guided by our usual norms, however where an unusual event
disrupts these usual ways of doing things people develop new norms to cope with
the new situation. Sometimes the new norms may lead to a redefinition of right
and wrong such that under the new circumstances these new norms may justify
actions that they would otherwise consider wrong. Ritzer (2015:455) summarise
this theory by arguing that; in light of some precipitating event, new norms
emerge that guide the often non-traditional actions that characterise collective
behaviour.

Turner and Killian identify five kinds of crowd participants: (a) the ego-involved-
these feel a personal stake in the extraordinary event (b) the concerned- also have

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 a personal interest in the event but are less so than the ego-involved. (c) The
insecure- these care little about the matter, but they join the crowd because it
gives them a sense of power and security. (d) The curious spectators- also care
little about the event but they are inquisitive about what is going on. (e) The
exploiters- do not care about the event, but they use it for their own purposes,
such as hawking food or T-shirts (Henslin 1999: 595). The contrasting attitudes,
motives and emotions of these different types of participants greatly influence the
emergence of new norms though the ego-involved take leading roles and the
concerned, insecure and curious join in. By not joining the crowd, the exploiters
lend passive support to the crowd! This theory analyses crowd behaviour as fully
rational because the crowd consider the best way to do their action in line with the
predispositions of the crowd. They do not take every suggestion of the ego-
involved!
7. Richard Berk's minimax strategy (1974) -humans generally try to minimize costs
and maximize rewards. This principle remains the same even in crowds. People
are rational!
8. The self categorisation theory by Reicher (1987) (Please read any social
psychology text for this one).

Critique of crowd theories

Schweingruber and Wohlstein (2005) describe 7 myths perpetuated by early crowd
theories. These myths are based on the research by McPhail (1991) and Couch (1968):

 Myth of Irrationality: the idea that individuals in a crowd lose rational thought.
 Myth of Emotionality: the idea that individuals in a crowd become more
emotional.
 Myth of Suggestibility: the idea that individuals in a crowd are more likely to
obey or imitate.
 Myth of Destructiveness: the idea that individuals in a crowd are more likely to
act violently.
 Myth of Spontaneity: the idea that in a crowd violence occurs more suddenly.

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  Myth of Anonymity: the idea that individuals in a crowd feel more anonymous.
 Myth of Uniformity/Unanimity: the idea that all individuals in a crowd act in the
same way.
References
Henslin, J. M. 1999. Sociology: A down to earth approach. Massachusetts: Needham
Heights.
Popenoe, D. 1995. Sociology London: Prentice Hall.
Schweingruber, D. and Wohlstein, R. T. 2005 The madding crowd goes to school: myths
about crowds in introductory sociology textbooks. Teaching sociology Volume 33 April
136-153.

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TOPIC 10: SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
What are Social Movements?
Social movements are large numbers of people who organise to promote or resist social
change. Social movements can be proactive or reactive. Social movements are important
as they bring about change in societies and problematise the ways in which we lead our
lives. Della Porta and Diani (1999:16) define social movements as “informal networks
based on shared beliefs and solidarity, which mobilise about conflictual issues through
their frequent use of various forms of protest”. Ritzer (2015:442) offers a simple
definition of a social movement as: “a sustained and intentional collective effort, usually
operating outside of established institutional channels, either to bring about or to retard
social change”. Examples of social movements include: women‟s‟ movements, labour
and trade union movements, nationalist movements, anti-racist movements, gays and
lesbian movements, environmental or green movements, peace movements, animal rights
movements, pro and anti abortion movements, political movements.
Types of Social Movements
Social movements (SMs) are mainly distinguished on the basis of the amount of change
they seek and the target of that change. They typical focus on changing the individual
himself or herself and sometimes society as a whole. There are four main types of SMs:
1. Alternative SMs- seek to change the individual. The amount of change is partial,
just some aspect of an individual‟s behaviour. For example campaigns against
drunken driving, abortion.
2. Reformative SMs- they seek to change the whole society though the amount of
change is not total, it directed to an aspect of society. For example environmental
movements, some feminist movements.
3. Redemptive SMs- the target of change is the individual and the movements seeks
total change of the individual. For example, Christianity.
4. Transformative SMs- the target of change is the whole society (social order)
through a total transformation. For example revolutions and nationalist
movements in society. In Zimbabwe the chimurenga movement is a good
example.

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The life cycle of a social movement
There are generally four (4) stages of a social movement:
a. Emergence- widespread unorganised discontent in society.
b. Coalescence- beginning of organisation, order and emergence of leaders
c. Bureaucratisation- high levels of organisation and formalisation
d. Decline (as a result of repression, co-option, success, failure or norms being
absorbed into mainstream society).

THEORIES OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

Functionalism - SMs are functional and necessary. They are responses to social strain
experienced as societies move from traditional to modern industrial societies. They lead
to change in society and are training grounds for political leaders.
Neil Smelser‟s Value Added Theory (6 conditions for social movement formation
theory):
a) Structural conduciveness - something in the structure of society (when individuals
believe that their society has problems).
b) Structural strains – frustrations and strains in society, (individuals experiencing
deprivation).
c) Growth of a generalised belief – shared understanding of events and spread of
perceived solutions.
d) Precipitating factors – trigger events/ catalysts.
e) Mobilisation of participants – action
f) Operation of social control- responses of others in societies, e.g. police, they
could lead to either success or failure of the SM.

Conflict theories on SMs

1. Resource mobilisation theory – this is an approach to understanding social
movements that focuses on what groups of people need to do in-order to bring
about social change (Ritzer 2015). It views the formation of a social movement as
a result of rational action by members who calculate the opportunities of
mobilising resources to resist the existing situation. The theory assumes that
segments of the ruling elite may sometimes be willing to sponsor forms of

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 resistance against the status quo. For a SM to succeed it must be able to get
societal support in the form of resources from the areas of politics, mass media,
personnel and finance. The success of a social movement depends on how well it
uses its resources.
2. Political process theory- a further development of the resource mobilisation
theory. It is based on the notion that situations of generalised political instability
lead to the formation of the social movements. This is because of the existence of
a favourable political opportunity. Increased political power serves to encourage
collective action by diminishing the risks associated with movement participation.
The factors that make a SM successful include: (a) structure of political
opportunity - what are the risks of repression? Is the environment conducive? (b)
Indigenous organisation strength - the resources that the local groups has that
facilitate political opportunity. The group must have the necessary networks to
make the movement succeed. Communication networks are necessary and if
people are highly integrated it is easy to be recruited into a SM.
3. New movement theory - social movements that emerged after the 1960s in the
western countries are referred to as new SMs. These are movements concerned
with other things besides issues of the economy which tended to be the thrust of
the Marxist explanations of SMs that existed before the 1960s.
4. Relative deprivation theory – Schaefer (2006:266) states that the term relative
deprivation refers to a conscious feeling of a negative discrepancy between
legitimate expectations and present actualities. The theory states that shared
grievances and generalised beliefs about the causes and possible means of
reducing grievances are important pre-conditions for the development of a SM. A
SM occurs when people are generally frustrated with their socio-economic and
political conditions. When these people feel deprived of things that they perceive
to rightfully deserve compared to others they form a SM. Therefore SM results
from feelings of deprivation, perceptions of disgruntlement where people compare
themselves with others and feel they are treated worse off than the others they
compare themselves with. The general weakness of this theory is that not all SMs
result from feeling of deprivation and that not all deprived people join SMs.

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5. * students to research on Mass society theory by Kornhausser (1969)

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TOPIC 11: HEALTH AND SOCIAL ILLNESS

The argument by the sociology of health and illness is that whether or not individuals
become ill and whether they recover, die or are left with residual handicaps, it does not
depend only on their genetic, inborn make up and on their subsequent exposure to various
kinds of disease agents; but health and illness are also determined by the social, economic
and cultural characteristics of the society in which people live and their position in the
society. Health is much more than a biological matter. It also has social/cultural causes
that require social/cultural treatment. Health and illness are very much related to people‟s
beliefs, level of development, lifestyles and social class.

Definition of health= the condition of being sound in body, mind and soul especially
freedom from physical disease or pain. It is also simply the absence of disease or injury.
However, the WHO definition (in Eyles et al 1983) is: the state of complete physical and
mental well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The 4 components
of health are the physical, mental, social and spiritual.

Because of the multi faceted nature of health, very few people can be said to be
completely healthy. Although health and illness have an objective dimension, such as the
presence of pain, they are also affected by cultural beliefs. Pregnancy in some contexts is
defined as an illness while in others it is the highest state of health. In some African
cultures one who claims to hear voices or see visions is defined as healthier than others
because of the spiritual attachment yet in other areas that person is a candidate for mental
institutions. Therefore health has no real meaning without reference to economic and
political conditions that contain it.

To emphasise the cultural dimension of health one can discuss sub cultural groups that
for example, prohibit smoking, drinking, and promiscuity. Members in these subcultures
are generally healthier than outsiders. Rastafarians who prohibit consumption of red meat
also prevent the contraction of diseases such as gout associated with red meat.

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Eisenberg (1977) defines illness as something that people experience as having an
unpleasant impact upon their lives and activities. Disease is defined as abnormal and
harmful physical changes in the body. It is possible to have a disease and not be ill, and to
be ill without having a disease. Parsons views illness as deviance which disturbs society‟s
functioning. It needs to be controlled.

Key notions about health

1. People judge their health relative to others- health is sometimes a matter of having
the same diseases as one‟s neighbours (Macionis and Plummer 2005).
2. People often equate health with morality- people with certain diseases such as
HIV/AIDS may be seen as having questionable morality. Definitions of health are
means of social control.
3. Cultural standards of health change over time-what might have been viewed as
healthy 30 years ago may be viewed as unhealthy now or vice versa.
4. Health and living standards are interrelated- poor living standards attract
infections diseases.
5. Health relates to social inequality- rich people have high chances of recovering
from illnesses and accidents than poor people.

THEORIES OF HEALTH AND ILLNESS

There are generally two approaches: the biomedical approach and the social construction
approach.
a) The biomedical approach views the body as a machine that requires maintenance
and repair. It also views diseases as objects that exist independent and prior to
their discovery and description by physicians. Diseases arise as a result of a
biological breakdown in an individual‟s body. They have specific causes such as
viruses, bacteria which can be identified and dealt with etc. the focus is on the ill
body rather than general wellbeing. The correct response is to seek treatment
within the medical environment/ pharmacies.
b) The social construction view argues that diseases are human constructs that would
not exist without someone describing and recognising them. Social factors play a

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 role in producing illness. Specific lifestyles, social conditions may produce health
problems. Age and sex also affect an individual‟s health.

Social class and illness

Social class determines life chances such as access to health facilities, good diet,
education, safe jobs etc. members of the upper class usually afford good medical
attention and eat well and are therefore less exposed to health risks than the working
class. This results in different problems for both the rich and poor. The rich suffer from
diseases of affluence such as obesity, gout, cancer and B.P. Most of which are caused by
overeating. Diseases of the poor include backache (because of the physical nature of their
jobs lots of bending and unbending), cholera, STDs, malaria, AIDS (can‟t afford
prevention costs of ARVs too much). Diseases of the poor are caused by the physical
nature of their work, exposure to unhealthy environments both at work and home and
high risk lifestyles such as prostitution.
Disease patterns also have an international dimension with more ill people in the
developing world than the developed.

The social construction of illness and the sick role

The sick role is a culturally determined role. Tuckett (1976:334) argues that to be ill is
not simply to be in a biologically altered state, but also to be in a socially altered state
that is seen as both deviance and (normally) undesirable. People are supposed to assign a
sick role to the sick person. There are therefore mediators between the sick person and
those who assign a sick role. This is a relationship of power where those who are
powerful assign a sick role to the weak (for example parents assigning the role to
children, doctors to workers). Such people have the power to check on the genuineness of
the sickness. A person assumes the sick role when there are 3 conditions:
 Where the individual can no longer perform their usual duties
 When the individual has to stay home (away from school or work)
 Where the individual has to consult a doctor and take medicines.

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According to Parsons there are rights and obligation of the patient occupying the sick
role:
a) The individual is not held responsible for being sick (others sympathise).
b) The individual is exempted form normal duties
c) The individual has to agree to get help in order to be well. In other words, if the
individual does not agree to get help then he/she might not be defined as ill but as
pretending to be ill.
This therefore means that the sick role is not a permanent role but is only assumed when
one is sick. Eventually one must get out of it and assume normal duties.

Doctors and the sick role

Doctors and physicians assess claims by individuals to be unwell and prescribe what the
individuals must do to get well. They even prescribe task to be done or not done by the
individual (for example being excused from writing exams for students). The decision to
accept the sick role by the sick person is affected by the environment or context. One is
more likely to accept the role if it excuses him/her fro work, exams etc. however, one is
not likely t accept the role if it affects them negatively (for example, preventing you from
attending a party). When granting the sick role power plays an important part. Doctors
have power because of their training and experience. However, if the sickness is beyond
the doctor‟s training and experience then one is denied the sick role, the doctor will argue
that the person is not ill but imagining to be ill.

Social class also plays a role in granting the sick role. The poor are less likely to get the
sick role than the rich because it is believed that the poor in many cases pretend to be sick
in order to avoid work. Again there are more discussions between the doctor and the rich
person than the doctor with the poor person. With the rich, even the patient has an input
towards their treatment. For the poor there are no discussions therefore medicine is not a
neutral field but an arena where class, power relations are very much involved. The
diagnosis of an individual is very much coloured by one‟s background.

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The professionalisation of medicine
Medicine is the social institution concerned with combating disease and improving health
(Macionis and Plummer 2005:552). The process of becoming a medical practitioner
involves a lengthy period of rigorous training. The practise of medicine is characterised
by a number of factors;
a) A claim to a theoretical understanding of health and illness- what causes it and
remedies.
b) Rules for self regulation- professional ethics
c) A claim to be performing a service to society and not pursuing individual
interests.
Medicine as a profession is restricted and monopolised. In traditional medicine (viewed
as alternative holistic medicine) one has to have a special calling and go through
sometimes -painful training. In modern medicine one must be very intelligent and have
the requisite entry points or qualifications and undergo rigorous training at specified
institutions. The practice of medicine is restricted to graduates of these institutions.
ZINATHA regulates traditional medical practitioners. Even the language of medicine is
confined to practitioners who communicate among themselves and the patient is not
involved in the communication. Not only is the production of medical practitioners
limited but also the reproduction of medical students is also restricted. As a result the
practice of medicine has come to be big business where medical practitioners set fees to
be paid for their services. Medicine has therefore come to be a commodity and not a
right; only available to those who can afford it.
*students are instructed to read on the medicalisation of society.
References
Duff, R.S et al 1968 Sickness and Society NY: Harper and Row.
Eyles, J. et al The social geography of medicine and health NJ: St Matins Press
Jones, K and Moon, G. 1987 Health, Disease and Society London: Routledge
Mishler, E.G. (ed) 1981 Social Contexts of Health Illness and Patient care London: CUP
Morgan, M. et al 1985 Sociological Approaches to Health and medicine London:
Routledge
Scambler, G. (ed) 1991 Sociology as applied to medicine London: Balliere Tindal

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Tuckett, D. (ed) 1976 An Introduction to medical Sociology London: Tavistock.

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TOPIC 12: THE SOCIOLOGY OF GENDER

What is gender? Domosh and Seager (2001: xxii) define gender as “a culture‟s
assumptions about the differences between men and women; their „characters‟, the roles
they play in society and what they represent”. Wharton (2012) defines gender as a system
of social practices that produces and reproduces differences and inequalities between men
and women. According to Stoller (1965) it is a term that has psychological and cultural
connotations. It entails statements on masculinity and femininity. Jackson and Scott
(2002) argue that gender is a sociological concept which focuses attention on men and
women as social rather than natural categories. It emerged out of debates which sought to
challenge the „naturalness‟ of the differences between men and women. What ought to be
emphasised is the idea that gender and sex are different. Sex has to do with biological
differences while gender is about the culturally constructed roles allocated to men and
women.

Biological explanations of gender differences

1. The hormonal explanation - it is argued that males produce androgens that make
them more aggressive than females. A study on rats revealed that male rats were
more aggressive than female ones because of the presence of androgens. This
aggression is also justified in terms of the male hormone testosterone.
2. The Brain Lateralisation theory by Gray and Buffery - these argued that the
human brain is divided into 2 hemispheres. The left hemisphere is dominated by
language and analytical skills while the right hemisphere is dominated by
mathematical, engineering, architectural skills. It is argued that the left
hemisphere is dominant in women - that is why most women are teachers. The
right hemisphere is dominant in men - that is why most men are engineers,
physicians etc.
3. Genetics and evolution: the bio-grammar argument by Lionel Tiger and Robin
Fox. A bio grammar is a genetically based programme that predisposes humanity
to behave in certain ways. Males hunt and therefore are predisposed to aggressive
activity. Women are programmed to reproduce and care for children. Tiger and

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 Fox mainly based their argument on the sexual division of labour in hunting
societies.

Socio-biological explanations
1. These were first developed by Wilson and then David Barash. They argue that
both sexes employ different strategies to maximise their chances of passing on
their genes to their offspring. It pays males to be aggressive, hasty and
undiscriminating. This theory can explain rape by men. In theory it is more
profitable for women to be coy, to holdback until they can identify males with the
best possible genes. However not all males are aggressive since evidence from the
Trobriand Islanders (studied by Malinowski) reveal that the Lesu, Kutatchi,
Lepcha, Kwoma and Mataco women frequently take the initiative in sexual
relationships. Margaret Mead (1935/1963) discovered that among the Tchambuli
of New Guinea gender roles seemed to be 'reversed'. Women were the principal
economic providers while men stayed at home and raised children. The
Tchambuli regarded women as properly dominant and assertive and men as
emotional and creative.
2. George Murdock’s explanation - There is a biological division of labour. Females
have times of handicap such as during pregnancy, menstrual periods; lactation etc.
women are confined to the home because of their biological function of
childbearing and also because of their physique, they are limited to less strenuous
tasks.
3. Parsons and functionalism. Parsons argues that there is a biological division of
labour where women perform expressive roles (caring, nurturing) while men
perform instrumental roles (breadwinning). According to Parsons, women should
offer warmth to the men and children (family as a haven). They should be able to
service their men daily as a way of preparing them for the harsh outside world.
The playing of traditional gender roles by mothers makes it possible for children
to form stable bonds and benefit from strong and enduring role models. Without
intensive mother-child contact during the first years of life, children can grow up

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 relatively disoriented, isolated and anxious and can fail to develop a strong sense
of self.
4. John Bowlby’s explanation - he argues that it is essential for the mental health of
children that they experience a warm, intimate and continuous relationship with
their mother. This stems from the view that there is a genetically based
psychological need for a close and intimate mother- child relationship.

The social construction of gender

The conflict argument - male dominance is a major feature of our society. As the
dominant group men can and do limit women's access to the social, economic and
political power that men enjoy, thus sparing themselves from female competition.

Feminist arguments
Feminists can be divided into 4 main categories:
1. Liberal feminists - they argue that women are unequal to men. This inequality is
encouraged by the denial of some opportunities to women. Gender inequality is
therefore not natural but is created and maintained by men through the institution
of patriarchy. The solution they give is that there should be a purposive re
arrangement of patriarchal structures such that women would also enjoy the same
access to opportunities as men through affirmative action.
2. Marxist feminists- they argue that women‟s position should be seen as part of a
complex class based system of exploitation in which women are doubly oppressed
through gender arrangements and capitalism. They distinguish between public and
private patriarchy. Where private patriarchy is a situation whereby women remain
oppressed because they are prevented from entering the public sphere in areas
such as employment and politics. Marxist feminists argue that women in the
domestic sphere work in order to reproduce the capitalist system indirectly.
Housewives not only work for their families but also contribute to the
reproduction of the capitalist labour force through child bearing and rearing (of
future labourers) and through their daily servicing of men. Thus capitalism
grossly benefits from the unpaid labour done by women. Christine Delphy (1984)

75
 distinguishes between an industrial mode of production (where capital exploits
labour) and a domestic mode of production (where men exploit women through
patriarchy). Delphy views the marriage contract as similar to the labour contract
where the husband appropriates the wife‟s labour power in the same way that
capital exploits labour. Public patriarchy - this is where women are not barred
from the public arenas but are nonetheless subordinated within them (given lower
status jobs). There is vertical segregation in the workplaces where men usually get
managerial jobs that are well paying while women get lower status less well
paying jobs such as teaching and nursing. Women are usually likely to be in part-
time employment since employers feel that women‟s salaries are there to
supplement those of men (who are viewed as breadwinners). The solution to all
this is to destroy capitalism and its class based system.
3. Psychoanalytic theories- they view men as having an innate need to subjugate
women in order to achieve deep psychological goals. They propose that men
should undergo therapy in order to suppress the unconscious urges to oppress
women.
4. Radical feminist theories- they argue that the root cause of women‟s suppression
is patriarchy which manifests itself in men‟s willingness to employ force to
subjugate women. The destruction of patriarchy and its institutions is the only
solution to such a problem.

Ann Oakley and gender socialisation

She argues that the sexual division of labour is not universal since among the Mbuti
pygmies for example, there are no specific rules for division of labour. Among the
Australian aborigines the women were responsible for seal hunting and fishing. Also
among the Alor of Indonesia men were responsible for childminding.

Gender socialisation is the socialisation of individuals into their particular gender roles.
This mainly takes place through verbal appellations (for example you are a naughty boy
or a good, sweet girl) that reveal the expected behaviour of boys and girls, and also
exposure to different activities (domestic work for girls). This further reinforces gender
stereotypes.

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Women in the labour hierarchy

It is generally argued that the roles assigned to men and women in organisations indicate
a wide difference in the productivity and earnings of each. This is especially true for
developing countries. Men are usually seen supervisory and skilled work while women
engage in unskilled subservient jobs.

The human capital theory

It postulates that women‟s lack of commitment to paid employment is the cause of the
disadvantages they suffer in the labour market. Women are less experienced because they
do not undertake lengthy programmes of training or education. They lack of training,
qualifications and experience result from the demands of childcare.

The dual labour market

It argues that in capitalism there exists a primary labour market where there are high
salaries and good working conditions and a secondary labour market where there are
inferior jobs less paid and less security. Women tend to get the secondary labour market
jobs because they are seen as easy to replace and less concerned than men with salaries
since men are breadwinners. Women regarded as a reserve supply and they are good in
supplying unskilled labour. This creates a vicious cycle where low paid work increases
women‟s dependence on men in the home and their domestic positions makes it easy to
recruit women to low status jobs.

The considered choice model

It states that women are disadvantaged in the workplace because of the decisions they
have made (of have been forced to make). Because of women's dual roles- family and
work- they tend to choose jobs that will enable them to be both home-makers and
employees. Typically these are poorly paid part time jobs that lead nowhere (Popenoe
1995).

The discrimination model

The model states that women are placed into segregated jobs, given differential pay and
job titles for the same work and handicapped by unequal chances for promotion (Jacobs
1989, Bielby and Baron 1986).
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Women in Politics

Women in politics often lack the seniority to be appointed to powerful posts. One reason
for this is that male candidates are able to start their political careers earlier than women,
who generally must wait until their children are grown so that they will not be branded as
'neglectful mothers' when they run for office (Lynn 1984).

THE END

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