Introduction to Sociology

By Sadia Jamil
 Course Objectives
1. At the end of course, all the students will be able to identify the
major themes in the field of Sociology.
2. Upon completion, the students of the course will be able to
understand about the subject implications in public policy, personal
growth and social change.
3. It provides a basic introduction of the social groups and
organizations functioning within the society.
4. This taught course provides a comprehensive examination on the
foundations of society and social institutions for all students.
5. Another learning outcome of this course is to develop a deep
understanding on social diversity among Sociology students.
6. Lastly, the subject will enable the students to discuss and
differentiate among the major theoretical perspectives within
Sociology.
 Topic Objectives
By end of this topic, you will be able to understand
• What is sociological point of view about society?
• Why should anyone study sociology?
• What does sociology offer to an individual for a
personal life?
• What does it offer to wider society?
• The importance of this subject in contemporary
time.
• Compare and contrast sociology with the other
major social sciences.
• What are the career opportunities for sociologists?
 Lecture Plan
1. Introduction: What is Sociology?
2. Historical Background: The Development of the
Discipline
3. Definitions: Systematic Explanation of the subject
4. Major Themes: Identified Questions
5. Sociology as an Academic Discipline: Sociology and
Other Social Sciences
6. Social Role: Sociologist in Society
7. Sociology Today: Sociology in a Changing World
8. What Sociology Offers: Possible Careers
 Introduction: What is Sociology?
• A body of knowledge to learn a scientific
approach to study and identify the social issues.
• The scientific study of human society and social
interactions.
• Its main goal is to understand social situations and
look for repeating patterns in society.
• The main focus of sociology is the group, not the
individual.
• It attempts to understand the forces that operate
throughout society to mold individuals, shape
their behavior, and determine social events.
Example: Understanding Sociology
 Major Themes and Questions
• A sociologist must investigate questions and seek for the answers
such as:
1. Why do we have problems such as racism?
2. What motivates people to have social status and respect?
3. How the building of a dam will affect the residents
4. of the area?
5. How judicial decision affects the outcome of a Case?
6. Why voters select one candidate over another?
7. How a company can boost employees morale?
8. How relationships among administrators, doctors, nurses, and
patients affect hospital care?
• The answers to these questions have practical applications.
• The growing demand for sociological information provides many
new career choices for sociologists.
 Definitions
• A general definition of sociology is the systematic
study of human society, culture, and relationships
on a group level.
• “Sociology employs the same general methods of
investigation that are used in the natural sciences.
Like the natural scientists, sociologists use the
scientific method, a process by which a body of
scientific knowledge is built through observation,
experimentation, generalization, and verification.
This is known as empiricism, where generalizations
are evidence based only (Tishler, 2011)”.
 Historical Background
• It has emerged as a separate field of study in Europe during 19th century.
• During the time of turmoil when existing social order was shaken by the
growing industrial revolution and violent uprisings against established
rulers (the American, 1765 and French, 1789 Revolutions).
• New social classes of industrialists and business people emerged to
challenge the rule of the feudal aristocracies.
• Radical shift from tightly knitted communities to the individual
household management.
• Factory cities began to replace the rural estates of nobles as the centers
for society at large.
• Work for wages instead of exchanging their services for land and
protection.
• Many people were frightened by these changes and wanted to find some
way of coping with the new society that led to the emergence of
sociology.
Example: Sociological Change
The Development of the Discipline
Category Sociologist/Country Year Contributions
Discipline Title French August Comte 1838 The term sociology was coined from the Latin term
‘socius’ (companion, associate) and the Greek term ‘logia’
(study of, speech)
First literature English mid-19th Sociology Book
philosopher Herbert Centaury
Spencer
1st Teaching course United States 1890 Taught at the University of Kansas, Lawrence under the
title ‘Elements of Sociology’ (the oldest continuing
sociology course in America).
1st complete University American Albion W. Small 1892 Established in 1892 at the University of Chicago, United
Department of States
Sociology
1st Sociology Journal American Albion W. Small 1895 Founded the American Journal of Sociology

1st European French Emile Durkheim 1895 Established at the University of Bordeaux, France
Department of
Sociology
1st German Sociology German Max Weber 1919 Established at the Ludwig
Department Maximilians University of Munich, Germany
1st Sociology United Kingdom After 2nd World Establishment at Universities
Departments War
world's 1st largest United States 1905 The American Sociological Association
association of
professional
sociologists
Sociology as an Academic Discipline
Sociology as a Social Science
• Sociology is commonly described as one of the branch of social sciences.
• It is helpful to understand each social science and examine sociology’s relationship to
them.
Cultural Anthropology
• The cultural anthropology is a branch of social sciences that closely related to
sociology.
• The both discipline share many theories and concepts and often overlap.
• The main difference is in the groups they study and the research methods they
use.
• Sociologists tend to study groups and institutions within large, often modern,
contemporary industrial societies while using advance research methods, which
enable them to gather specific information about large numbers of people more
quickly.
• Anthropology also examines human society just like sociology, but anthropology
focuses more on how human society has changed over time. It includes the sub-
field of archaeology, which examines ancient tools, pottery, and so on to see how
ancient cultures compare to modern culture. Thus, anthropologists tend to focus on
the culture of small, preindustrial societies .
 Sociology and Other Social Sciences
Psychology
• The study of individual behavior and mental processes is part of psychology that focused
on more issues such as motivation, perception, cognition, creativity, mental disorders, and
personality.
• It involves usage of laboratory experiments for an individual.
• Psychology and sociology overlap in a subdivision of each field known as social psychology
that analyze how human behavior is influenced and shaped by various social situations?
• Social psychologists study such issues as how individuals in a group solve problems?
• Psychology studies the individual, and sociology studies groups of individuals as well as
society’s institutions.
Economics
• Economists have developed techniques for measuring such things as prices, supply and
demand, money supplies, rates of inflation, and employment.
• This study of the creation, distribution, and consumption of goods and services is known
as economics.
• Economists study price and availability factors, sociologists are interested in the social
factors that influence a person’s economic decisions.
• Does peer pressure result in buying the large flashy car, or does concern about gas mileage
lead to the purchase of a fuel efficient or hybrid vehicle?
 History
• The study of history involves looking at the past to learn and ask what happened,
when it happened, and why it happened.
• Sociology also looks at historical events within their social contexts to discover why
things happened and, more important, to assess what their social significance was at
that particular time.
• Historians provide a narrative of the sequence of events during a certain period
and might use sociological research methods to learn how social forces have shaped
historical events.
• Sociologists examine historical events to seek the reasons and analyze how they
influenced later social situations?
Political Science
• Political science is the study of three major areas: political theory, the actual
operation of government, and, political behavior.
• The primary distinction between the two disciplines is that sociology focuses on how
the political system affects other institutions in society, whereas political science
devotes more attention to the forces that shape political systems and the theories
for understanding these forces.
• However, both disciplines share an interest in why people vote the way they do,
why they join political movements, and how the mass media are changing political
events?
 Sociologist in Society
• The work of journalists is also often confused with that of
sociologists. It is common for journalists to write articles that
examine sociological issues.
• Researchers have analyzed the difference between sociology and
journalism has noted that sociologists engage in the study of
society with: the primary intent of sharing their work with other
sociologists, not with the general public (Baker, Anderson, and
Dorn, 1993).
• They pay special attention to their methods of investigation, their
theories of explanation, and their claims of originality.
• Sociologists usually publish their writings as articles in scholarly
journals, in chapters in books, or as full-length books. These
writings are screened by editors and critics hired to evaluate the
merits of the work.
• Sociologists’ work can never be completed in short time frames.
According to Baker, Anderson, and Dorn, “a major sociological study
may take three to five years”.
• Sociologists also have the freedom to study historical materials and
contemporary debates about current issues as well.
• A sociologist has the luxury of exploring a topic in depth and
contemplating the ramifications (consequences) of their findings.
• Sociologists do not just propose theories about how the social world
works, but test their theories about how the world works using the
scientific method.
• Peter Berger, a well-known sociologist, has argued, what
distinguishes the sociologist from non-scientific researchers is that
"[the] sociologists tries to see what is there while having both hopes
and fears concerning about results. But they will try to find out,
regardless of their hopes or fears. It is thus an act of pure
perception".
 Applying Sociology to Life
• Every detail of social existence is food for sociological thought
and relevant to sociological analysis.
• The potential for sociology to be used and applied to the
solution of real-world problems is enormous.
• Proponents of applied sociology believe the work of
sociologists can and should be used to help bring about an
understanding of, and improvement of modern society.
• The demand for applied sociology is growing, and many
sociologists work directly with government agencies or private
businesses to apply sociological knowledge to real-world
problems.
• This lesson segment will discuss three specific ways that
sociology can be applied to the real world, and all three ways
highlight why sociology is important to study and understand.
The applications will be public policy, social change, and
personal growth.
 1. Public Policy
• Public Policy means by which a government maintains order or addresses the
needs of its citizens through actions defined by its constitution.
• A term used to describe a collection of laws , mandates, or regulations
established through a political process .
• Public policies are in place to address the needs of people, they are often
broken down into different categories as they relate to society. For Example,
Health Policy, Legal Policy, National Policy etc.
• Many government lobbyists and politicians debate the role of programs such
as welfare and social security. These programs are funded by the tax money of
every citizen in the country, but they only benefit certain groups of people. Is it
fair for those funds to go only to certain groups? Do these groups
'deserve' this special treatment? What kinds of rules should go along
with using government money?
• Another example of public policy is how public school systems are working?
How should neighborhoods be divided to make up school districts?
• 25A Right to education – the state shall provide free and compulsory education
to all children of the age five to sixteen year in such manner as may be
determined by law.”
The running of public school systems is
a major public policy issue in Pakistan.
 Social Change
• Second way is about how sociology is applied to social change, or how societies try to
improve themselves over time. Sociology really started as a field as a result of three big
changes in European society in the 18th and 19th centuries. What were these three big
changes?
A) Industrial Revolution
• Sociologists study the social effects of the Industrial Revolution.

B) Rural to Urban Shift

• The second big social change relevant to sociology is the change from people mostly
living in rural areas, so they could run a farm, to mostly living in big cities, where they
can work for factories or big corporations.
C) Political Change
• Sociology studies how politics have changed over the last 200 or 300 years as many
societies have shifted from a class-based system, such as one with lords versus
peasants, to one in which every person demands rights and representation.
 Personal Growth
• The last application of sociology for this lesson is in the area of personal, individual
growth. A man named John Macionis wrote a very popular textbook called
'Sociology,' in which he describes many over-arching themes within the field. In this
book, he identifies four specific ways that sociology benefits people in our daily
lives. So, let's go over these four ways.
A) First, Macionis says that sociology helps us think critically about whether we
believe what our culture tells us to believe. Sociology encourages people to analyze
messages from society and decide whether to agree with them or not.
B) Second, Macionis argues that sociology helps people see opportunities and
challenges. The problems that we can identify might be viewed as challenges, but the
fact that we have the motivation and ability to change things also means that they can
be viewed as opportunities.
C) The third way Macionis says sociology can be applied to personal growth is by
encouraging people to be active members of their society. Sociology encourages
people to really get involved in making decisions that will affect their own lives and the
lives of people around them.
D) Finally, Macionis says that sociology helps people appreciate diversity and live
in a diverse world. Many of the lessons in sociology discipline, you can find cover
questions of diversity such as men versus women, people of different ethnicities,
different sexual orientations, and different ages.
 Sociology in a Changing World
• The social world is changing. Some argue it is growing, others say it is shrinking. The
important point to grasp is that society does not remain unchanged over time.

• sociology has its roots in significant societal changes (e.g., the industrial revolution, the
creation of empires, and the age of enlightenment of scientific reasoning).

• Early practitioners developed the discipline as an attempt to understand societal changes.

• Some early sociological theorists (e.g., Comte, Marx, Weber, and Durkheim) were disturbed
by the social processes they believed to be driving the change, such as the quest for
solidarity, the attainment of social goals, and the rise and fall of classes, to name a few
examples.

• A prominent mid-20th century American sociologist C. Wright Mills, labeled the sociology
as ‘Sociological Imagination’, which means the ability to situate personal/individual
troubles within an informed framework(standard pattern/research method) of social
issues and identify repeating patterns prevailing in the society.
• Mills proposed that, "What people need is a quality of mind (role of a sociologist) that will help
them to use information and to develop reason in order to achieve simple summary of what is
going on in the world and of what may be happening with them. The sociological imagination
enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the
inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals”.
 What Sociology Offers
Possible Careers

• Educationists in Academics
• Researcher jobs in government agencies
and private research institutions
• Policy making and administrative functions
in Federal, state, and local governments
• Psycho-Socio Counsellor and
administrative functions in Development
and Humanitarian sector
 Lesson Summary
• As a field, sociology asks many questions about how human groups
and ideas interact with each other. For example, one aspect of
sociology is the study of social institutions, which are major
structures made up of groups or ideas that influence people's daily
lives, views of the world, or integration into society. Examples are
religion and schools. sociology can be applied in many different
ways to everyday lives and everyday people. This lesson discussed
three applications: public policy, social change, and personal
growth. In conclusion, sociology is the systematic study of human
society, culture, and relationships on a group level. Many careers
exist within sociology, such as being a college professor or a clinical
sociologist. However, sociology can benefit almost any career.
• http://www.sociology.org/what-is-sociology/
• http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/introduction-to-
sociology/section3.rhtml
 Reference Books
• Tischler, Henry L. 2002. Introduction to
Sociology 7th ed. New York: The Harcourt
Press.
• Hammond, J. R. (2012) Introduction to
Sociology, Smashwords Publications
• Stolley, S. K. (2005) The Basics of
Sociology, GreenWood Press.