Sociology

ECOSOC

AIS JUST
 What is Sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human life, social groups, whole
societies and the human world as such.

L.F. Ward defines, “Sociology is the science of society or of social phenomena.”

Ginsberg says, “Sociology is the study of human interaction and interrelation of their
conditions and consequences.”

Emile Durkheim defines, “ Sociology is a science of social institutions.”

Ogburn and Nimkoff defines, “Sociology is the study of social life.”
Kimball Young defines, “Sociology deals with the behavior of men in groups.”
What is Sociology
Sociology is the systematic study of human societies, giving special, but
not exclusive emphasis, to modern industrialized societies.
Sociology came into being as an attempt to understand the far-reaching
changes that have occurred in human societies over the past two or
three centuries.
What is Sociology

It is a dazzling and compelling

enterprise, as its subject-matter
is our own behavior as social
beings.
Economic Sociology- Definition
• Economic sociology is the study of the social cause and effect of
various economic phenomena. The field can be broadly divided into a
classical period and a contemporary one, known as "New economic
sociology". (Wikipedia)
• Economic sociology, the application of sociological concepts and
methods to analysis of the production, distribution, exchange, and
consumption of goods and services. (Encyclopedia Brittannica)
Economic Sociology
• Economic sociology is particularly attentive to the relationships between economic
activity, the rest of society, and changes in the institutions that contextualize and
condition economic activity.
• Although traditional economic analysis takes the atomistic individual as its starting
point, economic sociology generally begins with groups, or whole societies, which it
views as existing independently of and partially constituting the individual.
• When economic sociologists do focus on individuals, it is generally to examine the
ways in which their interests, beliefs, and motivations to act are mutually
constituted through the interactions between them.
• This focus on economic action as social—that is, as oriented toward other people—
allows economic sociologists to consider power, culture, organizations, and
institutions as being central to an economy.
 Economic Entrepreneurship,
production,
Aspects of an distribution,
Economy consumption etc.

Social Aspects
of an Economy
Power, culture,
organizations, and
institutions
Economic
Sociology
Sociological Imagination/Thinking –
Broader View of Social Phenomena
• Sociology demonstrates the need to take a much broader view of our
own lives in order to explain why we act as we do.
• It teaches us that what we regard as natural, inevitable, good or true
may not be so, and that things we take for granted are strongly
influenced by historical events and social processes.
• Studying sociology is not just a routine process of acquiring
knowledge.
• A sociologist is someone who is able to break free from the
immediacy of personal circumstances and put things into a wider
context.
Sociological Imagination/Thinking –
Broader View of Social Phenomena
• Adopting a sociological imagination allows us to see that many
events which appear to concern only the individual actually reflect
larger issues.
• For example divorce, unemployment etc. are personal phenomena if
viewed narrowly but are important public issues when they occur on
a large scale and have significant implications for the society.
• It is the business of sociology to investigate the connections between
what society makes of us and what we make of ourselves and society.
Scope/Subject Matter of Sociology
Sociology is
• the study of society
• the science of social life
• the study of social relationships
• the study of human behavior in groups
• the study of forms of social relationships
• the study of social action
• the study of social groups and social systems
Sociological studies seek to explain major
social issues of the day
For example
• Karl Marx sought to explain the dynamics of the capitalist economy
and the causes of poverty and social inequality.
• Emile Durkheim's studies investigated the character of industrial
society and the process of secularization.
• Max Weber tried to explain the emergence of capitalism and the
consequences of modern bureaucratic forms of organization.
• And all three were concerned to understand ‘what was unique about
modern societies’ and ‘where they were heading’.
Contemporary theories explain
contemporary issues
The central problems within societies seem to be changing, as are the
sociological theories that aim to understand and explain them.

• What are the social and political consequences of globalization?

• How and why are gender relations being transformed?
• What is the future for multicultural societies?
• Indeed, what is the future for human populations across the world
in the light of dire scientific forecasts of global warming and other
environmental problems?
 History of Sociology (Towards Sociology p.
72/96)
• The Industrial Revolution of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
came with itself a host of problems e.g. pollution, overcrowding, poor
sanitation and accompanying diseases.
This motivated researchers to explore the nature of the problems and collect
evidence to reinforce their own prescriptions for change.
• After the French Revolution in 1789 Europe was transformed from agrarian
societies and absolute monarchies to republican states with more freedom,
liberty and citizenship rights.
This revolution is thought to have been caused by mid-eighteenth century
European Enlightenment ideas that challenged religion based authorities and
promoted scientific reasoning.
 History of Sociology (Towards Sociology p.
72/96)
• The advancement in natural sciences inspired social scientists to use
scientific methods in investigating social affairs as well.
Enlightenment philosophers also believed that laws that are applicable to
natural science could also be found in social sciences (and should be
sought using similar methods) as well.

Sociologists try to understand social evolution on

the backdrop of political, economic and
technological transformation.
EEE?
• The biggest problem facing mankind is Climate Change. How climate
change is changing and affecting societies. To solve this problem Energy
Policy, transformation of source of energy are important.
• Technological advancement, adoption, and use are creating a host of
social problems e.g. addiction to social media, pornography, video
games and related family/social problems, cyber crimes (bullying etc.).
What are the positive and negative outcomes of technology in our social
life?
Energy and Society

• Presents an overview of alternative

energy issues and technologies,
• Discusses the pros and cons of
various energy sources, and
• Explores their impacts on society
and the environment.
Energy and Society
• Covers global climate change, oil prices, renewable
and alternative fuels, and diversion of civil nuclear
energy programs into nuclear weapons proliferation.
• It also covers the development of energy technology
from the time of early humans through antiquity,
medieval times, and the Industrial Revolution.
• It also addresses the development of nuclear energy,
energy supply and demand, geopolitics of energy, and
the various environmental issues associated with
energy use.
What Is Social Evolution/ Change?
Change is an important fact of social life.
Social change is an omnipresent phenomena, it is everywhere. Change
is the law of nature and society is a part of nature.
The word “change” denotes a difference in anything observed over
some period of time. Social change, therefore, would mean observable
differences in any social phenomena over any period of time.
Definitions of Social Evolution/Change
Lundberg: “Social change refers to any modifications in the established patterns of
inter-human relationship and standard of conduct.”
Horton and Hunt: Social change is meant change in the social structure or function
of societal forms.
MacIver and Page: “social change is a change in social relationship i.e. changes in
ways human being relates themselves to one another”. It is a process responsive to
many types of changes, to changes in man-made conditions of living, to changes in
attitudes and beliefs of men and to changes that go beyond human control to the
biological and physical nature of things.
H.T Mazumdar, “Modification in social technology, relationships, patterns &
institutions”.
Judson R. Landis writes, “Social change refers to change in the structure and
functioning of the social relationships of society.”
Definitions of Social Evolution/Change
Koenig feels “Social change refers to the modifications which occur in
the life patterns of people”.
According to M.E. Jones, “Social change is a term used to describe
variations in or modifications of any aspect of social processes, social
patterns, social interaction or social organization”.
How Technology Changes Society - William Fielding Ogburn

He suggested that technology is the primary engine of progress, but tempered

by social responses to it. Thus, his theory is often considered a case of
Technological determinism, but is really more than that.
Technology changes society by changing our environment to which we, in turn,
adapt. The change is usually in the natural environment and the adjustment we
make to the changes often modifies customs and social institutions.
Everywhere there is evidence of the stimulus of war in developing an
unprecedented number of inventions. These are subsequently added to our
material environment. These wartime developments change society in
peacetime when produced and used by consumers at a larger scale.
W. Ogburn – ‘How Technology Changes
Society’
W. Ogburn – ‘How Technology Changes Society’ (1947) four stages of technological
development
• Invention is the process by which new forms of technology are created.
• Accumulation is the growth of technology due to the fact that old inventions
become obsolete or are forgotten.
• Diffusion is the spread of an idea from one cultural group to another.
• Adjustment is the process by which the non-technical aspects of a culture respond
to invention. Any retardation of this adjustment process causes cultural lag.
Technological developments have affected a lot of changes in attitudes, beliefs and
even in traditions , institutions. These influence almost all aspects of our life and
culture. These include social customs and practical techniques for converting raw
material to finished products.
 Cultural Lag and Cultural Lag Theory
• Cultural Lag is the notion that culture takes time to catch up with
technological innovations, and that social problems and conflicts are
caused by this lag.

Material culture VS Non-material culture

Material culture includes all of the physical objects that people create and give meaning
to.  For example, cars, clothing, schools and computers. An object only becomes part of culture
after meaning have been given to it.
Non-material culture consists of thoughts and behavior that people learn as part of the
culture they live in. It includes politics, economics, language, rules, customs, family, religion or
beliefs, values, and knowledge.
Social problems and Conflicts from Cultural
Lag
• Cultural Lag creates problems for a society in a multitude of ways.  
• For example, the advent of stem cell research has given rise to many
new, potentially beneficial medical technologies; however these new
technologies have also raised serious ethical questions about the use of
stem cells in medicine.
• Cultural lag is seen as an issue because failure to develop broad social
consensus on appropriate applications of modern technology may lead
to breakdowns in social solidarity and the rise of social conflict.
• Issues can also arise when an aspect of culture changes so rapidly that
society is unable to prepare or adjust to it.
 Importance of Studying Social Change
Very often it is desirable to bring change in the behavior of human being.
• We can study the factors that are barriers to bringing changes.
• We can know about the stimulants of social change.
• Through different theories of social change we came to know how our
society evolved from the ancient era and how the changes has taken place.
• We can understand the role of different organizations, institutions , groups ,
and leadership in bringing social change.
• Study of social change will lead to a comprehension of the behavior of the
people within their natural and social setting and changes happening in
physical and social aspects in the society.
 Characteristics of Social Change

Social change takes place everywhere and it is continuous It means that

social change is not confined to a particular society or group.
It occurs in every society, sociologically, speaking an unchangeable society is
considered as a dead society.
Social changes are neither stopped nor the societies are kept in museum to
save them from change. It is an on-going process without any break.
 Characteristics of Social Change
• Social change is temporal
Sometimes some social changes may bring about immediate results while some others may
take years to produce results. Similarly, some social changes spread rapidly and also disappear
rapidly. Movements, style, fashion are the examples of this type.
• Degree or rate of change is not uniform
Though social change is an ever-present phenomenon, its degree or rate or what we call the
speed is not uniform. It varies from society to society and even in the same society from time
to time.
• Social Change may be planned or unplanned
Plans, programs and projects are made effective to bring change in the society. This is called
planned change. As it is consciously and deliberately made, there is every possibility to have
control on the speed and direction of change. For example, the five years plan made by the
government. The unplanned changes are spontaneous, accidental or the product of sudden
decision. Usually the change resulting from natural calamities like flood; drought, famines,
volcanic eruption, etc. are the instances of unplanned changes. Here in this unplanned change
there is no control on the degree and direction of social change
 Characteristics of Social Change
• Social change is multi-causal
A single factor may cause a particular change but it is always associated with a number of factors. The physical,
biological, demographical, cultural, technological and many other factors interact to generate change. This is due
to mutual interdependence of social phenomenon.
• Social change creates chain-reactions
Social change produces not a single reaction but chain-reactions as all the parts of the society are inter-related
and interdependent. For example, the economic independence of women has brought changes not only in their
status but also a series of changes in home, family relationship and marriages etc.
• Prediction is uncertain:
We can see some elements for prediction in social change. But the prediction we make is uncertain. It is because
of three reasons. They are:
(a) There is no inherent law of social change,
(b) The forces of social change may not remain on the scene for all times to come,
(c) The process of social change does not remain uniform.
Social change takes place in the form of modification and replacements e.g:- modification in basic diet.
replacement of material and ideas in society. (vehicle) (techniques in agriculture)
 Influences on / Factors of social change

Cultural Factors The Physical Political

Environment Organization

1. Weather Condition
1. The effects of 1. Governance
2. Ease of
religion System
communications
2. Communication (authoritative,
across land and the
systems democratic etc.)
availability of sea
3. Leadership 2. Military Power
routes
Cultural Factors

1. The effects of religion

2. Communication
systems
3. Leadership
The physical environment

1. Weather Condition
2. Ease of communications across
land and the availability of sea
routes
Political organization

1. Governance System (authoritative,

democratic etc.)
2. Military Power
Culture and Civilization
What's the difference between culture and civilization?
Culture is the characteristics of people: the sum total of ways of living
built up by a group of human beings, transmitted from one generation
to another.
A civilization is a society in an advanced state of social development
(e.g., with complex legal and political and religious organizations).
Culture and Civilization
What's the difference between culture and civilization?
Culture is manifested in human artifacts (An artifact is any object
made or modified by a human culture, and later recovered by an
archaeological endeavor) and activities such as music, literature,
lifestyle, food, painting and sculpture, theater and film.
In short, civilization is and advance state of human society --- the sum
of cultures, science, industry, and government. So, you can have
several cultures in one civilization.
Social Structure - Definition
• The concept of social structure is an important one in sociology. It
refers to the fact that the social contexts of our lives do not consist of
random assortments of events or actions; they are structured, or
patterned, in distinct ways.
• There are regularities in the ways we behave and in the relationships
we have with one another.
• Human societies are always in the process of structuration. They are
reconstructed at every moment by the very 'building blocks' that
compose it - human beings like you and me.
Social Structure - Definition
• The social backgrounds from which we come have a great deal to do
with what kinds of decision we think appropriate.
• Although we are all influenced by the social contexts in which we find
ourselves, none of us is completely determined in our behaviour by
those contexts. We possess, and create, our own individuality.
• Our activities both structure - give shape to - the social world around
us and, at the same time, are structured by that social world.
Social Stratification
• Social stratification can most simply be defined as structured
inequalities between different groupings of people.
• Sociologists use the concept of social stratification to describe
inequalities that exist between individuals and groups within human
societies.
• Often we think of stratification in terms of assets or property, but it
can also occur because of other attributes, such as gender, age,
religious affiliation or military rank.
• Example of social stratifications: slavery, caste (India and Africa),
estates, class
Social Class
• We can define a class as a large-scale grouping of people who share
common economic resources, which strongly influence the type of
lifestyle they are able to lead.
• Ownership of wealth and occupation, are the chief bases of class
differences.
• Classes differ from earlier forms of stratification in four main respects:
• Class systems are fluid.
• Class positions are in some part achieved.
• Class is economically based.
• Class systems are large-scale and impersonal.
Social Classes and Stratification in
Bangladesh
• Society in Bangladesh in the 1980s, with the exception of the Hindu
caste system, was not rigidly stratified; rather, it was open, fluid, and
diffused, without a cohesive social organization and social structure.
• Social class distinctions were mostly functional, however, and there
was considerable mobility among classes.
• Even the structure of the Hindu caste system in Bangladesh was
relatively loose because most Hindus belonged to the lower castes.
Muslim Societies
• Ostensibly, egalitarian principles of Islam were the basis of social organization.
• Unlike in other regions of South Asia, the Hindu caste-based social system had a
very limited effect on Bangladeshi Muslim social culture.
• Even the low-caste jolhas (weavers) had improved their social standing since
1971.
• Although several hierarchically arranged groups--such as the syeds (noble born)
and the sheikhs, or shaykhs (also noble born)--were noticeable in Bangladesh
Muslim society, there were no impenetrable hereditary social distinctions.
• Rather, fairly permeable classes based on wealth and political influence existed
both in the cities and in the villages.
Muslim Societies
• Traditional Muslim class distinctions had little importance in
Bangladesh.
• The proscription against marriage between individuals of high-born
and low-born families, once an indicator of the social gap between
the two groups, had long ago disappeared; most matrimonial
alliances were based on wealth and power and not on the ties of
family distinction.
• Also, many so-called upper class families, because of their traditional
use of the Urdu language, had become alienated in independent
Bangladesh.
Hindu Societies
• Although Hindu society is formally stratified into caste categories, caste did not figure
prominently in the Bangladeshi Hindu community. About 75 percent of the Hindus in
Bangladesh belonged to the lower castes, notably namasudras (lesser cultivators), and the
remainder belonged primarily to outcaste or untouchable groups.
• Some members of higher castes belonged to the middle or professional class, but there
was no Hindu upper class.
• With the increasing participation of the Hindus in nontraditional professional mobility, the
castes were able to interact in wider political and socioeconomic arenas, which caused
some erosion of caste consciousness.
• Although there is no mobility between Hindu castes, caste distinctions did not play as
important a role in Bangladesh as in they did in the Hindu-dominated Indian state of West
Bengal.
• Bangladeshi Hindus seemed to have become part of the mainstream culture without
surrendering their religious and cultural distinctions.
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