Lecture 1: What Sociologists Study and Why It Matters
Welcome to Module 1
This lecture covers the definition, origins, and purpose of sociology.
We will explore why sociology exists as a scientific discipline.
We will identify key early thinkers who shaped the field.
What Is Sociology?
Definition: Sociology is the scientific and systematic study of groups and social interaction.
Focus: It looks beyond individuals to patterns, social forces, and social structures.
Micro vs. Macro:
Micro-level: Small groups and individual interactions (e.g., conversation rules among teenagers).
Macro-level: Large-scale trends among groups and societies (e.g., how language use changes over time in social media).
The Sociological Imagination
C. Wright Mills (1959): Coined the term "Sociological Imagination."
Definition: An awareness of the relationship between a person’s behavior/experience and the wider culture that shaped them.
Example: A decision to marry is influenced by individual feelings and the social acceptability of marriage in that culture.
It helps us see our own behavior in relationship to history and social structure.
Society, Culture & Reification
Society: People who live in a defined geographic area, interact, and share a common culture.
Culture: A group's shared practices, values, and beliefs.
Reification: A common error where we treat an abstract concept (like "culture") as if it were alive and real.
Correct: "People in this culture value X."
Incorrect (Reification): "Culture dictates that we do X."
Origins: The Industrial Revolution
Sociology emerged during the massive social upheaval of the Industrial Revolution (18th/19th century).
Increased mobility, new kinds of employment, and exposure to different cultures.
Millions moved to cities; traditional religious beliefs were challenged.
Thinkers wanted to solve resulting social problems: poverty, crime, and overcrowding.
Precursors to Sociology
Ma Tuan-Lin (13th Century): Chinese historian who first recorded social dynamics underlying historical development.
Ibn Khaldun (14th Century): Tunisian historian, often considered the world's first sociologist.
Proposed a theory of social conflict.
Compared nomadic and sedentary life.
Analyzed the connection between social cohesion and power.
Auguste Comte (1798–1857)
Known as the "Father of Sociology."
Credit: Coined the term "sociology" in 1838.
Positivism: The belief that society can be studied using the same scientific methods used in natural sciences.
He believed social scientists could identify laws of society to address problems like poor education and poverty.
Harriet Martineau (1802–1876)
First woman sociologist.
Translated Comte's writing from French to English.
Key Works:Society in America (1837) and Retrospect of Western Travel (1838).
She noted the hypocrisy in US democratic principles (inequality of women, exploitation of workers).
Often discounted in her time due to male domination of academia.
Karl Marx (1818–1883)
Rejected Positivism.
Co-authored The Communist Manifesto.
Class Conflict: Believed history is driven by the struggle between social classes over the means of production.
Predicted capitalism (private ownership) would collapse and be replaced by communism (communal ownership) due to extreme inequalities.
Émile Durkheim (1858–1917)
Helped establish sociology as a formal academic discipline.
Social Facts: Laws, morals, values, and beliefs that govern social life.
Suicide Study (1897): Attributed suicide rates to socio-religious forces rather than just individual psychology.
Social Solidarity: The social ties that bind a group together.
Found Protestants were more likely to commit suicide than Catholics due to differences in social integration.
Max Weber (1864–1920)
Verstehen: A German word meaning "to understand in a deep way."
Argued observers must understand the insider's point of view.
Antipositivism: Striving for subjectivity to represent social processes and cultural norms (as opposed to strict prediction).
Quantitative vs. Qualitative: Weber's approach laid the groundwork for qualitative sociology (in-depth interviews, focus groups) vs. quantitative (surveys, statistics).
Summary: The Purpose of Sociology
Sociology applies scientific reasoning to human behavior.
It was born out of the chaos of the Industrial Revolution.
Early thinkers like Comte and Durkheim focused on social stability.
Marx focused on inequality and change.
Weber introduced the importance of subjective understanding (Verstehen).