Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Sociology
A brief
Introduction
Philipe Ojp Ombugu
CUEA 2014
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2014 Lectures - Philipe Ojp
Catholic University of Eastern Africa
I. The discipline of sociology
1.1. Definition of sociology
The term sociology etymologically has diversified backgrounds that were
originated back to the history of mid 18th and 19th c. in France. Among essay
writers, Immanuel Joseph had pronounced the word Sociology in one of his
essay writings for the first time. However, Sociology was again coined in
refined way by Auguste Comte at the mid of 19th c. So, Auguste Comte was
French Social philosopher and Sociologist who derived sociology from two
different language origins. These were “Socius” and “Logos”, Latin and
Greek respectively. These words had their own meanings. “Socius” meant
Companion or Friendship, while “Logos” meant knowledge or word or reason.
Some times later, these two words were merged together to mean “The New
Social life”. Today, Sociology attains comprehensive definitions in many
literatures with identical concepts. Hence, “Sociology is the systematic study
of social behavior and human groups that primarily focuses on the influences
of social relationships on people’s attitudes and behavior” (Schaefer,
2000:3).
Sociology is the study of human society including social actions and social
institutions. It is a science of society that is extremely broad in its scope
which investigates social life in line with the wide variety of settings which
offers us not only information about society, but also a distinctive ways of
looking at the world and our place in it.
Sociology examines not only at how social behavior is influenced by others
but also at how major social institutions like family, religion, education,
government and economy affect us.
Among other concepts in sociology, social structures, social actions,
functional integration, prestige, power and culture are basic concepts in
sociology (Functionalism).
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
1.2. Subject matter and Scope
The subject matter and the scope of sociology ranges from micro-level of
face-to-face social interactions to the macro level of whole political
institutions, economic order or even world systems. Sociology studies the
sum total of individuals’ actions, social behaviors and interactions.
Historically, Sociology pays special emphasis on modern and industrialized
societies. In studying its subject matter, Sociology mainly uses careful
observation, objective measurements and comparison methods.
In sum, Sociology is a systematic and scientific discipline seeking knowledge
of man as social animal, his societies, sub-societies as well as adjustment to
them, his cultures, customs, institutions, the patterns of stability and change
that they develop.
Sociology has distinctive characteristics which can be traced as it examines
ethnic groups, social class divisions, various religious organizations such as
Ecclesia, Church, Denominations, Sects and Cults, world of poverty, deviant
behavior, variations in life and chances for the young. It also sees equality
or social inequality in a society. In sociology, the most distinctive field of
study is group life.
Sociology does its studies mainly in modern industrial societies rather than in
preliterate societies. Sociology also looks development trends in urban as
well as in rural areas.
1.3. Sociology and Other Social Sciences
Social sciences seek greater understandings of man and society, although
their approaches are a bit different. Sociology and Anthropology are both
extremely broad in their perspectives. Both are trying to study societies in
their entirety, not just as political, economic or systems of beliefs and values.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Sociology and Allied fields of study
Anthropolo
gy
Sociolo
gy
Econom
ics
So
ci
al
Psy
ho c
lo
gy
Politic
al
Scienc
e
His
ory t
Syst
ems
of
beli
efs
Soci
al
phil
oso
phy
In general consensus, anthropology has focused on studying preliterate or
traditional societies, where as sociology studies contemporary or modern
societies.
Psychology studies mental and emotional side of man, where as economics
studies the systems of production and distribution of goods as well as
services.
Political science studies the systems by which Social power and authority are
institutionalized, exercised and regulated, where as history records the past,
which are important evidences for all social sciences.
Therefore, all social science disciplines are interrelated and interdependent.
So, sociology doesn’t ignore any of them.
 Sociology and other social science disciplines have many things in
common such as:-
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
 Methodology,
 History/Origin,
 Shared theories, fields of inquire, and Subject matters.
Sociology always responds complex relationships between nature and
nurtures. It is also widely used in management science, esp. in the field of
organizational behavior as well as in social work.
1.4
Sociological Imagination
Sociological imagination is a sociological term that was coined by the
American sociologist called C. Wright Mills in 1959. Wright Mill described the
process of linking individual experiences with social institutions as well as
one’s place in history.
Sociological imagination is a new way of looking the world that recognized
links between widespread societal issues and the private problem of the
individual. It was also taken as a means to solve the problems of the current
sociological discourse.
C. Wright Mill characterized that men’s private lives are trapped into series
predicaments. They are trapped due to the fact that, there are uncontrollable
and continuous changes to society such as unemployment, war, marriage,
life in cities, tensions between private trouble and public issues.
Challenges in the life of women e.g. home makers, social change, reactions
to being unemployed, interactions between the individual lives and society,
as well as the inter play of a man and society.
For example, when society is industrialized, a peasant becomes a factory
worker; a feudal lord is liquidated or becomes a businessman. When classes
rise or fall, a person is employed or unemployed, when the rate of
investment goes up or down, a person takes new heart or goes broke.
When war takes place, an insurance sales man may become a rocket
launcher, a store clerk, may become a radar operator, a wife or a husband
may live alone, a child may grow up without a parent.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be
understood without under standing both.
Note:
(1) Sociological imagination is an inspired thinking to understand social
behavior as well as an awareness of the relationship between an
individual and society.
(2)Sociological imagination can be shown across race, gender, social class
and national boundaries.
(3) Sociological imagination can enhance our understandings about
current social issues. It is also an awareness of the relationship
between individual and the wider society that may become also an
ability to view our own environment.
II.
Origin and development of Sociology
2.1. Early origin and development:
To under stand better about modern development of sociology, it is
necessary to scrutinize briefly the history of sociology in the past. In this
regard,
one
can
explore
all
about
tradition
periods
in
terms
of
understandings about society.
A. The period of tradition:
− Since the downward of recorded history, man kind has sought greater
knowledge about his species. How did he come to be a man? What was/is
the relationship between moral order and his place in the universe etc?
− The ancient Hebrew writers, Confucius, Chinese early philosopher,
Greek thinkers such as Sophists, Pioneers of philosophy like Plato and
Aristotle reflected their own views about man and the wider group,
society.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
− The Chinese early thinkers focused on man’s relationship to man in
perpetuating the social system.
− Greek thought had centered on the political and legalistic aspects of
society. Plato and Aristotle investigated and classified the patterns of
government that men create for themselves.
In sum, tradition period was strongly dominated by long-established values,
norms and thoughts about society and its social settings.
B) The period of Theology:
− Early Christian ideas were reflected about society in the work of St.
Augustine (354-430 A.D.). St. Augustine described the institutions of a
society as being either good or bad according to whether they inspire
man to wards salvation or not.
− The theories of St. Augustine and the later those of Thomas Aquinas
sufficiently dominated European Philosophy until the 17th and 18th C.
Nevertheless, contemporary philosophers like John Locke in England, Jean
Jacques Rousseau in France began to develop different theories which
were emphasizing on social factors and practically eliminate theological
views as the foundation of social institutions in a society.
− New trends towards modern social thought were rising gradually.
These modern thoughts were born in a spirit of revolution against the
injustice of the old social order.
− Continuous
arguments
have
been
conceded
out
among
many
disagreeing philosophers that led to the realization of the need for more
exact knowledge of society.
− Early 19th c. the idea of an actual Science of society was cultivating in
the mind of Saint-Simon, who was a French noble man that helped
Washington’s cause in America. He also participated in much less
successful French Revolution. Saint-Simon was a lecturer at Ecole
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
polytechnique institution where he exerted a powerful influence on his
students. One of his students was Auguste Comte. Comte became not
only his student, but also Simon’s friend and collaborator. Auguste Comet
later became adversary of his former teacher. So, their partnership was
dissolved.
C) The period of Social Philosophy:
− Sociology emerged after the great transformations in European
societies, which took place during 17th and 18th C. In this respect, three
basic interrelated changes fostered the emergence of the sociological
perspectives. These include:•
Industrial technology
•
The growth of cities, and
•
Political changes.
− Sociology is a science of society, social institutions, and social
relationships, specifically the systematic study of the development,
structure, interaction and collective behavior of organized human groups.
− Sociology emerged at the end of the 19th c. through the work of
Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, George Simmel, Robert E.
Park, Albion W. Smell, Karl Marx etc.
− Sociologists
use
observational
techniques,
surveys,
interviews,
statistical analysis, controlled experiments and other methods to study
subjects such as family, ethnic relations, schooling, social status social
class, bureaucracy, religious movements, deviance, elderly and social
changes.
2.2.
Major founders of sociology:(i) Auguste Comte (1798-1857):
Auguste Comte was a French Philosopher, a founder of the discipline of
sociology and the doctrine of positivism. He was regarded as the first
philosopher of science in the modern brains of the term. Comte developed
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
sociology in an attempt to therapy the social depression left by the French
revolution.
The discipline was later formally and academically established by Emile
Durkheim. Auguste Comte attempted to introduce a consistent “Religion of
Humanity” which, though largely unsuccessful, was influential in the
development of various worldly humanist organizations in the 19th c. Comte
also created and defined the term “altruism”. August Comte’s fields of
studies were Positivism, Sociology, Law of three stages and encyclopedic
law.
(ii) Emile Durkheim (1858-1917):
Though, Auguste Comte was generally considered as the “Father of
sociology”, the academic subject was formally established by Emile
Durkheim. He developed positivism in great detail. Durkheim set up the first
European department of sociology at the University of Bordeaux in 1895. He
published “Rules of the Sociological method”. In 1896, he also established
the journal of “L’Annee Sociologique”. Durkheim’s influential monograph,
suicide (1897), a case study of suicide rates amongst Catholic and protestant
populations that distinguished sociological analysis from psychology or
philosophy. It was also marked a major contribution to the theoretical
concept of structural functionalism. Emile Durkheim was also represented by
“Social facts”, mechanical and organic solidarity, origin of religion, as well as
moral unity.
(iii) Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher, who was prominent as classical
liberal political theorist, and sociological theorist.
Spencer developed an all-embracing conception of evolution as the
progressive development of the physical world, biological organisms, the
human mind, and human culture and societies. As a polymath, he
contributed
to a wide
range
of subjects, including
ethics, religion,
anthropology, economics, political theory, philosophy, biology, sociology and
psychology. During his life time, he achieved tremendous authority, mainly
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
in English-speaking academia. In 1902, he was nominated for the Noble prize
in literature.
He was best known for the coining the concept “survival of the fittest”, which
he did in principles of Biology (1864), after reading Charles Darwin’s on the
origin of species;. This term strongly suggests natural selection, yet as
Spencer extended evolution into realms of sociology and ethics, he made use
of Lamarckism rather than natural selection. Herbert Spencer was in the
school of evolutionism, positivism, and classical liberalism. His main interests
were evolution, positivism and utilitarianism Spencer’s notable ideas were
Social Darwinism, “survival of the fittest”.
(iv) Max Weber (1864 – 1920)
Max Weber was a German sociologist and political economist, who
profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the remit of
sociology itself. Weber’s major works dealt with the rationalization and the
so-called “disenchantment” which he associated with the rise of capitalism
and modernity. Weber was along with his associate George Simmel, a central
figure in the establishment of methodological anti-positivism presenting
sociology as a non-empirical field, which must study social action through
stubbornly subjective means. He is typically cited with Emile Durkheim and
Karl Marx, as one of the three principal architects of modern social science
and has variously been described as the most important classic thinkers in
the social sciences.
Max Weber was most famous for his thesis in economic sociology, the”
protestant Ethic and the spirit of capitalism.” Dissimilar to Marx, Weber did
not consider the development of capitalism in purely material terms; he
instead, emphasized religious influences embedded into culture. The
protestant Ethic formed the earliest work in Weber’s broader project in the
sociology of religion; he would go to examine the religion of China, India and
ancient Judaism, with particular regard to the apparent non-development of
capitalism and to differing forms of social stratification.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
In another major work, politics as a career, Weber defined the state as an
entity which claims a “monopoly on the legitimate use of violence”. A
definition that became pivotal to the study of modern western political
science. His analysis of bureaucracy in his economy and society is still
central to the modern study of organizations. Weber was the first to
recognize several diverse aspects of social authority, which he respectively
categorized according to their charismatic, traditional and legal forms. His
analysis of bureaucracy, thus, noted that modern state institutions are based
on a form of rational-legal authority. Weber’s thought regarding to the
rationalizing and secularizing tendencies of modern Western society would
come to facilitate critical theory, particularly in the work of thinkers.
V. Karl Marx (1818-1883)
Karl Marx was a German philosopher, political economist, historian, and
political theorist, sociologist, communist and revolutionary, whose ideas are
credited as the foundation of modern communism. Marx summarized his
approach in the first line of chapter one of the communist manifestos
published in 1848: “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history
of class struggle”.
Marx argued that capitalism like previous socio- economic systems would
inevitably produce internal tensions which would lead to destruction. Just as
capitalism replaced feudalism, he believed socialism would in its turn replace
capitalism. This would be stateless society called pure communism.
Karl Marx argued that for a systemic understanding of socio-economic
change. He argued that the structural contradictions within capitalism
impose its end, giving away to socialism.
“The development of modern industry, therefore, cuts from under its feet the
very foundation on which the bourgeoisie produces and appropriates
products. What the bourgeoisie, therefore, produces, above all, are its own
grave-diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally
inevitable” (The communist Manifesto). Marx is typically cited with Emile
Durkheim and Max Weber, as one of the three principal architects of modern
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
social science. Karl Marx’s main contributions were in the areas of politics,
economics and philosophy. His interests were sociology, history and class
struggle.
Notable contributions were surplus value, alienation and exploitation of the
workers, the communist manifesto, Das Kapital and materialist conception of
history. Karl Marx is considered to be the first theorist to form series of
concepts within the break between modern and pre-modern theories.
Karl Marx had lot contributions for the theory of conflict perspective. He
believed in social change through class struggle. He is considered to be the
father of conflict theory.
IV. Others: Ibn Khaldun (1332 – 1406):
Ibn Khaldun was born in North Africa, in present day, Tunisia. He was
astronomer, economist, historian, Islamic theologian, and also he was
considered a fore runner of several social scientific disciplines such as
demography, cultural history, historiography, the philosophy of history and
sociology. Khaldun was also considered as one of the forerunners of modern
economics next to the earlier Indian scholar Chanaxya. Ibn Khaldun was
considered by many to be the father of a number of these disciplines
Centuries before they were founded in the West. His school of thought was
Malikimadhab, Islamic economic Jurisprudence. His main interests were
social sciences, sociology, history, cultural history demography etc. He
developed theories of “Asabiyyah” and the rise and fall of Civilizations.
Asabiyyah: “social cohesion”, group solidarity or tribalism”
Concerning the discipline of sociology, he conceived a theory of social
conflict. He developed the dichotomy of sedentary life versus nomadic life as
well as the concept of a “generation” and the inevitable loss of power that
occurs when desert warriors conquer a city.
•Harriet Martineau (1802 – 1876)
Harriet Martineau was born in England. She wrote more than 50 books and
were significant to sociologists, today because of her argument that “when
one studies a society, one must focus on all its aspects, including key
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
political, religious and social institutions”. She also believed an analysis of a
society should be required to have an understanding of women’s lives.
Harriet changed sociological opinions on issues that were ignored such as
marriage, children, domestic and religious life, and race relations. She
believed that sociologists should not just simply observe, they should do
things to benefit society. Harriet was known as the first women sociologist.
•American sociologists (19th c.)
 Lester Frank Ward: Social liberalist
He was an American sociologist. He served as the first president of the
American sociology Association.
 L.F. Ward (1841 – 1913): Major works
•
Neo-Darwinism, neo-Lamarckism
•
The psychic factors of civilization
•
Contemporary sociology ,etc
 W. Graham Sumner (1840 – 1910):
−
Social Darwinist,
−
The causes of the farmers’ discontent of ,1873
−
Monetary development
−
Politics in America
−
Socialism, 1878 and Sociological fallacies, 1884 and
−
Evils of the Tariff system.
III. Major theoretical perspectives:
3.1. Functionalist perspectives
3.2. Conflict perspectives
3.3. Interactionist perspectives
In addition to the above stated theories, the followings can be included:
•
Post-structuralism
•
Post- modernism
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
•
Feminism
•
Rational choice and exchange theory
•
Phenomenology
•
Ethno- methodology
•
Social construction theory
3.4. An overview of Sociological research methods.
(A) Some group of sociologists view the world basically as a stable and on
going entity. So that, they are impressed with the endurance of the
family, religion and other social institutions.
(B) Another group of sociologists also view society as composed of many
groups who are in conflict for scarce resources.
(C) The third group of sociologists also view society as routine interactions
among individuals. Therefore, in general:These different views of sociologists can be classified as:(i)
Functionalist perspective,
(ii)
Conflict perspective, and
(iii)
Interactionist perspective
(i) Functionalist perspective:Functionalist perspective is a sociological approach that focuses on the way
that different parts of a society are structured to hold its stability and social
order. Let us think of a society as living organism in which each part of the
organism contributes to its survival. This sort of sociological view is called
functionalist
perspective.
Functionalism
attempted
to
explain
social
institutions as a collective means to fill individual-biological needs earlier
time. Nevertheless, gradually, it came to focus on that social institutions fill
social needs, esp. social stability.
Functionalism is most often associated with structures and workings of
society. So, functionalists see society as made up of inter-dependent
sections which they work together to fulfill the functions necessary for the
survival of society as a whole.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Functionalists believe that behavior in a society is structural, which relates
with various institutions and social ages of a society.
The origins of functionalist perspectives can be traced to the work of Herbert
Spencer, Emile Durkheim and recently Talcott Parsons. These leading
functionalists see society as having a structure, with key institutions
performing vital functions and roles directing people in how to behave. They
identify the functions of each part of the structure. E.g. the family socializes
the young and produces a shared culture. Other institutions are there to
meet the basic needs of society e.g. producing food and shelter for people.
Other institutions help society to run smoothly and integrate the different
parts.
When all parts of a society work together, balance is maintained and the
overall order of the system is achieved. Hence, social structures in a society
promote integration, stability, consensus and balance.
 Prominent functionalists:
(i) Herbert Spencer sees the social system as an organic, even as super
organic body. Indeed, this is followed by a fluctuating state of equilibrium
and disequilibrium or a state of adjustment and adaptation and finally, a
stage of disintegration or dissolution. Spencer concluded that society was
constantly facing pressure internal/external. He also recognized that the
degree of centralized and consolidated authority in a given polity could
make or break the ability to adapt. He also saw the effects of
centralization of power as leading to stagnation and ultimately, pressure
to decentralization.
H.Spencer recognized functional needs such as – Regulation, Operation and
Distribution. All societies need to solve problem of control and coordination
of production of goods, services and ideas. Spencer was known by coining
the term “survival of the fittest”.
ii) Talcott parsons
Parsons wanted to develop a grand theory of society. Hence, he began to
examine the individuals and their actions. He stated that “The social system
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
is made up of the actions of individuals”. Parsons also developed the idea of
“role” in to collectivities of roles that complemented each other in fulfilling
functions for society.
Some of the roles are bound up in institutions and social structures, such as
economic, educational, legal and even gender structures.
Parsons viewed equilibrium to be maintained, when socialization and social
control are essentially practiced.
 Socialization is important, because, it is a means for transferring the
accepted norms and values of a society to the individuals within the
system.
Prefect socialization may occur when these norms and values are completely
internalized, i.e. when they become part of the individuals’ personality:
(iii) Robert Merton:R. Merton agreed with parson’s theory. However, he tended to emphasis
middle-range theory rather than a grand theory. Robert Merton differentiated
between manifest and latent functions. In this aspect, he believed that there
is no functional unity. All modern and complex societies do not work for the
functional unity of a society.
Some structures and institutions may have other functions, while even be
generally dysfunctional or be functional. Hence, all structures may not be
functional for society as a whole. R. Merton introduced the concepts of power
and coercion into functionalism and identifies the sites of tensions which
may lead to struggle or conflict. Merton’s theory of deviance is derived from
Durkheim’s idea of anomie.
According to Merton, anomie means a discontinuity between cultural goals
and accepted methods available for reaching them. In this regard, Merton
believed that there are five situations facing an actor. These are:(A) Conformity (B) Innovation
(C) Ritualism (D) Retreatism E) Rebellion
Therefore, change can occur internally in a society through either innovation
or rebellion. It is true that society will attempt to control these individuals
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and negate the changes. However, innovation or rebellion builds momentum,
so, society will eventually adapt or face dissolution.
− Merton had contributed to differentiate between manifest and latent
functions.
(i) Manifest function: - This is intended and recognized consequences of
social actions upon other social actors or institutions (conscious intentions of
actors).
(ii) Latent function: - This is unintended and unrecognized
consequences of social action upon other social actors or institutions. These
consequences can be either beneficial or not. Furthermore,
 Manifest function is open, stated and conscious functions that involve
into the intended, recognized consequences of an aspect of a society such
as the university’s role in certifying an academic competence and
excellence.
 By contrast;
Latent functions are unconscious or unintended functions and may reflect
hidden purposes of an institution. Both manifest and latent functions are to
be considered as positive.
Examples for manifest functions:− The manifest function of a school is to teach,
− The manifest function of military institution is to defend,
− The manifest function of economic institution is to produce and
distribute goods.
Examples for latent function:− College students during their stay in the college may make good
friends.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
− During staying abroad for education, may purchase a new car and
house hold furniture’s for home. During business interaction, if the two
individuals make love affairs and get married.
(iii) Dysfunctions: Those elements or processes of a society that may
disrupt a social system or lead to decrease in stability. When social order
breaks down in many cases, negative consequences may reveal. For
example, over population and pollution etc.
Note:Famous functionalists include:(A) Herbert Spencer
(C) Talcott Parsons
(B) Emile Durkheim
(D) Bronislaw Malinowski
(F) Robert K. Merton
(E) A.R. Radcliff – Brown
(ii) Conflict perspective: Conflict perspective is a sociological approach which assumes that
social behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tension between
competing groups. Conflict theory strives to explain social facts interms of
different groups competing for controlling resources or advantages. This
process occurs on macro level. It is expressed interms of the conflict
between class groups. In sociology, conflict theory states that the society
or organization functions so as each individual participates and its groups
struggle to maximize their benefits, which inevitably contributes to social
change such as changes in politics and revolutions. This theory is mostly
applied to explain conflict between social classes in ideology such as
socialism and communism.
 The discipline of sociology accepts conflict theory as one valid way to
gain insight into a society.
 Karl Marx is regarded as the father of conflict theory and the idea of
human society. In this regard, key figures are K. Marx and F. Engles in
which das kapital and the communist manifesto are included in their
work. Besides,
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
 Machiavelli,
Thomas
Hobbes,
Karl
Marx
and
Max
Weber
had
contributed important parts to conflict theory.
In brief, Marx stated about sociological conflict theory as follows:- (1) classes
are formed through property divisions such as slaves and slave-owners, serfs
and lords, capitalists and workers are the opposing agents in the struggle for
political power in the line of underpinning their means of livelihood.
(2) Material contributions determine the extent to which social classes can
organize effectively to fight for their interests. This condition of mobilization
is a set of intervening variables between class and political power.
1. Race and ethnicity conflict
2. Conflict of religion
3. Gender conflict
4. Regions conflict
5. Class conflict
(3)
The
Marxist
conflict
approach
emphasizes
a
materialist
interpretation of history, a dialectical method of analysis, a critical stance
towards existing social arrangements and a political program of revolution or
at least, reform.

K. Marx divided human history into several stages based on
economic structure of a society. The most important stages for Marx’s
argument were Feudalism and Capitalism.

For Marx’, the central institution of capitalist society is private
property, the system by which capital (money, machine, tools, factories
and other material objects used in production) is controlled by small
minority of the population. This arrangement leads to two opposed
classes, the owners of capital which Marx called them “bourgeoisie”, and
the workers which he called them “proletariat”, whose only property is
their only labor time, which they have to sell to the capitalists.

Owners of means of production are seen as making profits by
paying workers less than their work is worth and thus, exploiting them.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa

Contradictions do mean inherent conflict and instability that lead
to class struggle. As Marx said this class struggle will eventually culminate
in a socialist revolution.
(iii) Interactionist perspective:
Interactionism concerns itself with social interaction in micro level settings,
unlike conflict theory and functionalism assumes that person’s social
behavior occurs only in the context of the subjective meanings that one may
attach to social position:
 Interactionism has long history. Since, Max Weber and George Herbert
Mead put emphasizes on the subjective meaning of human behavior, the
social process and pragmatism. Herbert Blumer was responsible for
coining the term “symbolic interactionism”.
Interactionists focus on the subjective aspects of social life, rather than an
objective, macro-structural aspects of social system. One reason for their
focus is that interactionists’ base their theoretical perspective on their
image of humans, rather than on their image of society.
 For interactionists, humans are pragmatic actors who continually must
adjust their behavior to the actions of other actors. We can adjust to these
actions only because we are able to interpret them, i.e. to denote them
symbolically and treat the actions and those who perform them as
symbolic objects. This process of adjustment is aided by our ability to
imaginatively rehearse alternative lines of action before we act.
 Interactionism sees humans as active, creative participant, who
construct their social world, not as passive, that conforming objects of
socialization.
 Society consists of organized and patterned interactions among
individuals. For interactionists, negotiation among members of a society
creates temporary, socially constructed relations which remain in
constant flux, despite relative stability in the basic framework governing
those relations.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Role-taking: It is a key mechanism of interaction which permits us to take
the other’s perspective to see what our actions might mean to the other
actors with whom we interact.
Role-making: It is a key mechanism of interaction for all situations and
roles are inherently ambiguous. Thus, requiring us to create those situations
and roles to some extent before we can act.
Interactionists
tend
to
study
social
interaction
through
participant
observation, rather than surveys and interviews.
Interactionists view in general:(I)
Interactionism is a sociological framework for viewing human beings
as living in a world of meaningful objects. The “objects” may include
material things, actions, other people, relationships, and even symbols.
George Herbert Mead: is widely regarded as the founder of the
(II)
interactionist perspectives. He focused on human interactions within one
to one situations and small groups. Mead was interested in observing
the most minute forms of communications such as smiles, frowns, nod
dings etc.
•
Frown = to show anger,
•
Nodding = to say “yes” or to show agreeness
Interactionist perspective is sometimes referred to as the symbolic
(III)
interactionist perspective. Because, interactionists see symbols as an
especially important part of human communication. In general symbolic
form of communication is labeled as “non-verbal communication” which
includes many other gestures, facial expressions, and postures.
Facial expressions:
Symbolic communication:
Smiling,
Distress
objects; artifacts,
Laughing,
etc.
Sounds,
Crying,
Shame
Emotions
images, and
,
tools, ornaments
clothing’s, institution etc.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Summary views:
P
C
I
1. Society view:
Stable, well
integrated
2. Level of analysis:
3. Key concepts:
4. Individual view:
Tension and
struggle b/n groups
Macro
Macro
People are
socialized to
perform social
functions
5. View of social change: Predictable
reinforcing
6. Example:
7. Proponents:
Small group
Micro
−Inequality
−Capitalism
−
Manifest F.
−Latent F.
Active and affecting
everyday social
interaction
−
Symbols−Non
verbal com.
People are shaped by
power and authority
Change takes place
all the time and
may have positive
consequences/Neg.
 Public
punishments
 Reinforce the
 Laws reinforce
the positions of
those in power
 E. Durkheim,
 Talcott parsons,
and
 K. Marx,
 W.E.B. Dubois,
and
Through
symbols
create their
social worlds.
−
Communication
with others
−
Reflected in
 People respect
laws or disobey
them based on
their own past exp.
 G.H.
Mead
C.H. Coole
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
A brief introduction to Sociology; prepared & compiled by: Lule Belay
Discussion questions:
1) Draw significant distinctions between functionalist and interactionist
theories:2) What are the main roles of institutions in social system?
3) What is the role of social structures in the society?
4) When H. Spencer coined the phrase “survival of the fittest”, what did
he want to indicate?
5) How do societies maintain social “equilibrium”? In the light of
functionalist point of view, identify the main conceptual discrepancies
interms of society between Talcott parsons and Robert Merton:
6) What is the difference between manifest and latent functions?
7) What is Dysfunctions? Give examples
8) Does conflict theory have always positive value to society? Yes or no
with reasons/justifications
9) What is symbolic interactionist perspective?
10) List the most proponents of functionalist theory.
11) List a few personalities of interactionist theory.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Recommended references for further readings:

Blumer,H. (1969). Symbolic Interactionism: perspective and method.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Coser, L. (1977). Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in Historical
and Social Context, 2nd Ed., Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.,
pp. 140-143, accessed:
http://www2.pfeifer.edu/~lridener/DSS/Durkheim/DURKW5.HTML

Craib, I. (1992). Modern Social Theory: From Parsons to Habermas,
Harvester Wheatsheaf, London

Cuff, E. & Payne, G., (eds) (1984). Perspectives in Sociology, Allen &
Unwin, London

Davis, K. (1959). “The Myth of Functional Analysis as a Special Method
in Sociology and Anthropology”, American Sociological Review, 24(6),
757-772.

Elster, J.,Modgil, C. & Modgil, S., (eds) Robert Merton: Consensus and
Controversy, Falmer Press, London, pp. 129-35

Gingrich, P., (1999) “Functionalism and Parsons” in Sociology 250
Subject
Notes,
University
of
Regina,
accessed,
24/5/06,
rul:http://uregina.ca/~gingrich/n2f99.htm

Holmwood, J. (2005) “Functionalism and its Critics” in Harrington, A.,
(ed) Modern Social Theory: an introduction, Oxford University Press,
Oxford, pp. 87-109.

Humans, G. (1962). Sentiments and Activities. New York: The Free
Press of Glencoe.

Hoult, T. (1969). Dictionary of Modern Sociology.

Lenski,
G.
(1966).
“Power
and
Privilege:
A
Theory
of
Social
Stratification. “New York: McGraw-Hill.

Lenski, G. (2005). “Evolutionary-Ecological Theory.” Boulder, CO:
Paradigm.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
An overview of Sociological research methods:
Sociological

research is systematic which gathers data,
organizes and analysis’s that informed by theory and it reaches to
conclusions.
Effective
sociological
research
can
be
quite
thought
provoking. It may suggest many new questions about social interactions
that require further study. In some cases, rather than raising additional
questions, a study will simply confirm previous beliefs and findings.
What is scientific research method?

−
Scientific method is a systematic and organized series of
steps
that
ensures
maximum
objectivity
and
consistency
in
researching a problem.
−
The scientific method requires precise preparations in
developing useful research. Other wise, the research data collected
may prove to be unacceptable for purposes of sociological study. As it
is noted that there are five basic steps in the scientific research
method which sociologists and other researchers follow:-
Steps in Research process:
1.
Identification of the research problem/selecting a topic:
2. Reviewing the literature/evidence.
3. Making the research problem precise/formulate the hypothesis
4. Workings out the research design/choosing the research method.
5. Carrying out the research/collecting and analyzing the data.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
- Survey
- Focus Group Discussion
- Experiment
- In depth- interview
- Field research
- Documentary research
6. Interpreting the results.
7. Sharing/Reporting the findings
Defining the Problem:−
Researcher must state clearly what it needs to be investigated?
−
What is the interest of the researcher in examing?
−
Needs to identify clearly the core problem of the study.
Reviewing literature:−
After defining the problem, the next essential step is to go
through relevant literature so as to lay down fundamental contextual
concepts for further investigation of the problem.
Formulating hypothesis/Research Questions:
−
It is a speculative statement about the relationship between two
or more factors, known as variables.
•
Independent variable:- To cause or influence another
•
Dependent variable: - When its action is depending on
others.
−
Formulating hypothesis can also be written as research questions
or guide questions.
Research design and collecting data:−
This part focuses on how to collect data and formulate essential
data collection techniques.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
−
This is the research plan section which indicates research
techniques, discussions and others. It is the major part of the research:
Developing summary, conclusions and recommendations
−
After collecting and analyzing data, the researchers have to
come to the final steps in the scientific method. This final step is
conclusions:-
4.2. Research designs and methods:
Research design is a detailed plan or method for obtaining data
scientifically. Selection of a research design is a critical step for
sociologists and requires creativity and ingenuity. This choice will directly
influence both the cost of the project and the amount of time needed to
collect the results of the research:

Researchers (sociologists) usually implement the following major
steps in
research process:
Summary Chart
Scientific Method
Defining the problem
Review the literature
Formulate the hypothesis
Select research design
Collect and analyze data




Surveys
Observations
Experiments
Existing
27
Develop
the- conclusion
2014
Lectures
Philipe
Ojp
Report
Interpret
the research
your
results
findings
Catholic University of Eastern Africa
(1) Surveys:
− A survey is a study, generally in the form of an interview or
questionnaire that provides sociologists with information concerning how
people think and act. A survey must be based on precise, representative
sampling if it is to reflect genuinely abroad range of the population.
− A representative sample is a selection from a larger population that is
statistically typical of that population. There are many kinds of samples,
but the one social scientists most frequently use is the random sample:
− In random sample, every member of an entire population being studied
has the same chance of being selected.
− The advantage of using specialized sampling techniques is that
sociologists do not need to question everyone in a population.
− An effective survey question must be simple and clear enough for
people to understand it. It must also be specific enough so that there are
no problems in interpreting the results.
− There are two main forms of surveys. These are interview and
questionnaire. Each of these has its own advantages.
− Skillful interviewer can go beyond written questions and “probe” for a
subject’s
underlying
feelings
and
reasons.
On
the
other
hand,
questionnaires have the advantage of being cheaper, especially when
large samples are used.
(2) Observation: Investigators who collect information through direct participation in
and/or observation of a group, tribe, or community under study are
engaged in observation. This method allows sociologists to examine
certain behaviors and communities that could not be investigated through
other research techniques. In some cases, the sociologists actually “join”
a group for a period of time to gain an accurate sense of how it operates.
This is called participant observation.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
− The methodology of participant observation proved usefulness in
solving practical problems.
Experiments:
 To study a cause and effect relationship, one may conduct an
experiment. In the other hand, an experiment is an artificially created
situation that allows the researcher to manipulate variables.
− In classic method of conducting an experiment, two groups of people
are selected and matched for similar characteristics such as age or
education. The researchers then assign the subjects to one of two groups,
the experimental or the control group.
− The experimental group is exposed to an independent variable, the
control group is not. Thus, it scientists were testing a new type of
antibiotic drug; they would administer that drug to an experimental group
but not to control group.
Use of existing sources:−
Sociologists do not necessarily have to collect new data in
order to conduct research and test hypotheses.
−
The term secondary analysis refers to a variety of research
techniques that make use of publicly accessible information and data.
Generally, in conducting secondary analysis, researchers utilize data in
ways an intended by the initial collectors of information.
−
Sociologists consider secondary analysis to be noncreative,
since it does not influence people’s behavior.
For example, Emile Durkheim’s statistical analysis of suicide neither
increased nor decreased human self-destruction.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
4.3
Ethics of Research:
−
Researchers in general, sociologists in particular must
abide by a certain specific standards in conducting research code of
ethics. American sociologist’s associations put forth the following basic
principles (1997).
1.
Maintain objectivity and integrity in research.
2.
Respect the subject’s right to privacy and dignity.
3.
Protect subjects from personal harm.
4.
Preserve confidentiality.
5.
Seek informed consent when data are collected from research
participants or when behavior occurs in a private context. (Voluntary
participation).
6.
Acknowledge research collaboration and assistance.
7.
Disclose all sources of financial support.
PAC = Privacy, Anonymity and Confidentiality

Most sociological research uses people as sources of
information – as respondents to survey questions, subjects of observation,
or participants in experiments. In all cases, sociologists need to be certain
that they are not invading the privacy of their subjects. This is by assuring
guaranteeing that personal information disclosed will remain confidential.

The
scientific
method
or
methodology
provides
a
systematic, organized series of steps that insure maximum objectivity and
consistency in researching a problem. It provides a shared basis for
discussion and analysis, and helps to promote reliability and validity
(Consistency and Accuracy). Theory directs research and research informs
theory (Reflexivity).
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V. Culture:
5.1. Definition of Culture
5.2. Components of Culture
5.3. Traits of Culture
5.4. Ethnocentrism Vs Cultural Relativism
5.5. Socialization and its agents
5.1 Definition of Culture
The concept of culture has been defined, investigated and explained by
different scholars with various time frames and stages of development
starting down to the records of history. The definitions of culture are raised
to the extent of beyond 160, to be more specific 164 definitions of culture
are recorded in different written materials. Nevertheless, the definition of
culture was examined coherently and presented by British anthropologist
Edward Teylor. He proposed that cultures, systems of human behavior and
thought, obey natural laws and therefore can be studied scientifically.
Teylor’s definition of culture is more comprehensive and is widely quoted.
Tylor’s definition of culture:
“…Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts,
morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man
as a member of society” (1871/1958 p. 1)

values,
Culture can also be broadly defined as the learned norms,
artifacts,
language
and
symbols
that
are
constantly
communicated among people who share a common ways of life. Culture
includes
beliefs
about
what
is
important
in
life,
and
it
shapes
interpretations of what events mean.

Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge,
experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion,
notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the
course of generations through individuals and groups striving for.

Culture is the system of knowledge shared by relatively
large groups of people. The sociology of culture shows that our hopes and
fears, our likes and dislikes, our beliefs and habits are very much social
creations, strongly influenced by the time and place in which we live. This
does not mean that culture dictates thoughts and behavior. It leaves room
for actions. Culture is something, people develop and use. On the other
hand, in the process, there is also room for reshaping culture, for adapting
it to meet new demands and situations. As a result culture is never static.
It is constantly in the process of change.

The particular content of culture varies from place to place,
but all human cultures have the same basic elements. These include
knowledge, language, and symbols of all kinds, values, norms, and
artifacts (the physical objects that people make). People use these as
cultural “tool kit” both to maintain and to change their ways of life.

Culture is the sum total of the learned behavior of a group
of people that are generally considered to be the tradition of that people
and are transmitted from generation to generation. Culture is a collective
programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or
category of people from another.

Culture can be two aspects. Material culture and Non-
material culture.

Material culture consists of all the physical objects or
artifacts that people make and attach meanings to them.
E.g. Books,
Schools, Missiles, Clothes, and Churches, etc.

Natural objects are not part of material culture, but how
people see and use them is shaped by culture.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Non-material culture consists of human creations that are

not embodied in physical objects such as values, norms, knowledge,
systems of government, language, we speak and so on.
5.2 Components of Culture;
 Culture, as the whole way of life of the people is composed of widely
four essential components. These are language, symbols, values, and
sanctions.
(i)
Language: It is a system of verbal symbols and in many cases
written with rules about how those symbols can be strung together to
convey more complex meanings,. Language is extremely important in
the development, elaboration, and transmission of culture. Language
often offers many clues to the meanings of social interactions.
−
Language enables people to store meanings and experiences
and to pass on this heritage to new generations. Through language, we
are able to learn about and from the experiences of others. Language
enables us to transcend the here and now, preserving the past and
imagining the future. It also makes possible the formulation of complex
plans and ideas.
Language has a role in social action, focusing on how people use language to
coordinate their activities, to create and confirm social understandings.
Language is culturally universal, striking differences in the use of language
are evident around the world. For example: “I will ring you up”, this means “I
will call on the telephone”. Similarly, the meanings of non-verbal gestures
vary from one culture to another. Language does more than simply describe
reality; it also serves to shape the reality of a culture. The English language
distinguishes between yellow and orange, but some other languages do not.
Language can also transmit stereo types related to race. Example “black” in
U.S. dictionary which it means dismal, gloomy, for binding, destitute of moral
etc. Language can be seen in the form of non-verbal communication such as
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
gestures and facial expressions to communicate such as, smiling, laughing,
crying, shaming, emotions, and distress etc. Like any other form of language,
non verbal communication is not the same in all cultures. Functionalists
emphasize the important role of language in unifying members of a society.
In contrast, conflict
theorists focus on the use of language to perpetuate divisions between group
and
societies
i.e.
gender
and
racism
expressed
in
communication.
Interactionists study how people rely on shared definitions of phrases and
expressions in both formal speech and everyday conversations. Language
can shape how we see, taste, smell, fell and hear.
It also influences the way we think about the people, ideas, and objects
around us. Culture’s most important norms, values, and sanctions are
communicated to people through language.
(ii)
Symbols: Something, verbal or non verbal that arbitrarily and by
convention stands for something else, with which it has no necessary
or natural connection.
Symbolic thought is unique and crucial to humans and to cultural
learning. Symbols are objects, gestures, sounds or images that represent
something other than themselves. Depending upon symbols culture
consists of tools, implements, utensils, clothes, ornaments, customs,
institutions, beliefs, rituals, games, works of art, language etc.
A symbol is something verbal or non-verbal within a particular language
or culture that comes to stand for something else. There is no obvious,
natural or necessary connection between the symbols and what it
symbolizes. Symbols are usually linguistic. But there are also non-verbal
symbols such as flags, cross, holy water, etc.
For hundreds of thousands of years, humans have shared the abilities on
which culture rests. These abilities are to learn, to think symbolically, to
manipulate language and to use tools and other cultural products in
organizing their lives and coping with their environments. Every
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
contemporary human population has the ability to use symbols and thus
to create and maintain culture.
(iii)
Values: These are general ideas that people share about what is
good or bad, desirable or undesirable. Society typically share a
number
of
values,
among
them,
achievement
and
success,
practicality, progress, material comfort,
democracy, and individuality, etc. When values are in conflict, people
tend to apply them selectively.
Values indicate what people in culture prefer as well as what they find
important and morally right or wrong. Values may be specific such as
honoring one’s parents and owning a home or they may be more general
such as health, love, and democracy.
Values influence people’s behavior and serve as criteria for evaluating the
actions of others. There is often a direct relationship among the values,
norms and sanctions of a culture.
The value of a culture may change, but most remain relatively stable
during any one person’s life time. Socially shared, intensely felt values are
fundamentally part of our lives.
Sociologist Robin Williams (1970) has attempted to offer a list of these
basic values. These are: - Achievements,
- Efficiency,
- Equality,
- Material comfort,
- Nationalism,
- Supremacy of science etc
Sanction:
Sanctions are penalties and rewards for conduct concerning a social
norm. Not that the concept of reward is included in this definition.
Conformity to a norm can lead to positive sanctions such as a pay raise, a
medal, a word of gratitude, or a pat on the back.
Negative sanctions include fines, threats, imprisonment and stores of
contempt.
Sanctions can be seen as positive such as salary, bonus, testimonial
dinner, granting medal and Diploma. These are formal norms of
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
communications. Sanctions also can be exercised in negative norms such
as demotion, firing from a job, jail sentence and expulsion. These are
mainly formal communications. There are also informal sanctions such as
smile, compliment, and cheers as positive ones. Frown, humiliation,
belittling as informal negative sanctions:
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Summary note:
Positiv
e
Formal
Sanctio
ns
Negativ
e
Inform
al
Positiv
e
− Smile,
− Complime
nt,
− Cheers,
and
− Pat on the
− Pay raise
− Grant medal
− Word of gratitude,
− Salary bonus,
− Testimonial dinner,
and
− Diploma, medal(s)
− Fines, threats,
− Imprisonment,
− Stores of contempt
− Demotion
− Firing from a job,
and
− Exclusion etc.
Negati
ve
− Frown;
− Humiliation,
− Belittling, and
− Inconvenience
creations
5.3. Traits of Culture:
Culture can be acquired; one can easily acquire or learn a culture where
he/she raised. If you are conceived in one culture but born and raised in
another i.e. culture is transferred at birth. In this regard, you acquired the
culture of the second, not the first one.
(I) Culture and personalities’ views:
Culture:
“A learned meaning system that consists of patterns of
traditions, beliefs, values, norms, meanings and symbols that are
passed on from one generation to the next and are shared to
varying degrees by interacting members of a community”. (GingToomey and Chung)
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Culture:
“A deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values,
actions, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of
time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and
artifacts acquired by a group of people in the course of
generations through individual and group striving”. (Samovar
and Porter)
Culture: “An integrated systems of learned behavior patterns that are
characteristic of the members of any given society” (Osterwal)
Culture: “A learned set of shared perceptions about beliefs, values, norms
which affect the behaviors of a relatively large group of people”
(Lusting and Koester)
Culture:
What gives people “a sense of whom they are, of belonging, of
how they should behave, and of what they should be doing?”
(Moran, Harris and Moran)
(II) Traits: Seven Major Traits of Culture
2.1. Learned:
Note innate but something acquired because of where one is raised. If you
are conceived in one culture but born and raised in another (i.e.
transferred at birth) – you acquired the culture of the second, not the first
one. Learned
through interaction, observation, and imitation
Conscious – being told, reading Unconscious – most culture is learned
unconsciously – i.e. through language for example: Learned from a variety
of sources such as: Proverbs ,Folk tales and folklore
− High Culture: poetry, art, music
− Mass media (especially TV )
2.2. Transmitted:
Each generation (older) passes it on to the younger – and constantly
reinforces it. If not transmitted, a culture dies.
2.3. Based on Symbols:
Language (verbal and nonverbal) is key element/ but also from images,
icons.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
2.4. Changeable:
No culture is static. The culture of your grandparents or parents is not
identical with our own (a major cause of the so-called generation gap).
Changes occur from:

Innovation (discovery) e.g. television, computer, women’s
movement Diffusion (borrowing) e.g. McDonalds worldwide,

Acculturation - long-term contact with another culture.
2.5. Integrated:
One dimension affects other dimensions. Consider how the civil rights
movement in the US (initially concerned with voting rights) spread to
encompass multiple parts of the USA.
2.6. Ethnocentric:
A trait found in every culture – the belief that one’s culture is superior
and more worthy than another. While it is important to have a positive
view of one’s self, ethnocentrism can be a major hindrance to
intercultural communication – can shut others out, lead to derogatory
view points.
2.7. Adaptive:
In order to survive, culture must adapt. Example – roles of women in
USA after WWII.
Culture is the total way of life of the people of a society including their
customs, institutions, beliefs and values. Culture functions as a binding force,
holding people together by common attitudes, beliefs and traditions. Culture
is learned behavior, transmitted through communications, largely in the form
of language. Culture is a vehicle for man’s survival, it is also a trap of habit
and custom from which he cannot fully escape. Culture develops values,
traditions and heroes.
5.4. Ethnocentrism Vs Cultural Relativism:
 What is ethnocentrism?
o
The tendency to view one’s own culture as best and to judge the
behavior and beliefs of culturally different people by one’s own standards.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
What is cultural relativism?

•
The position that the values and standards of
cultures differ and deserve respect. Extreme relativism argues that
cultures should be judged solely by their own standards.
Ethnocentrism is the tendency to view one’s own culture as superior and
to apply one’s own cultural values in judging the behavior and beliefs of
people raised in other cultures. Ethno centrism is a culturally universal. It
contributes to social solidarity, a sense of value and community, among
people who share a cultural tradition. People everywhere think that their
familiar explanations, opinions, and customs are true, right, proper, and
moral. They regard different behavior as strange, immoral or savage. The
tribal names that appear in anthropology books often come from the native
word for people.
Opposing ethnocentrism is cultural relativism, the argument that behavior in
one culture should not be judged by the standards of another culture. At its
most extreme, cultural relativism argues that there is no superior,
international, or universal morality, that the moral and ethical rules of all
cultures deserve equal respect. In the extreme relativism view, Nazi
Germany would be evaluated as non judgmentally as Athenian Greece.
In today’s world, human rights advocate challenges of many of the tenets of
cultural relativism. For example, several cultures in Africa and the Middle
East have traditions of female genital modification. This tradition is practiced
in several societies. Female genital mutilation has been opposed by human
rights’ group of women.
5.5. Socialization and its Agents:

Socialization is the process of instilling fundamental elements of
culture in a society’s members. It is one of the basic forces that shape
human social behavior.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa

Socialization is particularly important during early childhood. Without
it in the first few years of life, people would not become social beings.
However, socialization is certainly not confined to childhood. It continues
throughout life and is especially important during major life transitions,
such as starting a new job or getting divorced.

Socialization is the process by which people acquire the beliefs,
attitudes, values and customs of their culture.
(A) Agents of socialization: - During Childhood,
(i) Family,
(ii) Peers,
(iii) The mass media, and
(iv) Schools
(B) Agents of socialization: - During Adulthood
(i) Colleges/ Universities, and
(ii) All Tertiary levels of learning institutions.

During the stage of socialization process, desocialization and
resocialization would take place:
•
Desocialization: - The process of shedding one’s self image
and values usually followed by resocialization to a different set of
values and view of one self.
•
Resocialization: - The internalization of a new set of norms and
values that are very different from those held in the past.
•
Occupational socialization: - The process of aligning the
norms, values, and beliefs of a new worker with those of the
organization or occupation in which he or she is employed.
•
Socialization to a job: - This means specific job-related skills,
set of values, and ethics that apply to a person’s work, the unofficial
rules of the work place that the person is entering. For example, in
an army camp, large sales training programme etc.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
•
Peer
relations
and
informal
group
norms
become
very
important for making/creating socialization.
•
People try to prepare themselves for socialization to new work
role. For example, New University graduate may start to talk and
ask experience and other related matters at the work place.

All these changes are collectively called anticipatory socialization. This
means, the process of starting to adjust one’s belief, norms, and values
in anticipation of new socialization one is about to undergo.
•
Desocialization and resocialization occur in organizations
that deliberately close themselves from the outside world. These
organizations are called total institutions.
•
Total institutions: - organizations that deliberately close
themselves off from the outside world and lead a highly insular life
that is formally organized and tightly controlled.
E.g. Prisons, mental hospitals, and military camps.
•
Socialization
may
take
place
mainly
through
language,
interaction and affection.
− Values and views can be conveyed through language.
− Interaction can be revealed through social, emotional sense,
participation in a society.
− Affection can be seen through cooperation’s, love affairs etc.
Note (Summary):
(1) Socialization is the process through which you learn a culture and it
continues through out life.
(2) Primary socialization is the first phase, often taking place in the
family.
(3) Secondary socialization takes place in the peer groups (similar age
and status), educational systems and occupational places.
(4) Socialization is essential for participation in human society.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Discussion Questions:
1) What is “Ethnocentric” in culture?
2) What is “Cultural relativism”?
3) Can
you
identify
any
specific
difference(s)
between
“cultural
relativism” and “Ethical relativism”?
4) How do we presence values and assets of culture for future
generation?
5) What is social role? Explain diffusionism and acculturation?
References for further readings
•
Jary, David, Jary, Julia (1991). The Harpert Collins Dictionary of
Sociology, New York, Harper Collins, ISBN 0064610365
•
Poore, S. Over view of social control theories. The Hewett School.
Retrieved (2007).
•
_____________ 2007, culture and identity, Livesay, Chris.
•
B.J. Biddle (1986). Recent development in role theory. Vol. 12 pp 67-
92.
•
Goldhegen,
Daniel
Jonah,
Hitler’s
willing
executioners:
ordinary
Germans and the Holocaust vintage books, New York (1996).
•
Nagle, Brendan D. ‘The ancient world’. A social and cultural history 6 th
ed. Pearson Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey (2006).
•
Merton, Robert K. British Journal of Sociology Eighth Edition (1957).
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
VI. Social Structure and Interactions:
6.1. Groups, Institutions and Society
6.2. Social Values, Norms and Social Control
6.3. Statuses and Social Roles
6.4. Social Interaction in Everyday Life
6.1. Groups, Institutions and Society:
(A) Croup
Before we proceed to the discussions of groups, social institutions and
society, let us have brief insights about social structure and interactions:  What is social structure?
What are the components?
 The term social structure refers to the way in which a society is
organized into predictable relationships.
− The concepts of social interaction and social structure, which are
closely linked to each other, are central to sociological study. Sociologists
observe patterns of behaviour closely to understand and accurately
describe the social interactions of a community or society and the social
structure in which they take place.
− There are five basic elements or components of social structure.
 These are Groups, institutions, social roles and statuses, social net
works.
Groups
Social networks
∙ Social structure
Institutions
Social roles
Statuses
 What is/are group (s)?
−
Predictable social relationships in terms of five elements such as
statuses, social roles, groups, social networks, and social institutions.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
 In sociological terms, a group is any number of people with similar
norms, values, and expectations who regularly and consciously interact
each other.
 Every society is composed of many groups in which daily social
interaction takes place. We seek out groups to establish friendships, to
accomplish certain goals, and to fulfill social roles that we have acquired.
 Groups play a vital part in a society’s social structure. Much of our
social interaction takes place within groups and is influenced by their
norms and sanctions of a group.
 The study of groups has become an important part of sociological
investigation, because they play such as a key role in the transmission of
culture. As we interact with others, we pass on our ways of thinking and
acting from language and values to ways of dressing and leisure
activities.
•
−
Types of groups:
Sociologists have made a number of useful distinctions between
types of groups: primary and secondary groups, in-groups and out-groups
and reference groups.
•
Primary and Secondary groups:

Charles Horton Cooley coined the term primary group that
refers to small groups characterized by intimate, face-to-face association
and cooperation. Some examples for these definitions are street gang,
members of family, sister in a college.

Primary groups play a pivotal role both in the
socialization process, development of roles, and statuses.
Indeed, primary groups can be instrumentals in a person’s day-to-day
existence.
−
Secondary group refers to a formal, impersonal
group in which there is little social intimacy or mutual understanding. The
difference between primary and secondary groups is not always clear cut.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Some social
clubsfunctions
may become
so large
and impersonal
that they no
The main
of social
institutions:
longer function as primary groups.
−
Secondary group often emerge in the work
place among those who share special understandings about their
occupation:
−
There is a new understanding of secondary
group. These are:

An in-group can be defined as any group of category to
which people feel they belong. Simply, everyone who is regarded as “we”
or “us”. The in-group may be as narrow as one’s family or as broad as an
entire society. The very existence of an in-group implies that there is an
out-group viewed as “they” or “them” more formally.

An out-group is a group or category to which people
feel they do not belong.

Reference group: - set and enforce standards of
conduct and perform a comparison function for people’s evaluations of
themselves and others.

Small
group:
There
are
distinct
and
predictable
processes at work in the functioning of small groups. The simplest group
is a dyad, composed of two members.

Triads and larger groups increase ways of interacting
and allow for conditions to form.
(B) Social institutions:
−
Institutions are organized patterns of beliefs and
behavior centered on basic social needs, such as replacing personnel (the
family) and preserving order (the government).
−
When we study institutions, then we may have good
insights to the structure of society.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
−
Social institutions have the following brief essential
functions. These are: Family
replacing personnel,
Education
Economy
teaching new recruits,
producing
and
distributing
goods
and
services,
Politics
preserving order, and
Religion
providing and maintaining a sense of
purpose.
 Replacing personnel (Family)
−
Any group or society must replace personnel when they die,
leave or became incapacitated. This is accomplished through such means
as immigration, annexation of neighboring groups of people’s acquisition
of slaves or normal sexual reproduction of members.

−
Teaching new recruits (Education)
No group can survive if many of its members reject the
established behavior and responsibilities of the group. Thus, finding or
producing new members is not sufficient. The group must encourage
recruits to learn and accept its values and customs. This learning can take
place formally within schools or informally through interaction and
negotiation in peer groups.

Producing and distributing goods and services (Economy)
−
Any relatively permanent group or society must provide and
distribute desired goods and services for its members. Each society
establishes a set of rules for the allocation of financial and other
resources. The group must satisfy the needs of most members at least to
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
some extent or it will risk the possibility of discontent and ultimately
disorder.
 Preserving order (Political Sociology)
−
Critical function of every group or society preserving order and
protecting itself from attack.

Providing and maintaining a sense of purpose (Religion)
−
People must feel and motivated to continue as members of a
society in order to fulfill the previous four requirements. The behavior of
United States prisoners of war, while in confinement during the war in
Vietnam is a testament to the importance of maintaining a sense of
purpose.
(C) Society
Society is an organized group of individuals living together in a territory for
long period of time. Society must hold the following essential elements.
(1)living together for long period of time,
(2)possessing common values and interests,
(3)Sharing common cultures, traditions and psychological makeup.
Pre- industrial societies are:
a) Hunting
and
gathering
society,
Horticultural
society
and
Agrarian society.

Hunting and gathering society is the first type of human
society in which the people rely on whatever foods and fibers are readily
available. Technology in such societies is minimal. People are organized in
groups and are constantly on the move in search of food. There is little
division of labour in to specialized tasks.
Hunting and gathering societies are composed of small, widely dispersed
groups. Each group consists almost entirely of people related to one another.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
As the result, kinship ties are the source of authority and influence and the
social institution of the family takes on a particularly important role.
 Horticultural society: It is people who plant seeds and crops rather
than subsist merely on available foods, emerged about 10,000 to 12,000
years ago.
−
Members of horticultural society are much less nomadic than
hunters and gatherers. They place greater emphasis on the production of
tools and household objects. Yet technology within horticultural societies
remains limited. They cultivate crops with the aid of digging sticks or
hoes.

Agrarian society: This is the last stage of pre-industrial
stage of society, which emerged about 5000 years ago. Members of
agrarian society primarily engaged in the production of food. However,
the introduction of new technological innovations such as the plow allows
farmers to dramatically increase their crop yield. They can cultivate the
same fields over generations, thereby allowing the emergence of still
larger settlements.
The social structure of the agrarian society continues to rely on the physical
power of humans and animals. Nevertheless, the social structure has more
carefully defined roles than in horticultural societies. Individuals focus on
specialized tasks, such as repair of fishing nets or work as a block smith. As
human settlements become more established and stable, social institutions
become more elaborate and property rights take on greater importance. The
comparative permanence and greater surpluses of agrarian society make it
more feasible to create artifacts such as statues, public monuments, and art
objects and to pass them on from one generation to the next one.
 As the industrial revolution proceeded in Europe, a new form of social
structure emerged. This new form of society is called industrial
society.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Industrial society is a society that depends on mechanization to produce
its goods and services. Industrial societies relied on new inventions that
facilitated agricultural and industrial production and on new sources of
energy such as steam.
−
The
process
of
industrialization
had
distinctive
social
consequences. Families and communities could not continue to faction as
self-sufficient units. Individuals, villages, and regions began to exchange
goods and services and become interdependent. As people came to rely
on the labour of members of other communities, the family lost its unique
position as the source of power and authority.
The need for specialized knowledge led to more formalized education, and
education emerged as a social institution distinct from the family.
Post industrial society as society whose economic system is engaged
primarily in the processing and control of information. The main output of
post industrial society is services rather than manufactured goods. Large
numbers of people become involved in occupations devoted to the teaching,
generations or dissemination of ideas.
More recently, sociologists have gone beyond discussions of post industrial
societies to the ideal type of “post modern society”.
 A postmodern society is a technologically sophisticated society that is
pre occupied with consumer goods and media images. Such societies,
consume goods and information on mass scale.
6.2. Norms and Social Control
(A) Norms
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A brief introduction to Sociology; prepared & compiled by: Lule Belay
 All societies have ways of encouraging and enforcing what they view
as appropriate behavior while discouraging and punishing what they
consider to be improper behavior.
 Norms are established standards of behavior maintained by a society:
 In order for a norm to become significant, it must be widely shared and
understood.
Sociologists distinguish between norms into two ways. These norms
are classified as either formal or informal.
Formal norm: This is generally has been written down and specify strict
rules for punishment of violators. In some countries, they often formalize
norms into laws, which must be very precise in defining proper and improper
behavior.
−
Laws are one example of formal norms, although not the only
type.
−
By contrast, informal norms generally are understood but are not
precisely recorded. Standards of proper dress are a common example of
informal norms. Society has no specific punishment or sanction for a
person who comes to school, say, wearing “a monkey suit”.
−
Norms are also classified by their relative importance to society.
When classified in this way, they are known as ‘mores’ and ‘folkways’.
•
Mores are norms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a
society, often because they embody the most cherished principles of a
people. Each society demands obedience to its mores violation can lead
to severe penalties. Thus, the U.S.A has strong mores against murder,
treason, and child abuse that have been institutionalized into formal
norms.
•
Folkways are norms governing everyday behavior.
•
Folkways play an important role in shaping the daily behavior of
members of a culture.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
−
Society is less likely to formalize folkways than mores and
their violation raises comparatively little concern.
−
In many societies around the world, folkways serve to
reinforce patterns of male dominance (pp. 57)
Various folkways reveal men’s hierarchical position above women within
the traditional areas of South East Asia.
People do not follow norms, whether mores or folkways in all
situations. Example, teenagers are illegal to drink alcoholic
beverages, yet drinking by minors is common through out
the nation. (In fact, “teenage alcoholism” is one of our
country’s most serious social problems).
Norms are violated in some instances because one norm conflicts with
another e.g. beating wife or undesirable behavior in your neighbor.
Acceptance of norms is subject to change as the political, economic and
social conditions of a culture are transformed. For example; under traditional
norms, woman is expected to marry, rear children and remain home, if
husband support the family sufficiently. These norms are now changed due
to many reasons and circumstances:
(B) Social Control:
How does a society bring about acceptance of basic norms? The term social
control refers to the techniques and strategies for preventing deviant human
behavior in any society. Social control occurs on all levels of society. In the
family, we are socialized to obey our parents simply because they are our
parents. Peer groups introduce us to informal norms such as dress codes;
that govern the behavior of members. Colleges establish standards they
expect of their students. In bureaucratic organizations, workers encounter a
formal system of rules and regulations. Finally, the government of every
society legislates and enforces social norms including norms regarding
“proper” and “improper” expressions of sexual intimacy.
Most of us respect and accept basic social norms and assume that others will
do the same.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
We are all aware that individuals, groups and institutions expect us to act
“properly”. If we fail to do so, we may face punishment through informal
sanctions such as fear and ridicule or formal sanctions such jail sentences or
fines.
There are many techniques and strategies to control social and legal values.
These are some of the major ones: Conformity and Obedience
a)
Conformity:
Going
along
with
one’s
peers,
individuals of a person’s own status, who have no special right to direct
that person’s behavior.
b)
Obedience: Compliance with higher authorities in a
hierarchical structure.
Informal and formal social control:

The sanctions used to encourage conformity
and obedience and to discourage violation of social norms are carried out
through informal and formal social control. As the term implies, people
use informal social control casually to enforce norms. Examples of
informal social control include similes, laughter, raising of an eyebrow,
and ridicule.

There
are
also
controversial
examples
of
informal social control is parental use of corporal punishment. Adults
often view spanking, slapping or kicking children as a proper and
necessary means of maintaining authority. Child development specialists
counter that corporal punishment is in appropriate because it teaches
children to solve problems through violence, they warn that slapping and
spanking can escalate into more serious forms of abuse.
Sometimes informal methods of social control are not adequate to enforce
conforming or obedient behavior. In those cases, formal social control is
carried out by authorized agents such as police officers, physicians, schools
administrators, employers, military officers, and managers. It can serve as a
last resort when socialization and informal sanctions do not bring about
desired behavior.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
As increasingly significant means of formal social control is to jail people.
Societies vary in deciding which behaviors will be subjected to formal social
control and how severe the sanctions will be. Another controversial example
of formal social control is the use of surveillance techniques.
6.3. Statuses and Roles
Statuses:
Social structure contains at least five elements. These are statuses, social
roles, groups, social networks and social institutions. These elements make
up social structure as a foundation.
We normally think of a person’s “status” as having to do with influence,
wealth, and fame. However, sociologists use status to refer to any of the full
range of socially defined positions within a large group or society – form the
lowest to the highest position. A person may hold more than one status
simultaneously. [at a time)
According to sociologists’ view, statuses are divided into two main parts:
These are ascribed and achieved.
Ascribed status
It is a status which is “assigned” to a person by society without regard for
the person’s unique talents or characteristics. Generally, this assignment
takes place at birth, thus a person’s racial background, gender, and age are
all considered ascribed statuses. These characteristics a re biological in
origin but are significant mainly because of the social meanings they have in
culture.
An ascribed status does not have necessarily the same social meaning in
every society: E.g. “Old man” in some societies “Respect” in some
“insulting”.
Achieved status: Achieved status comes to us largely through our own efforts. Example, Bank
president, prison guard etc.
 One must do something to acquire an achieved status.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
 One must go to school, learn a skill, establish a friendship or invent a
new product:
 Achieved status usually is heavily influenced by our ascribed status.
 A master status: - It is a status that dominates others and thereby
determines a person’s general position within society. Our society gives
such importance to race and gender that they often dominate our lives.
Indeed, such ascribed statuses often influence achieved status. In the
United States, ascribed statuses of race and gender can function as
master statuses that have an important impact on one’s potential to
achieve a desired professional and social status.
Social Roles:
Throughout our lives, we are acquiring what sociologists call social roles.
 A social role is a set of expectations for people who occupy a given
social position or status. The actual performance varies from individual to
individual.
One
secretary
may
assume
extensive
administrative
responsibilities, while another may focus on clerical duties.
 Roles are a significant component of social structure. It is viewed from
a functionalist perspective.
Roles contribute to a society’s stability by enabling members to anticipate
the behavior of others and to pattern their own actions accordingly. Yet
social roles can also be dysfunctional by restricting people’s interactions and
relationships. If we view a person only as a “police officer” or as “supervisor”
it will be difficult to elate to this person as a friend or neighbor.
 Role can be divided or seen in different forms. These are: -Role
conflict, Role exit and Role strain.
1.
What is role conflict?
It occurs when incompatible expectations arise from two or more social
positions held by the same person. Fulfillment of the roles associated with
one status may directly violate the roles linked to a second status. In the
example above, the newly promoted supervisor will experience a serious
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
conflict between certain social and occupational roles. Role conflicts call for
important ethical choices.
2.
What is role strain?
It is to describe difficulties that result from the differing demands and
expectations associated with same social position.
3.
What is role exit?
It is to describe the process of disengagement from a role that is central to
one’s self-identity and reestablishment of an identity in a new role.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
VII.
Social Inequality and Social Processes:
7.1. Social Stratification
7.2. Social Mobility
7.3. Social Movements and Change
7.1. Systems of Stratification: There are three systems of stratification: These are slavery, castes and
social classes.
Any stratification system may include elements of more than one type.
(A) Slavery:
The most extreme form of legalized social inequality for individuals or groups
is slavery. What distinguishes this oppressive system of stratification is that
enslaved individuals are owned by other people. They treat these human
beings as property, just as if they were household pets or appliances.
Slavery, an ascribed status, has varied in the way it has been practiced. In
ancient Greece, the main source of slaves consisted of captives of war and
piracy. A person’s status might change depending on which city-state
happened to triumph in a military conflict.
(B) Castes:
Caste are hereditary systems of rank, usually religiously dictated that tend to
be fixed and immobile. The caste system is generally associated with
Hinduism in India and other countries. For example, in India, there are four
major castes called varnas. A fifth category of out castes referred to as
untouchables is considered to be slowly and un clean as to have no place
within this system of stratification.
There are also many minor castes. Caste membership is an ascribed status.
Each caste is quite sharply defined, and members are expected to marry
within that caste.
Caste membership generally determines one’s occupation or role as a
religious functionary. An example of lower caste in India is the Dons, whose
main work is the undesirable job of cremating bodies. The caste system
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
promotes a remarkable degree of differentiation. Thus, the single caste of
chauffeurs has been split into two separate sub-castes: drivers of luxury cars
have a higher status than drivers of economy cars.
(C) Social Classes:A class system is a social ranking based primarily on economic position in
which achieved characteristics can influence mobility. In contrast to slavery
and caste systems, the boundaries between classes are imprecisely defined,
and one can move from one stratum, or level, of society to another. Yet class
systems maintain stable stratification hierarchies and patterns of class
divisions, and they too are marked by unequal distribution of wealth and
power.
Income inequality is a basic characteristic of a class system.
Sociologist Daniel Rossides (1997) has conceptualized the class system of
the United Sates using a five class model: The upper class, the upper-middle
class, the lower middle class, the working-class and the lower class.
Sandwiched between the upper and lower classes in Rossides’s model are
the upper-middle class, the lower-middle class, and the working class.
In many cases, the upper middle class is composed of professionals such as
doctors, lawyers, and architects. They participate extensively in politics and
exercise leadership roles in voluntary associations.
The lower-middle class, which accounts for approximately 30 to 35 percent
of the population, includes less affluent professionals such as elementary
school teachers, and nurses, owners of small business, and sizable number
of clerical workers.
7.2
Social Mobility:-
The term social mobility refers to movement of individuals or groups from
one position of a society’s stratification system to another. But how
significant, how frequent, how dramatic, is mobility in a class society.
There are two ways or systems of social mobility: These are open and closed
systems.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
•
Open system: - It implies that the position of each individual is
influenced by the person’s achieved status. An open class system
encourages competition between members of society.
•
Closed system: - It is little or no possibility of moving up. The slavery
and caste systems of stratification are examples of closed systems. In
such societies, social placement is based on ascribed statuses, such as
race or family background, which can not be changed.
Types of Social Mobility:There are different types of social mobility. These are:
(1)
Horizontal mobility;
(2)
Vertical mobility;
(3)
Intergenerational mobility;
(4)
Intragenerational mobility;
(1)Horizontal mobility: - The movement of an individual from one social
position to another of the same rank.
(2)Vertical mobility: - The movement of a person from one social position
to another of different rank.
(3)Intragenerational mobility: - Changes in person’s social position within
his or her adult life.
(4)Intergenerational mobility: - changes in the social system/position of
children relative to their parents.
There are different factors that have significant impacts on social mobility.
These are occupational structure, education, gender, etc.
7.3
Social Change: -
Social change is significant alteration over time in behavior patterns and
culture, including norms and values. Before, it needs to discuss about social
change, preferably essential to go through about social movements. So,
what are social movements?
7.4
Social Movements:
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Factors such as physical environment, population, technology and social
inequality serve as sources of change, but it is the collective effort of
individuals organized in social movements that ultimately leads to social
change.
Sociologists use the term “social movements” to refer to organized collective
activities to bring about or resist fundamental change in an existing group or
society. Herbert Blumer recognized the special importance of social
movements when he defined them as collective enterprises to establish a
new order of life.
In many nations, including the big countries, social movements have had a
dramatic impact on the course of history and the evaluation of social
structure.
Social movements imply the existence of conflict, but we can also analyse
their activities from a functionalist perspectives. Even when unsuccessful,
social movements contribute to the formation of public opinion. Initially, the
ideas of Margaret Sanger and other early advocators of birth control wee
viewed as “radical”, yet contraceptives are now widely available in the U.S.
moreover, functionalists view social movements as training grounds for
leaders of the political establishment.
How and why do social movements emerge?
People are often discontented with the way things are. In this regard
sociologists identified the main causes of social movements from two main
approaches: (A) Relative-Deprivation: The term relative-deprivation is defined as the conscious feeling of a
negative
discrepancy
between
legitimate
expectations
and
present
actualities (J. Wilson, 1973). In other words, things are not as good as you
hoped they would be such a state may be characterized by scarcity rather
than complete lack of necessities. A relatively deprived person is dissatisfied
because he or she feels down trodden relative to some appropriate reference
group. Thus, blue-collar workers who live in two-family houses with little lawn
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space – though hardly at the bottom of the economic ladder – may
nevertheless feel deprived in comparison with corporate managers and
professionals who live in lavish and exclusive suburbs.
(B) Resource Mobilization: The term resource mobilization refers to the ways in which a social
movement utilizes such resources. The success of a movement for change
will depend in good part on how effectively it mobilizes its resources.
Sociologists argued that to sustain social protest or resistance, there must be
an “organizational base and continuity of leadership”. As people become
part of a social movement, norms develop to guide their behavior. Members
of the movement may be expected to attend regular meetings of
organizations, pay dues, recruit new adherents, and boy cott “enemy”
products or speakers. The emergence of a new social movement can be
evident from the rise of special language or new words for familiar terms.
Social movements have been responsible for such new terms of selfreference as Blacks and African Americans, senior citizens and people with
disabilities.
7.4
Social Change:
Social change is significant alternation overtime in behavior patterns and
culture including norms and values. To have better understandings about
social charge, one needs to review three theoretical approaches to change.
These are: o
Evolutionary
o
Functionalist
o
Conflict Theory
(I) Social Change and Evolutionary Theory: Charles Darwin’s (1809 – 1882) pioneering work in biological evolution
contributed to 19th c. theories of social change. According to his approach,
there has been a continuing progression of successive life forms. For
example, since human beings came at a later stage of evolution than
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
reptiles, we represent a “higher” form of life. Thus, evolutionary theory views
society as moving in a definite direction. It was agreed that society was
inevitably progressing to a higher state.
Early evolutionary theorists concluded in ethno-centric fashion that their own
behavior and culture were more advanced than those of earlier civilizations.
In this regard, let us trace some of the ideas of early sociologists such as
Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim and Herbert Spencer.
Auguste
1.
Comte
(1798
–
1857)
was
an
evolutionary theorist of change. He saw human societies as moving
forward in their thinking from my theology to the scientific method.
Emile Durkheim (1933, 1893) in his edition
2.
maintained that society progressed from simple to more complex forms
of social organization.
The ideas and writings of the above stated theorists are examples of
unilinear evolutionary theory. This approach contends that all societies pass
through the same successive stages of evolution and inevitably reach the
same end.
Later on also English sociologist, Herbert Spencer (1820 – 1903) discussed
that society is moving forward with inter related parts to common destiny.
The most contemporary evolutionary theorist views social change with the
relation of multilinear perspectives: Multilineary evolutionary theory holds that change can occur in several
ways and that it does not inevitably lead in the same direction.
 Multilinear theorists recognize that human culture has evolved along a
number of lines. E.g. demographic change, cultural changes etc.
(II) Social Change and Functionalist Theory
Functionalist sociologists focus on what maintains a system, not on what
changes it. Talcott Parsons (1902 – 1979) viewed society as naturally being
in a state of equilibrium. By “equilibrium”, he meant that society tends
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
toward a state of stability or balance. Parsons would view even prolonged
labor strikes or civilian riots as temporary disruptions in the status quo rather
than a significant alternation in social structure. Therefore, according to his
equilibrium model, as changes occur in one part of society, there must be
adjustments in other parts. If this does not take place, the society’s
equilibrium will be threatened and strains will occur.
Reflecting an evolutionary approach, parsons (1966) maintained that four
processes of social change are inevitable. There are: differentiation,
adaptive, inclusion and value generalization.
−
Differentiation: refers to the increasing complexity of social
organization.
−
Adaptive upgrading: refers to whereby social institutions
become more specialized in their purposes.
−
Inclusion:
to
include
groups
into
society those were
previously excluded because of such factors as gender, race, and social
background.
−
Value generalization: the development of new values that
tolerate and legitimate a greater range of activities.
(III) Social Change and Conflict Theory:
The functionalist perspective minimizes change. It sees change as a means
of maintaining the equilibrium or balance of a society. By contrast, conflict
theorists contend that social institutions and practices continue because
powerful groups have the ability to maintain the status quo. Change has
crucial significance, since it is needed to correct social injustices and in
equalities.
Karl Marx accepted the evolutionary argument that societies develop along a
particular path. However, unlike Comte and Spencer, he did not view each
successive stage as an inevitable improvement over the previous one.
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
According to Marx’s views; Ancient society exploited slaves, the estate
system of feudalism exploited serfs, modern capitalist society exploits the
working class.
Marx further said that ultimately, through a socialist
revolution led by the proletariat, human society will move toward the final
stage of development, a classless communist society or community of free
individuals (Das Kapital: 1867; 250)
−
The Marxist view of social change is appealing because it does
not restrict people to a passive role in responding to inevitable cycles or
changes in material culture.
−
Marxist theory offers a tool for those who wish to seize control of
the historical process and gain their freedom from injustice. Marx argues
that conflict is a normal and desirable aspect of social change. Indeed,
change must be encouraged as a means of dominating social inequality
(1982).
−
One conflict sociologist, Ralf Dahrendorf has noted that the
contrast between the functionalist perspective’s focus on stability, where
as conflict perspective emphasis on change reflects the contradictory
nature of society.
−
Human societies are stable and long-lasting, yet they also
experience serious conflict. Indeed parsons spoke of new functions that
result from social change, and Marx recognized the need for change so
that societies could function more equitably. Functionalist and conflict
approaches are ultimately compatible despite their many areas of
disagreement.
Discussion Questions I:
1)
Workout a research design
2)
How do you define research problem?
3)
Mention some of the techniques of conventional method.
4)
What is “Triangulation “in a research work?
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2014 Lectures - Philipe Ojp
Catholic University of Eastern Africa
5)
Please, state the correct steps of research work: Conventional
approach
6)
What does documentary research mean?
Discussion Questions II:
1)
Discuss the impacts of global social change in terms of social
movements and changes.
2)
What are the main resistances to social change?
3)
Draw significant distinctions between functionalist perceptions to social
change and conflict one.
4)
Discuss in details about the main process of social change of Talcott
parsons:
5)
Identify the main causes of social movements:
6)
What are the social and economic factors for stratification in the
society? Explain either in line of functionalism or conflict theory.
7)
Does social inequality inevitable societal phenomenon? If yes/no, why?
Explain in terms of relevant theories.
Discussion questions III:
1)
What is ‘value’ within the context of culture?
2)
Why does society need to have social control?
3)
Sate some of the main techniques of social control
4)
Describe and identify formal and informal techniques of social control
5)
What are the main elements of social structure?
6)
What is “status” in sociology? Explain the two main parts of ‘status’
7)
What is social role? Explain different forms of role
8)
What are the major models of role theory?
References for further readings:−
Giddens, Anthony, (1989). Sociology. Polity Press, Cambridge pp.
659 – 89
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Catholic University of Eastern Africa
−
Bernard, H. Russell (1994). Research Methods in Anthropology:
Qualitative
and
Quantitative
Approaches,
Second
Edition,
SAGE
Publications, London.
−
Mikkelsen, Britha (1995). Methods for Development Work and
Research: A Guide for Practioners, SAGE Publications, New Delhi.
−
Durkin, Diane Bennett, 1987; Writing in the Disciplines, Random
House, New York. (Chapter 2, 4 and 9)
−
Richard T. Schaefer (2000). Sociology, A brief Introduction 3rd Ed.
U.S.A. McGraw-Hill Companies.
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