1.

SOCIOLOGY
What is Sociology?

Sociology is known as study of a man or human bing in socity. !ut in
scintific trms" Sociology is th systmatic study of human socity. On of th
significant diffrncs btwn th man and othr animals lis in man#s social natur.
$hough man as a whol human bing is both indi%idual and social but it is in th social
world that his immns inhrnt ca&abilitis ar rlasd.
'lato taught that man can b undrstood only in th cont(t of his &olitical and
social lif) h knw that indi%idual (&rinc is limitd and writtn in %ry fin lttrs.
Only in th cont(t of socity writtn in %ry larg lttrs" dos man#s total natur
bcoms %isibl.
*nothr grat Grman sociologist Gorg Simml onc rmarkd" +,an in all
as&cts of lif and actions is dtrmind by th fact that h is a social bing-. ,an is
awar of his co(istnc with othr human bings" and h li%s and larns as a mmbr of
th %arity of social grou&s. both larg and small. family" &laygrou&" school"
nighborhood" work&lac tc.
Sociologist Cooly notd that a s&arat indi%idual is an abstraction unknown to
(&rinc. In othr words man larns" communicats his larning" stors it u& to b
&assd along to his fllow mn and to futur gnrations. $h nd and ncssity of
mi(ing and intracting with othr mn is a ral human natur. It mans all truly human
ca&abilitis mak no sns in isolation" thy must b rlatd to both th natural and social
world. 'o&l cannot (&rss thir humannss without natur and without th &o&l. *t
all l%ls sociability is an intgral &art of human natur.

$/0 O1IGI2 O3 SOCIOLOGY
Striking transformations during th ightnth and nintnth cnturis gratly
changd th 0uro&an socity. $hr changs wr s&cially im&ortant in th
d%lo&mnt of sociology4
On. $h ris of factory basd industrial conomy. 5uring th middl ags" &o&l
tilld filds nar thir homs or ngagd in small scal manufacturing. !ut by th nd of
ightnth cntury" in%ntors usd nw sourcs of nrgy" th &owr of mo%ing watr and
thn stam to o&rat larg machins in mills and factoris. Instad of laboring at homs
or tightly knit grou&s workrs bcam a &art of th largr labor forc working for thos
who ownd th factoris. $his chang in th systm of &roduction s&aratd th familis
and waknd th traditions that go%rnd community lif for cnturis.
$wo. $h growth of citis. *cross 0uro& factoris drw &o&l in nd of work. *long
with this +&ull- cam th +&ush- of th nclosur mo%mnt. Landownrs fncd off
mor and mor land" turning farm into gra6ing grounds for sh&" th sourc of wol for
thri%ing t(til mills. Without land countlss farmrs lft th countrysid in sarch of
work in nw factoris.
1
*s th citis grw in si6" th nw urban dwllrs facd mounting social &roblms"
including homlssnss" &ollution" crim" illnss and strss. Li%ing on strts crowdd
with strangrs" thy ada&td to th nw im&rsonal social n%ironmnt.
$hr. 'olitical Chang. 5uring th middl ags" &o&l %iwd socity as an
(&rssion of God#s will. 1oyalty claimd to rul by +di%in right- and ach &rson u&
and down th social laddr" &layd a &art in th holy &lan. !ut conomic d%lo&mnt
and th ra&id growth of citis soon brought nw &olitical idas. $hr cam th shift in
focus from &o&l#s moral obligation to God and thir rulrs to th ida that &o&l
should &ursu thir own slf.intrst. In th nw &olitical climat" &hiloso&hrs s&ok of
indi%idual librty and indi%idual rights. 1ousau bgan his book with th famous
sntnc + ,an was born fr but %rywhr h is in chains-. / was on of th most
influntial &olitical thinkrs and had a &owrful ffct on th 3rnch r%olution.

$h 3rnch 1%olution" which bgan in 1789" furthr (m&lifid this dramatic brak
with &olitical and social traditions. *s th social ground trmbld undr &o&l#s ft"
th nw disci&lin of sociology was born in 0ngland" 3ranc and Grmany:: &rcisly
whr th changs wr gratst.
Social conditions that wr of significant im&ortanc in th d%lo&mnt of sociology ar
th following4
1. 'olitical 1%olution
;. $h Industrial 1%olution
<. Socialism
=. 3minism
>. ?rbani6ation
@. Growth of Scinc
7. Wars
3rom th nd of 17
th
cntury through most of 18
th
cntury by th /istorians is calld th
ag of 02LIG/$02,02$ or 10*SO2" bcaus4
1. $h &o&ularity of scinc and rason incrasd ra&idly.
;. 'o&l startd thinking scintifically rathr than rligiously.
<. Scintists and intllctuals startd Austioning th natural &hnomna.
=. $hy bcam intrstd in tsting th ral world situation.
>. 0m&irical rsarch was combind with rason" lik +/ow and Why of
What-.
@. $h nlightnmnt cratd a blif that &o&l could com&rhnd and
control th uni%rs by mans of rason and m&irical rsarch.
7. $hy startd bli%ing that bcaus th &hysical world was dominatd by
natural laws" it was likly that th social world too. It was u& to th
&hiloso&hrs by using rasons and rsarch to disco%r and d%lo& ths
social laws.
8. With m&hasis on rason th nlightnmnt &hiloso&hrs wr rBcting th
blif in traditional authority.
;
9. 3or %ry on#s undrstanding thy &rachd that if it was natural for th
rulr to b fair or unfair to th subBcts thn thr must b a natural law of
Bustic as wll. $h &hiloso&hrs argud that thr was an unwrittn contract
btwn th rulr and his &o&l" if th rulr was unBust to th subBcts" th
&o&l in rturn wr at librty to d&os him.
1C. ,or thy studid th traditional %alus" mor thy found it irrational and in
contrast to human natur" inhibiti% to human growth and d%lo&mnt lik
sla%ry and distribution of walth and occu&ations.
0arlir" th Italian Scintist Galilo D1>@=.18=;E had &ro%d that
th sun and not th arth was th cntr of uni%rs" and in%ntd th tlsco& so that th
ha%ns could b studid in mor dtails. /is disco%ry challngd church tachings that
th arth was th cntr of uni%rs. *nothr scintist argud that %rything in th
uni%rs could b (&laind and rducd to mathmatical &rinci&ls. Latr on th
rsarch of 2wton and othr scintists suggstd that much of what ha&&ns in th
world d&ndd on th laws of natur and contradictd th church taching.


10*C$IO2 $O 02LIG/$02,02$
$h most (trm form of o&&osition to nlightnmnt idas was
th countrr%olutionary &hiloso&hy. 1action was not only to th
nlightnmnt but also to 3rnch r%olution" which was thought to b th
outcom of rason" thinking and nlightnmnt. *ccording to thm
r%olution brought bloodshd" unrst and &rolongd disturbanc in th
3rnch socity. $hy wantd to rturn to th &ac and harmony od th
middl ags.
In thir %iw God was th sourc of socity" thrfor rason was
sn as infrior to traditional rligious blif. !caus God has cratd
socity" &o&l should not tm&r with it and should not try to chang th
holy cration. $hy wantd to u&hold th traditional institutions lik
&atriarchy" monogamous family" th monarchy and th catholic church.
$hy saw r%olution and d%lo&mnt as disru&ti% forcs. $his
continuous action and raction btwn th two th nlightnmnt
intllctuals and th consr%ati% &hiloso&hrs in fact &ro%idd basis for
th classical 3rnch r%olutionary thory.


So it was that th 3rnch social thinkr *ugust Comt D1798.18>7E coind th trm
Sociology in 18<8 to dscrib a nw way of looking at socity. Sociology is among th
youngst acadmic disci&lins as com&ard to history" &olitical scinc conomics or
&sychology. $h arly industrial r%olution saw th first ?.S courss in sociology. 3rom
18@C onwards Sociology bcam on of th maBor social scincs taught in th
uni%rsitis of th world.
It was not only th social factor or %r changing natur of th world
around us which ga% birth to th disci&lin of sociology" intllctuals &layd a %ital rol
in gi%ing sha& to th scintific thoris of sociology. Comt saw sociology as th
<
&roduct of thr stag historical d%lo&mnt. Fnown as %olutionary thory" according
to which not only th world has gon throughout th history but grou&s" indi%iduals"
socitis and %n minds go through ths thr stags.
$/0OLOGIC*L S$*G0
$h &riod &rior to 1<CC. Dth blif that su&r natural &owrs and rligious figurs
wr th root of %rything. Social and &hysical world wr &roducd by GodE.
,0$*'/YSIC*L S$*G0
It was th &riod btwn 1<CC.18CC. !lif that abstract forcs lik natur rathr than
&rsonali6d Gods (&laind %rything.

'OSI$IGIS$IC S$*G0
3rom 18CC onwards &riod is dfind as th &riod of blif in scinc. 'o&l startd
gi%ing u& sarch for absolut causs lik Gods and natur.
/ argud that th intllctual disordr was th caus of social disordr. If &ositi%ism
gaind total control" th social u&ha%al will cas. !caus it was an %olutionary
&rocss thr was no nd of r%olution. 'ositi%ism will com if th &rocss is slow.
Only th sociology could (&dit th arri%al of &ositi%ism and hnc bring ordr in th
socity.

SOCIOLOGY *25 O$/01 SOCI*L SCI02C0S
*s com&ard to othr social scincs taught in th collgs and uni%rsitis of th
world" sociology is rlati%ly a nw disci&lin. !ut thr is a %ry rough dmarcation lin
btwn sociology and othr disci&lins.
'SYC/OLOGY. 'sychology has traditionally focusd u&on indi%idual bha%ior
&ro&rtis of &rsonality as attituds" nds" traits and flings" as wll as such &rocsss
as larning and &rc&tion. Soci9ology in contrast has dalt with rlations among &o&l
Hwith social intraction and organi6ation. Sim&ly" sociology has focusd on what occurs
among &o&l" &sychology has m&hasi6d what occurs within &o&l.
0CO2O,ICS. 0conomics is &rimarily concrnd with trad" ta(ation" &ricing"
manufacturing and financing. $raditionally conomics has studid th &roduction"
distribution and consum&tion of goods and sr%ics) for instanc" th (tant and natur of
unm&loymnt" incom" wlfar (&nditur and ta( rsourcs. !ut it has &aid littl
attntion to th actual intraction occurring btwn &o&l in th conomic s&hr that
ar th &roducts of social lif.
'OLI$IC*L SCI02C0. 'olitical scinc d%lo&d within ?nitd Stats" as a disci&lin
ha%ing two main intrsts" &olitical thory and administration. In rcnt yars &olitical
scinc how%r has bcom incrasingly intrstd in human &olitical bha%ior" and has
undrtakn studis on community dcision making" %oting bha%ior" &ublic o&inion"
&owr structurs" &olitical mo%mnts" and go%rnmnt buraucracy. $hr is littl that
distinguishs &olitical scintist from a sociologist.
=
*2$/1O'OLOGY. *s a subBct *nthro&ology has clos kinshi& with sociology. !ut
two filds ar &rogrssi%ly s&arating now" with anthro&ology branching out as"
&rhistoric archology" &hysical anthro&ology" and &sychological anthro&ology. !ut
social anthro&ology rtains many of th sam intrsts as sociology" (c&t that
anthro&ologists ha% traditionally studid &rlitrat grou&s" whras sociologists ha%
studid contm&orary" com&l(" and litrat socitis. With such a littl diffrnc
anthro&ology maintains a clos rlationshi& with sociology.

SOCIOC?L$?1*L 0GOL?$IO2
$h socity whr w li% today took thousands of yars to tak its &rsnt sha&.
/istorically" thr sms to b a trnd for socitis to chang by bcoming incrasingly
com&l(. $his historical trnd is calld sociocultural %olution. Som socitis changd
ra&idly) othrs rmaind mor or lss on th sam l%l to scur thir li%lihood" still
othrs disintgratd and &rishd. $hr is no singl &rim agnt rs&onsibl for this
%olution. * grat many &rocsss" all intrrlatd in com&l( ways sm to o&rat"
which is calld socio.cultural %olution" +th changs that occur as a socity gains nw
tchnology-. Socitis with sim&l tchnology can &ro%id for only a small numbr of
&o&l and offr fw choics about how to li%. Whrby tchnologically com&l(
socitisHwhil not ncssarily +bttr# in any absolut sns su&&ort larg &o&ulations
who li% di%rs" highly s&ciali6d li%s.
$h socio.cultural %olution" first of all was accountd by Grhard Lnski and Ian
Lnski" hl& us to undrstand th grat diffrncs among socitis that ha% flourishd
and dclind throughout human history. *nd it also hl& us bttr undrstand how w
li% today. *ccording to Lnskis" th mor tchnological information a socity has" th
fastr it changs and tchnologically sim&l socitis ar dfind as +li%ing th lif of
thir ancstors-.
!asd on Lnski#s work thr ar fi% ty&s of socitis distinguishd by thir
tchnology4 hunting and gathring socitis" horticultural and &astoral socitis" agrarian
socitis" industrial socitis and &ost industrial socitis.
/?2$I2G *25 G*$/01I2G SOCI0$I0S. $h most basic socitis li% Dor li%dE by
sim&l tchnology for hunting animals and gathring %gtation.?ntill 1C"CCC yars ago
all humans wr huntrs and gathrrs. $oday how%r only a fw rmain... th *ka and
'ygmis of cntral *frica" th bushmn of wstrn *frica" th *borigins of *ustralia
th Faska Indians of northwst Canada and th !tks ans Smais of ,alaysia.
With littl control o%r thir n%ironmnt" huntrs and gathrrs
continually sarch for gam and collct dibl &lants. $hs socitis ar nomadic and
k& mo%ing on as thy consum %gtation in on ara and &ursu th migratory
animals. $hy k& coming back to thir fa%ord sits but thy usually don#t form a
&rmannt sttlmnt.
$h ky organi6ing &rinci&l of ths socitis is th +kinshi&-. $h
family obtains and distributs food" &rotcts its mmbrs and tachs th childrn.
0%ryon#s lif is much th sam and focusd on gtting th n(t mal. $hr is som
s&ciali6ation rlatd to ag and s(. $h %ry young and %ry old contribut only what
>
thy can" whil halthy adults scur most of th food. Womn gathr %gtationHth
mor rliabl food sourc Jwhil mn tak lss crtain task of hunting. $h two s(s
ha% diffrnt rs&onsibilitis but most huntrs and gathrrs s mn and womn as
ha%ing about th sam social im&ortanc.
$hs rlati%ly sim&l and galitarian socitis asily fall %ictim to th forcs of natur.
Storms and droughts can asily dstroy thir food su&&lis and thr is littl thy can do
in th %nt of accidnt and disas. ,any di in childhood and about half n%r rach
th ag of twnty.
$hrough th &rocss of tchnological ad%ancmnt thir land holdings
ar rducd and gam and %gtation d&ltd. In nar futur w may witnss th nd of
hunting and gathring socitis on arth. !ut studis on this way of lif ha% alrady
&roducd %aluabl information about human history and our fundamntal tis to th
natural world.
/O1$IC?L$?1*L *25 '*S$O1*L SOCI0$I0S. *bout tn to twl% hundrd yars
ago" &o&l disco%rd +horticultur-" th tchnology of using hand tools to culti%at
&lants. It allowd &o&l to gi% u& gathring in fa%or of +growing thir own-. /umans
first &lantd gardns infrtil rgions of th ,iddl 0ast and soon aftr in Latin *mrica
and *sia. Within som >CCC yars cultural diffusion s&rad knowldg of horticultur
throughout most of th world.
2ot all th socitis abandond hunting and gathring an
fa%or of hunting and th &o&l li%ing in arid rgions" such as Sahara rgion of wstrn
*frica or th ,iddl 0ast found horticultur to b of littl %alu. $hy turnd to a
diffrnt stratgy for sur%i%al" +'astoralism-" mans su&&orting of domstication of
animals. Still othrs mi(d horticultur and &astoralism. $oday many such socitis
thri% in *mrica" *sia and *frica.
$his tchnology gratly incrasd &roduction and nabld
socitis to su&&ort not do6ns but hundrds of &o&l. It also ncouragd forming of
sttlmnts" mo%ing only whn thy d&ltd th soil. Slowly ths sttlmnts wr
Boind by trad and thir &o&ulation startd incrasing ra&idly.
2ow ca&abl of &roducing a matrial sur&lus" not %ryon
had to scur food and wr attractd to othr &rofssions lik" making crafts and
wa%ing cloth" which ncouragd mor s&ciali6d and com&l( social arrangmnts.
/untrs and gathrrs bli%d that many s&irits inhabitd th
world" whil horticulturists &racticd ancstors worshi& and conci%d of God as crator.
'astoral socitis carrid this blif furthr" %iwing God as dirctly in%ol%d in th wll
bing of th ntir world. $his %iw of God is wids&rad in our own socity bcaus
Christianity" Islam and Iudaism wr originally ,iddl 0astrn rligions.
0(&anding &roducti% tchnology cratd social inAuality.
3amilis with mor food &roduction bcam mor &owrful and &ri%ilgd and alliancs
with othr lit familis nsurd thir social ad%antags transfrd to thir n(t
gnrations and a formal systm of social inAuality mrgd. *long wit social hirarchy
a sim&l go%rnmnt backd by military forc mrgd to shor u& th dominanc of th
lits" but th rulrs controlld only small numbr of &o&l bcaus of thir limitd
ability to communicat or tra%l long distancs.
@
$h horticulturists and &astoralists brought social inAuality
and in many cass ngagd in sla%ry and ongoing warfar and %n cannibalism.
*G1*1I*2 SOCI0$I0S. *bout >CCC yars ago" anothr tchnological r%olution was
undrway in th ,iddl 0ast that would %ntually transform most of th world. $his
was th disco%ry of agricultur" th tchnology of larg scal farming" using &lows
harnssd to animals or %ntually mchanical tractors. So grat was th social
significanc of animal drawn &low and othr tchnological inno%ations of that &riodH
including irrigation" th whl" writing" numbrs" and th (&anding us of mtals. that
this ra is calld th dawn of ci%ili6ation. ,or rgular us of &low and culti%ation
rsultd in mor frtil land and larg food sur&luss. *mong huntrs and gathrrs and
horticulturists womn wr th &rimary &ro%idrs of food. *gricultur &ro&lld mn into
a &osition of social dominanc. 5clining &osition of womn in th socity is th rsult of
th cours of social %olution.
*s always incrasing &roduction mans gratr
s&ciali6ation. $asks onc &rformd by %ryon" such as claring land and scuring
food bcam distinct occu&ations. S&ciali6ation also mad th arly bartr systm
obsolt and mony bcam th standard of (chang. 5ramatic social inAualitis wr
&romotd by th agrarian socitis. In many cass including ?S* &asants and sla%s
mad u& a larg shar of th &o&ulation. 1ligion rinforcd th &owrs of agricultural
lits. *ccording to rligious doctrin" &o&l wr morally obligd to &rform thir
work. Wondrs of th *ncint world" such as th grat wall of China and &yramids of
0gy&t wr &ossibl only bcaus 0m&rors wildd absolut &owrs" commanding thir
&o&l to a lif tim of labor without wags.
Whn lits gaind un&arallld &owrs and larg m&irs"
th ladrs rAuird th sr%ics of wid rang of administrators. It was at this &oint that
along with growing conomis &olitical systm mrgd. ?& to this &riod of socio.
cultural %olution" th agrarian socitis had th gratst s&ciali6ation and th most
social inAuality.
I25?S$1I*L SOCI0$I0S. Industrialism is tchnology that &owrs so&histicatd
machinry with ad%ancd sourc of nrgy. ?ntil th industrial ra" th maBor sourc of
nrgy was th muscls of humans and othr animals. !ut around 17>C" mills and
factoris bgan to us flowing watr and thn stam boilrs to &owr larg and mor
fficint machinris.
Industrial socitis took o%r a cntury rathr than thousands of yars to
transform thmsl%s. Socitis bgan to chang fastr thn %r bfor. $his stunning
chang stimulatd th birth of sociology itslf. 5uring th 19
th
cntury %rything was
r%olutioni6d.

In th ;C
th
cntury automobils furthr rsha&d th wstrn socitis and
lctricity &owrd all th con%nincs. 0lctronic communications mad th larg
world sm smallr and smallr. *nd thn th com&utr brought th information
r%olution dramatically incrasing our ca&acity to &rocss words and numbrs.
7
Occu&ational s&ciali6ation (&andd o%r th long cours of socio.cultural
%olution has bcom mor &ronouncd than %r. 1a&id chang and mo%mnt from
&lac to &lac has also rsultd in cultural di%rsity.
With th industrial r%olution humankind &assd anothr thrshold to a nw l%l of
social organi6ation. 0conomic slf.sufficincy and local markt systms cam to b
dis&lacd by com&l( di%ision of labor" (chang rlationshi& and national and
intrnational markt systm. !caus of thir ability to &roduc and in%nt" wstrn
nations bcam dominant. Othr good changs also cam with th industrial r%olution"
th ability to rad and writ" limitd to a small minority in agrarian socity bcam an
ssntial skill in ad%ancd industrial socitis. ,or statuss ar o&nd to achi%mnt
rathr than ascri&tion according to family of birth.
*s &ro&rty bcam mor broadly distributd among th &o&ulation" th bas of
&olitical &owr (&andd. 2w conc&tions of citi6nshi& aros basd on notion of
fundamntal rights to which all mmbrs of th socity wr ntitld. Industriali6ation
has trnd to go hand in hand with th ris of dmocratic institutions.
Industrial tchnology rcasts th family too" diminishing its traditional significanc
as th cntr of social lif. 3amily is no longr th &rimary stting for conomic
&roduction" larning and rligious worshi&.
'OS$I25?S$1I*L SOCI0$I0S. Som social analysts contnd that th ?nitd Stats is
currntly mo%ing in th dirction of a &ostindustrial socity. $wo faturs charactri6
th &ost industrial socity. 3irst" incrasing numbr of workrs find m&loymnt in
trtiary industry" cntring on th &ro%ision of sr%ics" rathr than manufacturing goods.
Scond" with th introduction of com&utrs and com&l( fdback rgulation d%ics"
nw tchnologis &rmit th automation of many &rocsss in th work &lac. *ll ths
changs ar accom&anid by a knowldg (&losion basd on th crating" &rocssing"
and distribution of information. $oday th work rAuirmnts ar far diffrnt from
twnty fi% yars ago" and will b diffrnt again twnty fi% yars from now. $oday#s
workrs ar bttr ducatd" lss likly to b union mmbrs" and mor likly to b
womn. $hroughout th *mrican conomy" unskilld" blu. collar manufacturing Bobs
ar bing r&lacd by whit. collar" sr%ics" managrial and &rofssional &ositions.
,anagrs and &rofssionals ha% alrady outnumbrd unskilld workrs fi% to on.
In &ostindustrial socitis" sr%ic organi6ations" rstaurants" banks
mdical clinics" schools and th lik ar th &rinci&l sourc of m&loymnt. $hr is a
ris of nw class of salarid &rofssionals and tchnically traind managrs.
$/0 LI,I$S O3 $0C/2OLOGY
$hr is no doubt about it that tchnology rmdis many human &roblms by
incrasing &roducti%ity" rducing infctious disass" and somtims %n &ro%iding
instant ntrtainmnt" it &ro%ids no +Auick fi(- for social &roblms. 'o%rty for (am&l
rmains th &light of millions of mn and womn in this country and of on billion
&o&l worldwid. ,oro%r tchnology has cratd mor social &roblms that our &ast
gnrations could hardly %n imagin. Industrial socitis &ro%id mor &rsonal
frdom but at th cost of sns of community that charactri6d &r.industrial lif.
2uclar wa&ons stock&ild by th ad%ancd nations can turn th world into ruins within
8
no tim. *d%ancd tchnology has also ld to a maBor social &roblm in%ol%ing th
n%ironmnt. $h socio.cultural %olution accom&anid by mor &owrful sourcs of
nrgy has incrasd our a&&tit for th arth rsourcs.
$h Austion is wathr humanity can &ursu matrial &ros&rity without
damaging th &lant to th &oint from which it will n%r rco%r.










9