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UNIT-1

Fundamentals of Sociology

What is Sociology?

Sociology is defined as the systematic and scientific study of Society. Sociology can also be

defined as a study of society or social life, of group interaction and of Social behaviour.

While Society has been defined as a relatively self sufficient, usually large group of people

who maintain direct or indirect contact with each other through a culture.

Sociology has been defined in a number of ways by different sociologists.

Emile Durkheimdefines sociology as the science of social institutions.

Kingsley Davissays that sociology is a general science of society.

actors !ontri"uting to the Emergence o# Sociology$

Sociology came to be established as an independent and a separate social science in the middle

of the 19th century.

French Revolution

Soon after the American Revolution, there was a revolution in France. French

society, during this time, was divided into three classes or estates- the clergy, the nobility

and the commoners. he !ing and the royal family, along with the clergy and the nobility,

lived in great lu"ury. All political power was concentrated in their hands. hey owned vast

#uantities of land and paid no ta"es. he entire ta" burden was borne by the common people

comprising of the merchants, the artisans and the peasants. he merchants, despite being ta"$

payers, were denied political rights. he peasants too were e"tremely unhappy as they were

always on the brin! of starvation.

he revolutionary ideas of the French philosophers such as %oltaire, Rousseau and

&ontes#uieu inspired the common people to demand their rights. he representatives of the

commoners declared themselves to be the 'ational Assembly of France. (n )* +uly)-, the

people rose up in revolt, bro!e open the state prison of /astille, in 0aris 1this incident is

commonly !nown as the Storming of the /astille2 and set free all the prisoners. his event

mar!ed the beginning of the French Revolution.

he revolution ended soon afterwards. he French !ing, 3ouis 4%55 and his wife, &arie

Antoinette were arrested and later e"ecuted. &onarchy ended in France and a republican

form of government was established. he 'ational Assembly adopted a famous document$

6eclaration of the Rights of &an and 7iti8en, which promised the basic rights of life, liberty

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and e#uality to all citi8ens of France. he ideals of liberty, e#uality and fraternity became the

guiding principles of the republic of France.

%i& In'ustrial (evolution an' In'ustrialisation$

5ndustrial Revolution that too! place first in 9ngland during the )-th century brought about

sweeping changes throughout 9urope. 'ever before in history did social changes ta!e place

on such a massive scale. Sociology emerged in the conte"t of the sweeping changes.

(a)Factory system of production and the consequent mechanisation and industrialisation

brought turmoil:s in society. 'ew industries and technologies change the face of the social

and physical environment.

he simple rural life and small$scale home industries were replaced by comple" urban life

and mass production of goods. 5ndustrialisation changed the direction of civilisation. 5t

destroyed, or radically altered, the medieval customs, beliefs and ideals.

(b)Industrialisation led to urbanisation.

0easants left rural areas and floc!ed to the towns, where they wor!ed as industrial

labourers under dangerous conditions. 7ities grew at an unprecedented rate providing an

anonymous environment for people.

Social problems became rampant in the fast developing cities. Aristocraties and monarchies

crumbled and fell. Religion began to lose its force as a source of moral authority. For the

first time in history, rapid social change became the normal rather than an abnormal state of

affairs, and people could no longer e"pect that their children would live much the same lives

as they had done. he direction of social change was unclear, and the stability of the social

order seemed threatened. An understanding of what was happening was urgently needed:

5t is clear from the above that sociology was born out of the attempt to understand the

transformations that seemed to threaten the stability of 9uropean society. Social thin!ers li!e

7omte, Spencer and others argued that there was an urgent need to establish a separate

science of society. hey believed that such a science would be of great help in understanding

the nature and problems of society and to find out solutions for the same.

%ii& Ins)iration #rom the *ro+th o# Natural Sciences$

'ineteenth century was a period in which natural sciences had made much progress. he

success attained by the natural scientists inspired and even tempted good number of social

thin!ers to emulate their e"ample.

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5f their methods could be successful in the physical world to understand physical or natural

phenomena, could they not be applied successfully to the social world to understand social

phenomena; As an answer to this #uestion 7omte, Spencer, 6ur!heim, Weber and others

successfully demonstrated that these methods could be used to study the social world.

%iii& Ins)iration )rovi'e' "y the ra'ically 'iverse societies an' cultures o# the colonial

em)ires$

he colonial powers of 9urope were e"posed to different types of societies and cultures in the

colonial empires. heir e"posure to such diversities in societies and cultures provided an

intellectual challenge for the social scientist of the day. 5nformation about the widely

contrasting social practices of these distant peoples raised fresh #uestions about society.

Why some societies were more advanced than others; What lessons could the 9uropean

countries learn from comparisons of various societies:; Why the rate of social change was

not the same everywhere; he new science of society called sociology had emerged as an

independent science in an attempt to find convincing answers to these questions.

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,SI! S.!I./.*I!/ !.N!E0TS

All Social and 0hysical sciences including Sociology have their own concepts. Without

concepts no science or discipline can study anything and conduct any research. 7oncepts to a

Science or 6iscipline are li!e alphabets to a language. 7oncepts are the indispensible to any

branch of !nowledge.

he basic and more widely used concepts of Sociology are Society !ommunity

ssociation, andInstitution. o study sociology and to understand it better it is very much

necessary to !now more and more about these basic sociological concepts.

S.!IET2 3 4ENIN* ND DEINITI.N

Society is the most widely used concept in Sociology. As the name itself suggest Sociology is

the Science of Society. he term society is used very loosely by common men. /ut inSociology it has very significant meaning.

he word Society is derived from the 3atin word Socius, which means companionship or

fellowship.

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!.44UNIT2

De#inition o# !ommunity

According to /ogardus 7ommunity is a social group with some degree of we-feeling!

and li"ing in a gi"en area

According to =insley 6avis 7ommunity is the smallest territorial group that can embrace

all aspects of social life!>?

According to (gburn and 'im!off # community is a group or collection of groups that

inhibits a locality

4IN E/E4ENTS . !.44UNIT2

he main bases of community are@

19 /ocality$

A community is a territorial group. 5t occupies some geographical area. 3ocality is the

physical basis of community. 3iving together facilitates people to develop social contacts,

give protection, safety and security. Further, the very physical conditions may influence

social life to a great e"tent.

:9 !ommunity Sentiment@

5t means a feeling of belonging together. he members must be aware of their staying

together and sharing common interest. he members develop a sense of we$feeling. 5t

means a !ind of identification with the group. Without a sense of identification, a sense of

awareness, a sense of living and sharing some common interest in life, there cannot be any

community.

.ther s)ects o# !ommunity@

? Stability

? 'aturalness

? Si8e of community

? Regulation of Relations

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DIE(EN!E ,ETWEEN S.!IET2 ND !.44UNIT2

SS.!ITI.N

De#inition o# ssociation

According to R.&.&ac5ver An Association is an organi$ation deliberately formed for the

collecti"e pursuit of some interests, or a set of interests, which its members share.

According to &orris insberg An Association is a group of social beings related to one

another by the fact that they possess or ha"e instituted in common an organi$ation with a

"iew to securing a specific end or specific ends.

!8(!TE(ISTI!S . SS.!ITI.N$

Association$ a

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DIE(EN!E ,ETWEEN SS.!ITI.N ND !.44UNIT2

INSTITUTI.N

De#inition o# Institution

According to insberg 5nstitutions may be described as recogni$ed and established usages

go"erning the relations between indi"iduals and groups.

According to

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unctions o# Social Institutions

5nstitutions cater to the Satisfaction of 'eeds

5nstitutions control I7o: meaning Itogether and(perary meaning Ito wor!:.

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of a common goal or goals. When two or more persons wor! together to gain common goal,

it is called cooperation. /oys cooperate in games, men in business, wor!ers in production,

and public officials in community controls and so on, in an endless variety of beneficial

activities that ma!e possible an integrated social life.

According to &errill and 9ldregde, 7ooperation is a form of social interaction wherein twoor more persons wor! together to gain a common end.

Ty)es o# !oo)eration$

7ooperation is of different types. &aclver and 0age have divided cooperation into two main

types namely, 1i2 6irect 7ooperation 1ii2 5ndirect 7ooperation.

Direct !oo)eration

Hnder direct cooperation may be included all those activities in which people do li!e things

together. For e"ample, plying together, wor!ing together, carrying a load together or pulling

the car out of mud together. he essential character of this !ind of cooperation is that peopledo such identical function which they can also do separately. his type of cooperation is

voluntary e.g., cooperation between husband and wife, teacher and student, master and

servant.

In'irect !oo)eration

Hnder indirect cooperation is in included those activities in which people do different tas!s

together towards a common end. For e"ample, when carpenters, plumbers and masons

cooperate to build a house, this cooperation is based on the principle of the division of labour.

5n it people perform different functions but for the attainment of the common obGective. 5n the

modern technological age, specialisation of s!ills and function are more re#uired for which

indirect cooperation is rapidly replacing direct cooperation.

B. Accommodation@

AdGustment is the way of life. 5t can ta!e place through accommodation. Accommodation is

the process of social adGustment. Accommodation is the achievement of adGustment between

people that permits harmonious acting together in social situation. 5t is achieved by an

individual through the ac#uisition of behaviour patterns, habits and attitudes which are

transmitted to him socially.

5t is a process through which individuals or groups ma!e adGustment to the changed situationto overcome difficulties faced by them. Sometimes new conditions and circumstances arise in

the society. 5ndividuals have learned to ma!e adGustment to the new situation. hus,

accommodation means adGusting oneself to the new environment.

According to &aclver and 0age the term accommodation refers particularly to the process

in which man attains sense of harmony with his environment.

!haracteristics$

!haracteristics o# accommo'ation are 'iscusse' "elo+$

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%i& It is the En'-result o# !on#lict$

he involvement of hostile individuals or groups in conflict ma!es them reali8e the

importance of accommodation. Since conflict cannot ta!e place continuously, they ma!e

room for accommodation. 5t is the natural result of conflict. 5f there were no conflict, therewould be no need of accommodation.

%ii& It is "oth !onscious an' Unconscious 0rocess$

Accommodation is mainly an unconscious activity because a newborn individual

accommodates himself with his family, caste, play$group, school, and neighbourhood or with

the total environment unconsciously. Sometimes, individuals and groups ma!e deliberate and

open attempt to stop fighting and start wor!ing together. For e"ample, warring groups enter

into pacts to stop war. Stri!ing wor!ers stop stri!e after having an understanding with the

management.

%iii& It is a Universal ctivity$

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For instance, American 5ndians adopted cultural elements of whites abandoning their own

culture. /ut assimilation is not limited to this single field only. For e"ample, husbands and

wives with dissimilar bac!ground often develop a surprising unity of interest and purpose.

he term is usually applied to an immigrant or ethnic minority in process of being absorbed

socially into a receiving society, e.g. the assimilation of African 'egroes as immigrants in

American society. /ut this does not mean that the immigrants have abandoned everything oftheir culture and that they have not contributed anything to the host country. he assimilation

of 'egroes has contributed much to American cultural store in the form of +a88 music.

Assimilation is a slow and gradual process. When two cultures meet, the dominant culture

becomes the common culture of the two interacting cultures. For e"ample, before &uslim

rule &alaya had the influence of native culture and /udhism. /ut subse#uently, &uslim

culture prevailed upon the local culture.

According to 9.S. /ogardus, is a process whereby attitudes of many persons are united, and

thus, develop into a united group.

As (gburn and 'im!off define, Assimilation is the process whereby individuals or groups

once dissimilar become similar, that it become identified in the interests and outloo!.

!haracteristics o# ssimilation$

). Assimilation is an associative process.

B. Assimilation is a universal process. 5t is found in every place and at all times.

D. Assimilation is a slow and gradual process. 5t is gradual as the individual comes to share

the e"pectations of another group and slowly ac#uires a new set of values. he process

cannot ta!e place overnight. he assimilation of the Anglo$Sa"on and 'orman cultures has

ta!en more than two centuries in /ritain.

*. Assimilation is a unconscious process. 5ndividuals are not conscious that the discard their

own values and ac#uire new set of values.

E. Assimilation is a two$way process. 5t is based on the principle of give and ta!e.

Assimilation ta!es place when groups of individuals borrow cultural elements from each

other and incorporates them to their own culture. 7ontact between two groups essentially

affects both. /oth the groups discard their cultural element and substitute them with newones.

Dissociative 0rocesses$

Social process which leads to negative results is called dissociative processes. hese social

processes result in disintegration of society. 7ompetition and conflict etc. are the maGor

dissociative social processes.

Competition:

7ompetition is one of the dissociative from of social processes. 5t is actually the most

fundamental form of social struggle. 5t occurs whenever there is an insufficient supply ofanything that human beings desire, in sufficient in the sense that all cannot have as much of it

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as they wish. (gburn and 'im!off say that competition occurs when demand out turns

supply. 0eople do not complete for sunshine, air and gifts of nature because they are abundant

in supply.

/ut people compete for power, name, fame, glory, status, money, lu"uries and other things

which are not easily available. Since scarcity is in a sense an inevitable condition of sociallife, competition of some sort or the other is found in all the societies. 5n any society, fore"ample, there are normally more people who want Gobs than there are Gobs availableJ hence

there is competition for them. Among those who are already employed, there is li!ewise

competition for better Gobs. here is thus competition not only for bread but for lu"uries,

power, social, position, mates, fame and all other things not available for one:s as!ing.

According to 9.S. /ogardus. 7ompetition is a contest to obtain something which does not

e"ist in #uantity sufficient to meet the demand.

!haracteristics$

/y analy8ing various definitions, the following characteristics of competition can be drawn@

%i& It is Universal$

7ompetition is found in every society and in every age. 5t is found in every group. 5t is one

aspect of struggle which is universal not only in human society but also in the plant and

animal worlds. 5t is the natural result of the universal struggle for e"istence.

%ii& It is Im)ersonal$

7ompetition is not a personal action. 5t is an Iinteraction without social contact. he

competitors are not in contact and do not !now one another. hey do not compete with each

other on a personal level. he attention of all the competitors is fi"ed on the goal or the

reward they aim at. 6ue to this reason competition is !nown as an impersonal affair.

%iii& It is an Unconscious ctivity$

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7ompetition ta!es place on the unconscious level. Achievement of goal or the reward is

regarded as the main obGect of competitors. Rarely they do !now about other competitors. For

e"ample, the students of a particular class get engaged to secure the highest mar!s in the

final$ e"amination. hey do not conceive of their classmates as competitors. Students may, no

doubt, be conscious of the competition and much concerned about mar!s.heir attention isfocused on the reward or goals rather on the competitors.

%iv& It is !ontinuous 0rocess@ 7ompetition never comes to an end. 5t is not an

intermittent process. 5t is continuous. As goods are short in supply there must be competition

among the people for their procurement. he desire for status, name, fame, glory, power and

wealth in an ever increasing degree ma!es competition a continuous process in human

society.

!on#lict

7onflict is one of the dissociative or disintegrative social processes. 5t is a universal andfundamental social process in human relations. 7onflict arises only when the attention of the

competitors is diverted from the obGect of competition to themselves.

As a process, it is the anti$thesis of cooperation. 5t is a process of see!ing to obtain rewards

by eliminating or wea!ening the competitors. 5t is a deliberate attempt to oppose, resist or

coerce the will of another or others. 7onflict is also goal oriented. /ut unli!e cooperation and

7ompetition, it see!s to capture its goal by ma!ing ineffective the others who also see! them.

According to A.W. reen, 7onflict is the deliberate attempt to oppose, resist or coerce the

will of another or others.

illin and illin say, 7onflict is the social process in which individuals or groups see! their

ends by directly challenging the antagonist by violence or threat of violence.

!haracteristics$

7onflict is an important form of social process. 5t is a part of human society. he main

characteristics of conflict are as follows@

%i& It is a Universal 0rocess$

7onflict is an ever$present process. 5t e"ists at all places and all times. 5t has been in e"istence

since time immemorial. he cause of the universality of conflict is the increase of man:sselfishness and his materialist tendency. =arl &ar" has rightly mentioned, that Iviolence is

the mid$wife of history:.

%ii& It is a 0ersonal ctivity$

7onflict is personal and its aim is to eliminate the opposite party. he defeat of the opponent

is the main obGective in conflict. When competition is personalised it becomes conflict. he

parties, loc!ed in conflict, lose sight of their definite goal or obGective and try to defeat one

another.

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%iii& It is a !onscious ctivity$

7onflict is a deliberate attempt to oppose or resist the will of another. 5t aims at causing loss

or inGury to persons or groups. he attention of every party is fi"ed on the rival rather than on

the reward or goal, they see! for. So consciously, !nowingly or deliberately the parties ma!e

struggle with each other in conflict.

%iv& It is an Intermittent 0rocess$

here is no continuity in conflict. 5t is occasional. 5t lac!s continuity. 5t is not as continuous

as competition and cooperation. 5t may ta!e place all of a sudden and may come to an end

after sometime. 5f the conflict becomes continuous, no society can sustain itself. So it is an

intermittent process.

SocialisationSocialisation is a processes with the help of which a living organism is changed into a social

being. 5t is a process through which the younger generation learns the adult role which it has

to play subse#uently. 5t is a continuous process in the life of an individual and it continues

from generation to generation.

De#inition$

Socialisation is the process of wor!ing together, of developing group responsibility,

or being guided by the welfare needs of others.

Socialisation is the process by which the individual learns to conform to the norms of

the group.

eatures o# Socialisation$

Socialisation not only helps in the maintenance and preservation of social values and norms

but it is the process through which values and norms are transmitted from one generation to

another generation

&' Inculcates basic discipline

Socialisation inculcates basic discipline. A person learns to control his impulses.

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+' Socialisation is rapid if there is more humanity among the- agencies of socialisation

Socialisation ta!es place rapidly if the agencies: of socialisation are more unanimous in their

ideas and s!ills. When there is conflict between the ideas, e"amples and s!ills transmitted in

home and those transmitted by school or peer, socialisation of the individual tends to be

slower and ineffective.

' Socialisation taes place formally and informally

Formal socialisation ta!es through direct instruction and education in schools and colleges.

Family is, however, the primary and the most influential source of education. 7hildren learn

their language, customs, norms and values in the family.

.' Socialisation is continuous process

Socialisation is a life$long process. 5t does not cease when a child becomes an adult. As

socialisation does not cease when a child becomes an adult, internalisation of culture

continues from generation to generation. Society perpetuates itself through the internalisation

of culture. 5ts members transmit culture to the ne"t generation and society continues to e"ist.

Agencies of Socialisation:

Socialisation is a process by which culture is transmitted to the younger generation and men

learn the rules and practices of social groups to which they belong. hrough it that a society

maintains its social system. 0ersonalities do not come ready$made. he process that

transforms a child into a reasonably respectable human being is a long process.

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19 amily$

he family plays an outstanding role in the socialisation process. 5n all societies other

agencies besides the family contribute to socialisation such as educational institutions, the

peer group etc. /ut family plays the most important role in the formation of personality. /y

the time other agencies contribute to this process family has already left an imprint on the

personality of the child. he parents use both reward and punishment to imbibe what is

socially re#uired from a child.

he family has informal control over its members. Family being a mini society acts as a

transmission belt between the individual and society. 5t trains the younger generation in such

a way that it can ta!e the adult roles in proper manner. As family is primary and intimate

group, it uses informal methods of social control to chec! the undesirable behaviour on the

part of its members. he process of socialisation remains a process because of the interplay

between individual life cycle and family life cycle.

:9 0eer *rou)$

0eer roup means a group in which the members share some common characteristics such as

age or se" etc. 5t is made up of the contemporaries of the child, his associates in school, in

playground and in street. he growing child learns some very important lessons from his peer

group. Since members of the peer group are at the same stage of socialisation, they freely and

spontaneously interact with each other.

he members of peer groups have other sources of information about the culture and thus the

ac#uisition of culture goes on. hey view the world through the same eyes and share the same

subGective attitudes. 5n order to be accepted by his peer group, the child must e"hibit the

characteristic attitudes, the li!es and disli!es.

7onflict arises when standards of the peer group differ from the standards of the child:s

family.

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the natural differences, human beings are also differentiated according to socially approved

criteria.

So socially differentiated men are treated as socially une#ual from the point of view of

enGoyment of social rewards li!e status, power, income etc. hat may be called social

ine#uality. he term social ine#uality simply refers to the e"istence of socially created

ine#ualities.

4eaning$

Social stratification is a particular form of social ine#uality. All societies arrange their

members in terms of superiority, inferiority and e#uality. Stratification is a process of

interaction or differentiation whereby some people come to ran! higher than others.

De#inition

Social stratification is hori8ontal division of society into higher and lower social units.

Types of Social Stratication:

Social stratification is based upon a variety of principles. So we find different type of

stratification.

he maGor types of stratification are

1i2 7aste

1ii2 7lass

1i2 !aste is a hereditary endogamous social group in which a person:s ran! and its

accompanying rights and obligations are ascribed on the basis of his birth into a particular

group. For e"ample$/rahmins, =shyatryas, %aishyas and Sudra 7aste.

1ii& !lass-Strati#ication on the basis of class is dominant in modern society. 5n this, a

person:s position depends to a very great e"tent upon achievement and his ability to use to

advantage the inborn characteristics and wealth that he may possess.

Caracteristics of Social Stratication:

(n the basis of the analysis of the different definitions given by eminent scholars, social

stratification may have the following characteristics.

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%a& Social strati#ication is universal$

here is no society on this world which is free from stratification. &odern stratification

differs from stratification of primitive societies. 5t is a worldwide phenomenon. According to

Soro!in all permanently organi8ed groups are stratified.

%"& Strati#ication is social$

5t is true that biological #ualities do not determine one:s superiority and inferiority. Factors

li!e age, se", intelligence as well as strength often contribute as the basis on which statues are

distinguished. /ut one:s education, property, power, e"perience, character, personality etc. are

found to be more important than biological #ualities.

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he members of a class have similar social chances but the social chances vary in every

society. 5t includes chances of survival and of good physical and mental health, opportunities

for education, chances of obtaining Gustice, marital conflict, separation and divorce etc.

3ife style denotes a style of life which is distinctive of a particular social status. 3ife$styles

include such matters li!e the residential areas in every community which have gradations of

prestige$ran!ing, mode of housing, means of recreation, the !inds of dress, the !inds of

boo!s, % shows to which one is e"posed and so on. 3ife$style may be viewed as a sub$

culture in which one stratum differs from another within the frame wor! of a commonly

shared over$all culture.

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