INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY Duško Sekulić

Sociology is the scientific study of human society or the study of human behavior as shaped by group life. Including the collective forces that shape human behaviour and the ways in which people give meaning to their experiences. Because our culture emphasizes individual choice, seeing the power of society in our lives may seem, at first, like ”seeing the strange in the familiar”.

Scientific status of sociology The subject matter of sociology poses many problems that natural sciences do not face, but sociology nonetheless has the same commitment to the scientific methods. Sociological explanations are therefore more reliable than those based only on common sense. Science refers to the logical, systematic methods by which reliable knowledge of the universe is obtained. Science assumes order in the universe, and it attempts to establish generalizations that can be used for the purposes of explanation and prediction. Sociological generalizations differs from stereotypes Sociological statement 1) is not applied indiscriminately to everyone in some category, 2) is supported by the facts, 3) is put forward in the fair/minded pursuit of truth.

Sociology is a science, which means that is based n objective and systematic knowledge gained through empirical observation. Science, as a source of knowledge, is -empirical -systematic-focused on causation -provisional and objective.

Complete objectivity is particularly difficult to achieve in the social sciences. By rigorously excluding personal biases and by submitting research findings to the criticism of the sociological community, however, sociologists can guard against subjective distortions and can reach a high degree of objectivity.

The concept of sociological imagination. Personal troubles (which are problems experienced directly by individuals) and public issues (which stem fom factors outside one’s control). Example of unemployment.

Sociology emerged in the middle of the nineteenth century, in the context of the changes caused by the rise of an industrial economy, the explosive growth of cities, and the emergence of new political ideas- focused people’s attention on how society operates. Early sociologists, such as Comte, Spencer, Marx, Weber, and Durkheim, concentrated on problems of social order and social change- macro perspective. The subsequent development of sociology, which has taken place largely in the USA, has focused primarily on more restricted theories and studies and on the refinement of research techniques.

While August Comte gave sociology its name in Earlier social thinkers focused on what society ought to be, but Comte’s new discipline used scientific methods to understand society as it is. Karl Marx understood history as the struggle to end the oppression of the powerless by the powerful. For Marx the fundamental division in society was based on the control over the means of production and the struggle between owners and workers over the control. For Marx historical change occurred through conflict.

Emile Durkheim identified (created concept of..) social facts which are patterned regularities of behavior that characterize the collectivity. Birth, death, and suicide rates are influenced by social structural factors. For Max Weber, the modern age held both the liberating potential of human reason as well as possibility that technology and modern organizations could lead to a new “iron cage” without any of the faith and fantasy that previously helped people survive.

There are three major theoretical perspectives in mdern sociology. The functionalist perspective focuses on the relationship between the parts and the whole of the system. It concentrates on how patterns of behavior contribute to the operation of society. This approach highlights stability and integration while minimizing inequality and conflict. The conflict perspective focuses on disagreements, hostility and struggles over power and resources in a society. It asks, Who benefits from given social arrangements and how do the powerful maintain their power ? The interpretative (social interactionism) perspective focuses on how people interact with one another, hoe experiences are interpreted, and how people organiye appropriate responses

The functionalist and conflict perspectives examine social structure at an abstract level, this is referred as macro- sociology. The micro-sociological perspectives, such as the interpretative perspective, focus on smaller, interpersonal and less abstract units of analysis. The three perspectives are not necessarily incompatible.