Sociology and the Study of Society

At the end of this module, I can:

 Identify the subjects of inquiry and goals of sociology.
 Describe society as a complex whole
 Identify aspects of culture and society
 Recognize the value of sociology for the 21st Century

In this chapter, we will look closely to at the nature of culture and society primarily from the
vantage point of anthropology and sociology.
Simply, society refers to a group of people sharing a common culture. It may also be defined
as organized group or groups of people who generally share a common territory, language,
culture, and who act together for collective survival and well-being. The ways in which people
depend upon one another can be seen in the features of their society, such as their economic,
communication, and defense systems.
Although culture and society are interrelated, these concepts are not exactly the same. A
society has more comprehensive sets of culture in the sense that the group is culturally self-
sufficient. This means that diverse cultures exist in a specific society.
Human society is characterized by a territorially localized population; the members of which
interact in a network of relationships, which are distinctive, culturally defined and limited, and
affectively bonded by common linguistic patterns and other forms of symbolic representations.

BEYOND WALLS 1.0 READ AND ANSWER

The Industrial Revolution has been one of the primary catalysts for the institution of sociology
as a social science discipline. Below is a link to an essay written by Prof. Erdal Yabuz of
University Yedipe entitled “The Industrial Revolution and Its Consequences”. After reading
the essay, answer the following questions.
1. What factors brought upon the Industrial Revolution?
2. Who were the key players (personalities and governments) in the Industrial
Revolution?
3. What were the impacts of the Industrial Revolution to the following:
a. Economy
b. Society
c. Government
 https://www.yeditepe.edu.tr/dotAsset/74101.pdf (accessed 28 October 2015)
Sociological Concepts

Just like Anthropology, Sociology also has disciplined-based concepts that aid in the
understanding of human behavior and groups. The basic concept that sociology interprets is that
of society.
Society

Society can be defined as a product of human interactions as humans subscribe to the rules of
their culture. It is an organization that caters to a human’s need for belongingness in a group. The
following table represents the varying understanding of society as prescribed by sociologists.
Table 1.0
Sociologist Perspective on Society

August Comte Society as a social organism possessing a

harmony of structure and function.
Emile Durkheim Society as a reality in its own right. Collective
consciousness is of key importance to society,
which society cannot survive without.
Talcott Parsons Society is a total complex of human
relationships in so far as they grow out of the
action in terms of means-end relationship.
George Herbert Mead Society is an exchange of gestures that involves
the use of symbols.
Morris Ginsberg Society as a collection of individuals united by
certain relations or mode of behavior that marks
individuals off from others who do not enter into
these relations or who differ from them in
behavior.
George Douglas Cole Society as the complex of organized associations
and institutions with a community.
Robert Maclver and Charles Page Society as a system of usages and procedures of
authority and mutual aid of many groupings and
divisions, of controls of human behavior and
liberties.
Source: Shandra (2007)

Sociology studies
societies to
promote social
change, and
document human
behavior.
 HOME
REFLECT
UPON

How do you assert your agency in the

following:
1. Home
2. School
3. Church
SCHOOL

CHURCH

What Have I Learned So Far

What is Social Interaction?

What are the elements of Social Interaction?

 Answer the following questions. A space is provided below for your answers.

1. 1. From the identified common terms from Table 1.0, identify which concepts are
synonymous or related to each other, and categorize them under a word or phrase that
you think best describes them. After which, provide a justification as to why they should
be grouped together.
2. Based on your experiences as a member of a society, how would you define society?
3. What are the essential parts of a society
 Social Organization

This concept refers to the interrelationship of parts of society. As a

society is an organization in itself, it is structurally divided into layers of contexts
and positions that help perpetuate
Socialits Organization
existence. The positions created within a
society constitute the category of status. This may include being a student, a son,
and a parent.
Each status prescribes a set of accepted behaviors that define the individual’s responses
and inclinations. This set is called roles. The role of the government official is to ensure that the people’s
needs are addressed through government projects and policies. If the government official fails to perform
this role, then a conflict occurs as the norm was not followed.
Institutions are established when roles, statuses and groups are perpetuated within the context of a
society. Institutions are the building blocks of a society, as it is through these that norms are produces from
the consistent exchanges of individuals and groups. These institutions are also in constant recreation as
human interactions are affected by external forces such as environmental shifts. Family, marriage,
education, religion and government are all examples of institutions.

A group is a basic unit of an organization. It involves at least two individuals who are in constant
interaction based on their statuses and roles. Your role typically is consists of two groups: teachers and
students. You interact with your teachers based on your role as a student. Hence, your manner of speaking
and the content of your statements are different when you are interacting with you classmates from when
you interact with your teachers.

Social Structure
and Agency
This is the foundation of every society from which emanates the possible roles, statuses,
institutions, and organizations. It can be said that social structure is the determining factor by which every
other part of a society gains its context.
Note that this perspective renders individuals to be incapable of asserting themselves in a society,
as they are bound by the rules of its structure or, in this context, their culture. A divergent perspective to
this accommodates the concept of agency.

Agency

Agency is defined as individuals or groups reflecting, acting, modifying, and giving

significance to the teaching of science in purposeful ways, with the aim of empowering and
transforming themselves and/or conditions of their lives. . . Thus agency is action-oriented. . .