College of Agriculture and Environmental Science

Department: Agricultural Economics

For Second Year Students, First Semester

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The course: Rural Sociology
By: Mengistu H. (MSc)
BLOCK 139/40 ROOM 19
CLASS SCHEDULE: TUESDAY 4:10-6:00

April, 2022
Debre Tabor, Ethiopia

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 BRAINSTORMING QUESTIONS

1. How do you define sociology AND rural sociology?

2. Do you think that, sociology emerged at once? Why?

3. What factors led to the development of sociology?

4. List some basic Sociological perspectives(theory)?

3. What are the Stages in Sociological Research Process?

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 CHAPTER ONE
THE EMERGENCE OF SOCIOLOGY

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 1.1. Introduction to Sociology
• A key insight of sociology is that the simple fact of being in a group
changes your behaviour

• The group is a phenomenon that is more than the sum of its parts

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 Therefore;

• Society is a complex phenomenon with a multitude of intricacies

• It is impossible to understand it and to solve its various problems

without the study of sociology and rural sociology

• For that reason, the course is designed to give basic knowledge

and an insight about rural society to students

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 What Is Sociology?

Why does the person move to the right on the sidewalk?

What collective processes lead to the decision that moving to the

right rather than the left is normal?

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 The Concepts of Sociology

• Sociology is one of the disciplines of the social sciences

• A dictionary defines sociology as the systematic study of society
and social interaction
• The word “sociology” is derived from the Latin
word socius (companion); meaning society, association,
togetherness or friend and
• The Greek word logos (speech or reason); meaning study or
science
• Which together mean “reasoned speech or discourse about
companionship” or
• Sociology is commonly defined as the scientific study of social
relations, social institutions and societies
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 Although the term “sociology” was first invented and used by the

French social philosopher August Comte,

 The discipline was more firmly defined by different sociologists in

different ways as:

 Emile Durkheim- the “science of social institutions”

 Max-Weber- a science which interprets social behavior

 In general, sociology deals with the human social behavior,

especially the study of the origin, organization, institution and

development of human society

 i.e. the study of social lives of humans, groups and societies

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 1.2 The Development of Sociology
• People have been thinking like sociologists long before
sociology became a separate academic discipline.
• There was no sociology as a distinct discipline before the 19th
century
• As a distinct discipline it emerged about the middle of the 19th
century when European social observers began to use
scientific methods to test their ideas.
• Three factors led to the development of sociology:
• The first was the Industrial Revolution by the mid-19th century
Europe was changing from agriculture to factory production
• There was the emergence of new occupations
• Masses of people migrated to cities in search of jobs(Pull or
push factors)
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• The Second factor was Imperialism.
• Europeans successfully conquered many parts of the world.
• They were exposed to radically different cultures.
• Startled by these contrasting ways of life, they began to ask why
cultures differed.
• The third force for the development of sociology was the success
of the natural sciences.
• People moved to question fundamental aspects of their social
world.
• They started using the scientific method(systematic observation,
objectivity) to the study of human behavior.

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• Sociology is therefore emerged, but it did not emerge as a unified
science, however, as its founders brought distinctly different
perspectives to its early formulations

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 For example
• Auguste Comte (1798-1857). Comte to become interested in the two
interrelated issues: social static and social dynamics
• He advocated for building new societies on science and industry rather than on
religion and landowner-self relationship
• This will be a new science and Comte named it as Sociology(1838) – the study of
society
• Herbert Spenser (1820-1903) is sometimes called second founder of sociology.
He too believed that society operates under some fixed laws.
• Spenser advocated that ‘let the fittest survive’. There should be no reform
because it will help in the survival of lower order individuals

• Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a German scholar. According to him the key to
human history is Class Conflict.
• Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)His primary goal was of getting sociology
recognized as a separate academic discipline.

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 1.3 Why Study Sociology?

• Generally, learning sociology provides us with what sociologists

call the sociological imagination(SI)

• SI is a particular way of looking at the world around us through

sociological lenses

• It is a way of looking at our experiences in light of what is going

on in the social world around us

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• This helps us to appreciate the social and non-biological forces
that affect, influence and shape our lives as individuals, groups,
and communities.
• Sociological imagination helps us look beyond individual
psychology to the many and varied facets of social and cultural
forces, and
• "the recurring patterns in peoples' attitudes and actions, and how
these patterns vary across time, cultures and social groups."

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• Sociology can be exciting because it teaches people ways to
recognize how they fit into the world and how others perceive
them.
• It raises awareness of how those classifications — such as
economic and status levels, education, ethnicity, or sexual
orientation — affect perceptions.
• Sociology teaches people not to accept easy explanations(they
can ask better questions and formulate better answers)
• It increases their willingness and ability to try to see the world
from other people’s perspectives.
• This prepares them to live and work in an increasingly diverse and
integrated world.

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• Practically, studying Sociology in the workplace is very important
for the employers continue to seek people with what are called
“transferable skills.”
Studying sociology can provide people with this wide knowledge and
a skill set that can contribute too many workplaces, including:
• An understanding of social systems and large bureaucracies;
• The ability to recognize important differences in people’s social,
cultural, and economic backgrounds;
• Skill in preparing reports and communicating complex ideas; and
• The capacity for critical thinking about social issues and problems
that confront modern society
• Sociology prepares people for a wide variety of careers

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• Learning sociology helps us understand how social forces
influence our goals, attitudes, behavior, and personality
• By learning sociology, we can be more humane and people –
centered; we give high value to human dignity
• In general, sociology increases our self-knowledge.
• Learning sociology can provide us with self-enlightenment.
• When we learn sociology, we gain more knowledge about the
conditions of our own lives, and about the way, our society and
social system function.
• As such knowledge increases, we can be more empowered to
influence the direction of forces and circumstances that affect our
lives.
• We can also be more responsive to the various policies set by
governments; and can suggest our own policy initiatives and
alternatives.
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• In addition to the aforementioned theoretical benefits, sociology
has certain practical benefits

• Sociological knowledge is highly applicable in dealing with today's

most crucial social problems, and in facilitating developmental
activities in socioeconomic sectors

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 1.4 The Major Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology

• At the heart of sociology is the sociological perspective,

the view that our social backgrounds influence our
attitudes, behavior, and life chances

• In this regard, we are not just individuals but rather

social beings deeply enmeshed in society

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 A. The Structural-Functional Theory
• The theory focuses on consensus, social order, structure
and functions of the society.
• It sees society as a complex system that work together
to promote solidarity and stability.
i.e., everyone performing similar tasks that held society
together.

• The major concepts developed in this theory are: order,

structure, function, and equilibrium(being composed of
equivalent parts that are held together by shared values,
common symbols, or systems of exchanges)

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• But, this theory was challenged by the following main critics,
 Gives more emphasis on stability and order while neglecting conflict and
changes which so vital in any society.
 It also gives more emphasis on macro level society while neglecting the
micro level social realities.

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 B. The Social Conflict Theory
• Conflict theory was developed in part to illustrate the limitations of
structural-functionalism
• This theory sees society is made up of individuals competing for limited
resources
• The theory is useful in explaining how the dominant groups use their
power to exploit the less powerful groups.
• The key concepts of social conflict theory are conflict, struggle, power,
inequality, and exploitation.
• But, this theory have some limitation,
 It gives overemphasis on inequality and division, by neglecting how
shared values generate unity among members of the society.
 it sees society in very broad terms by neglecting micro-level social
realities.
 it overlooks the stability of societies. While societies are in a constant
state of change
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 C. Symbolic-Interaction Theory

• This theory views symbols as the basis of social life.

• The theory concentrates on process, rather than structure, and keeps the
individual actor at the center.

• This theory calls attention to the detailed, person-oriented processes that

take place within the larger units of social life.

• But, it criticized for its more emphasis on micro-level social realities

while neglecting the macro level society.

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 D. Utilitarianism theory

• Is a general view of human behavior that says people act to maximize their
pleasure and to reduce their pain

• this view emphasizes that when people interact, they seek to maximize the
benefits they gain from the interaction and to reduce the disadvantages

• Social order is possible because people realize it will be in their best interests to
cooperate and to make compromises when necessary. Utilitarianism is a micro
theory.

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 E. Role theory
• Role Theory posits that human behavior is guided by expectations held
both by the individual and by other people

• The expectations correspond to different roles individuals perform or

enact in their daily lives, such as secretary, father, or friend

• What's more, role theory also argues that in order to change behavior it
is necessary to change roles; roles correspond to behaviors and vice
versa.

• In addition to heavily influencing behavior, roles influence beliefs and

attitudes; individuals will change their beliefs and attitudes to
correspond with their roles.
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 Limitations
• Role theory has a hard time explaining social deviance
when it does not correspond to a pre-specified role.

• For instance, the behavior of someone who adopts the

role of bank robber can be predicted -she will rob banks.

• Another limitation of role theory is that it does not and

cannot explain how role expectations came to be what
they are.
 1.5. The sociological research methodologies
• Like anthropology, economics, political science, and
psychology, sociology is a social science
• All these disciplines use research to try to understand
various aspects of human thought and behavior
 How Sociology as a social Science?
• When we say that sociology is a social science, we mean
that it uses the scientific method to try to understand the
many aspects of society that sociologists study
• An important goal is to yield generalizations, regarding
trends among various dimensions of social life
• A generalization is just that: a statement of a tendency,
rather than a fixed law; For example,
• the statement that men are more likely than women to
commit suicide does not mean that every man
commits suicide and no woman commits suicide

• It means only that men have a higher suicide rate,

even though most men, of course, do not commit
suicide
• Many people will not fit the pattern of such a
generalization,
• because people are shaped but not totally determined by
their social environment. But why?
• That is both the fascination and the frustration of sociology
• Sociology is fascinating because no matter how much
sociologists are able to predict people’s behavior, attitudes,
and life chances, many people will not fit the predictions

• sociology is frustrating: Because people can never be

totally explained by their social environment,&
sociologists can never completely understand the
sources of their behavior, attitudes, and life chances.
• In this sense, sociology as a social science is very
different from a discipline such as physics, in which
known laws exist for which no exceptions are possible
• For example, we call the law of gravity a law because
it describes a physical force that exists on the earth at
all times and in all places and that always has the same
result
 What are the basic steps that involves for a scientific
method to conduct a research?

• As noted earlier, because sociology is a social

science, sociologists follow the rules of the
scientific method in their research
• As you have learned in a science class, the scientific method
involves these basic steps:

(a) formulating a hypothesis

(b) measuring and gathering data to test the hypothesis

(c) analyzing these data, and

(d) drawing appropriate conclusions

• In following the scientific method, sociologists are no different

from their colleagues in the natural and physical sciences or
the other social sciences,

• even though their research is very different in other respects

 Stages in the Sociological Research Process

• Several stages compose the sociological research

process
• These stages include :
(a) choosing a research topic
(b) conducting a literature review
(c) measuring variables and gathering data
(d) analyzing data, and
(e) drawing a conclusion
• Sociologists commonly base their choice of a
research topic on one or more of the following:
(a) a theoretical interest
(b) a social policy interest, and
(c) one or more personal experiences
• Accurate measurement of variables is essential
for sound sociological research.
• As a minimum, measures should be as clear and
unambiguous as possible.
The steps for sociological investigation in research process are:
• Identification of area of interest

• Exploration or consultation

• Problem definition

• Theoretical framework

• Hypothesis/research question

• Research design

• Data collection

• Testing the hypothesis/ responding to questions

• Report writing
However, the basic and essential elements of a scientific
method are iterations and recursions of the following
four steps:

• Characterization (operationalization or quantification,

observation and measurement)
• Hypothesis (a theoretical, hypothetical explanation of
the observations and measurements)
• Prediction (logical deduction from the hypothesis)
• Experiment (test of all of the above; in the social
sciences, true experiments are often replaced
 Sociology is sub-divided into many specialized fields: - It

includes:

 cultural sociology, social- organizational sociology,

 demographic sociology, sociology of education,

 industrial sociology, sociology of religion,

 rural sociology, urban sociology etc.

 political sociology,

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 1.6 Definition of Rural Sociology
• Rural Sociology is a special field of sociology that consider the social
structure, social process, social dynamics and social control of the rural
society in contrast to urban society.

• Definition of Rural Sociology According to Different Scholars

1. Desai (1978), Rural Sociology is the science of rural society

2. Sanderson: it is the sociology of rural life in the rural environment
3. Bertand : is the study of human relationships in rural environment

• In general, rural sociologists do not study about cattle, poultry, crop,

agricultural implements/tools,

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 but they study about rural people, their way of life, interaction and inter-
relation among them.

 They also deal with the rural people: norms, values; traditions, culture,
ways and methods of production to fulfill their livelihood or to satisfy their
need of life.

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 1.7 Origins of Rural Sociology(RS)

Rural Sociology originated in 1908 and developed in USA

to study and bring recommendation for improvement of the deteriorating
rural social life
The historical background of rural sociology has traced to its early
beginnings in the USA
Rural sociology in this country (USA) was born and developed through
more than half a century in to a distinctive academic field of professional
study

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• The rural sociologist can look to the world as his laboratory and
his field for effective professional action.
• Thus, the main tasks of rural sociology can be:
• Rural Community and Rural Problems:
This includes the characteristics and nature of rural community
and its problems
• Rural Social Life: This includes various aspects of the rural people
• Rural Social Organization
• Religion and Culture in Rural Society
• Social Change and Social Control in Rural Social Setup: It is here
we study the impact of city on rural life.

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 1.8 Importance's of Studying Rural Sociology
• Studying rural sociology is very important because the contribution of
this sector to the overall economic development of the countries is very
tremendous

 In general, the importance of studying rural sociology could be:

To understand the nature and role of rural social organizations like co-

operatives, youth clubs, and self- help groups, etc. in the context of rural

development.

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For framing effective plans, polices or programmes for the
betterment of rural people.
To understand different dimensions of rural culture which
influence actions, attitudes and decision-making of rural
people.
To understand different facets of rural leadership like qualities,
functions, types, methods of locating leaders and their
development functions.
To understand the causes and consequences of rural social change
To find solutions to the rural social problems.
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 1.9 The difference between rural and urban areas
 Rural refers to residence which is characterized by lots of features that
are different from urban setting in terms of economic, social, political,
religious and psychological life.

 In general: Rural communities are usually smaller than urban

communities
 Population density is lower in rural area than urban.
 Rural occupations: Farming, pastoral, petty trading, arts, weaving,
pottery and primary industries.
 Urban Occupations: manufacturing, commercial and administrative
occupations.
 Rural people have cultural simplicity than urban ones

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 Social contacts are greater in quantity, quality and variety in urban than
in rural areas.
 Social classes are fewer in rural area than the urban
 There is more rigidity in caste and class principles in rural areas than in
the urban areas.
 Social infrastructures are better in urban areas than in the rural areas.

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 In General,
Items/features Rural societies Urban societies
Occupation Agricultural Non-agricultural
Weather and season Very important Not so important
Skills Required wide range of skills Required specialized skills
types of family Joint and extended family with large size Small, nuclear family
Size of community Small Medium
Social differences Relatively homogeneous Heterogeneous
Social interaction Few and personal Numerous and mostly
impersonal
Institutions Small and simple Large and complex
Mobility
(social, occupational, and Low High
physical)
Infrastructure Little to moderately developed Well developed
Modern home
amenities Few Many
/facilities/services
Mass media Low High
Participation

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48
CHAPTER TWO
CULTURE

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 At the end of this chapter, students will be able to:
 Explain the concept
 Explain the type

 Describe the characteristics

 Identify Elements
 Explain the function
 Understand some attitudes of cultural variation and cultural change

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