Sociology Introduction

3.  Sociologists do not accept something as a fact because “ everyone knows
it”.
 Information – test – record – analyze – relationship to other data

4. Socius (Latin)
+ sociology
(study of
human association)
logos (Greek)
Society
Social Groups
Social Actions, interactions or relationships
Social Institutions
Social bonds, social processes, social system,
social structure, social life, social phenomena
and so on…

5.  Auguste Comte – French Sociologist
 Herbert Spencer – English Sociologist
 Karl Marx – German Sociologist
 Emile Durkheim - French Sociologist
 Max Weber - German Sociologist
 George Simmal - German Sociologist

6. Society
?

7. Definition
 L.T. Hobhouse (1908) defined society as “tissues of relationships”.
 R.M. Maclver (1937) also defined as “web of social relations which is always
changing”.
 MacIver and Charles Page(1949): “society is a system of usages and
procedures, of authority and mutual aid, of many groupings and divisions, of
controls of human behaviour and of liberties. This ever changing, complex
system we call society.”
 Talcott Parsons (1934) Society—may be regarded as the most general term
referring to the whole complex of relations of man to his fellows.”
 Mike O’Donnell (1997) : “A society consists of individuals belonging to groups
which may vary in size.”

8. Auguste Comte’s Classification
 All societies passed through distinct stages of belief or ideology, evolving
from the lower to the higher stages.”
 His scheme consisted of types of societies namely,
(i) Military society
(ii)Legal Society
(iii)Industrial Society

9. Spencer’s Classification
 Two extremely dissimilar types to classify societies into two categories
namely:
(i) Militant Societies
(ii)Industrial Societies

11. Hunting & Gathering
 Gerhard Lenski pointed out in his “Human Societies”, that it is the oldest
and the simplest type of society is the Hunting and Gathering Society.
 Hunting gathering society relies heavily on hunting wild animals and
gathering food for its survival.
 Example:-
 San people of Kalahari desert in Southern Africa
 Bushmen of South western Africa Hunting And Gathering Societies

12. Characteristics
 Small in Size : These societies consist of very small but scattered groups. The
environment in which they live cannot support a large number of people. So,
their numbers do not exceed 40-50 members.
 Nomadic In Nature : These people are constantly on the move because they
have to leave one area as soon as they have exhausted its food resources
 Not Desire To Acquire Wealth : For two reasons, firstly, no individual can
acquire because there is no wealth. Secondly, there basic norm was sharing.
 Family And Kinship Are The Only Defined Institutions : The only 2
interconnected social institutions which were family and kinship. Family is all
and all for them. Kinship was the basis of these groups as they were related by
ancestry and marriage.

13. Characteristics
 Absence Of Political Institution : Statuses in these societies are
essentially equal and hence the difference between the leader and
followers is not there. Most decisions are made through group discussion.
Warfare is unknown to these people.
 Limited Or No Division Of Labour : There is gender-based division of
Labour but there is no gender inequality as such.
 Constant Need To Face Danger : Some hunters and gatherers constantly
face the danger of extinction in a struggle against adverse environments.
 Simple Religious Belief : Religion is not developed among these people
into unseen spirits that must be taken into account but not necessarily
worshipped.

14. Herding Or Pastoral Societies
 Relatively Larger In Size : In comparison with the hunting and
gathering societies, herding, societies, are larger in size and due to their
technological “invention” of the domesticated animal which can be used
for human food.
 Pastoralism As A Better Productive Strategy : Pastoralism has proved
to be a better productive strategy than hunting and gathering for it
provides an assured food supply and permits the accumulation of surplus
resources.

15. Characteristics
 Beginning of Inequality : Since pastoralism contributes to the accumulation
of surplus resources, some individuals who have better access to surplus,
become more powerful than others.
 Nomadism : Coupled With Trading Herding people, like the hunters and
gathers, are nomadic because of their seasonal need to find sufficient grazing
areas for their herds. Their nomadic way of life often brings pastoralists into
contact with their groups. This helps them to develop trading.
 Pastoralism and Development of Religious Belief : Pastoral people tend to
develop their own religious beliefs. “They commonly believe in a God or Gods
who take an active interest in human affairs, and look after the people who
worship them. Judaism, Christianity and Islam – originated among pastoral
peoples”.

16. Characteristics
Herding Technology Leads To Several Changes : Herding Technology has
led to several social changes among which the following may be noted.
 The herding society tends to place a higher value on their temporary
territories than do the hunting and gathering societies. Disputes over grazing
rights with other herding societies sometimes result in warfare.
 Slavery, unknown in hunting and gathering societies, make its appearance as
captives in war are put to work for their conquerors.

17. Horticultural Societies
 “A horticultural society is a social system based on horticulture, a mode of
production in which digging sticks are used to cultivate small gardens”.
 Came into existence about 4000BC today in sub- Saharan Africa.
 Examples for horticultural societies:
1) Gururumba Tribe in New Guinea
2) Masai people of Kenya Horticultural Societies

18. Characteristics
 Domestication Of Plants : Horticulturists specialize in the
domestication of plants such as wheat, rice etc. More advanced
horticultural societies have metal tools and weapons and not ploughs.
 Slash And Burn Technology :The subsistence strategy of the
horticulturists is “slash and burn” technology .This people clear areas of
land, burn the trees and plants they have cut down, raise crops for 2 or 3
years until the soil is exhausted and then repeat the process.
 Horticulturalists Are Better Settled Than Pastoralists : Unlike the
pastoralists, horticulturalists, are relatively better settled. They develop
settlements that have larger populations and migrate in search of better
conditions

19. Characteristics
 Relatively More Complex Division of Labour :This society assures better
food supply of surplus. Existence of surplus leads to specialization of roles.
 Advanced horticultural societies sometimes consisting of as many as 5000
people support specialists producing and trading with a variety of Horticultural
Societies
 Emergence of Political Institutions :The surplus production allows some
wealthy individuals to become more powerful than others.
 This leads to the emergence of political institutions in the form of
chieftainships. Warfare is more common.
 Horticultural societies are also the first known societies to support the
institution of slavery.

20. Characteristics
 Creation of Relatively Elaborate Cultural Artifacts :These people live
in comparatively permanent settlements, they can create more elaborate
cultural artifacts.
For example, houses, thrones, or large stone sculptures
 Some Rare Practices : Horticulture societies have some rare practices
such as cannibalism, headhunting and human sacrifice. Cannibalism is
eating enemies’ skin as an act of ritual revenge.
 Headhunting is taken as evidence of courage and skill of warrior.
 Human sacrifice coincides with a change in the nature of Horticultural
Societies

21. Agricultural Societies
 An agricultural society focuses on mode of production primarily on
agriculture and production of large fields.
 Based on the invention of the plough around 3000B.C., the agrarian
revolution marked its beginning.
 Use of plough increases the productivity of the land.

22. Characteristics
 Cultivation of Land Through Plough : With the use of the plough
increased productivity and made the increased yield more reliable.
 Combining Irrigation : Techniques with the use of Plough increased
production and ability to renew the soil.
 Size of the agricultural societies is much greater than that of horticultural
and pastoral communities.
 Appearance of cities: The specialists who engage themselves in non
agricultural activities tend to concentrate in some compact places which
ultimately led to the birth of the cities.

23. Characteristics
 Emergence of Elaborate Political Institutions : Agricultural societies
lead to the establishment of more elaborate social institutions.
 Court system of providing justice also emerges.
 Evolution of Distinct Social Classes : Agricultural societies produces
relatively greater wealth, which is unequally shared.
 Two distinct social classes – those who own the land and those who work
on the lands of others- make their appearance.

24. Characteristics
 Emergence of A Clearly Defined Economic Institution :Trade become
more elaborate and money is used as a medium of exchange.
 These developments provide an incentive for the enrichment of
systematic writing which is found only in those societies.
 Religion Becomes A Separate Institution : As societies become more
and more complex, religion requires full-time officials such as priests.
 Warfare And Empire Building : Agricultural societies constantly fight
amongst Agricultural Societies

25. Characteristics
 Enrichment of Culture : More food is produced than required for
subsistence, these societies are able to support people whose sole purpose
is to provide creative ideas to the culture.
 Hence, poets, writers and artists are encouraged to continue their work.
 Revolutionary Transition In The Social Structure : The number of
statuses multiplies, population size increases, cities appear, new
institutions emerge, social classes arise, political and economic inequality
becomes built into the social structure, and culture becomes much more
diversified

26. Industrial Societies
 Industrial mode of production began in England about 250 years ago.
 Industry literal meaning is a classification that refers to a group of
companies that are related in terms of their primary business activities.
 An industrial society is a system in which large number of labour and
machinery is involved in production of goods and services

27. Characteristics
 Industrial Society Is Associated With Industrial Revolution And
Industrialism.
 Industrial revolution transformed much of the Europe and United States
by replacing essentially agriculturally based societies with industrial
societies based on the use of machines and non- animal resources to be
harnessed.
 Industrialism is based on the application of scientific knowledge to the
technology of production, enabling new energy sources to be harnessed.
Industrial Societies

28. Characteristics
 Technology Initiating Vast And Rapid Social Changes : New
technologies such as steam engine, atomic energy tend to bring about
social changes as the economic and other institutions constantly adjust to
altered conditions.
 Larger Societies With Huge Populations : The high level of
productivity of industrial societies further stimulates population growth
with increasing members living in cities and metropolitan areas.
 Populations of these societies often run to tens or hundreds of millions.

29. Characteristics
 Large Scale Division Of Labour : Industrial society creates thousands of
new specialized jobs. In this society statuses of politicians, teachers,
doctors etc could be achieved.
 Losing Importance Of Family And Kinship : Family loses many of its
functions, it loses main responsibility of educating the younger ones.
Kinship ties are also weakened.
 It does not play an important role in unifying and controlling people.

30. Characteristics Of Industrial Societies
 Religion Losing : Its Hold Over The People Religion no longer play an
important role in controlling the behaviour of people.
 The world no longer remains as god-centered world for it is looked upon
as the man-centered world.
 Increasing Importance of Science And Education : Science is looked
upon as a promising and an effective means of socio-economic progress.
 Similarly, education has evolved into an independent and distinct
institution.

31. Characteristics
 Increasing Important Role Of The State : State is increasingly involved
in the economic, educational, military and other activities.
 State as the central power has increased important role in the industrial
society.
 Widening Gap Between The Rich And The Poor : According to Karl
Marx, the rich class which is known as the exploiting class, and poor class
as exploited class.
 So, there is a widening gap between the rich and the poor.
 Spread of Heterogeneous Culture :New lifestyles and values create a
much more heterogeneous culture which spreads its influence far and
wide.

32. Characteristics of Societies
 Society is abstract
 Likeness and difference in society
 Cooperation and conflict in society
 Society is a process and not a product
 Society as a system of stratification

34. Society and Individual
 Focus of all sociological investigations
 Whether the hen came first or the egg?
 Individual came first or the society in which he lived
 Two opposing theories:
 The social contract theory (Hobbes, Rousseau, lock and Adam Smith)
 The social organismic theory (Comte, Spencer, Durkheim)

35. Individual and Society
we are always influencing and being influenced by others

36.  The social contract theory
 Theory of social order – 17th and 18th
Centauries
 Throws light on the origin of the
society
 All men are born free and equal
 Individual proceeds society
 Society came into existence because of
an agreement entered into by the
individuals.
 Argued that in the pre-social state of
nature people enjoyed absolute
personal freedom.
 Human beings apart from society
 Individual and society were separable
 More importance to individual
 The social organismic theory
 The analogy that the human society is
like the living organism
 Passes through the process of birth,
youth, maturity, old age and death like
an organism
 It discounts almost entirely the role of
the individual in social life

37. Individual as a person
 R.E. Park (1921) : The Person is an individual who has status. We come into
the world as individual. We acquire status and become persons.

38. Individual within society
 There would be no society if there were no people talking to one another,
acting and interacting, cooperating with one another.
 Each society has its own special set of rules, its own customs and
traditions, its own set of values and beliefs, and each must teach its
members to fit into the society.

39. Views on relationship between
individual and society
 Functionalist view
 Interactionist view
 Culture and personality view

40. Functionalist view
 Influences of such institutions as the family, school and workplace

41. Interactionist view
 Interactionist model of relation between Individual and Society
The self
I
(Subject)
---------------
Me
(Object)
Society (others
family)
Neighborhood,
schools , etc.

42. Culture and personality view
 Both the above views are incomplete
 In reality, it is not society or individual but it is society and individual
which helps in understanding the total reality.
 Thus, to conclude, it can be stated that the relationship between society
and individual is not one-sided. Both are essential for the comprehension
of either.
 Both go hand in hand, each is essentially dependent on the other.
 Both are interdependent on each other.

44. Community
 It is used for a collection of people who do related kinds of work. (Teacher,
doctor, Social Worker)
 To denote a collection of people who share something in common
(Christian, Hindu, Muslim )
 Geminschaft - As an organic, natural kind of social collectivity whose
members are bound together by a sense of belonging, created out of
everyday contacts covering the whole range of human activities (F.
Tonnies)

45. Definition
 According to Bogardus (1952), “ a community is a social group with some
degree of we-feeling and living in a given area”.
 For Dotson (1991), “ a community is a spatial or territorial unit of social
organization in which people have a sense of identity and a feeling of
belonging”.

46. Characteristics
 A grouping of people
 A delimited geographical area or locality (not much applicable to modern
communities)
 A common culture and a social system which organizes their activities
 Consciousness among the members about their unity and a sense of
belongingness (we-feeling)
 Act collectively in an organized manner
 A division of labour into specialized an interdependent functions.

47. Rural Community
 Village and is dependent natural environment

48. characteristics
The ten essential characteristics of the rural community are as follows:
 Size of the Community - small
 Density of Population
 Agriculture is the Main Occupation
 Close Contact with Nature
 Homogeneity of Population
 Social Stratification
 Social Interaction
 Social Mobility
 Social Solidarity
 Joint Family.

49. Urban Community
 It includes the towns, cities, and metros with a
specific way of life.

50. Statutory Town
 The first category of urban units is known as Statutory Towns.
 These towns are notified under law by the concerned State/UT
Government and have local bodies like municipal corporations,
municipalities, municipal committees, etc. Irrespective of their
demographic characteristics.

51. Urban Agglomeration (UA)
 An urban agglomeration is a continuous urban spread constituting a town and its
adjoining outgrowths (OGs), or two or more physically contiguous towns together
with or without outgrowths of such towns.
 An Urban Agglomeration must consist of at least a statutory town and its total
population (i.e. all the constituents put together) should not be less than 20,000 as per
the 2001 Census.

52. Out Growth (OG)
 An Out Growth (OG) is a viable unit such as a village or a hamlet or an enumeration
block made up of such village or hamlet and clearly identifiable in terms of its
boundaries and location.
 Some of the examples are railway colony, university campus, port area, military
camps, etc., which have come up near a statutory town outside its statutory limits but
within the revenue limits of a village or villages contiguous to the town.

53. Total Population in India
1. The total urban population in the country as per Census 2011 is more than 377
million constituting 31.16% of the total population.
2. Class I UAs/Towns:
 The UAs/Towns are grouped on the basis their population in Census.
 The UAs/Towns which have at least 1,00,000 persons as population are categorised as
Class I UA/Town.
 At the Census 2011, there are 468 such UAs/Towns. The corresponding number in
Census 2001 was 394.
3. 264.9 million persons, constituting 70% of the total urban population, live in
these Class I UAs/Towns.
The proportion has increased considerable over the last Census. In the remaining
classes of towns the growth has been nominal.

54. Million Plus UAs/Towns
• Out of 468 UAs/Towns belonging to Class I category,
• 53 UAs/Towns each has a population of one million or above each. Known as
Million Plus UAs/Cities, these are the major urban centres in the country.
• 160.7 million persons (or 42.6% of the urban population) live in these Million
Plus UAs/Cities.
• 18 new UAs/Towns have been added to this list since the last Census.

55. Mega Cities
 Among the Million Plus UAs/Cities, there are three very large UAs with more than 10
million persons in the country, known as Mega Cities.
 These are Greater Mumbai UA (18.4 million), Delhi UA (16.3 million) and Kolkata
UA (14.1
million).

56. According to the census of India 2011
 Total no. of Villages in India is 5,93,615
 Total no. of towns in India is 7,742
 Total no. of tehsils in India is 5,767 and
 Total no. of districts in India is 640 in
 28 states and 7 union territories of the country.

57. Number of UAs/Towns and
Out Growths (OGs)
Sl. No. Type of Towns/UAs/OGs
Number of towns
2011 Census 2001 Census
1. Statutory Towns 4,041 3,799
2. Census Towns 3,894 1,362
3.
Urban Agglomerations
475 384
4. Out Growths 981 962

58. Rural community Urban Community
Population is less than 5000
More than 75% of the people are engaged in
agriculture and allied works.
Density of the population is less than
400/sq.km.
Homogeneity
All places with a municipality, corporation,
cantonment board or notified town area
committee, etc.
Population is more than 5000
More than 75% of the people are engaged in
non-agricultural activities.
Density of the population is more than
400/sq.km.
Heterogeneity

59. Tribal Community
D.N. Majumdar (1961) defines tribes
“as a collection of families or group of families bearing common name,
members of which occupy the same territory, speak the same language
and observe certain taboos regarding marriage, profession and
occupation and have and developed a well-assessed system of
reciprocity and mutuality of obligations.”

60. Characteristics of Tribal Community
 Common Name
 Common Territory
 Common Language
 Common Culture
 Endogamy
 Political Organization
 Primary Occupation

61.  T.B Naik has given the following features of tribes in Indian context
 A tribe should have least functional interdependence within the
community.
 It should be economically backward (i.e. primitive means of exploiting
natural resources, tribal economy should be at an underdeveloped stage
and it should have multifarious economic pursuits).
 There should be a comparative geographical isolation of its people.
 They should have a common dialect.
 Tribes should be politically organized and community panchayat should
be influential.
 A tribe should have customary laws.

62. Difference between Society and Community
Society Community
 Society is web of relationships
 A definite geographic area is not an
essential aspect
 Society is abstract
 “We-feeling” may or may not be present
 Society is wider. There can be more than
one community in a society
 The objective and interest of society are
more extensive and varied
 Society involves both likeness and
difference
o Community consists of a group of
individuals living in a particular area with
some degree of “we-feeling”
o It always denotes a definite
locality/geographic area
o Community is concrete
o “community sentiment” is an essential
element
o Community is smaller than society
o Objectives and interests are
comparatively less extensive and varied
o Likeness is important than difference in
community

63. Social Organization
• Ogburn and Nimkoff have defined organization is an articulation of different
parts which perform various functions.
• It is an active group device for getting something done.
• Eliott and Merrill says, organization is a state of being, a condition in which
the various institutions in a society are functioning in accordance with their
recognized or implied purposes.
• According to H.M Johnson, organization refers to an aspect of Interaction
systems.

64. Association
 Modern complex societies is the associations, which are organised to
promote specific interests
 Independently
 Through conflict
 Cooperative pursuit

65. Association
 MacIver defines, "An association as a group organized for the pursuit of an
interest or group of interests in common."
 Associations may be of various types including kinship, religious, cultural,
recreational, philanthropic, vocational, political groups.
 Primarily political associations like the state and its coercive agency, the
government are part of society

66. Association
 A group of people
 People must be organized i.e., there must be certain rules for their
conduct in the group
 Common purpose of specific nature to pursue
 Family, church, trade union, music club
 Association may be formed permanent or temporary or on the basis of
power
 Sovereign – state: semi-sovereign – university : non-sovereign- club: etc.,

67. Difference between society and association
Society Association
 Older since man appeared on the earth
 The aim of society is general
 Society may be organized or unorganized
 Membership of society is compulsory
 Society is marked by both cooperation
and conflict
 System of relationship
 Nature
 Later stage when man learnt to organize
 The aim of association is particular
 Organized
 Man may live without being a member of
any association at all
 Based on cooperation alone
 Group of people
 Artificial

68. Difference between Community and Association
Community Association
 Community is whole
 Natural growth
 Membership is compulsory
 Community sentiment is an essential
feature of community
 Office is not necessary to constitute a
community
 Works through customs and traditions
 Association is partial
 Association exist within community
 Artificial creation
 Membership is limited significance
 Membership is voluntary
 Sentiment is not of association
 An association has got its office bearers
who manage its affairs
 Works mostly written laws and rules