Introduction to

SOCIOLOGY (SOCY 111)

COMPILED BY ROSETTE MAL AL ANE
Chapter 1
WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?

Sociology is about the scientific study of human social

interaction and the social forces which shape much of
human behavior.

What do sociologists study?

Interaction and social forces

Organizations and Institutions

Social actions and patterns

SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

The Sociological Imagination, a concept

established by C. Wright Mills (1916-1962)
provides a framework for understanding
our social world that far surpasses any
common sense notion we might derive
from our limited social experiences.

In Simple terms:
The sociological imagination enables you
to look at your life and your own personal
issues and relate them to other people,
history, or societal structures.
CONCEPTS

A concept is an abstract idea, plan or invention in mind. It

has features and is used in reasoning.

Concepts form part of a THEORY

 e.g. Einstein’s Special Relativity Theory – Space and
Time

 Concepts are the building blocks of our thinking and

beliefs.
Concepts can be observable objects or ideas that rely on
conceptualization and abstraction. The word without
thinking or representation is only a placeholder.

If I say MOSFET, it may mean nothing to you unless you

have some experiential linkage to it. Whereas if I say Chair,
you might start thinking about Office chair, kitchen chair
etc.
CHAPTER 2

SOCIAL THEORY AND PERSPECTIVES

Emile Durkheim defined social facts as ideas, feelings and ways of behaving that
posses the remarkable property of existing outside the consciousness of the
individual

Sociology was influenced by these shifts :

• Enlighten (1650-1800)
• French Revolution (1879)
• Industrial Revolution

Social science vs Sociology

• Social theory: cannot provide empirical evidence
• Sociological theory: can provide empirical evidence
Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406)
• Considered one of the first sociologists – Tunis, North Africa
• Founder of “science of human association”
• Sought to discover logical based actual events
Dilemma of going against religious absolutism in
favor of:
• Relativistic theory: Particularity and subjectivity
• Materialistic theory: Actual physical phenomena
• Secular theory: Non-religious
Auguste Comte (1798-1857)

• Conceptualized sociology as a social discipline

– social physics
• Limit theory to empirical proof
• Positivism – valid knowledge
• Philosophy discredited: human experience too
complex
Comte has 3 stages:

1. Theological stage
 Supernatural powers
 “One” or “many gods”

2. Philosophical stage

• People start thinking in an abstract way

• Meaning of life, good vs evil
3. Scientific stage
• Reason and observation – facts and proof
• Final phase of knowledge – positivism
Emile Durkheim
• Saw suicide as a social fact
• Value, norms & physical things = social facts
• Levels of integration and regulation
• Social cohesion
Social integration and
Social regulation
EGOISM (low – • Detachment of social ties
individual)
ANORMIE (low – • Disruption of ties = dramatic
structure) change
• High regulation of behavior –
ALTRUISM (high+)
positive
FATALISM (high-) • High regulation of behavior
THE FUNCTIONALIST
Is an idea or viewpoint that if all the
systems in a society are FUNCTIONING in
harmony it will remain healthy.

Functional prerequisites
v Adaptation
To survive, any society needs the basics of
food and shelter. Having these gives any
society control over its environment. A
society needs a functioning economy to
provide this.

v Pattern maintenance
Institutions reaffirm the essential values
needed for a society to function.
v Integration
All societies need a legal system that mediates
conflict and protests the social system from
breaking down.

v Goal attainment
All societies must provide collective goals of
some sort for its members to aspire it.
Governments set goals such as New Labour
setting a target of 50% of school graduates to
attend university. To facilitate such goals,
governments provide resources, laws and other
institutional mechanisms.
STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM

Structural functionalism is a sociological theory that views

society as a system of interconnected parts, each with a specific
function. The theory focuses on the relationship between the
different parts of society and how they work together to maintain
the stability of the whole

According to structural functionalism, society is made up of

institutions such as the family, education, religion and the
economy, and each institution has a specific function that helps
to keep society running smoothly. For example, the family
provides for the emotional and physical needs of its members,
while education teaches the next generation of workers and
leaders.
LATENT FUNCTION

A latent function is a function that is not in the

intended or primary purpose of an institution
or system, but which nonetheless plays an
important role in its overall functioning. Latent
functioning are often hidden or not
immediately obvious but have a significant
impact on society.
An example of a latent function is the way that
hospitals provide emotional support to patients
and their families. The primary function of a
hospital is to provide medical care, but the
emotional support that patients and families
receive can be just as important to their
recovery and wellbeing.
MANIFEST FUNCTION

A manifest function is a function that is the intended or primary

purpose of an institution or system. Manifest functions are obvious
and readily apparent, and they are often the focus of attention for
those who operate the institution or system.
For example, the manifest function of a school is to teach academic
subjects like math and science, the manifest function of a hospital is
to provide medical care.
DYSFUNCTIONS

In structural functionalism, dysfunctions are the

negative consequences or breakdowns that can
occur when an institution or system does not
function as it is intended to. Dysfunctions can
range from minor disruptions to major crises.

For example, if a school is underfunded, it may

not be able to provide quality education to its
students, which could lead to school
dysfunctions such as increased crime rates or
reduced economic productivity.
MANIFEST AND LATENT DYSFUNCTIONS

MANIFEST DYSFUNCTIONS are a part’s anticipated disruptions

to social order. Anticipated disruptions that seem to go hand
in hand with community wide sporting events include traffic
jams, closed streets, piles of waste and a shortage of clean
public toilets.

In contrast, LATENT DYSFUNCTIONS are unanticipated or

unintended disruptions. Sometimes fans may get passionate
about the event or a player and disrupt proceedings such as
running across the field or starting fights in the stands. It
could also have the unintended effect of lowering worker
productivity, when people miss class or work the day of the
event or the day after.
SPORTING EVENT FUNCTIONS

Three manifest functions readily come to mind –

The sporting event functions: (1) as a marketing and public relations event for the city
and for corporate sponsors (2) as an occasion to plan activities with family and
friends, and (3) as an experience that draws the community together as spectators.

At the same time, several unanticipated or latent functions are associated with
sporting events. First, such an event puts the spotlight on public transportation
systems as people take buses or ride trains to avoid traffic jams. Second, such events
function to break down barriers across neighborhoods.
CONFLICT THEORY

Conflict theory is a sociological

perspective that was developed by Karl
Marx and later refined by Max Weber
and C. Wright Mills. It argues that
society is shaped by the competition for
resources and power between different
groups. Conflict theorists believe that
the unequal distribution of resources
and power leads to conflict between
different groups. They also believe that
this conflict is a major source of social
change and it can lead to social
progress. Conflict theory has been used
to analyze a wide range of social
phenomena, including crime, gender
inequality and racial discrimination.
Conflict theory continued…

The conflict perspective focuses on power struggles and inequalities that exist within society. It
examines how different groups, such as the rich and the poor or men and women, compete for
resources and power.
Dominant groups explain their advantaged position vis-à-vis the disadvantaged group using a
Façade of legitimacy – an explanation that members of dominant groups give to justify the social
arrangements that benefit them over others. On close analysis, however, this explanation turns
out to be based on ‘misleading arguments’.

Conflict theorists ask this basic question: Who benefits from a particular social arrangement and
at whose expense?
DEFINATIONS RELATING TO THE PERSPECTIVES

1. Class consciousness – the awareness that people have of their own

position within a social class system.

2. Bourgeoisie – refers to a class of people who are characterized by their

ownership of capital, such as property, factories or businesses. It is
the dominant class.

3. Proletariat – a class of people who sell their labour in order to survive.

Often seen as the class that is exploited by the bourgeoisie.
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
• Directs sociologists to consider the symbols and details
of everyday life, what these symbols mean, and how
people interact with each other.
• Symbolic interactionism traces its origins to Max Weber’s
assertion (individuals act according to their interpretation
of the meaning of their word)
• American philosopher George H. Mead introduced this
perspective introduced this perspective to American
sociology in the 1920s. According to the symbolic
interactionist perspective, people attach meanings to
symbols, and then they act according to their subjective
interpretation of these symbols.
Symbolic interactionist perspective….

v Words require intention and interpretation

v Anything can serve as symbol as long as it refers to something beyond itself.
v Written music serves as an example.

NEGOTIATED ORDER
When we interact with others there is a system of expected behaviors and shared
meanings in place to guide the interaction.

SHARED SYMBOLS
Symbols – any kind of object that people can assign a name, meaning or value to. E.g
phone, cars, facial expressions
MAX WEBER

Social structure = meaningful social action

THREE TYPES OF SOCIAL STRUCTURE
1. Association and affectual social action
People come together and associate with one another when feelings
and sentiments are shared. Affinity, love and care. This is a very
rudimentary and basic form of social interaction.

2. Community and traditional social action

The kind of social action found in any close knit social group going
back to ancient times. Actions were defined by “habit” and did not
require “much thought” or reflection. Traditional = the way things
have always been done.
3. Society and rational social
action

When human interactions

become more regular and
complex, society becomes
increasingly characterized by
rational social action. Our social
actions have a specific aim or
goal.

THUS, we provide reasons or

rationale for what we do
Two types:
Ø Instrumental rationality
Ø
AUTHORITY AS “HOPE”
• Rational and legal authority
• Most effective form of social regulation in society
• Bureaucracy

2. Traditional authority
• Pre-industrial society; less complex
• Personal loyalty, gerontocracy
• Community, traditional leader, patriarchy

3. Charismatic authority
• Special, superhuman and extraordinary features
• “Beacon of light in a disenchanted world and is treated with god-like
status”
CHAPTER 3
SOCIAL RESEARCH

Research is the systematic collecting of information

to test an existing theory or to generate a new one.
Theory + Research = interdependent and
continuous

Social research
People are complex (complicated) therefore various
methods must be used when doing social research.
Knowledge and reality chains are used because
studying people is challenging. Regardless,
sociologists are committed to: Objectivity (value
free), Honesty (your work or that of others),
Skepticism (scientific verification), Openness (critical
thinking)
POSIVITISM Oldest and natural sciences
OR Systematic observation of behavior – independent structures
“SCIENTIFI External structures influence (shape) behavior
C”
SOCIOLOG Persons = self-centered and rational
Y Not get involved with participants
Qualitative (predetermined questions)

POSIVITISM Knowledge: how people act and react – predictions

&
OBJECTIVIS Research method: observation, structured interviews
(surveys)
M
People: affected by external causes – rational, homogeneous

Reason for study: generalization and predictions

INTERPRETIVISM & SOCIAL
CONSTRUCTIONISM

Reality constructed throughinteraction

between people
Qualitative
Behavior is unpredictable – not only study from
‘outside’
Aware of ourselves and relationships to others
Knowledge: Verstehen, understanding and
interpretation
Reason for study: understanding
Research method: focus groups, interviews – in-depth
and semi-structured
People: aware of ourselves and relationships to
others. Deliberate choices based on context.
Behavior is unpredictable.
CRITICAL OR ADVOCACY/ PARTICIPATORY
All research = value-driven or political
Qualitative research – action research
Knowledge: value-driven or political. Own knowledge, yet only
one version
Reason for study: change the world, democracy and social justice
Research method: combination of methods. Political debate and
discussion
People: Dominant and marginalized groups
Meta theory Theoretical paradigm Theorist

Positivism Functionalism Emile Durkheim

Auguste Comte

Interpretivism Symbolic interactionism George Herbert Mead

Max Weber(Verstehen)

Conflict theory Marxism Karl Marx

Feminism Feminists
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

• Dependent or outcome variable(DV):

Depends on the independent variable (outcomes or
results)
• Independent or predictor variable(IV):
Influence or affect outcomes or results

Hypothesis
Predictions about the expected outcomes or
differences, relationships or associations between
IV and DV
v Null hypothesis: no difference or no linear
correlation
v Alternative hypothesis: statistically significant
difference or statistically significant linear
correlation
Examples Hypothesis: Dependent Independent We use
how long you variable: your variable: samples for
sleep the test score hours of social
night before sleep the research
influences night before
your test
score the
next day
SAMPLING METHODS

Probability sampling methods

ü Simple random sampling
ü Cluster sampling
ü Systematic sampling
ü Stratified random sampling

Non-probability sampling methods

ü Convenience sampling
ü Snowball sampling
ü Non-probability sampling
ü Quota sampling
Probability sampling methods
• 1. Simple random sampling
• Random selection of a subset of population
• Equal chances of getting selected
• 2. Systematic sampling
• Selecting a sample based on a system of
intervals
• 3. Stratified sampling
• Divided into subgroups (strata)
• Homogeneous groups (same characteristics)
• 4. Cluster sampling
• Divided into clusters
Quantitati Advocates for positivism and objectivism
ve Dismisses interpretivism and objectivism
research
Emphasis: deduction, confirmation of theory and
hypothesis testing
Facts, patterns and extrapolations

Qualitativ Rejects positivism and objectivism

e Emphasis: language and context
research
Advocates for interpretivism and social constructionism

Data gathering and data analysis are closely linked

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH SAMPLING METHODS
Non-probability sampling methods

1. Purposive sampling
Specific situation with specific people

2. Convenience sampling
Convenience of availability

3. Snowball sampling
Difficult to find, interconnected group.
You rely on your participants to lead you to
other participants
 Qualitative Who will
Ethical
research: access to the Anonymity
considerations
analysis data?

Basic Social
Science
Confidentiality Privacy BaSSREC Research
Ethics
Committee
Anonymity : will be observed by choosing your own fictious names/ I
will assign a fictious name to you before the interview starts.

Confidentiality : will include the use of pseudonyms/codes for

participants, organizations and locations. It involves not disclosing
any information gained from an interviewee deliberately or
accidentally.

Privacy : will be ensured by not probing unnecessarily if you do not

wish to discuss particular matters.
CHAPTER 4
CULTURE, SOCIOLISATION AND IDENTITY

According to sociologists, culture consists of

the values, beliefs, systems of language,
communication, and practices that people
share in common and that can be used to
define them as a collective

Ways culture has been used:

• The ‘old’ & ‘new’ ideas of culture
• The old (geographical, checklist of defined
attributes)
• The new contemporary S.A (culture no
longer defined by geography)

Patterns of culture vary from place to place,

Socialization: understanding & internalizing the
norms, values and expectations of behavior that
we carry throughout our lives.

Identity: socialized part of self that comes in

meanings that defines who we are based on our
position in society.
It is through socialization that identity is
formed.

Ideas of culture in structural functionalism

Ø Individual guided by norms and values
Ø Order and stability in society
Ø Members of society are injected with the
attitudes, values, beliefs and norms that will
allow them to assume and successfully fulfill
the roles of full and productive citizens.
SYMBOLIC Behavior determined by the meaning attributed to varying situations
INTERACTIONI
ST ON
CULTURE Involves learning shared meanings

Symbols. E.g language (words stand for objects, behaviors or places),

clothes (carry meaning for the one wearing them)

CONFLICT Unequal power and access

PERSPECTIVE
ON CULTURE Society is not equal (groups privileged more than others), South
Africa one of the most unequal countries
Apartheid conflated race and culture

E.g being black or white meant it was assumed you carried with you a
particular way of acting and doing.
POST-COLONIAL PERSPECTIVE ON CULTURE
• Culture is colonized and previously colonized spaces worked to
maintain hierarchies of privilege
Post-colonial spaces as hybrid
• E.g biomedical + traditional healers to deal with illness

Non-material culture
• Symbols and behaviors we use daily (beliefs, values, norms,
symbols and language)
Material culture
• Things that accompany these practices (clothing, food, churches)
MULTICULTURALISM

The problem of ethnocentrism

• Evaluating others from the view point of your culture instead of
understanding the different set of norms.
Solution to ethnocentrism = cultural relativism
• Culture judged within its own terms
• E.g Christianity and polygamy vs traditional African communities
THE SOCIAL Development of language through signs and symbols
SELF (GEORGE
HERBET
MEAD)

Play vs Game Play: role taking/pretend to be significant others (mom,

stage superman)
Game: games with rules and roles/ understanding and
relating to generalized others
“I” and “Me” I : unpredictable, creative, selfish, independent, acts
stage present, create ME
Me : reflective, how did I do, based on others response
THE LOOKING- Seeking to understand who we are and how we
GLASS SELF
(CHARLES fit in
COOLEY)
Seek to understand what will happen to us
Self formation informed by how others view us
SOCIAL
CONSTRUCTIVI Society is a human product
SM (PETER
BERGER &
THOMAS
LUCKMAN)
Three stages: Externalization – society is a human product
Objectification – society is an objective reality
Internalization – man is a social product
STRUCTURATI
ON THEORY
(ANTHONY
GIDDENS)

Structure + Structure: way social life is patterned and organised

agency =
human
development Agency: the ability of the individual to make choices

AGENTS OF The family

SOCIALISATIO The school
N
The peer group
The mass media
Work and employment
CHAPTER 5
Gender

• Sex – biological XX or XY (male/female = sex)

• Intersex – intersex individuals possess sex characteristics that
do not conform to typical binary notions of male or female.

TRANSGENDER VS TRANSSEXUAL

• Transgender – a person whose sense of personal identity and

gender does correspond with their birth sex
• Transsexual – a person who permanently acts the part of and
completely identifies with the opposite sex.
Gender
dimensions:
• Personal &
social
• Plural SOCIAL
• Relational CONSTRUCTION
OF GENDER
• Dynamic
• Active project
• Gender and
power relations

The way people

interact daily
with established
view of how men
and women
“should behave”
GENDER is personal & social…
GENDER is pluralistic…
• Role of socialization agents
• Rejects generalizations about
(family, media, peer groups,
gender identity
churches)
• Masculinities and femininities –
• Active and passive role of an
pluralistic
individual
• Personal construction and
reconstruction of gender
identity through interaction
with external social factors

GENDER is relational…
• How do we construct our
gender identity in
relation to one another?
• Men versus women, as
well as men in relational
to one another
GENDER is dynamic… GENDER is active
• Changes over time and project…
place • Constantly under
• The idea that gender can construction
change and evolve over • Active in constructing your
time own definition of your
• For example, someone may gender identity
initially identify as one
gender but later come to
identify as another.

GENDER and power

relations
• Unequal power distributions
between women and men
• Patriarchy = men > women
• Central to gender
FEMINISM

The belief in full social, economic and political

equality for women.

RADICAL FEMINISM
Radical feminism is a perspective within
feminism that calls for a radical re-ordering in
which male supremacy is eliminated in all social
and economic contexts.

Men = advantaged by gender exploitation & to

blame for inequality
Women = morally superior – matriarchy

Men and women are the same but subjected to

social constructions
MARXIST FEMINISM

Marxist feminism analyzes the ways in which women are exploited

through capitalism and the individual ownership of private property.
Men & women from working class can work together.
Communist society = gender inequality will disappear

LIBERAL FEMINISM

Liberal feminism seeks equality for women within the existing social
structure, holding that women lack power because as a group they
are denied equal opportunity to compete and succeed in the male-
dominated economic and political arenas.
Both men and women are disadvantaged – “neither can lead full,
rich lives”
ECO-FEMINISM

Eco-feminism is a movement that sees a connection between the exploitation

and degradation of the natural world and the subordination and oppression of
women.
Focus on “femininity” (soft, harmonious)
Women dominated by patriarch; nature dominated by culture = origin based
on similar world view

CONSERVATIVE FEMINISM

Supports traditional view – “pro-family”

More important struggles – intimacy, to be mother and wife
Gender differences are positive, thus supports role of mother as opposed to
breadwinner
BLACK FEMINISM

Black feminism considers how black women are oppressed by the patriarchy
but also by capitalism and racism.
Black women + men struggled for civil rights
US and UK = black women’s position not acknowledged

NEW FEMINISM

New feminism holds that women should be valued in their role as child
bearers, that women are individuals with equal worth as men, and that they
should be equal, while accepting the differences between the sexes.
Emphasis on “differences” between women as opposed to one meta-narrative
INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM

Intersectional feminism takes into account

the many different ways each women
experiences discrimination.
Not only about race and gender – also class,
disability, sexuality
Tension between unified and diverse
experiences.

QUEER THEORY

Those who identify as queer are not united

by a unitary identity but only to their
opposition to disciplining, normalizing
MASCULINITY STUDIES

South African context: negative perceptions about men have to be

addressed
Cases of violence against women should not be generalized for all
men
Men have always been studied as the ‘norm’
Men’s relations to women, according to men, received little
attention

PATRIARCHY
Patriarchy and power is a key theme from feminist perspective
Can be defined as power men have over women
More precisely, the power certain men have over women and men
Family context: a father (decision-maker) = patriarch
TYPES OF PATRIARCHY

Private patriarchy – domestic sphere (control by the father)

Public patriarchy – power in the public domain

Dual patriarchy – combined power of colonial administrators and

husbands/fathers in colonized countries
South Africa – dominant black masculinities
MALE EXPERIENCES

Majority of men are not perpetrators of violence nor present

themselves as powerful
On individual level men do not see themselves as powerful;

Hegemonic masculinity = dominant expression of masculinity

Regarded as ‘ideal type’ – employed, married, being heterosexual,
father

Complicit masculinity = not have all aspects of hegemonic masculinity

Sympathetic to women but support status quo

Marginal masculinity = interlinked with class and race

E.G black male in white dominated sports in US.
Subordinated masculinity = relations between men (dominance and
subordination)
Homosexual men subordinated in relation to heterosexual men
Less masculine men

IS MASCULINITY IN CRISIS ?
“The feminist project empowered women, but did it in the process
emasculate men?”
In South Africa: men struggle with finding their place in democratic
SA
Men are portrayed as enemy
Use violence to reclaim power
High rates of unemployment made men vulnerable
MEN’S SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

Two types:

Reactive, antifeminist –
committed to restoration of
male power
New Men’s Movements –
profeminist and committed to
gender justice
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

All the work on these PowerPoint (pptx) slides

have been compiled by I (Rosette Malalane)
The work is 15% textbook content, 30% content
from Lecture slides and 55% my own personal
content which I have researched profusely from
different sources to make this module easier.
I hope everything was clear and easy to
navigate.

THANK YOU!