Study Guide in Sociology

Summary:

This study guide in sociology provides an overview of the discipline, its origins, components of culture, social structure, social institutions, attitudes towards cultural variation, and international organizations. Sociology is the scientific study of human societies and social behaviour. The origins of sociology can be traced back to thinkers like Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber.

Culture has both non-material and material components, which include social norms, values, knowledge, artifacts, and technology. Attitudes towards cultural variation include ethnocentrism, xenocentrism, and cultural relativism. Culture is transmitted through enculturation, acculturation, and assimilation.

Social structure refers to the organization of society into predictable relationships, consisting of elements such as statuses, social roles, groups, social stratification, and social institutions. Social institutions are interrelated systems of social roles and norms organized around important social needs or functions, such as family, mass media, government, school, economy, and religion.

The United Nations is an international organization established to preserve international peace and foster international cooperation. Other regional and international organizations mentioned in the study guide include the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).

Excerpt:

STUDY GUIDE IN SOCIOLOGY
Sociology – the scientific study of human societies and social behaviour.

ORIGINS OF SOCIOLOGY

• Auguste Comte
   the father of Sociology
   Coined the term sociology and suggested the use of positivism (applying a scientific approach to the social world) – but he did not utilize this approach himself
• Herbert Spencer
   another social philosopher viewed societies as evolutionary
   he coined the term survival of the fittest and became known for social Darwinism
• Karl Marx
   founder of the conflict perspective, he believed that class conflict (- the struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie) was the key to human history
• Emile Durkheim
   studied the social factors that underline suicide and found that the level of social integration, the degree to which people are tied to their social group, was a key social factor in suicide.
   Central to his studies was the idea that human behaviour cannot be understood simply in individual terms but must be understood within the larger context in which it occurs.