Final Lecture Notes- Social Science

Subject: Social Science
Topic: Final Lecture Notes
Subject Code: HUM 4301
Teacher Name: Mohammad Akhteruddin

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Lecture 3: Socialization and Social Institutions

Socialization: Socialization is a process of becoming a social being. Humans learn the expectations of society through socialization. Socialization is different based on race, gender and class. In other words, it is the long and complicated processes of social interactions through which a child learns the intellectual, physical, and social skills needed to function as a member of society.

According to Margaret Mead, socialization is an objective view of an individual in a society.

Emile Durkheim defined socialization as a collective representation. 

Importance of Socialization:

·         Everyone is new according to its position in society

·         Society teaches norms, rules, values and various human qualities to the people of the society

·         Through socialization cultural activities, norms, rules, and values transfer from generation to generation

·         Socialization defines accepted behavior in a society

·         It is informal instruction system

·         It is voluntary activity 

·         Socialization gives a sense of self-identity

Socialization as a social control

Socialization and Development

Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929)

One of the early sociologists, Cooley used the phrase “looking-glass self” to describe the three stage process through which each of us develops a sense of self.

First, we imagine how our actions appear to others.

Second, we imagine how other people judge these actions.

Finally, we make some sort of self-judgment based on the presumed judgments of others.

Cooley thinks that although our perceptions are not always correct, what we believe is more important in determining our behaviour than is what is real.

George Herbert Mead (1863–1931)

Mead beliefs that the self becomes the sum total of our beliefs and feelings about ourselves. The self is composed of two parts, the I and the me.

The I portion of the self wishes to have free expression, to be active and spontaneous. The I wishes to be free of the control of others and to take the initiative in situations. It is the part of the individual that is unique and distinctive.

The me portion of the self is made up of those things learned through the socialization process from family, peers, school, and so on. The me makes normal social interaction possible, whereas the I prevents it from being mechanical and totally predictable.

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)

Freud, an influential psychologist, tries to explain development in three ways: the id, the superego, and the ego.

The id consists of the drives and instincts that Freud believed every human being inherits but which, for the most part, remain unconscious.
The superego represents society’s norms and moral values as learned primarily from our parents.

The ego, which tries not only to mediate in the eternal conflict between the id and the superego but also to find socially acceptable ways for the id’s drives to be expressed

Erik H. Erikson (1902–1994)

 

Summary of Socialization and Development

Cooley and Mead saw the individual and society as partners. They were symbolic interactionists and, as such, believed that the individual develops a self solely through social relationships—that is, through interaction with others. They believed that all our behaviors, our attitudes, even our ideas of self arise from our interactions with other people. Social forces rather than genetic factors shape the individual.

Freud, on the other hand, tended to picture the individual and society as enemies.

Erikson presented something of a middle position. He thought of the individual as progressing through a series of stages of development that express internal urges(wishes) yet are greatly influenced by societal and cultural factors.

Social Institution

It is a system of controls that extends beyond personal relations. This is the bond of present and future. This is more than a group and a set of procedures. In another words, the way for accomplishing the basic needs of any society is the social institution.

Important Social Institutions

Sociologists usually speak of five areas of society in which basic needs have to be fulfilled: the family sector, the education sector, the economic sector, the religious sector, and the political sector. For each of these areas, social groups and associations carry out the goals and meet the needs of society.

Using the family as an example, we can see the difference between the concept of group and the concept of institution. A group is a collection of specific, identifiable people. An institution is a system for organizing standardized patterns of social behavior. In other words, a group consists of people, and an institution consists of actions. For example, when sociologists discuss a family (say the Karim’s family), they are referring to a particular group of people. When they discuss the family, they are referring to the family as an institution—a cluster of statuses, roles, values, and norms that organize the standardized patterns of behavior that we expect to find within family groups. Thus, the family as Bangladeshi institution typically embodies several master statuses: those of husband, wife, and, possibly, father, mother, and child.

At the same time, economic institutions organize the ways in which society produces and distributes the goods and services it needs; educational institutions determine what should be learned and how it should be taught; and so forth.

Social disorder/Deviant behavior

Personal disorientation, maladjustment of the moral system, social problem, individual problem, moral and religious conflict. Deviance is any non-conformist/radical behavior, which is disapproved by society or a social group, whether it is legal or not. It is norm-breaking behavior, and can range from being eccentric to criminal activity.

There are five ways of readjustment of deviant behavior:

1)      Return to establish social order

2)      Create their own behavior

3)      Attract the existing social order

4)      Take a refuse to leave the society

5)      Escape the problem by committing suicide

 

Lecture 4: Social Change in Global Perspective

Social Change

Social change is the alteration/change of social interactions, institutions, stratification systems, and elements of culture over time. Normally, social change can two types: micro change and macro change. Micro changes are subtle/little alterations/changes in the day to day interaction between people. Macro changes are gradual transformations that occur on a broad scale and affect many aspects of society.

Important Characteristics of Social Change

1.      Social change is uneven (not regular).

2.      Beginning and consequences of social change are often unforeseen (surprising.

3.      Social change creates conflict.

4.      The direction of social change is not random (unsystematic).

Main Causes of Social Change

1.      Revolution

2.      Collective Behavior

3.      Cultural Diffusion

4.      Technological Innovation

5.      Social Movements

6.      Inequality

7.      Population 

8.      War

The Caste System

A set of religious beliefs often justifies a caste system. The caste system as it existed for centuries in India before the 1950s is a prime example of how this kind of inflexible stratification works. The Hindu caste system, in its traditional form in India, consisted of four varnas (literally meaning “color”), each of which corresponded to a body part of the mythical Purusa, whose dismemberment was believed to have given rise to the human species. Purusa’s mouth issued forth priests (Brahmans), and his arms gave rise to warriors (Kshatriyas). His thighs produced artisans and merchants (Vaishyas), and his feet brought forth menial laborers (Shudras). Below the Shudras were the untouchables, or Panchamas (literally “fifth division”), who were considered to fall outside the caste system and performed the most menial tasks. Hindu scripture holds that each person’s varna is inherited directly from his or her parents and cannot change during the person’s life (Gould, 1971).

The Estate System

It is a closed system of stratification in which a person’s social position is defined by law, and membership is determined primarily by inheritance. An estate is a segment of a society that has legally established rights and duties. The estate system is similar to a caste system but not as extreme. Some mobility is possible but by no means as much as exists in a class system.

The estate system of medieval Europe is a good example of how this type of stratification system works. The three major estates in Europe during the Middle Ages were the nobility, the clergy, and, at the bottom of the hierarchy, the peasants.

 

The Class System

A society that has several social classes and permits greater social mobility than a caste or estate system is based on a class system of stratification. Remember that a social class consists of a category of people who share similar opportunities, similar economic and vocational positions, similar lifestyles, and similar attitudes and behaviors. Some form of class system is usually present in all industrial societies, whether they are capitalist or communist. Generally, we classify society into broad three categories according to class: Upper class, middle class and lower class.

Globalization

Globalization refers to the increased interconnectedness and interdependence of different societies around the world. The increasing trend in the twentieth century was for societies to develop deep dependencies on each other, with interconnecting economies and social customs. In Europe, this trend has proceeded as far as developing a common currency, the euro, for all nations participating in the newly constructed common economy.

Global Stratification

Rich and poor countries exist throughout the world, and development occurs at varying paces. Are these varying rates of development related to a country’s location and the availability of natural resources or to cultural and social factors? Could it be that development is tied to the relationships between the rich and poor nations? Three most important theories have been discussed to help explain the different rates of development among countries.

Modernization theory assumes (believes) that the economic differences among countries are due to technological and cultural differences. According to this theory, modernization depends on a country having a cultural environment that welcomes innovation and makes it possible for technological advancements to be incorporated into that society. Strong ties to religious or historical traditions are seen as the greatest barriers to modernization. Economic impoverishment occurs when people are discouraged from adopting technologies that would raise living standards.

Dependency theory proposes that the economic positions of rich and poor nations are linked and cannot be understood in isolation from each other. Global inequality is due to the exploitation of poor societies by the rich ones. Dependency theory is an result of a Marxist view of the interconnection among world systems. From this perspective, capitalism is seen as having a global effect instead of one specific just to the country in which it is practiced.

World Systems Theory This theory is developed by sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein. It is an approach to world history and social change that suggests there is a world economic system in which some countries benefit while others are exploited.

Consequences of Global Stratification

v  Population:

Ø  60% of people live in countries with an average income of less than $760/year.

Ø  The richest countries have only 15% of the world’s population.

Ø  As countries develop, fertility levels decrease and population growth levels off.

v  Quality of life:

Ø  The richest countries, with 20% of the global population, account for 86% of private consumption; the poorest 20% account for just 1.3%. 

Ø  Throughout the world, some 2 billion people are malnourished, one quarter lack adequate housing, 20% do not have access to modern health services, and 20% of children do not attend school.

v Health care:

Ø  More than 300 million people live in 24 developing countries where life expectancy is less than 50 years.

Ø  80% of the world’s population does not have access to any health care.

v  Education:

Ø  In the richest nations, education and literacy are almost universal.

Ø  18% of the world’s nations have literacy rates below 50%.

Ø  6% report a school enrollment rate below 50%.

v  Gender:

Ø  Around the world, women feel poverty more than men do.

Ø  Women in wealthier countries have better health and education than women in poorer countries.

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