INTRODUCTION

• Central task of sociology is to explore the interplay of society and the individual.

• Individuals are part of collective bodies like family, tribe, caste, class, clan, nation.

• Focus on kinds of groups, unequal orders (stratification systems), social control, roles individuals play, and status they occupy.

• Exploration of whether society is harmonious or conflict-ridden, whether status and roles are fixed, and how inequalities exist.

• Specific terms and concepts are needed in sociology despite their use in everyday life.

• Terminology is crucial in sociology because its subject matter is familiar, making clear and precise understanding difficult (Berger 1976:25).

• Common sense knowledge must be distinguished from sociological knowledge.

• Sociological concepts have a history, shaped by material and intellectual developments during the shift from pre-modern to modern.

• Small-scale, traditional societies marked by close, face-to-face interaction; modern societies marked by formal interaction.

• Distinction between primary and secondary groups, community and society/association.

• Stratification reflects structured inequalities between groups.

• Sociology contains different ways of understanding society and social change.

• Karl Marx emphasised class and conflict; Emile Durkheim emphasised social solidarity and collective conscience.

• Post-World War II sociology influenced by structural functionalism, viewing society as harmonious like an organism with interdependent parts.

• Conflict theorists influenced by Marxism saw society as conflict-ridden.

• Some sociologists start with the individual (micro-interaction), others with macro structures like class, caste, market, state, community.

• Status and role concepts start from the individual; social control and stratification start from larger social contexts.

• Classifications and types in sociology are tools or keys to understand society, but they may need modification when they no longer fit.

• Sociology involves both using and interrogating concepts and categories.

• There is unease over coexistence of different definitions or views about the same social entity (conflict theory vs functionalist theory).

• Multiplicity of approaches is natural because society is diverse.

• Divergence of views and debate help in understanding society.

SOCIAL GROUPS AND SOCIETY

• Sociology is the study of human social life.

• Humans interact, communicate, and construct social collectivities.

• Comparative and historical perspective of sociology highlights two facts:

  1. Every society (ancient, feudal, modern; Asian, European, African) has human groups and collectivities.

  2. Types of groups and collectivities differ across societies.

• Not every gathering of people is a social group.

• Aggregates are collections of people in the same place at the same time with no definite connection (e.g., passengers at a railway station, cinema audience).

• Aggregates are often called quasi groups.

• Quasi group: An aggregate lacking structure or organisation, whose members may be unaware of the grouping.

• Examples of quasi groups: social classes, status groups, age groups, gender groups, crowds.

• Quasi groups can become social groups over time in specific circumstances.

• Example: Class and caste have evolved into political parties; different communities in India formed a nation through the anti-colonial struggle; women’s movement created women’s groups and organisations.

• Social groups emerge, change, and get modified.

• Characteristics of a social group:

  1. Persistent interaction ensuring continuity.

  2. Stable pattern of interactions.

  3. Sense of belonging and identification with members; awareness of the group, its rules, rituals, symbols.

  4. Shared interest.

  5. Acceptance of common norms and values.

  6. Definable structure.

• Social structure: Regular and repetitive interaction patterns between individuals or groups.

• A social group is a collection of continuously interacting persons sharing common interests, culture, values, and norms within a society.