SO102: Sociological Theory

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Lecture 2

• SO102 Sociological Theory

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History of sociology

• Scientific study of society
• New as a discipline but ideas old
• Sociological reasoning, Ancient Greek If horses
  would adore gods, these gods would resemble
  horses
• 14th Century Ibin Khaldun (Father of
  Sociology), Muqaddimah, Social cohesion and
  social conflict

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Continued

• Western scientific discipline 19th Century
• Need to understand emerging social, political,
  cultural and economic challenges
• Integration, dispersal, unity, conflict,
  exploitation
• Sociology coined by Auguste Comte (1893)

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Continued

• Classical theorists formed basis of sociology
  Ferdinand Tonnies, Emile Durkheim, Vilfredo
  Pareto, Max Weber, Marx etc.
• Not only sociology, also law, psychology, ethics,
  philosophy and theology

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Institutionalizing sociology

• First taught at University of Kansas 1890 by
  Frank Blackmar
• First full department, University of Chicago in
  1892
• First European Department of Sociology at
  University of Bordeaux by Emile Durkheim
• Germany in 1919 by Max Weber at the Ludwig
  University
• Poland 1920 by Florian Znaniecki
• Britain after WW11
• USP 1969

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Variation in sociological focus
German (Philosophical)
English (Empirical)
French (Theoretical )
American (Statistical)
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Modes of theories
Theory of change
Theory of Action
Theory of relationships
Theory of Problems
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Sociological reasoning

• Opposed to common sense view of world
• Use of sociological imagination Making sense of
  and connections between diverse phenomenon
• Understand the underlying dynamics
• Use of logical argument
• Use of theoretical or empirical evidence

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Dilemmas of social theories

• Some negate each other
• May be inadequate in explaining things
• May restrict analysis
• May distort social reality
• Change constantly
• Some are driven by ideology, religion and
  politics
• Some are more politically acceptable than others

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Thank you very much

• Questions and comments