Introduction to

Sociology
Lecture 2
Sociology and Social Change
Roots of Sociology
Dr. Feyda Sayan Cengiz
 Recap from last week
• Thinking sociologically
• Critical distance – asking questions
• Seeing the “broader picture”; analyzing “the particular” in relation to
broader social changes (such as urbanization, industrialization, changes in
economy, changes in technology, etc.)
• Seeing patterns – connecting individual experiences with social
structures.
 Recap from last week
• Basic concepts
• Social structure
• Social norms
• Socialization
• Social construction (socially constructed)
• Social order
• Structure vs. agency
 Sociology and social change

• A fundamental question for sociologists: How are our lives different

from those who lived before us? (parents, grandparents, grand
grandparents, etc. )
• How is social life changing?
 Sociology and social change
• Emergence of Sociology as a science (around 18th and 19th centuries)→ related to
ideas of Enlightenment (scientific method, the idea that human rationality is capable
of understanding the world) and social change
• Let us imagine the life of a farmer who lived in the 14th century: How is his life?

• History of the West – 18th and 19th centuries

• What is happening? What is changing?
• Two big revolutions
 Sociology and social change
• 18th and 19th centuries – Great transformation in the West
• French Revolution (transformation in political thinking)
• Aristocracy - nobles, clergy
• Bourgeoisie (representing the people)
• Ideas about equality, freedom, “will of the people”
*but also, a lot of blood was shed during the revolution
 Sociology and social change

• 18th and 19th centuries – Great transformation in the West

• Industrial Revolution (transformation in production and economy)
• Mass production
• Factories
• Workers moving to cities – urbanization
• Rural communities
• Development of capitalism
 Sociology and social change
• As a result of such huge changes, new questions and curiosities emerge:

• What happens to human lives and human relations?

• Enlightenment ideas – belief in “science”

•Birth of modern sociology (before and after)

 Roots of modern sociology
• August Comte (1798-1857)
• Emile Durkheim (1858 – 1917)

• Comte – “social physics” - looking at society “scientifically”

• Predicting and controlling human societies by sociology is his goal
 Roots of modern sociology

• Emile Durkheim
- Sociology must develop methodology
(it should distance itself from philosophy
and psychology)
- Sociology should be objective
- «Social facts»
 Theoretical approaches to society
What is a theory?
Sociologists develop theories to explain social phenomena.
A theory aims to explain why or how a phenomenon occurs.
- Theoretical approaches as «windows» to look at social world. What you see
and what you focus on depends on your «angle»