Chapter 1 What is Sociology

Sociology is a subject of enormous scale and scope. The use of the sociological
imagination enables us to move beyond the assumption that our own
experiences are the whole story about social life. For example, this chapter
points to five ways in which coffee drinking can be viewed afresh if we ‘think
ourselves away’ from the ‘immediacy of personal circumstances’.

C. Wright Mills coined the terms ‘public issues’ and ‘private troubles’ to illustrate
the connection between the freely willed actions of the individual and the patterning
effects of social structure. The chapter emphasizes the interrelationship between
individual behaviour and the patterning effects of social institutions, and introduces
the term ‘structuration’ to describe this continuous process of reconstruction.

Sociology relies on a canon of key ‘classical’ thinkers and some common themes
which link contemporary sociology with its roots in the twin revolutions of the
revolutions century. Three basic questions are: (a) what is human nature? (b) why is
society structured as it is? and (c) how and why do societies change?

Auguste Comte is known for inventing the term ‘sociology’ and wanted the
discipline to be scientific, concerned only with ‘observable entities that are known
directly to experience’, an idea now associated with the term ‘positivism’.

Emile Durkheim went further with his emphasis on social facts and the application
of natural science methods to social inquiry. Durkheim saw that increasing
complexity of the division of labour threatened social cohesion and produced
feelings of deep uncertainty for individuals, which he termed ‘anomie’.

Karl Marx’s main focus was on capitalist economies and the separation of society
into capital owners and wage labourers – two groups whose interests were
inherently in conflict. This analysis was grounded in his broader ‘materialist
conception of history’ and the view that class struggle was the main motive force in
history.

Max Weber’s work can be seen as in debate with Marx, with a greater emphasis on
the role of ideas and beliefs in producing social change and less reliance on class
conflicts. In Weber’s work, capitalism was just one amongst many forces shaping
social change. His primary concept is rationalization: a blend of science, technology
and bureaucratic organization, all directed towards the achievement of greater
efficiency.

More recent developments stemming from the work of Durkheim, Marx and Weber
are functionalism, conflict theories and symbolic interactionism, respectively.
Functionalism and conflict theories tend towards macrosociological analysis whilst
symbolic interactionism favours microsociological studies.
Functionalism is traced through Comte and Durkheim and presented in terms of its
use of an organic analogy, an emphasis on moral consensus and its dominance
during the careers of Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton.

Conflict theories take a similarly systemic overview of social life but pay more
attention to issues of power and inequality.

Symbolic interactionism concentrates attention on the meaningful character of

social life and is concerned with the production of meaning in social interactions.
The chapter focuses on Mead’s interest in the role of the symbol in language use. It
is the sharing of this symbolism that shapes interactions.

Sociology offers the following benefits. First, its comparative approach encourages
greater awareness of cultural differences and a better understanding of the specific
problems of others. Second, a sensitivity to the intended and unintended
consequences of social action is an aid to better evaluation of policy initiatives and
the formation of more effective policy. Third, and related to this, a background in
sociology provides a sound foundation for a number of professional careers reliant
on understanding of society and social relations: business or think tank analysts,
urban planners, social workers, journalists, etc. Fourth, it offers self-enlightenment:
it is not just policy-makers who have the right and ability to make decisions about
people’s lives.

Michael Burawoy has argued for a ‘public sociology’ to forge relationships with
audiences beyond the narrow confines of universities. He maintains that the
‘professional sociology’ in the twentieth century has been beneficial, but it has also
led to sociologists talking more to each other than to the public. Public sociology
speaks with social groups such as trade unions, social movements, faith groups and
organizations in civil society in a genuine conversation about the future direction of
society. In this sense, the suggestion is that a more politically engaged sociology is
necessary, and that sociology’s audience is much broader than it has been up until
this point.