Text 4. Social role. The group structure of society
Text 1. What is sociology
Task: read and translate into Russian in written form.
Sociology is one of the social sciences. It occupies a prime position among a group of these sciences or disciplines, which include also anthropology, economics and political sciences.
The subject-matter of sociology is behavior of people as social beings. Sociology is the study of human social life, groups and societies. The scope of sociology is extremely wide, ranging from the analysis of everyday happenings with people in the street up to the investigation of global social processes.
Among the aims of sociology there are such as: discovering the basic structure of human society, identifying the main forces that hold groups together or weaken them, learning what conditions transform social life.
And still in the world there are different approaches to sociology. For some people sociology is the scientific study of society and social behavior. For others it is a guide for ordinary people to understand what is happening to them and how their social world operates. Both approaches are to be considered actual and interdependent at the present historical moment. A common sense question “so what?” should be used by a sociologist who is taking part in a research.
Almost everyone has some specialized knowledge of a social situation: a family, a work setting or a life style. The sociologist is respectful of this common sense knowledge and often depends on it. However, in the majority of cases it can be fragmentary and uncritical. Sociological research is to be more critical and more systematic. It is quite evident that for this reason sociology must often go beyond the categories of everyday life and must invent new categories to interpret events and experiences in a fresh light.
In order to understand how people behave and how they change it is always necessary to see it as a part of a broader social process. That is why sociologists closely study social context which helps a lot in interpreting things.
Sociology studies men and groups in action. The acting person is a specific human being who pursues goals, interprets experience, responds to opportunities and confronts difficulties.
The sociological emphasis on context and action points out to the concreteness of human experience. There is no abstract being called man, there are only particular persons who live their own lives in historical time. Awareness of plurality is essential for sociology. It studies the general and the particular, the abstract and the concrete.
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Human interaction is another focus of sociology. A human being always interacts with his social environment. From his setting he derives aspirations, satisfactions, anxieties and social identity.
EXERCISES
Ex. 1. Form the derivatives.
Model A: V + tion = N
Assimilate, interact, accommodate, communicate, associate, relate, interpret, investigate, actualize.
Model B: V + ment = N
Adjust, agree, establish, manage, engage, settle, achieve, acknowledge.
Ex. 2. Match English and Russian equivalents.
1. common-sense knowledge a. четкие границы
2. basic structure b. общеизвестные сведения
3. sociological research c. человеческий опыт
4. human experience d. рабочая обстановка
5. social identity e. базовая, фундаментальная наука
6. basic science f. источники перемен
7. sources of changes g.социальное лицо
8. neat boundaries h. социологическое исследование
9. work setting i. основная, базовая структура
Ex. 3. Choose the right word.
1. Sociology is one of the … sciences.
a) precise b) social c) natural
2. There is no … being called man.
a) theoretical b) historical c) abstract
3. Sociological study … close analysis of the sources of change.
a) has b) become c) involves
4. The sociologist is respectful of the … .
a) advice b) news c) common-sense knowledge
5. A human being always interacts with his social … .
a) process b) environment c) action
Ex. 4. Insert the right word.
Sociology, social, sociological, society, sciences
1. A human being always interacts with his … environment. 2. … studies men and groups, in action. 3. … study involves close analysis of the sources of change. 4. The aim of sociology is to discover the basic structure of human … . 5. Sociology is one of the social … .
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Ex. 5. Mark the statements that are true.
1. To understand how people behave the social context must be closely observed. 2. Sociology never goes beyond the categories of everyday life. 3. Some aspects of society are well known to most people. 4. Sociology studies animals and plants in action. 5. Awareness of plurality is essential for sociology. 6. Sociology is a probing discipline.
Ex. 6. Answer the questions on the text.
1. What kind of science is sociology? 2. Who is respectful of common-sense knowledge of a social situation? 3. What can be said about an abstract man? 4. To understand how people behave and how they change, the social context must be closely observed, mustn’t it?
Ex. 7. Make a short summary of the text.
Text 2. Social organization
Task: read the text, find the answers to the questions given below.
The students of sociology pay much attention to discovering how persons and groups relate to each other.
Social organization is the pattern of individual and group relations. There are three levels of social organization. They are: interpersonal relations, that is the micro-order of the society, group relations, that is the medium order of the society, and macro relations of social order.
An interpersonal relation is the most elementary social bond, occuring when two persons stand in some relations to each other. These relations are the building blocks of social structure.
Organization of people in a group is reflected through roles and modes of interaction. Knowledge of the group structure of a community or society gives clues to potential conflicts or solidarity, as well as to forces that may determine the future character of a society or a community.
A social order exists when an entire community or society for a significant period of history is characterized by distinctive and interwoven patterns of social organization. A social order is a type of society.
It is evident that large complex and impersonal organizations are characteristic of our present social world. Most people are associated with them. Decisions of large organizations deeply affect our personal worlds and often quite negatively.
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1. What is social organization?
2. What are three levels of social organization?
3. What is the most elementary social bond?
4. What are the building blocks of social structure?
5. What is organization of people in a group reflected through?
6. What gives clues to potential conflicts or solidarity?
7. What is a social order?
8. What are most people associated with?
9. Do decisions of large organizations deeply affect our personal worlds?
10. How do large organisations affect our personal worlds?
Text 3. Social status
Task: read the text, get ready to render its contents in Russian.
Briefly, a social status is a position within a social system, a social role is the pattern of behavior associated with that position. The role represents the dynamic aspect of status.
A major significance of status is that it can and does determine social identity. A status is salient and tends to fix the identity of the person who occupies it if a large part of the individual’s life is organized around it. Thus, for many people their profession is a salient status.
A transitory social position, for example a temporary job, has little impact upon social identity.
Traditional society depended for its stability on salient statuses. Today salient status is not a dominant principle of social organization. Life is fluid and people occupy may different statuses through the life cycle. But a status may still be relatively salient, at least for a certain period of life. Sometimes the salient status is voluntary or self-determined, but many salient statuses are not voluntary, or ascribed.
An ascribed status is one assigned to the individual by legal or other social criteria (age, sex, race, inheritance, etc.).
Text 4. Social role. The group structure of society
Task: read the text and say what elements does the sociological role include.
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The sociological role includes the following elements:
1. the socially prescribed or ideal role.
The ideal role prescribes the rights and duties belonging to a social position.
2. the perceived role.
What the individual believes he should do in a particular position may not fully coincide with the conventional image or ideal.
3. the performed role.
Actual role behaviour is always subject to the pressures and opportunities of a special social setting at a specific time. It is also conditioned by the individual’s personality and past experience.
An adequate analysis of any social role must take account of all three elements: prescription, perception and performance.
A given social status generates more than one role. When someone enters a new status he/she usually acquires a role set because he/she must meet the expectations of a number of different people.
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