This is a comprehensive and detailed note on on Jeremy Seeking's introduction to Sociology, looking at the issue of 'us' and 'them' in an African context.
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Socius = latin for companionship, and logos = Greek for study.
Sociology = ‘the systematic, sceptical and critical study of the social’ ‘a way of thinking, a critical way
of seeing the world’
Seeing the general in the particular, and the strange in the familiar
To grasp the relations between history and biography within society.
Classic sociology books to read:
Invitation to Sociology. Peter Burger, 1963
The Sociological Imagination. C. Wright Mills, 1959
Thinking Sociologically. Bauman, 1990
Growing up in the new South Africa. Seeking
Coconut. Kopano Matlwa
Our social context shapes our capacity to make choices (shapes our norms, values + beliefs)
Class is an important concept in sociology because:
Sociology originated in industrialised societies where class divisions had importance.
Sociology is concerned with understanding how our individual lives and choices are
structured by our class position.
Sociology is concerned with ways which class shapes our identities, and how we label other
people (“us” vs “them”).
However, “us” and “them” are inseparable: there can be no “us” without “them”, and there can be
no identity without othering.
Marx: primary theorist of the industrial revolution. ‘Objective classification in capitalist societies
depends on ownership of the means of production and hence exploitation. But sometimes workers
suffer from ‘false consciousness’ and fail to understand this. The role of the communist party is to
guide workers to a correct understanding, and to lead them in the revolution that overthrows
capitalism.’
Cause (exploitation) classes (bourgeoisie + proletariat) Consequences (class conflict and
revolution)
,Weber proposed a broader understanding of class, based on control over any scarce economic
resources (educational credentials etc)
Unequal property and credentials Bourgeoisie; petty bourgeoisie; middle class; working class
unequal life chances, and ensuing struggles to maintain or to usurp monopolies over resources.
Bourdieu: Believed that class and status were actually linked.
Individual and Society (Seeking)
Our capacity to make choices is enabled by other people, and our position in society affects the
choices we can / must make.
Karl Marx: one of the founders of sociology
‘Agency’: the power of actors to act independently of the underlying constraints of social structure.
Implies the willed action.
‘Structure’: loosely applied to any recurring pattern of social behaviours. The ordered
interrelationships between different elements of a social system / society. External to individual
structure and behaviour.
As individuals, we exercise agency (we make choices). But our agency is structured by our position in
society (culture, politics, and economics).
Structures aren’t entirely external to the individual: someone’s choice serves to reproduce, challenge
or undermine the structures.
One can only understand agency and structure in relation to one another. For example: class
structures politics and gender structures employment.
Culture consists of norms, values, ideas and beliefs.
Bourdieu’s Analysis of ‘Class’ in Terms of Cultural
Capital, Tastes and Lifestyles
Came from a poor family in France. Always saw himself as a
bit of an outsider.
Came up with ideas linked to French and Algerian society
(which is similar to SA society)
Studied philosophy in Paris.
Insisted on the scientific basis of sociology.
Remained independent (and a bit hostile) of left political parties
Critic of neo-liberal capitalism and globalization.
Wrote in French and therefore his impact on the English speaking world was slow.
, Incorporated ethnology and philosophy
Believed classes are not defined solely in terms of production, but in terms of economic capital and
cultural capital.
Came up with idea of cultural capital:
Knowledge, attitudes, values, tastes, language and abilities of the middle class
Linguistic aptitude, manners, style, taste for “high culture”
Children, through socialisation, are more likely to develop intellectual interests and
understand the education system in order to make the most of it and enhance social
distinctions (ie. Stratification)
Includes human and educational capital
Cultural capital has 2 dimensions:
Instrumental value just like other capital
As part of a classification system for putting people into classes (indirect instrumental value)
High-Status Cultural Signs:
Knowing a lot about wine, opera, art etc
Being at ease with abstract thinking
Having a wine cellar, art collection etc
High class speech patterns and behaviour
“Taste classifies, and it classifies the classifiers”
Bourdieu’s Types of Capital:
1. Economic: money, factories, shares in the companies that own factories
2. Social: contact and networks that are advantageous
3. Symbolic: Outward manifestations of powers, influence and status: art, cars etc
4. Cultural: high level skills and an understanding of systems in society
Distinction: a study of the workings of culture and power in France. It is based upon a massive survey
which Bourdieu and his assistants administered in Paris during the 1960’s regarding the impact of
people’s economic and educational backgrounds upon their tastes in kinds of food, quantity of food,
table manners, dress, posture, vocabulary, accents, stores, furniture, wall décor, entertainment,
singers, instruments, reading material, politics, etc.
Bourdieu believed that class is defined culturally as well as economically, and that class and status
are the same thing.
Culture is both the expression of and constitutive of class.
“All cultural symbols and practises (style, religion, language) function to enhance social distinctions”
To be a part of the higher class, one must have knowledge of how the systems work AND know what
tastes demonstrate a high class position.
Intellectuals: cultural capital, but often not much economic capital.
Commercial employers: typically have economic capital, but not much cultural capital.
Unskilled workers: little or neither
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