Faculty of Human Resource Economics and

Management
Department of Sociology, Psychology and Population
Sociology Module
Đặng Hồng Sơn
Tel: 0915626699
Email: [email protected]
 Textbooks

1. Sociology and You (Shepard and Greene)

2. Introduction to Sociology (Rice University, 2017)

3. Giáo trình Xã hội học (Lương Văn Úc, Đặng Hồng Sơn, NXB
ĐHKTQD 2020)
 Chapter I: An invitation to Sociology

Learning Objectives:

• Define Sociology

• Describe 2 uses of the sociological perspective

• Distinguish sociology from the other social sciences

• Outline the contributions of the major pioneers of

sociology

• Summarize the development of Sociology

• Identify the three major theoretical perspective in

sociology today
 1.1.The Sociological Perspetives

• What is Sociology?
- Sociology is the study of human social behaviors?
- Sociology is the scientific study of social
structure?
•What is unique about sociology?
- The sociology perspective never focuses on the
individual
- The view through the lens of sociology always
remains at the social or group
 The main frame of Social Study

Control/Govern

Relations Rules/Disciplines
- Social Organisations
- Social Relations United
Human/ - Social Activities
Man - Social Conflicts
Reasonable
Activities freedom

Consciousness Conscious Behavior

Control/Govern
Unconsciousness Unconscious Behavior
* General Concept of Society:
The system of activities and relationships of people living in the same economic,
political and cultural sphere that resides on a territory at a certain stage of time.
* The essence of society:
Forms of social organization adapt to each stage of social mobilization.
The system of actions of individuals, groups and social organizations aims at certain
goals.
A system of social relations between individuals, groups and social organizations.
The interaction of individuals, groups and social organizations to minimize social
conflict.
 The social Sciences:

Social Sciences Description Example

Sociology investigates human social behavior from a group

Relationship between the employment of
Sociology rather than an individual perspective. It concentrates on
women and family size
patterns of social relationships.

Psychology investigates human mental and emotional

processes. While sociologists concentrate on the group, Effects of birth order on emotional
Psychology
psychologist also study the development and functioning of the development
individual

Economics is the study of the production, contribution ans

Economics Annual incomes of Vietnamese families
consumption of goods and services

Political Science investigates the organisation, administration, Relationship between a family’s social
Political Science
history and theory of government class and voting behavior
 1.2.History of the formation and development processes of social
views

3 main stages:

* Stage 1: A part of Philosophy. Confucius, Mencius, Xun Zi,

Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

* Stage 2: Become an independent science with its own object,

purpose and research methodology.

* Stage 3: Current development process of Sociology.

- Confucius (551-479 BC)
- Master of all time , the paragon of Chinese sages
- The philosophy of Confucius emphasized personal and
governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justices,
kindness and sincerity
- His social views expressed in the Four Books (Great Learning,
Doctrine of the Mean, Analects, Mencius) and the Five Classics
(Classic of Poetry, Book of Documents, Book of Rites, I Ching,
Spring and Autum Annals)
- Each person standing in a position in society needs to fulfill the
role and function that society has expected for that position
• Mencius (372-289 BC)

• The second sage

• Mencius inherited Confucius' ideology and developed it further

• A key belief of his was that humans are innately good, but that this
quality requires cultivation and the right environment to flourish.

• Content throughout the doctrine of the Main Humanity of Mencius

is the idea of the People - the idea of the people as the original
 Xun Zi (314 – 217 BC)

• Xunzi believed that humanity's inborn tendencies were evil (

Human nature is greed, lies, lust, deception, etc…) and that ethical
norms had been invented to rectify people.

• His student, Han Fei Zi, developed the doctrine to become the
Legalism
Aristotle (384-322 BC)
His view of society: There is no better way to govern society than to
dominate it by military might.
About man: Human is a social animal
 Isidore Marie Auguste Francois Xavier Comte

- Born: 1798, Montpelier, France

- Died: 1857, Paris, France
- School: Sociology Positivism.
- Sociology is the science of social organization. The
perceptions of society and social structure include: parts,
elements, relationships which arranged in a certain order. He
regards society as a structured system, individual family and
social organisation.
- Published his theories in a book titled Positive Philosophy.
 Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)

- British social theorist, the first female

sociologist.
- She emphasised sociology as a science and
introduced feminism
- Her profound deafness prevent her earning a living as a teacher
so she became an author.
- Best known today for her translation of Comte’s great book.
 Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)

- Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher, biologist,

anthropologist, sociologist, and
prominent classical liberal political theorist.
- He introduced a theory of social change called Social
Darwinism, based on Darwin’s theory of evolution. Spencer
thought that evolutionary social change led to progress -
provided people did not interfere. If left alone, natural social
selection would ensure the survival of the fittest society. On
these grounds, Spencer opposed social reform
- The poor deserve to be poor and the rich to be rich
 Karl Marx (1818-1883)

- Karl Marx, a German Scholar, did not

consider himself as a sociologist but his
ideas have had a major effect on the field.
- Marx felt great concern for the poverty and
inequality suffered by the working class of the capitalism
system of his day.
- He predicted that at some point all industrial societies would
contain only two social classes: the bourgeoisie and the
proletariat.
 Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

- Emile Durkheim was a French Sociologist.

- He formally established the academic discipline and—with Karl
Marx and Max Weber—is commonly cited as the principal architect
of modern social science.
- According to Durkheim, society exists because of broad
consensus, or agreement, among members of a society. In
preindustrial times, societies based on what sociologists call
mechanical solidarity.
- He was the first sociologist to use statistical methods in the
study of human groups. He was also the first to teach a university
sociology course.
 Maximilian Karl Emile Max Weber (1864-1920)

- He was a German sociologist, philosopher, jurist,

political economist. His ideas profoundly influenced
social theory and social research. Weber is often cited,
with Émile Durkheim and Karl Marx, as among the three founders
of sociology.
- He believed that an understanding of the personal intentions of
people in groups can be best accomplished through the method of
verstehen - understanding the social behavior of others by
putting yourself in their places.
- He also identified rationalisation as a key influence in the
change from a preindustrial to an industrial society.
Rationalisation is the mind-set emphasizing knowledge, reason
and planning
 1.3. Theoretical Perspectives

1.3.1. Sociology Positivism

- A. Comte, E. Durkheim.
- The nature of society lies in the nature of social phenomena
events.
- Negates previous views on the social nature of social thought.
- Open the way for empirical study of social life to make
accurate conclusions about the nature of society
1.3.2. Sociology of Morality
- Socio-cultural similarity leads to social empathy, which is a
source of social unification.
- Social conflict is unacceptable and acts contrary to social
norms and values.
1.3.3. Sociology Functionalism
- Functionalism emphasizes the contributions (functions) of each
part of a society. Functionalists see the parts of a society as an
integrated whole.
- Assumes that societies tend to return to a state of stability
after some upheaval has occurred.
1.3.4. Sociology Actionism
- Individuals, groups and social organizations all act on specific
action frames because of their purpose, interests, motives,
emotions, habits, traditions.
- Social conflict is inevitably caused by differences in reference
frames.
 1.4. Research Subject of Sociology

1.4.1. Research Subject:

Three main approaches
- Approach to human aspect:
The studying subject of sociology is the whole of human
behaviour, the mechanism forms that behaviour, and the
actors of social group.
- Approach to social aspect:
The studying subject of the field is the whole society, the
integrity of the social organisation in the relationship that
governs the individual.
- Synthesis approach (Both human and social aspect):
The object of sociological research is the rules and trends of
the emergence, development and transformation of social
activities, social relations, interactions among social actors,
and their expressions.
 1.5 The basic categories of Sociology

• Social Action

• Social Structure

• Social relation

• Social Subject

• Social institution

• Social Interaction
 A ___?___ B

A
 Chapter II: Research Methods

Learning Objectives:

- Describe the basic quantitative and qualitative research

methods used by sociologists.

- Discuss basic research concepts, including variables and

correlations.

- List the standards for proving cause-and-effect relationship.

- explain the steps sociologists use to guide their research.

- Discuss ethics in sociological research.

 Sociological research methodology

• Overall view
When studying a social problem, it is necessary to put it in
relation to other related issues
• System View:
Research problems are usually a complex vertical and
horizontal system department. Vertically, it's often part of a
broader problem. Horizontally, it’s the result of many different
causes, and itself is the cause of other problems
• Realistic view:
Research problems must arise from actual need
 Research Methods

1. Observation

2. Interview: Direct and indirect interview

3. Questionair

4. Testing

5. Expert Consultancy

6. Data Analysis
 Sociological Survey

• Full and Sample Survey

 Analyzing social problems

1. Average value:

The amount of variables reflects the popularity

according to a certain criterion of a population of
many units of the same type
• Median::The number of units of the unit stands at the center of the
number of variables, it divides the number of units in the sequence into
two equal parts

Me: Median

Xe: Low value

He: Range

Se-1: Cumulative frequency of the adjacent group below the median

group

Fe: frequency of the median group

The group containing the median is the group with the cumulative
frequency greater than or equal to the sum of the frequency divided by 2
 Example

• Compare the living standard of a local in 2

periods:
 64850
X = = 64 , 850
95 1000

70950
X = = 64 , 5
00 1100

500 - 425
M = 60 + 10 * = 64 , 2857
e95 175

550 - 430
M = 60 + 10 * = 66 , 857
e00 175

D = X - M = 64 , 850 - 64 , 2857 = 0 , 5643

95 95 e95
D = X - M = 64 , 5 - 66 , 857 = - 2357
,
00 00 e00
•
Dispersion parameters

• Variance

• Standard deviation

• Coefficient of variation
Compare The people's wealth gap between the two periods
 126200
X = = 63 , 1
95 2000

141900
X = = 64 , 5
00 2200

8958000
X 2 95 = = 4479 , 00
2000

2 10415000
X = = 4734 , 0909
00
2200

d = 4479 - 63 , 12
95
• Analyze order of importance or priority

Average value:

(i, j = 1, 2, 3, ..., n); n is the number of factors and the number of importance

Xi is the mean (priority) of factor i xj: is the jth importance fjj: frequency of
importance j of factor i.importance j of factor i.

xj: is the jth importance fjj: frequency of importance j of factor i.

fjj: frequency of importance j of factor i.

• Dispersion coefficient

If Hp > 0.5: the answer is scattered

If Hp < 0.5: the answer is concentrated

• Sample size?

• Sample size

• The level of important of each variable

• Is the survey data relevant to reality? Why?

• Value of Hp
 Chapter III: Social Structure and Society

Learning Objectives:

- Explain what sociologists mean by Social Structure

- Discuss how statuses and roles are related to social structure

- Identify and illustrate the concepts of social structures

- Explain how culture and social structures are related

- Describe the means of subsistence in preindustrial societies

- Compare and contrast pre industrial, industrial and

postindustrial societies
 3.1. Social Structure

- The underlying pattern of social relationships in a group is

called social structure.

- Status is one very important element of social status.

- Status is a position a person occupied within a social

structure.
 Social Inequality

• In what areas, what are people equal and not equal

since the day they were born?

• Natural based inequality? Social based inequality?

 Social Inequality: The forming basis of

• Differences in opportunities ?

• Differences in social status ?

• Differences in political influence ?

 Stratification

• From Social Inequality to Stratification?

• Two forms of social stratification:

- Rational social stratification

- Irrational social stratification

 Historical forms of Social Stratification

• Closed Stratification

• Open Stratification
• sđg