Evan Willis - The Sociological Quest

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF SOCIAL LIFE

First published 2011 by Allen & Unwin

Published 2020 by Routledge

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Copyright Evan Willis 2011

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Text design by Melissa Keogh

Index by Sara James

Set in 11/14 pt Minion Pro by Midland Typesetters, Australia

ISBN-13: 9781742372822 (pbk)

T his book is an introductory essay on the discipline of sociology. It outlines to both students in the early stages of their studies, as well as those more generally interested in what sociology has to offer, some of the important components of a sociological way of understanding the social world. With the extensive use of examples, this book attempts to distil some of the key elements of sociological reasoning about the social world.

The book arises out of having taught introductory sociology at tertiary level, first tutoring and then lecturing, for nearly three decades. It introduces students to a subject with which they are unlikely to be very familiar despite having been members of the society for almost or at least as long as I have been teaching. Yet the task of introducing students to this discipline is a challenging one. This book is not only an attempt to codify what I have taught over that time, but also reflects a belief in the need to introduce the discipline pedagogically in a particular manner. The analogy often used is that getting into sociology is like getting into a swimming pool that has no shallow end. The aim with introductory courses in the subject, as with this book, is not to construct an artificial shallow end, such that the students have to learn later that its not all as simple as that, but rather to provide something by way of a buoyancy vest. This will introduce the discipline in a way in which they wont drown, but neither will they get an unreal idea of how straightforward it all is either. The central tenets of the discipline are presented in a manner which attempts to be both straightforward and understandable without either doing too much damage to the complexity of the issues, or greatly affecting the readability of the book with the continual qualification of statements being made. The balance between making the discipline both interesting and understandable on one hand, while avoiding oversimplification on the other, is a considerable balancing task. This book represents my attempt, on the basis of long experience and much feedback in both Australian and New Zealand universities, to achieve this aim.

New editions have been prepared in response to two needs. One is the helpful comments from many of the users, especially tutors in the subjects in which this book has been used, as to how the book could be made more useful for the purposes of introducing students to the discipline of sociology. The other is the need to keep the illustrative examples current and contemporary. Over time, it has also become apparent that introductory sociology subjects are not the only area where this book has proved useful. The other is service courses on sociology in professional and multidisciplinary postgraduate degrees. Examples have been added on the basis of ongoing feedback from students and instructors using the book. Once again, though I have attempted to impart a fairly traditional view of the discipline of sociology, in terms of which, and afterwards against which, instructors can teach in subsequent years if they so choose. Finally a note to instructorsin its earlier editions, which include an international edition (Rutgers University Press, New Jersey, 1996), as well as a Norwegian edition, (with Aksel Tjora, Pa Sociologisk Spor: En innforing I sociologiskfortaelse, Tapir Academisk Forlag, Trondheim, Norway, 2006), this book has proved most useful as a supplement to an established textbook of introductory sociology; to be used in the first four to six weeks of an introductory subject as a means of stimulating the sociological imagination. It attempts to whet the appetites of the students for the task of studying the discipline which lies ahead. The book has also proved particularly useful for students studying in multidisciplinary settings to access an introduction to a sociological style of reasoning.

Many people have contributed both directly and indirectly to this book. Foremost among these is Johanna Wyn but there are many current and former colleagues, as well as many current and former students (now too many to name) whose contributions I have valued in improving the book.

A number of todays computer games involve a quest. In these carefully written programs the designer takes the players on a journey, often challenging and difficult, in order to achieve something at the end. In their search or pursuit, the players must gather various tools to assist them, making the task easier by helping the players overcome the obstacles that lie in their path.

Think of this short book as educational software designed to lead students on a quest to understand the social world and how it is changing. It is not an easy quest; it is likely to be a challenge that at times will be frustrating. But ultimately it is designed not only to be enjoyable but also to be a useful part of what it means to be educated, either for its own sake or as part of a program of study leading to professional qualifications. Along the path to sociological understanding, tools are available to assist in the quest. These tools are sociological ones in the form of concepts. As we shall see, when these concepts are woven into sociological theories and methods, they help us make sense of social life.

The term sociology, an amalgam of Latin and Greek meaning reasoning about the social, was coined by the Frenchman Auguste Comte in 1842. Of course, such reasoning predates this time by many centuries, but the discipline has emerged and gained coherence in the past century, first in Europe and then progressively in North America and all other parts of the world.

The twin revolutions of late eighteenth-century Europethe French and Industrial revolutionsprovided the context in which sociology emerged. During the French Revolution (beginning in 1789), the masses overthrew the aristocracy and brought about the end of monarchical rule. The process began earlier in the century in the period known as the Enlightenment, during which laws based on religious principles were gradually challenged in favour of those based on more secular, rational thought. The Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth century transformed the British economy from being agriculturally based to factory based.