info2120 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Karl Polanyi, Subsistence Agriculture, Chartism
1. What is sociology?
Definition: the systematic study of human behavior in social context.
Overlap with politics, economics, and anthropology and so on.
Anthropology focuses more on human culture, while sociology focuses broadly on:
a. Micro-structures (family and relationship).
b. Macro-structures (workplace, school).
c. Global structures.
Specific sub-fields including: family, education, globalization, crime and so on.
2. Sociology’s history origin
a. European feudal society 1400s
-Primitive Technology (using coal, axe, building hut)
-Subsistence agriculture gro oe’s o food
-Poor living condition
-Limited urbanization
-High level of social inequality
-Little economic/social change (staying for years)
-Almost no social mobility (the change of social status)
-Individual right and freedoms did not matter
-Government was used to exploit, not protect citizens.
b. Mercantile capitalism and colonization 1500s
-Emergence of global trading systems, including England, Poland, French, Spain and
so on.
-Trade in spices, gold, and slaves.
-beginning of colonial empires (Spain, British, French).
-Merchant class became wealthy and powerful (noble).
c. Industrial revolution 1700s
-rapid changes in social economic, technological, and political areas.
-Large part of capital in hands of merchants and banks.
-New technology (Canals, water wheels, steam engines, trains)
-Strong belief in progress.
-Rapid urbanization.
-Change from family work shop to factories due to the emergence of the new
technology.
-Growth of an impoverished (poor) working class.
-Almost no rights or protections for the working class.
-Frequent violent political upheavals (French Revolution, Chartism)
d. Karl Polanyi: The Great Transformation 1944
-Decline in agriculture.
-New industrial (factory) form of production.
-Capitalism and wage labor became dominant of the society
-Growth of cities (urbanism)
-Changing political systems: a democratic revolution.
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Definition: the systematic study of human behavior in social context. Overlap with politics, economics, and anthropology and so on. Anthropology focuses more on human culture, while sociology focuses broadly on: micro-structures (family and relationship), macro-structures (workplace, school), global structures. Specific sub-fields including: family, education, globalization, crime and so on: sociology"s history origin, european feudal society 1400s. Almost no social mobility (the change of social status) Government was used to exploit, not protect citizens: mercantile capitalism and colonization 1500s. Emergence of global trading systems, including england, poland, french, spain and so on. Merchant class became wealthy and powerful (noble): industrial revolution 1700s. Rapid changes in social economic, technological, and political areas. Large part of capital in hands of merchants and banks. New technology (canals, water wheels, steam engines, trains) Change from family work shop to factories due to the emergence of the new technology. Almost no rights or protections for the working class.
