WHY YOU
SHOULD CONSIDER THE QUEEN CALLED “SOCIOLOGY”
BY OLANIBA
BOLAJI OLUWATOBI
Sociology : derived from the
Latin word “Socius” meaning “companionship” and the Greek word “Logos” meaning
“study of”, is a relatively new social scientific arm of knowledge (born in the
18th century in the midst of industrial, cultural, intellectual and
political changes across Europe), yet She has over the years tuned up her
muscles in tandem with the role of consistently shedding bright light on those
factors that continue to shape our lives and are yet not far off, but are resident
within the confines of our human relation - dominated systems, where we have
attained biological growth overtime. Now, the vital question is; have you ever
come in contact with an entirely new environment/individuals who seems to hold
on to beliefs and perspectives of life that are entirely different from what
you are used to, or have acquired over the years? If yes, then you would have
felt some inconveniences and nervousness (cultural shock) in the quest of adapting
to the new environment or holding on to your pre - learned beliefs and
perspective of life. But unfortunately, the most likely occurrence is you adapting
to part if not all aspect of the new way of life you have just encountered, as
there are negative implications of not adapting to them, especially on your
biological and emotional well being.
Sociology gives us insight into various social
phenomena. From the behavioral power generated in a crowd or audience, which
both has the ability to pull individuals out their shells and make them either
resort to violence or conform to peaceful demonstrations or actions; actions
that an individual would not have considered solely. To cases of being ascribed
certain tags by social categorization, labels or groupings (e.g. elites,
illiterates, beggars, unclean, masses, students, slaves, masters, criminals,
etc), to being doomed or lucky as a result of being a member of a particular
ethnic or racial group in certain unpalatable circumstances (holocaust carried
out on the Jews by Germans in the 20th century) and many more. All these
phenomena have their roots in the “Social Environment”, a context where Human
interactions and relation creates ideas, beliefs, norms/behavioral patterns,
values and Perspectives that are unique to the individuals relating and
interacting within a particular context over a considerable extended period of
time in close proximity, and where the evolving norms (expected way of
behaving), values (judgment of what constitutes good or bad), artifacts
(physical collection of unique items and tools) and perspectives (views of
life), have the power to regulate and shape the behavior of all individuals
involved in that social environment.
We cannot doubt the power of cultural
practices, beliefs and traditions and their ability to reconfigure physical
looks and structure of an individual or to even mar them (facial marks
inscriptions, tattooing, genital mutilations, twin killings etc) and we cannot
also overlook the power of massive cultural contacts and influence (cultural
diffusions) with cogent example in the Social transactions between Europe and
Africa in 18th through 20th century (colonialism) which reconfigured
our thoughts and perspectives on the ineffectiveness and cruel nature of the
acclaimed cultural practices of genital
mutilations, killing of twins, facial mark inscriptions etc. “Sociology “ hence
has two phases, (1). as a scientific arm of knowledge which seeks to
consistently apply scientific methods (observations, questioning, data
collection, critical analysis) to study behavioral patterns in individuals or
to diagnose inefficiencies in individuals by reconnecting them back to the
Social environment where they evolved and had consistent contact with overtime;
starting from the family to close friends/peer groups to the school to
religious groups, mass media, work place and so on and so forth, (2). As a
scientific arm of knowledge which seeks to study how individuals in turn
create, shape and redefine their social environment.
We should note that the values and behavioral
capacity we acquire as we progress through life and by virtue of our membership
in some groups for our entire life (Primary groups; family) and in some for
short periods (Secondary group; religious organizations, debate or football
clubs etc) have great influence on our personality; which is a unique character
that defines the person of an individual as; introvert or extrovert, playful or
hard working etc. The power of social influence cannot be understated, the
Bible says; Evil Company corrupts good manners, Also, the tendency of individuals
to compare themselves with others in good light of personal advancement or in
determination to change a negative behavior. Or in bad light of envy or incompetence, or
even the growth of agitations, protest, rallies, revolutionary movements etc
all stem from social evaluations and weighing, comparisons of individual or
group situations to that of others because of perceived gaps of imbalance.
If you haven’t read of feral children, you
should please do, as their situation shows how lack of considerable interaction
with fellow human beings for an extended period of time especially at very
early age, can hamper the ability of a child to function in relation to the
demands of the society (a grouping of persons occupying a specified
geographical territory, having shared values and norms, practices and world
outlook, and also influencing each other’s behavior on frequent basis). We
could also wonder why we feel uneasy when our phones ring out in the middle of
a Church Sermon or Quran reciting session in the Mosque, this is because the
social atmosphere present is highly regulated and considered “Sacred” (where
silence and utmost respect is to be rendered to GOD) unlike in physical
chatting sessions with our friends or in party situations where the social
atmosphere is considered profane; free, light and relatively unregulated.
You can also wonder the feeling you get in
situations where you have a lot of task to complete from school or work place on
a particular day, and you get a call from your friend requesting you to attend
a birthday party, at the same time you are envisaging attending a meeting at
church or mosque, then you remember your mum requested you take her shopping on
the same time on that same day; it’s a
situation called role conflict, roles are expected behavior that an individual
occupying a particular status/position (worker, friend, Christian, Muslim, Son
or daughter) is expected to elicit or show. In situations like the one
described above it can be quite annoying and stressing.
New situations, such as the emergence of the
internet and social media and the transition to a new form of interaction, “Virtual”
against “physical” (cases where friends sit with one another but still prefer
to interact via social media applications instead of face to face interaction is
on the rise and its telling us something). Also worthy of taking note of is the
recent liberation of Female folks and the opportunities for them to take up
managerial, ministerial and other leadership roles, while parenting has taken a
new shape too, and the need to balance work with child and family care is
becoming strenuous for our 21st century women. There are so many
behaviors emerging which are traceable to changes and forces within our social
interaction system. Sociology sheds great light on these phenomena, with
several theoretical positions and models, you might consider viewing events
with the “Sociological Lens/imagination” (the understanding of individual
behavior by virtue of placing him within his social context/environment).
Bolaji
Olaniba
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