SOCIOLOGY MODULE 1 - b arch syllabus s5 calicut university

sociology and economics

1. SEMESTER – 7
BUILDING ECONOMIC AND
SOCIOLOGY
MODULE -1
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY

2. MODULE I

•Introduction to sociology: Definition of sociology
• Nature and scope and utility in architecture and the built environment
• Definitions of sociological terms
I.Society
II.Community
III.Family
IV. Culture
•Relation between culture and built form (exploration of architectural examples).
To familiarize the students with the basic concepts of sociology &economics and
their influence on architecture

3. DEFINITION OF SOCIOLOGY

4. •The sociological perspective was sparked by 3 basic & interrelated
changes:-

•Rapid technological innovation in 18th century- soon led to the spread of
factories and an industrial economy.—The inevitable result was the
rapid breakdown of long established ways of life within countless small
communities.

•These factories drew millions of people from the countryside, causing an
explosive growth of cities.---The ―pull "was made all the more powerful
by an additional ―push‖ from the country side.

•People in these expanding industrial cities soon began to entertain new
ideas about the world, leading to important political developments. It
dramatically changed peoples life. Social problems were widespread.
These were the kinds of social crisis that stimulated the development of
sociological perspective.

ORIGIN OF SOCIOLOGY

5. Sociology flowered in those societies that had experienced the most pronounced social changes.

France, Germany & England underwent a revolutionary social transformation by the end of 19
th
C. Portugal,
Spain, Italy etc. had less momentous events, hence there was little development of sociological perspectives.

1876- started in U.S
1889- France
1907- Britain
After world war -started in Poland & in India.

6. •Studies of society are the web or tissue of human interaction & inter relation
-----------------Ginsberg-------------

•Sociology is about social relationships, the network of relationships we call society.
----------------McIver---------------

•Sociology is concerned with the study of social life, man & its relations.
------------Ogburn---------------------

•Sociology deals with the structure of society & the factors that play part in weakening or strengthening that
structure.
------------Meyer & Oscar-----------------


Sociology is the task of explaining ‘why societies are alike or different”
DEFINITION OF SOCIOLOGY

7. CONTRIBUTION OF PIONEERS
Auguste Comte 1798-1857
1838- Auguste Comte-
French philosopher---coined
the word SOCIOLOGY to
describe a new way of
looking at world—―Socious‖
from the Latin word,
meaningfriendship,
companionship. (societus
meaning society) and Greek
word ―logos‖ meaning
Science.
Herbert Spencer 1820- 1903
English Scholar- Family ,
politics, religion are inter
related.
Study of Association,
Communities, Social
stratification etc. His books
influenced study of sociology,
principles of ethics.
Karl Marx 1818- 1883

His work was rich in
sociological insights. Social
confict-inevitable. He
placed too much emphasis
on economic base of the
society. It influences all
other aspects of society
like religion, law,
education, Govt
Max Weber 1864- 1920

Individual is the basic
unit of society.
The city, Bureaucracy

8. •The sociological position of architectural design deals not only with
society as a whole but also with society at the level of the individual.
•Design relative to individuals must provide for their basic needs as well
as respond with a language that they may accept as defining their place
within society.
•This idea of place carries meaning on two levels; place as a built entity,
and place as a component of social order. It is at the level of the
individual that people will seek out housing to suit their needs (local and
social order) and will choose to work in locations which reflect their ideals
of social position.
•Individuals bear a great deal of influence on architectural design in the
manner by which they interact, behave, occupy and control space or
ignore it. Safety and security are related to personal feelings that can
be affected by the space that the individual inhabits.
NATURE, SCOPE AND UTILITY IN ARCHITECTURE AND THE
BUILD ENVIRONMENT

9. •Context of society
The context of society section deals with the concepts of
culture, subculture, and individual societies. Society as a function of daily life is
defined by James Teevan in Basic Sociology as ―a group of people who reside
in the same geographic area, who communicate extensively among themselves,
and who share a common culture‖.

•The concept of society contains the element of a ―common culture‖ consistent
for all members of that group. Culture is an amalgamation of the common
norms, beliefs and ideals present throughout all sects of the individual
society.

•The manners by which societies and cultures exist are governed by their
individual institutions. It will be these local institutions (norms, beliefs and
values) that are applied to anyone in the region; quite often causing
extreme embarrassment to tourists or guests.
•Architectural design relevant to cultural norms and institutions must
incorporate aspects of the specific culture or sub-culture in order to provide
the aesthetic and functional resolution required for a successful facility

10. •Cultural Traits
Cultural traits are the characteristics which define the
culture or subculture. These are the social norms which govern their actions, how they
view their place in the world, and their approach to social issues.

•These traits are the common characteristics passed on to new members either
parentally or by new association. The overall culture is defined by the sum of the
individual cultural traits present. The three most common trait definitions are cultural
values, norms and roles. Additional cultural traits exist in every sub-sect, though
these characterizations are consistent in a majority of corresponding cultures

•A cultural role relates to the specific value system of a society. The role category
may be viewed in some sense as the stereotyping of a culture relative to family,
personal values, and accepted or assumed norms.

• Architectural design must be able to understand the cultural traits specific to both
the client and the governing societal body in order to successfully resolve the
requirements into a solution that embodies and evokes the cultural traits.

11. •Individual Social Aspects
•Architectural design involves the concept of societal initiatives on a large
scale and the social aspects of the individual on a small scale. The
individual person is reflected through the architectural design in many
fashions. It is the individual that is the common denominator through all
architectural design; regardless of location, building type and size.

•The human element is the most important factor to consider in design. This
element supersedes the additional elements related to building codes,
technology, economics, site, materials and time scheduling. Failure to
respond to the human element will result in a failure of the design.

•The constructed environment can influence behavioral characteristics of
humans. Our public and private spaces can either facilitate or detract
positive behavioral aspects within individuals and groups. The difficulty in
the task of addressing this aspect in design is that human behavior cannot
consistently be predicted or anticipated. Architectural design can address
the basics of this issue by designing facilities that enable users to complete
their tasks or activities with the greatest efficiency and effectiveness.

12. SOCIETY
In sociological terms, society refers to a group of people who live in a definable community and share the
same culture. On a broader scale, society consists of the people and institutions around us, our shared beliefs,
and our cultural ideas. Typically, more-advanced societies also share a political authority.
•Societies are classified according to their development and
use of technology. For most of human history, people lived in
preindustrial societies characterized by limited technology
and low production of goods.
•After the Industrial Revolution, many societies based their
economies around mechanized labor, leading to greater
profits and a trend toward greater social mobility.
•At the turn of the new millennium, a new type of society
emerged. This postindustrial, or information, society is built on
digital technology and nonmaterial goods.

13. Society is the complex pattern in which people interact

•The term society refers not to a group of people, but to the complex pattern of the norms of interaction that
arise among and between them.
------------- Lapiere----------

•Society is a web of social relationships
---------------------McIver-----------
Characteristics of society,

1.It consists of people.
2. Mutual interaction & mutual awareness
3. Society depends on likeness.
4.Society depends on differences too.
5.Co-operation & division of labour
6.Society implies interdependence
7.Dynamic
8.Social control
9.Culture
10.Gregarious nature of man

14. •Community is a social group with some degree of ―we-
feeling‖ and living in a given area.
---------------Bogardus----------------

•Community is an area of social living marked by some degree
of social coherence.
--------------McIver--------------------

•Community is the smallest territorial group that can embrace
all aspects of social life.
---------------Kingsley Davis----------
COMMUNITY

15. •Common to all definitions- There is a specific geographical area with some degree of ‗We Feeling‖.

Elements of Community

Locality- geographical area.

•It is the physical basis of community. A group of people forms a community when it begins to reside in a
definite locality. Even a nomadic community has a locality that keeps changing.
•In modern times the territory has extended due to the development of transport & Communication. The
physical aspects of the community like the resources influence or condition the lives of people in the locality.

Community sentiment

• It means a feeling of belongingness. The members must be aware of their staying together and sharing
common interests. Without a sense of identification, a sense of awareness, a sense of living & sharing some
common interests in life, there cannot be a community.

16. Stability

•A community has to be stable. It is not a temporary group. It includes a permanent group life in a definite place.

Naturalness

•Community normally becomes established in a normal way. They are not deliberately created. Membership is
not voluntary. Individuals becomes its members by birth.

Size of the community

•May be big or small. A smaller one can exist within a bigger one.

Regulation of relations

•Every community develops in course of time a system of traditions, customs, morals, practices, a bundle of rules &
regulations to regulate the relation of its members. In modern cities, the spirit of community sentiment is lacking.

17. Difference with society-

•Community has a boundary.
•It is not abstract as a society.
•Community sentiment is an
essential element.
•It is an aspect of society.
•It is controlled by customs &
traditions.
•Community cannot be widely
heterogeneous.
•A community cannot be self
sufficient.
Classification of community
Primitive
•Immediate contact
•Land is considered
as a common
property
•Large territorial
identity, one
distance to other is
more
•Self sufficiency,
simple & peaceful
life
•Conservative, strong
traditions, lack of
self government.
Medieval
•Land belongs to land
lord, No common
property
Modern
•Closed homes,
people don‘t know
each other.
•Urban exposure of
rural life
•Change in joint
family, faith in
religion, community
consciousness.
•High density
•Surplus resources,
trade & commerce,
transport &
Communication, large
scale education &
recreational activities
•Urban anonymity

18. FAMILY
•Family is a key of social system.
• Family is an institute of social system.
• Family is a micro unit of social system
FAMILY – most universal social institution – every society
organizes its members into families, defined as a group of
people who are related by marriage, blood, or adoption
and who often live together and share economic resources.
―Family is a group based on material relation rights and duties and parenthood, common habitations and
reciprocal relation between parents and children.

19. Common Features
•A common habitation.
•System of nomenclature and
economic system.
•Form of marriage according to which
the mating relation is established and
maintained
Characteristics
•Universality
•Emotional Basis
•Limited Size
•Formative influence
•Responsibility of the members
•Social regulations
•The permanent & temporary nature
of the family.

20. Family is an instrument of culture transmission and an agent of socialization.
Functions of family institution
Essential functions.
1)Satisfaction of biological needs & Psychological needs
2) Reproduction and Procreation, Rearing of the child
3) Socialization.
4) Ascribing status

Non-essential functions
1)Economic
2)Education
3)Religious
4)Health and recreation
5)Political control
6)Physical Protection
7)Social
8)Cultural

21. Types of family Based on size and structure family are three
types:
1.Nuclear Family
2.Joint Family
3.Extended Family
1.Nuclear Family consists of a mother, father,
and their biological or adoptive descendants.

2. Joint Family The social unit consisting of
several generations of kindred living together
under the same roof or in a joining compound.

3. Extended Family An extended family is two
or more adults from different generations of
a family, who share a household.

22. CULTURE
Culture is a fundamental concept in sociology. Culture & society go together. They are inseparable. Every man can
be regarded as a representative of his culture.

Culture is a very broad term that includes all walks of life, our modes of behavior, our philosophies and ethics, our
morals and manners, our customs and traditions, our religion, political, economic, and other types of activities.
Culture includes all that man has acquired in his individual and social life.
•Culture is the complex whole that consists of all the ways we think and do and everything we have as members
of society.
---------------Robert Bierstedt---------------

•That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and
habits acquired by man as a member of society.
--------------Edward B Tvlor--------------------

23. Characteristics of culture

1.Culture is learnt- Culture is not inherited biologically, but learnt socially by man. Culture is often called
‗learned ways of behaviour‘.

2.Culture is social- It is a product of society. It originates and develops through social interactions. It is shared
by the members of the society.

3.Culture is shared- It is not something that an individual alone can possess. Eg. Customs, traditions, beliefs,
values etc, all are shared by a group or society.

―Culture is something adopted, used, believed, practiced or possessed by more than one person. It depends
on group life for its existence.

4. Culture is trans missive– It is capable of being transmitted from one generation to the other. It is transmitted
not through genes but by means of language. Language in its different forms like reading, writing and speaking
makes it possible. Transmission of culture may take place by imitation as well as instruction.

5. Culture is continuous and cumulative– Culture exists as a continuous process. Culture may thus be conceived as
a kind of stream flowing down through the centuries from one generation to the other. Culture is ‗memory of the
human race‖.

24. Culture Contents
Material culture

•Consists of man made objects such
as tools, furniture, automobiles,
buildings, dams, roads, television,
guns, banks, parliaments, currency
system etc. It is concerned with
external, mechanical and
utilitarian objects.

•material creations reflect cultural
values. It is shaped by a culture‘s
technology.
Non-Material culture

•It is internal and intrinsically
valuable. It consists of words
man speak, language he uses,
beliefs he holds, values he
cherishes, habits he follows,
rituals and practices he does,
ceremonies he observes etc.
•It also includes customs &
tastes, attitudes & outlook, in
brief our ways of acting,
feeling and thinking.

25. Sub culture

•A cultural pattern that
differs from the
dominant culture in some
distinctive way.

•Culture that a smaller
population segment
shares within a larger
society.

•Religious groups,
occupational groups,
Class groups, caste
groups etc. represent
such population
segments. Each sub
groups has a culture of
its own.
Sub sub culture

•We can identify sub cultures within
sub cultures. Eg. Caste

•Family is the smallest sub culture unit.
Sub cultural influence

•Exercise a great influence on
individual. Each sub culture has its
own customs, folkways, ceremonies
conversation style, entertainment
means etc.
Cultural diffusion

•Borrowing cultural elements
from other societies.
Diffusion takes place in
every society. It is the main
source of cultural and social
change.


Cultural shock

•The personal disorientation
that may accompany entry
into an unfamiliar social
world.

26. Architecture is a manifestation and expression of culture. As such it must acknowledge and respond to the cultural
needs and values of the society with which it interacts. Consequently, a selected set of cultural aspects will be
defined which have been found most likely to influence architectural form.
RELATION BETWEEN CULTURE AND BUILD FORM
Architecture was and is the true measure of a nation‘s culture.‖ Every society has its own culture, upon which the
foundation of architecture was established. Architecture is and was a true measure of a nation‘s culture. The
architecture reflects the culture of a place like in Jodhpur. The Jharokhas of Mehrangarh fort in Jodhpur
represents the culture of that place and hence justifying the architectural design of the fort.
The culture holds various ways of living, value systems, traditions and beliefs
which includes knowledge, morals acquired by those within the society. The
culture of a society is recognized through its manifestations like language, art
and architecture.
―Architecture is the portray of a nation‘s culture integrated with all aspects of
human life and has a profound impact on it. Architecture is the result of the
culture of the society.‖ There are some cities, where you understand the
culture of a city from its buildings.

27. •Culture is a set of beliefs, knowledge, education, customs and values that society has developed them based on
their own beliefs and in the process, it aims to achieve a development defined and explained to him by its
worldlook. The impact of culture in different areas of life, including art, architecture and urban planning and
development, and ways of life is undeniable.
•Architecture is scientific- artistic activities to create space and organize it; crystallization of the culture of a
community over time; and clear mirror of the society in different periods. Architecture is apart from a building
or building, but also how to build it and not related to construction materials, However, it is related to the way
a house or city is built in order to meet nonmaterial human needs.
•Architecture is both formed and has continued to the present time since the old time when building and
trimming were popular, and its variety has been created . The model of the relationship between culture and
architecture can be expressed based on four different definitions

28. Architecture Speaks About Culture and Age since a Long Time
As ‗Frank Gehry‘, a renowned architect, once
said that ―Architecture should speak of its time
and place, but yearn for timelessness‖. The
architecture should not only try to convey the
culture and values but also express the times,
to which it belongs.
•For instance, if one takes a look into the
Neolithic architecture during the Neolithic
period, one got to see clay dwellings.
Archaeologists found hardly any elements
related to art, were used. Fast forward,
and once you get transported to the
Mesopotamia and Egyptian civilization,
natural materials like cane bundles were
united to form beams and pillars. Spaces
present within the frame, were usually filled
with mud and branches. However, larger
buildings used sun-dried bricks for its
construction.
Middle age
Orviento Cathedral Italy
Period during 3000-
2500 BC
Temple of horus at Edfu

29. •If you take a close look into the history of architecture, you will get to see a vast change in architecture over the
years, as it got influenced by tradition, culture, and style. It has been rightly said that Architecture is the
exposition and expression of culture. After all, building design and culture are sometimes deeply entangled,
―Architecture expresses the cultural context in which it is built. Analysis of the culture can reveal those aspects
which most influenced the architectural form.
•Architecture is the product of the culture for which it was designed. The architects since decades have not only
designed spaces like residential steel buildings but also developed environments that can reflect a bigger
picture of the relationship present between architecture and culture
Egyptian Civilization Roman Civilization Greece Civilization

30. CULTURAL DIMENSION IN ARCHITECTURE
•The greatest impact that the culture has is, from technology. Technology is a thing which you can never
dominate. It always governs and shapes the culture continuously irrespective of place and time and of course,
irrespective of the nature of the governing states. With the advent of technologies, not only the construction
technology is changing, but the emergence of efficient lightweight, energy-efficient strong, durable materials
has its impact on the evolution of architecture.
•In today‘s modern age, the impact of architecture extremely depends on the reassessment of the cultural
differences, present within the communities. Even if, an architect takes the help of design- blueprints or various
software, to create designs for residential steel buildings or storage buildings; still, culture plays a great role in
considering the architectural patterns.
•In most cases, the culture has a deep impact on architectural designs. Hence, building design and culture are
interrelated with each other. Architecture is a manifestation of the cultural context in which it resides. This impact
can be seen in the historical architecture of the modern ones. From the historical structures, like pyramids to the
modern structures, culture has formed the base of design for each period.

•Religious and monumental structures were built so people could admire their building architectures all the time,
which is one of the gems of Indian architecture. The glory of the Taj Mahal, Khajuraho temple or Ajanta Ellora
temples or Minakshi temples, or Temple or at Madurai or Latamad-ud-Daullah tomb and lake palaces provide
ample proofs of this.

31. THANK YOU