SOCI 309/339 URBAN SOCIOLOGY Session 1 The concepts of Sociology and Urbanization Lecturer: Prof. Chris Abotchie, Department of Sociology Contact information: cabotchie@yahoo.com College of Education School of Continuing and Distance Education 2014/2015 2016/2017 godsonug.wordpress.com/blog
Session Overview Introduction Welcome to this first session. Both this session and the second are focused mainly on an attempt to define urban sociology. In this session we attempt to define the concepts of sociology and urbanization and endeavor to put the two definitions together in the second session to arrive a the definition of urban sociology. Imagine the following scenario: You have been invited to deliver a lecture on the Social structure of Ghana to a mixed audience of tourists from various foreign countries and local businessmen. You begin your lecture by briefly outlining to them the various issues you would touch upon in your discussion; and thereafter you begin to tackle the first issue, namely, the fact that without social structure, the struggle by human beings to achieve their basic needs would be very, very, chaotic. Thereafter, you begin to explain what constitutes basic needs. Upon taking a glance at your audience, you realize that some of your listeners had already begun to fidget, that is, show signs of restlessness! What could be the matter, you wonder? To your relief, a member of the audience stood up and said but professor what is social structure? Wow, it occurred to you that you forgot to define the basic concept!
Session Overview Contd. Why Define concepts? Definitions are critical in the social sciences as in all other academic disciplines. How possibly can one begin to discuss an issue without having first defined that issue? What then, is one discussing? The main problem about definitions in the social sciences however is that there is no single definition universally acceptable for any one concept. This problem is referred to verbal confusions and relates to the fact that these is more than one definition for each specific concept, provided by writers who have approached the concept from varying perspectives. In this session, the key concepts in both urbanization and sociology are explained to enable you appreciate the definition arrived at for urban sociology.
Session Outline The main topics to be covered in this session are as follows: Topic one: Define the concepts of urbanization and sociology Topic Two: Social interactions and interrelations in the urban community Topic Three: The main actors in the urban community: The political, religious and economic Topic Four: The main actors: Family, education and health
Session Objectives Overall, by the end of this first session you should be able to: Define the concepts of urbanization and sociology Explain the concepts of interactions and interrelations in the urban community Describe the role of the political, religious and economic urban community actors in the Explain the role of the main family, educational and health actors
Reading List Abotchie, C., (2016) Sociology of Urban communities, Accra, Olive Tree Printing and Publishing, Chapter One pp 1-1722
Topic One Defining the Concepts of Urbanization and Sociology Introduction In this discussion, the concept of urbanization is explained as well as the concept and the main concerns of sociology. Ultimately at the end of the second session, the concerns of sociology are then applied to the urban community to enable us arrive at a definition of urban sociology. The Urban Concept The concept of urbanization can be defined either demographically or culturally. Demographically, the urban concept is defined in terms of spatial concentrations, that is, the agglomeration of populations in specifically defined limits, with reference either to size or density.
The Demographic Definition Spatial concentrations basically refer to the accumulation of people in the specifically definable land space occupied by the urban community, such as, for example, Accra. In other words, demographically, an urban area can be defined in terms of the largeness (size or density) of the people in the defined limits of the urban area. The specifically defined limits refers to the fact that geographically, Accra has its boundaries. If you leave those boundaries you are no longer considered to be in Accra.
The Urban Concept - Cultural Urbanization Culturally, urbanization refers to the transformation of the traditional value systems of a people; in other words, a transformation of their traditional social institutions or culture. This implies that upon migrating into the urban area from the traditional (rural) villages, the migrant gradually undergoes a transformation from his/her traditional rural way to the urban way of life. The rural culture, - specifically the rural folkways and mores and traditions of the migrant are gradually changed into the urban modern (westernized) style of life. Ultimately, the migrant adopts or adapts to the urban culture. A rural girl migrating to the urban area, would quickly discover that she possibly cannot hit the urban streets topless, (as is done in the villages) wearing beads on her waist and a loin cloth to cover her genitals! This mode of presenting oneself in a village is acceptable, but in an urban area, it would be regarded as insanity!
Defining Sociology As a social science discipline, sociology, like other social sciences, suffers from what has been labeled as verbal confusions in the sense that there is no one, universally acceptable, definition for the discipline. Various definitions have been suggested from different perspectives. Some of these perspectives hold that the discipline is: A scientific study of human social life; It specializes in the study of human societies; It studies group behavior and social interactions rather than the study of the individual as such; It is a systematic study of human relations Slide 10
Defining Sociology - Ginsberg The conceptualizations above have some relevance but do not sum up the main concerns of the discipline. For example, it is not clear what is specifically meant by human social life, or human societies or human relations, and as well, what do the social interactions consist of? Thus perhaps one of the most operationally useful definitions of the discipline was suggested by Morris Ginsberg (1961). He defined sociology as: a scientific study of society, that is, the web or tissue of human interactions and interrelations, their conditions and consequences. It has for its field, the whole life of man in society.
Question Distinguish between demographic and cultural urbanization. To what extent do you agree that migrants in Ghana s urban communities are indeed experiencing cultural transformation? Discuss with illustrative examples?
Topic Two Social Interactions and Interrelations in the Urban Community Introduction Two of the key concepts used in the definition of sociology by Ginsberg (1961) are the web or tissue of interactions and interrelations. When these full concepts are fully understood, you would appreciate that, ultimately they do sum up the totality of the life of the individual in the urban community. This is because, as I explained earlier, the urban area is the crucible of civilization where the residents are actively engaged in the pursuit of their cultural goals; that is, the things that they consider as worth striving for towards the achievement of their dreams. These goals are achievable mainly through interactivity and inter-relativity.
Interactions and Interrelations Contd. Indeed, the attainment of these goals is the major reason why most rural dwellers migrate to the urban area which probably explains why you, dear urban dweller, are also in the urban community! These goals as already emphasized - are attainable only through interactions and interrelations. While the attainment of these goals, like higher education, or becoming wealthy through a job opportunity, or through trading, or through one s profession or career, is uppermost in the minds of urban residents, they also go through the same process of interactions and interrelations to enable their attain their basic needs as well. To begin with, what do interactions and interrelations mean and how do they differ from each other? Who are the main players with whom urban residents interact or interrelate? Further, what constitutes the basic needs or the cultural goals?
The Web of Interactions Web and Tissue of Interactions and Interrelations The web or tissue of human interactions and interrelations find the best expression in urban communities, because the spatial concentrations or the agglomeration of populations in the urban area result inevitably in social networking: Picture in your mind, a spider s web, or a piece of tissue (as in the piece of fabric used in making your shirt or blouse/skirt). Both within the spider s web and in the tissue, there are linkages or interconnections. The assumption in the definition therefore is that in every human society particularly in the densely populated urban communities - relationships in the population are not merely between two individuals only, such as between you and the kenkey seller, but operate through a network involving more than two people as represented by the interlacing threads in a web or tissue.
Examples of Interactions As an illustration, let s assume that two migrants A and B met in Accra and became friends. Later on B gets to know C, and through him (B) A also gets to know C, and through C, A and B get to know D, and through D, A,B,C get to know E and the social networking gets bigger and complex, comparable to the interconnections in a speeder s web or in a piece of tissue. These kinds of social networks are very typical of urban communities because of the agglomeration of populations in the area. But how does one distinguish between interactions and interrelations?
Examples of Interactions Contd. Interactions take place between individuals located within a group. For example, within the family as a group, parents interact with their children as mothers and fathers while the children also interact among themselves as brothers and sisters. These interactions are often directed at achieving some basic or mutual needs. Let us consider a school classroom as constituted by a group of people. What goes on between the students and their lecturer in terms of the lecturer delivering a lecture and the students responding by asking questions which are then answered by the lecturer, represent another illustration of interactions taking place between people in a group.
Examples of Interrelations Interrelations on the other hand take place between groups not between individuals. They are the relationships which often occur, say between group A - a family which is a group constituted by individuals father, mother, and children and group B which may be a school, a church or a bank. The relationships which go on between sets of these groups of people are labeled as interrelations and are also often directed towards achieving some basic or mutual needs.
Question With reference either to interactions or interrelations, discuss using any two groups of your choice in each case - the conditions for the interactions or interrelations within or between the groups and the consequences/ expected outcomes of the relationships. Discuss with illustrative examples.
Topic Three The Main Actors in the Political, Religious and Economic Institutional Areas The City as the Crucible of Civilization The urban area has variously been identified as the crucible of civilization a place of intense and refined cultural activities where the cultural goals (the designs for a satisfying life) are actively pursued. The fact that the urban area is the place of intense and refined cultural activities which are directed at achieving these goals, indicates that it is in the urban area that there is a manifestation of large aggregations of people interacting and groups interrelating for the purpose of attaining the cultural goals. Who are the main players in this web of activities? In other words, which category of people do urban residents variously interact with in their pursuit of the cultural goals? Slide 20
Main Actors Contd. To begin with we need to identify first, what constitute the cultural goals, for which there is so much activity in the urban area. These goals, as defined by Merton (1958) refer to the things worth striving for and Linton (1958) suggest that they are the designs for good living. These goals are pursued in response to the basic needs. During our discussion of the concept of social structure, I explained that social structures - the institutions (or the normative patterns of behavior) emerged to ensure that the basic needs are achievable in an orderly manner. What are these basic needs? Basic Needs Behavioral scientists have determined that human beings have a number of basic needs in response to which there are corresponding institutions to facilitate their orderly attainment. In the diagram below we identify the six basic needs, their related institutions, the main actors with whom urbanites interact to satisfy these needs, and the corresponding cultural goals.
Main Institutional Actors in the Urban Area with whom Urbanites Interact to Achieve their Basic Needs and Cultural Goals No. Basic Needs Institutions Main actors The Cultural Goals 1. The need to express one s freedom Political The Police, the Judiciary, the government Political power 2 The need to allay the fear of the mystical Religious Priests (Pastors, Rev. Ministers, traditional priests and priestesses,) Mullahs and other spiritualists Spiritual breakthroughs; ultimately, salvation 3. The need to satisfy hunger Economic Producers and distributors of various goods and services Wealth; material possessions 4 The urge to satisfy the sex drive Marriage and Family Men and women, boys and girls, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers Getting a wife or husband, and children 5 The desire to gratify one s vanity Educational Teachers, professors, other professional trainers Acquisition of diplomas, degrees 6 The need for good health Health Doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners Healing, good health
The Role of the Main Actors in the Urban Community The Political, Religious and Economic Actors Introduction What specific roles do the main actors in the cities perform during the interactions and interrelations that go on between them and the urbanites on a daily basis? In this and the subsequent sections we will discuss the roles of the main actors, beginning with the political, religious and economic institutions. Urban political actors The main sociological function of the political institution is the maintenance of law and order, and the assignment of power and positions to people in the society. The basic human need in response to which the political institution emerged, is the need to ensure and protect the basic liberties, rights and freedom of the people. In the urban areas, the need to ensure the expression of our basic freedoms of action, of speech, of association, in the pursuit of our goals in other words, the need to ensure our basic human rights, brings us in to interaction with the main role players in the political institution, namely, the police, the judiciary and other government institutions charged with the maintenance of law and order.
Political Actors Contd. In the maintenance of law and order, the police play a predominant role in the urban community. The police are a law preservation body whose main functions are the protection of life limb and property both in public and private places. Given the large number of people who live in the urban area competing for limited or non-available resources or opportunities, such as jobs, housing, land, etc, the incidence of antagonism physical conflicts, criminality, juvenile delinquency, homelessness, prostitution, drugs and traffic offenses, etc, abound. When the urban resident gets into any such problems he/she either gets arrested or is compelled to have to interact with the police to request the arrest of an offender, for justice to prevail.
Political Actors Contd. The prevalence of justice is specifically the role of the judiciary. Before an offender is punished it has to be proved beyond every reasonable doubt that he has committed a crime and the decision whether a person has committed a crime or not is made by the court. No other agency or state whether the police or the army has the right to punish offenders except the court. The court is thus an agency of social control concerned with the administration of sanctions in other words justice. A court can be constituted by a judge or a magistrate sitting alone over a case, or it can be constituted by a panel of magistrates or judges. The main role of the Court is to interpret the laws of the land and to prescribe punishments for offenders.
Actors in the Religious Institution The Religious institution sociologically, is responsible relationship between the individual and the supernatural. for the regulation of the The urban area is a hive of religious activity in response to the need to stay in the protection of the supernatural forces, given the intense competition for limited resources. This way, priests, priestesses, pastors and other religious/spiritual leaders, evangelists and charlatans constitute major players with whom their followers interact in churches, shrines and other esoteric institutions, to fulfill their expectations. Thus in the city, one can identify a variety of religious organizations both traditional and modern. The specific reasons why city dwellers engage in spirituality find expression in the reasons why most migrants have left their villages and small towns to reside in the urban areas, namely, their desire to satisfy their passions, which include, in the words of Hobbes, gain, safety, reputation and glory.
Actors in the Religious Institution Contd. Gain Social Aspiration: The city provides many opportunities for the individual to achieve these passions. Given however that a large number of people are struggling in competition for the available opportunities, most people turn to the spiritual either for protection against evil-inclined competitors, or for the enhancement of their chances for breakthroughs. This explains the proliferation not only of Christianity, Islam, traditional religions but also secret societies and some oriental religions in urban communities. Thus, the variety of spiritual leaders identified earlier constitutes the dominant actors who are in an undeclared competition trying to cash in on the religious fervor of city dwellers. Security Safety The Search for Long Life: The search for security, (safety, and long life) becomes paramount because city dwellers aspire to live long enough to enjoy the fruits of their intense and ceaseless activity. And since the Supreme God is the only provider of long life, urbanites engage in a lot of religious activity as well, directed towards achieving this.
Religious Institutional Actors Contd. 2 Reputation Glory By nature, human beings are intensely desirous of raising the plane of their living. Humans do not like remaining static in their social statuses. Most people want a change in their style of life, a change in their educational status (which is most probably why you are studying at this university), a change in their income and a change in their occupation. Social honor becomes important as the individual progresses through life. While the desire for reputation refers to the passion for a greater social honor and respect in the community, glory thus refers to the desire to become famous. The attainment of reputation or glory amounts to experiencing promotion in one s life. But, such promotion, as the scripture says, comes not from the east, west, north or south but from God! Thus the churches mosques etc. in the urban areas are often filled with a variety of businessmen, public servants, artisans, market women - all seeking the help of God to become successful and respectable in their various situations in life.
Urban Economic Actors The Economic institution is responsible for the production and equitable distribution of goods and services. This institution is said to be the kingpin around which all the other institutions are structured and thus provides a very active medium for interaction in the urban area. Why is the economic institutions kingpin or a central pivot? This is so because without a prospering economy that is without adequate funds generated by the economy, all the other institutions in a nation cannot deliver on their objectives. As a consequence a major preoccupation in urban communities consists of the interaction between the urban dwellers on the one hand and a variety of producers such as those in the manufacturing and service industries (such as the banks, insurance and other financial institutions) and distributors such as those who operate shops, malls, groceries and in the markets.
Economic Actors Contd. Additionally, there is an active interaction between hierarchies of people employed in formal work organizations, (that is government Ministries and Departments, Corporations etc.,) because the urban areas are the places where most of these organizations are located. These work places are often characterized by large work forces characterized by the division of labor based on functional specialization. The mechanism that ensures the harmonious functioning of these large workforces in urban communities is bureaucracy. Bureaucratization means that these interactions are based not only on the division of labor but also on rules governing the rights and duties of employees, impersonality of inter-personal relations, procedures dealing with the work situation, promotions, salaries etc. Slide 30
Question How is the proliferation of religious organisations particularly the Pentecostal/charismatic organisations in the urban communities to be explained? Discuss with illustrative examples
Topic Four Actors in the Family, Education and Health institutions Introduction The family, education and health institutions are very important in the urban communities. The family provides all the personnel for in the institutions that keep the urban communities functional the politicians, pastors and the producers and distributors of goods and services who we identified in the preceding discussions all come from families. Indeed the main actors in the family, education and health institutions similarly come from families. What specific roles do the actors in these last three institutions perform in the cities during the interactions and interrelations that go on between them and the urbanites on a daily basis? Main Actors in the Urban Family The family institution sociologically, is responsible for the satisfaction of the sex drive, procreation and socialization of the species. The family, according to Burgess and Locke (1961) is a group of persons united by ties of marriage, blood or adoption, constituting a single household, interacting and intercommunicating with each other in their respective roles as mother and father, brother and sister, husband and wife.
Actors in the Family Contd. Nukunya (2003) identifies three main types of families which can all be identified in the urban areas. These are the nuclear family which refers to a married couple and their children. The nuclear family is also known as the monogamous family. A couple without children does not constitute a family. A polygamous family is constituted by a man, his wives and children (polygyny) or a woman, her husbands and children (polyandry) polyandry is however not institutionalized in any Ghanaian society. The extended family a residential group comprising according to Nukunya (2003) a number of close relatives built around either patrilineal or matrilineal lines. In practical terms an extended family would include a man, his wife, (or wives) their children, their married sons and their wives.
Actors in the Family Contd. The extended family is readily identifiable in most of the patrilineal and matrilineal urban communities as in Accra and Kumasi respectively. The extended family is thus a social arrangement in which the individual has an extensive reciprocal duties, obligations and responsibilities outside his immediate (nuclear) family. The original place of interaction in any community is the family. The very definition of the family as by Burgess and Locke (1961) depicts it as a group within which there is constant interaction. Indeed, before a family comes into being, the interactive process begins between a boy and a girl man and woman, during the preliminary courting process.
Urban Education Main Actors The Educational institution is responsible, sociologically for the transmission of skills and the acquisition of the culture of a society. The type of education usually associated with the urban communities is formal classroom education which involves a training process whereby an individual who has progressed beyond primary socialization, learns about and acquires the skills required for his or her survival as an adult in a given culture. Defined as the crucible of civilization, the urban areas have been the centers of higher learning throughout the world. Universities, Polytechnics and other institutions of higher learning, High schools, Middle and Primary schools are located in the urban area. This is a part of the explanation why large numbers of the youth (including probably you) have migrated to the urban area. The inter-actors are not students and professors (teachers) only but as well other supportive staff who work at these institutions, such as the administrators, matrons, bursars, security staff, etc.
Health in the Urban Areas Main Actors Sociologically, the Healthcare institution is responsible for the establishment, delivery and maintenance of health care. The World health Organization (WHO) defines health as a human condition measured by four components, namely, physical, mental, social and spiritual. This means that for a person to be considered healthy, he must be physically, mentally, socially and spiritually sound. Physical health would refer to the absence of any injury or harm that prevents or incapacitates the individual s ability to carry out his normal functions Mental health refers to the absence of mental abnormalities such as the psychoses or the neuroses (and their various manifestations) Social health is often associated with poverty; thus a poor, deprived person is said to be socially sick. Spiritual health is associated with fear persistent irrational fear that debilitates the ability of the individual to function normally.
Health Actors Contd. Healthcare is perhaps best experienced in the urban area, because this is where the most modern health facilities and the best medical personnel are available. The urban area is also perhaps the place where the residents may encounter common health risks, which are a product of demographic urbanization, namely, congested human residential and work environment, the unending trail of traffic, pollution and violence. As one occasionally finds oneself in need of healthcare. The medical personnel including doctors, nurses, laboratory personnel - are the main actors who one invariably interacts with.
Session Summary Hopefully, by the end of this session, you have learnt the following: The political institution is responsible for the maintenance of law and order and the assignment of power and positions to people in society. The main actors in this institution with whom the urban dweller interacts include the police, the judiciary and other law enforcement personnel in the city. The religious institution regulates the relationship between the individual and the supernatural. The main actors in the urban areas include pastors and other ministers of the Christian religion, imams and mullahs in the Islamic religion and priests and priestesses in the African traditional religion. The economic institution caters for the production and equitable distribution of goods and services. The main actors include the producers and distributors of goods and services in the manufacturing, service and agricultural industries. Slide 38
Session Summary Contd. The needs of people in the urban area are attainable through interactions which are the relations between people within the same group and also through interrelations which are relationships between a group to which you belong and another group from which you require some service; The main actors involved in the interactions and interrelations are those who perform various institutional functions, namely, political the policeman; religious the pastor; economic the shopkeeper, etc. marriage husbands or wives; education the lecturer; health the doctor. The basic needs include the needs for freedom, the need to allay one s fears, the need for food and security, the need to satisfy the sex drive, the need to gratify one s vanity i.e. attain one s dreams and the need for good health. The cultural goals the things worth striving for are: political power, the need for salvation, becoming wealthy, getting married, acquisition of diplomas or degrees and good health
Question With reference to what Hobbes said about the struggle for power in the absence of social control and a state of a war of all against all, discuss the importance of the basic structures in urban communities. Can urban communities survive without social structures?
Reading List Abotchie, C. (2016) Assimeng, J. M. (1981) Henslin, J. (2006) Milgram, S. (1970) Nukunya, G. K. (2003) Sociology of Urban Communities, Accra Olive Tree Publishing and Printing. Social Structure of Ghana, Tema, Ghana Publishing Corporation. Down to Earth Sociology: Introductory Readings. Addison-Wesley, Prentice Hall. The Experience of living in the cities in America, in American Sociological Review, Vol 107 pp 1461-1468. Tradition and Change in Ghana, Accra, Ghana Universities Press. Slide 41