МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ РЕСПУБЛИКИ БЕЛАРУСЬ

УО «Белорусский государственный экономический университет»

Л. В. ЛОПАТО

СОЦИОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ

SOCIOLOGICAL ISSUES

Электронное учебно-методическое пособие

по дисциплине «Иностранный язык (английский)»

Минск 2010

Рецензенты: зав. кафедрой теории и практики английской речи БГЭУ, канд. филол. наук, доцент Т.Ф. Солонович, преподаватель кафедры теории и практики английской речи БГЭУ О.В. Иванова.

Рекомендовано кафедрой теории и практики английской речи БГЭУ

Лопато Л.В.

Вопросы социологии = Sociological Issues: Электронное учебно-методическое пособие /Л.В. Лопато – Минск: БГЭУ, 2010. – 45 с. (2,3 усл.печ. л.)

Пособие содержит учебно-методический комплекс по профессионально ориентированному модулю «Моя специальность – ‘экономическая социология» дисциплины «Иностранный язык (английский)» и включает тексты и задания для чтения, активный словарь и лексические упражнения для его усвоения, задания для совершенствования речевых навыков по данной тематике. Предназначено для студентов, специализирующихся в области экономической социологии.

Contents

Unit 1. Human Cultures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Unit 2. Social Organization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .21

Unit 3 Sociological Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Tapescripts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Unit 1. Human cultures

GETTING STARTED

1. Discuss the following question first in small groups, then compare your answers with those of others students:

1. If you were asked to define the term “culture”, what would you say?

2. Through what process(es) do human cultures change and expand?

2. From the list given below choose basic human values a) typical of b) common for all societies.

individual independence, intellectuality, friendship, love, family, religion, patriotism, humour, achievement, efficiency, material comfort, equality, the supremacy of science, health, democracy, private property

USEFUL VOCABULARY

Make sure you know the following words. Use the dictionary to check their meanings.

abuse n achievement n adopt v advance v attempt v behavior n conception n concern n conduct v contemporary a create v custom n diffusion n distinctive a existence n expand v exploration n

folkways n generation n heritage n human a identification n indicate v innovation n invent v involve v maintain v mores n obedience n obtain v perspective n precise a preserve v protect v

punish v reality n refer (to) v reward n sanction n share v severe a similar a theft n threaten v totality n transmit v treason n value n view n violation n whole a

READING

Text 1 human cultures

We live in human societies. A society is the largest form of human social organization that consists of people who live in the same territory, are relatively independent of people outside their area and share a common heritage or a common culture. Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted behavior and is used by social scientists for a people’s whole way of life. In its narrow meaning, culture is activities in such fields as art, literature, and music. Social scientists consider that a people's culture consists of all ideas, objects, and ways how people create things. Culture includes arts, beliefs, customs, inventions, language, technology, and traditions. A culture is any way of life, simple or complex. Members of a society learn this culture and transmit it from one generation to the next. They preserve their distinctive culture through literature, video recordings and other means of expression. If it were not for the social transmission of culture, each generation would have to reinvent television, not to mention the wheel.

The study of culture is an important part of contemporary sociological work. Through advances in culture, human beings have come a long way from our prehistoric heritage. Human beings have made dramatic cultural advances. We can send astronauts to the moon, we have such achievements as the symphonies of Beethoven, the paintings of Van Gogh, the poetry of Byron and the novels of Dostoevsky.

Each generation and each year most human cultures change and expand through the process of innovation and diffusion. An innovation is the process of introducing an idea or object that is new to culture. There are two forms of innovation: a discovery and an invention. A discovery involves making known or sharing the existence of an aspect of reality. The identification of a new moon of Saturn is an act of discovery. By contrast, an invention results when existing cultural items are combined into a form that did not exist before. The bow and the arrow, the automobile and the television are all examples of inventions, as are Protestantism and democracy. The term diffusion refers to the process by which a cultural item is spread from group to group or from society to society, i.e. to the process of adopting ideas, technology and customs from other cultures. For example, breakfast cereal comes originally from Germany, candy from the Netherlands, chewing gum from Mexico and the potato chip from the America of the Indians. Diffusion can occur through a variety of means, among them exploration, military conquests, missionary work, the influence of the mass media and tourism.

Sociologists make a useful distinction between elements of material and nonmaterial culture. Material culture refers to the physical or technological aspects of our daily lives including food items, houses, factories and raw materials. Nonmaterial culture refers to ways of using material objects and to customs, beliefs, philosophies, governments and patterns of communications.

Generally, the nonmaterial culture is more resistant to change than the material culture is. Therefore, foreign ideas are viewed as more threatening to a culture than foreign products are. We are more willing to use technological innovations that make our lives easier than ideologies that change our way of seeing the world.

2. Answer the following questions about culture:

1) What does the term "culture" mean?

2) What is the narrow meaning of the term "culture"?

3) What does culture include?

4) How do members of a society learn, transmit and preserve their distinctive culture?

5) Why do you think the study of culture is an important part of contemporary sociological work?

6) How do human cultures change and expand?

7) Why do sociologists make a distinction between elements of material and nonmaterial culture?

8) How can you account for the fact that nonmaterial culture is more resistant to change than material culture?

3. Find in the text the English equivalents of the following:

Человеческое общество; иметь общее наследие; передавать из поколения в поколение; если бы не; пройти долгий путь развития; значительные успехи в культуре; иметь место (происходить); четко разграничивать; оказывать сопротивление чему-либо; испытывать желание; изменить способ видения мира

4. Supply the missing words or word combinations choosing among those given below.

heritage	preserve	resistant	totality
distinction	refers to	expand	distinctive
innovations	diffusion	threatening	contemporary

1) People in a society are … of people outside the area. 2) Culture is the … of learned, socially transmitted behavior. 3) We … our relatively independent culture through different means of expression. 4) The study of culture is an important part of … social work. 5) Through advances in culture human beings have come a long way from our prehistoric … . 6) Human cultures change and … each year. 7) … can occur through a variety of means. 8) Sociologists make useful … between elements of material and nonmaterial culture. 9) Material culture … the physical or technological aspects of our daily life. 10) The nonmaterial culture is more … to change than the material culture is. 11) Therefore, foreign ideas are viewed as more … to a culture than foreign products are. 12) We are more willing to use technological … that make our lives easier than ideologies that change our way of seeing the world.

5. Agree or disagree to the following statements; add some more information.

1) Culture is a people's whole way of life.

2) Culture is activities in such fields as art, literature, and music.

3) Culture consists of arts and beliefs.

4) Culture is a simple way of life.

5) People transmit their culture from one generation to the next.

6) An innovation occurs when existing cultural items are combined into a new form.

7) Diffusion results from adopting a cultural item from other cultures.

8) People are more willing to use foreign products than to change ways of using them.

6. Define the following key terms and memorize the definitions:

society, culture, innovations, discovery, invention, diffusion, material culture, nonmaterial culture