Human Societies - ESL Lounge



This text is about sociology and changes in society. There are some words in this text that you won’t see very often when you are reading but are important for this text. These words are in bold in the text. Look at the questions below about these vocabulary items and try to answer them. You should use a dictionary if you are unsure of the answers.

A: Pre-reading Vocabulary

trajectory (n)

‘We are like travelers in a rocket ship hurtling through space on an unknown trajectory.’

Does trajectory mean the direction of something moving through the air or the destination of something?

to culminate in something (v)

‘How do we ensure that social change does not culminate in a nuclear holocaust?’

Does culminate in mean to start a war with sth or to finally result in sth?

urban (adj)

‘Some sociologists study societal processes—processes of urban growth.’

Is urban growth the growth of a city/town or the growth of sports activities?

to specialize in something (v)

‘Sociology is the branch of modern science that specializes in the study of human societies.’

If you specialize in running, are you an expert runner or are you a very bad runner?

broad (adj)

‘Sociology’s aims and interests are extremely broad.’

Does broad mean wide-ranging or very boring?

B: Scanning for information

How are you going to answer these questions?

These are scanning questions – to answer these questions in the time available, you will have to look at the text very quickly! Remember; you are looking for names, dates or numbers.

Allow yourself only sixty (60) seconds to answer these questions.

1. Which year is referred to as Orwellian?

___________________

2. Between which years did the structural functional approach dominate sociology?

___________________

Human Societies

Introduction

The most striking[1] feature of contemporary life is the revolutionary pace of social change. Never before have things changed so fast for so much of mankind. Everything is affected: art, science, religion, morality, education, politics, the economy, family life, even the inner aspects[2] of our lives—nothing has escaped.

Language

There is probably no better indicator of this than our language, because it mirrors the world around us. Words and phrases that only a short time ago were unknown, or had very different meanings, are now integral parts of our speech and our thinking:

organ transplants . . . e-mail … the population explosion . . .

communications satellites . . . genetic engineering . . . the Third World instant replay . . . the internet . . . weapons of mass destruction

Society’s revolution

This social revolution — because that is what this is — raises urgent questions. What is causing it? Where is it leading? Most important of all, how can we control it, how do we ensure that it does not culminate in a nuclear holocaust[3], an ecological disaster of global proportions — or an Orwellian 1984[4]?

In many ways, we are like travelers in a rocket ship hurtling through space on an unknown trajectory. Even worse, we have only the most limited knowledge of the vehicle—our society—on which our lives depend. Under the circumstances, it is not surprising that people are more concerned today than ever before with the study of human societies.

Sociology

Sociology is the branch of modern science that specializes in the study of human societies.’ Its aims and interests are extremely broad. Some sociologists study the subunits that make up societies—such as communities, family groups, political parties, and churches. Others focus on societal processes—processes of urban growth, the political process, the educational process. Still others study various problems that afflict human societies—poverty, for example, or crime, or racial conflict. All these studies contribute to our understanding of the larger picture.

Areas of study

It would be a mistake, of course, to suppose that only sociologists study human societies. They share this interest to a greater or lesser degree with most other social scientists. As a consequence, any analysis of human societies draws on the contributions of scholars in a wide variety of fields, especially anthropology, history, political science, and economics.

Different approaches

In sociology, as in any large and active field of study, controversy is inevitable. Not all sociologists share the view of human societies. The structural-functional approach[5] to the study of human societies, which dominated the field from the 1930s to the 1960s, is now being challenged by alternative approaches. One of the more promising is the ecological-evolutionary approach[6].

Adapted from Human Societies (1974) By G. Lenski & J. Lenski

C: Comprehension Questions

✓ These questions test your ability to analyse and understand the questions that you are being asked.

✓ The questions are not in the same order as the text. In order to locate the answers, you must look for key words in the question and make a connection to the paragraph headings.

✓ An example is given to help you.

✓ Before you start reading, look at the paragraph headings.

How are you going to answer these questions?

These questions ask you to answer in your own words. You are going to find the answers in specific paragraphs in the text. Look at the question first and decide which word(s) in the question will help you to locate the correct part of the text. Remember: find a word in each question that is similar to a paragraph heading!

Example:

1. Give two (2) examples of subunits that are researched by sociologists.

_________communities and political parties___________

Now answer these questions in the same way:

2. Name three (3) groups that are studying human societies.

________________________________________________________________________

3. Why is language a good indication of social change?

________________________________________________________________________

4. What is the difference between the structural-functional approach and the ecological-evolutionary approach? Write a sentence using the word whereas.

________________________________________________________________________

5. Give a definition of the word sociology.

________________________________________________________________________

6. What do the authors compare our society to?

________________________________________________________________________

Hopefully you have been able to find the answers to these questions without reading the whole of the text. Look at the statement below. If your answer is yes, you have learned a skill that will be useful to you in your future academic studies. If your answer is no, ask a teacher to give you some guidance on how to develop this skill.

Answer Key

1. Example answer

2. People who study history, political science and economics.

3. Because it mirrors the world around us.

4. In the ecological-evolutionary approach, sociologists study the relationship between people and their environment, whereas in the structural-functional approach, sociologists identify and label different parts of society.

5. Sociology is the science that specializes in the study of human societies.

6. They compare our society to a rocket ship moving quickly through space.

D: Post-reading Vocabulary

The missing words in these sentences are words that you will regularly see in academic texts. Try to guess the word using the given first letter and the clue. If you are unable to guess the answer you may check the text.

‘There is probably no better i_________ of social change than our language, because it mirrors the world around us.’

CLUE: The missing word has a meaning similar to sign.

Words and phrases that only a short time ago were unknown (like e-mail, the internet) are now i___________ parts of our speech and our thinking.

CLUE: The missing word has a meaning similar to necessary or essential.

We have only a limited knowledge of the society on which our lives depend. U______ ____ ___________ (3 words), it is not surprising that people are more concerned today than ever before with the study of human societies.

CLUE: This phrase is similar in meaning to because of these reasons or due to these facts.

-----------------------

[1] Something that is striking is obvious and easily noticeable.

[2] Inner aspects are things that are important to us as individuals.

[3] A holocaust is a terrible disaster.

[4] Orwellian refers to the author George Orwell. 1984 is the title of one of his books. In the book Orwell describes a terrible society in which nobody is free to do what they want.

[5] In the structural-functional approach, sociologists identify and label different parts of society.

[6] In the ecological-evolutionary approach, sociologists study the relationship between people and their environment.

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Key word from the question: sociologists

Paragraph where I found the answer: sociology

Key word from the question: _____________

Paragraph where I found the answer: _____________

Key word from the question: _____________

Paragraph where I found the answer: _____________

Key word from the question: _____________

Paragraph where I found the answer: _____________

Key word from the question: _____________

Paragraph where I found the answer: _____________

Key word from the question: _____________

Paragraph where I found the answer: _____________

I was able to find the keywords in the questions and relate them to the paragraph headings:

YES NO

Key word from the question: study

Paragraph where I found the answer: areas of study

Key word from the question: language

Paragraph where I found the answer: language

Key word from the question: approach

Paragraph where I found the answer: different approaches

Key word from the question: sociology

Paragraph where I found the answer: sociology

Key word from the question: society

Paragraph where I found the answer: society’s revolution

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