The Sociology Book

A

s prehistory’s primitive
human groups began
to settle down in one place,
the foundations of civilization were
laid. From these early beginnings,
humans increasingly lived together
in larger and larger groups, and
civilization grew further with the
establishment of villages, towns,
and cities. But for the greater part
of human history, most people lived
in rural communities. Large-scale
urbanization came about only with
the Industrial Revolution, which was
accompanied by a huge expansion
of towns and cities, and massive
numbers of people migrating to
work in the factories and mills
that were located there.
Living in an urban environment
became as much an aspect of
“modernity” as industrialization
and the growth of capitalism, and

sociologists from Adam Ferguson

to Ferdinand Tönnies recognized

that there was a major difference

between traditional rural

communities and modern urban

ones. This alteration of social order

was ascribed to a variety of factors

by an assortment of thinkers: to

capitalism by Karl Marx; to the

division of labor in industry by

Émile Durkheim; to rationalization

and secularization by Max Weber.

It was Georg Simmel who

suggested that urbanization itself

had affected the ways in which

people interact socially—and one of

the fundamental characteristics of

modern living is life in the city.

Community in the city

Simmel examined not only the new

forms of social order that had arisen

in the modern cities, but also the

effects upon the individual of living

in large groups, often separated

from traditional community ties

and family. Building upon his work,

the so-called Chicago School of

sociology, spearheaded by Robert E.

Park, helped to establish a distinct

field of urban sociology. Soon,

however, sociologists changed the

emphasis of their research from

what it is like to live in a city, to

what kind of city we want to live in.

Having evolved to meet the

needs of industrialization, the

city—and urban life, with all its

benefits and disadvantages—was

felt by many sociologists to have

been imposed on people. The

Marxist sociologist Henri Lefebvre

believed that the demands of

capitalism had shaped modern

urban society, but that ordinary

people could take control of their

INTRODUCTION

1887

1893

1908

1920 S

1903

1904–05

1961

Georg Simmel

publishes his essay

“The Stranger”

in Sociology:

Investigations on the

Forms of Sociation.

Émile Durkheim explains

in The Division of Labor

in Society the solidarity

that comes with the

interdependence of people

with specialized functions.

In The Metropolis and

Mental Life, Georg Simmel

examines the negative

effects of increased

urbanization on

social interaction

and relationships.

Max Weber, in The

Protestant Ethic and

the Spirit of Capitalism,

warns of the

dehumanizing effects

of rationalization.

In Gemeinschaft und
Gesellschaft, Ferdinand
Tönnies laments the
change in values from
community to mere
association in
modern society.

Jane Jacobs appeals

for “eyes on the

street” to protect

urban communities

from city planners in

The Death and Life of

Great American Cities.

Robert E. Park and other

members of the so-called

“Chicago School” of

sociology focus on

urban life and

social structures.

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