scholarly journals Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to the Study of Social Structure: Western Ideas in Domestic Practice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iuliia Nikolaevna Soloveva

The study of the social structure of society involves the selection of features that determine social stratification. The variety of these features contributes to the emergence of a large number of theoretical and methodological approaches. The article examines the most significant approaches for studying the social structure of Russian society based on the ideas of representatives of Western sociology: from class theories to theories of social stratification. In the process of transformation of society, not only the structure changes, but also the factors influencing it, which leads to the emergence of new approaches for the most complete and accurate analysis.

Author(s):  
Ruslan Braslavskiy ◽  
Vladimir Kozlovskiy

The civilizational approach in contemporary sociology aims at clarifying the relationships between social structure and culture, and institutions and actors. The civilizational dimension of the structuring of societies focuses on uncovering the complex interactions between the civilizational pattern and social structure. The focus is on a historically-defined combination of interpretive models and institutional frameworks in which the social dynamics of society unfolds. The fundamental premise of civilizational analysis in sociology is the rejection of social or cultural reductionist determinism. The key moments are distinction and autonomy, and are contingent on the interweaving of the structural, institutional, and cultural aspects of social interaction. The basic concepts of the civilizational dimension of structuring societies are (a) the determination of the method of differentiation and integration of the spheres of social life; (b) the establishment of basic norms and “debentures” for the main institutional sectors; (c) the building a social center and establishing its relationship with the periphery; (d) the construction of collective identities; (e) giving order to the formation of social stratification and the social division of labor; and (f) a self-representation and the strategies of sociopolitical elites, and their management practices. The key aspects of the civilizational structuring of social formations are highlighted and considered in the examples of the Imperial and the Soviet periods in the history of Russian society. Contemporary societies in the civilizational dimension are a combination of (a) inherited local civilizational traditions (often with their own anticipations of modernity), then (b) perceived in the course of inter-civilizational encounters with cultural and institutional influences of “other” traditions and reactions to them, and then (c) develop, inherit their own, borrow, or take on imposed-from-the-outside articulations and visions of the problems of modernity civilization, including models of modernity which receive universal meaning and value.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 788-832
Author(s):  
Lukas M. Muntingh

Egyptian domination under the 18th and 19th Dynasties deeply influenced political and social life in Syria and Palestine. The correspondence between Egypt and her vassals in Syria and Palestine in the Amarna age, first half of the fourteenth century B.C., preserved for us in the Amarna letters, written in cuneiform on clay tablets discovered in 1887, offer several terms that can shed light on the social structure during the Late Bronze Age. In the social stratification of Syria and Palestine under Egyptian rule according to the Amarna letters, three classes are discernible:1) government officials and military personnel, 2) free people, and 3) half-free people and slaves. In this study, I shall limit myself to the first, the upper class. This article deals with terminology for government officials.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
V. V. Gorshkova ◽  
A. A. Melnikova

The article considers the contradictions and conflicts that are characteristic of modern Russian society. The processes of social disintegration are analyzed and interpreted as a result of fundamental social and economic transformations. The problems of economic inequality are presented in the historical perspective in close connection with the previous stages of Russia's socioeconomic development. Significant polarization of the population is one of the most significant conflict factors in modern society, which leads to an increase in protest moods and may in the long term threaten social upheavals. Nevertheless, dissatisfaction with the socio-economic situation does not lead to ideas of the unification and consolidation of society, but find expression in social conflicts. The emergence and development of social conflicts is influenced by a number of factors: economic, ethnic, religious. One of the most important characteristics of society is its social structure. After the collapse of the USSR, the previous social structure was abolished, and a new social reality was formed in Russia. When considering the stratification structure of society, most attention is paid to the middle class, which is considered the backbone of a stable society. The middle class in Russia is in the stage of formation, it is hardly possible to speak of a complete analogy with the middle class of Western society. The share of middle class in society can be estimated in different ways depending on the methodological approaches used by researchers. An important consequence of the transformation of the social structure was the problem of marginalization, since the dismantling of the old social structure and the slow formation of the new one put the social status and place in the division of labor system of many individuals into question. The sharp impoverishment of representatives of prestigious professions led to a reassessment of their situation, especially for the younger generation. When analyzing the origins of social conflicts in modern Russian society, it is necessary to consider the issue of the attitude of the broad masses of the population to power and national elites. It should be noted that power in Russia historically takes shape around specific leaders and does not have an institutional character. The most significant factor shaping the attitude towards the authorities and the elite in general in Russian society are the economic results of the market reforms that have taken place. Only a small part of the population believes that they won as a result of the changes that have taken place, the natural consequence of which is the population's distrust of the authorities and, in general, political institutions.


Author(s):  
Алена Владимировна Искрина

В статье рассматриваются особенности формирования социальной стратификации Древней Руси на раннем этапе развития, этапы появления различных страт в зависимости от социально-политических событий с X по XII вв. Предметом исследования является процесс образования социальных страт в древнерусском государстве. Цель статьи - рассмотреть социальное устройство Древней Руси, определить и описать стратификацию и взаимодействие страт между собой, историю изучения данного вопроса, политические события, влияющие на данные процессы. Основным вопросом исследования явились исторические события, оказавшие влияние на формирование социальных страт с X по XII вв., появление социальных страт в данный исторический период и формы их взаимодействия. Отвечая на данный вопрос, автор приходит к выводу, что разложение патриархально-общинного строя, формирование феодального вассалитета, принципа майората, княжеской дружины и другие внутриполитические события повлияли на формирование социальных страт государства. В связи с данными историческими событиями удается проследить этапы происхождения социальных слоев населения, их состав, социальные функции в обществе и государстве. The paper examines the features of the social stratification of the Ancient system at an early stage of development, the stages of the emergence of various strata depending on political events from the 10th to the 12th centuries. The subject of this research is the process of the formation of social strata in the ancient European state. The purpose of the publication is to consider the social structure of Ancient Rus, to determine and describe the stratification and interaction of strata with each other, to study this issue, political events that affect these processes. The main research issue was the historical events that influenced the formation of social strata from the 10th to the 12th centuries, the emergence of social strata in a given historical period and the forms of their interaction. Answering this question, the author arrives at the conclusion that the disintegration of the patriarchal-communal system, the formation of a feudal vassalage, the principle of primacy, the princely squad and other internal political events influenced the formation of social strata of the state. In connection with these historical events, it is possible to trace the stages of the origin of social strata of the population, their composition, social functions in society and the state.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander N. Demidov

Introduction. The article considers the publication of a unique source for the history of the Mordovian people, the “protective memory” dated by 1572 addressed to the princes and Murzes of Mordovia. The “protective memory” is considered in comparison with the “romadanovsky” list belonging to the descendants of the Mordovian prince Romadan, seeking the return of the nobility, the non-criminal record of the Temnik-Kadom Mordva, published in the XVIII century, similar to the records of Tatar Sovereigns to the Temnik-Kadom Mordva. Materials and methods. The author focused on studying the content of the source, revealing the identities of the recipients, analyzing the composition of the princes and Murz of Mordovian records, spelling of the names, origin, and family ties. The genealogy of the princes Edelevs is being reconstructed, the history of their kind is described together with the history of Mordovian Murzas and their representatives in the context of social and historical ties. Results and discussion. The article describes the social situation of Princes Edelevs, the features of land ownership, land use, property and ownership of serfs. The article discusses the history of the discovery and use of the source in the clerical work of the aristocratic deputies’ assemblies and the Governing Senate at the request of the descendants of Mordovian princes and Muzes from the Edelev family to restore the rights of the noble state. It poses the problem of studying the social stratification in Mordovian society, the typology and origin of the Mordovian aristocracy, the peculiarities of the titling and inheritance of power, its role in the historical and social development of the Mordovian people, as well as its legal status in the Russian Empire. It compares the situation of the Temnikov-Kadom Mordovian Tarkhans, Cossacks, White Field and Alatyr princes and Mordovian Murzes, serving Mordovians and Tatars. Conclusion. “Protective memory” indicates that in the XVI century there was a national Mordovian aristocracy, collaborating with Moscow and being in the service of Great Sovereigns, and subsequently becoming part of the nobility and other classes of Russian society. The choice of Mordovian princes ensured the relatively peaceful entry of Mordovian lands into the Russian Empire.


Author(s):  
Carlos Gonçalves

This chapter aims to discuss concepts and methods to measure the landscape resilience of urban systems and test the indicators framework in the Portuguese regional context. The objective is to measure the performance and the direction of the urban changes in different phenomena, as well as to evaluate the level of urban systems preparation for a desired and undesired change adaptability. The approach to these issues is analyzed in the literature, dividing the aforementioned analysis into the resilience of the economic base, of the social structure, and of the urban form. In brief, the chapter meets three objectives: firstly, defining the framework of principles more commonly associated with urban resilience; secondly, providing a selection of indicators that embodies the different proposals of measurement; and thirdly, applying the indicator matrix to two Portuguese case studies (Caldas da Rainha and Évora urban systems).


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sascha Muennich

This article shows how research on the social structure of markets may contribute to the analysis the growing income inequality in contemporary capitalist economies. The author proposes a theoretical link between embeddedness and social stratification by discussing the role of institutions and networks in markets for the distribution of economic profits between firms. The author claims that we must understand profit and free competition as opposites, as economic theory does. In the main part of the article the author illustrates six typical mechanisms of rent extraction from networks or formal and symbolic rules that embed markets. They emerge from material as well as symbolical access to and influence on the orientation of other market actors. Social structures in markets lead to unequal chances for rent extraction, even if actors produce them for coordination rather than for accumulation purposes. This is how market sociology and theory of capitalism can be linked more closely.


AMERTA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-38
Author(s):  
Marlon N.R. Ririmasse

Abstract. Dolmen and the Social Structure of the Tuhaha Comunity in Central Malucca.  This article further discusses the social aspects of dolmen function by analyzing the relationship between dolmen and social stratification in the ancient Tuhaha society. At the same time, this article also analyze how the social structure concept being transform into the form of dolmen as a material culture complete with all its symbolic attributes. Abstrak. Tulisan ini mencoba melihat aspek-aspek sosial dari fungsi dolmen dengan mengkaji hubungan antara dolmen dan stratifikasi sosial pada masyarakat desa Tuhaha Maluku Tengah. Saat yang sama mencoba untuk melihat bagaimana struktur sosial yang bersifat konseptual, diwujudkan dalam bentuk dolmen sebagai data materi dengan segenap atribut simboliknya.


Author(s):  
Arkadyi L. Marshak ◽  

The article analyses the present state of culture in Russia, its multilevel content. It shows the influence of different layers of society on the state and development of the present social structure. Based on perennial research data collected with participation of the author, sociocultural models of social relations and their influence on the cultural potential of the social structure are described. The article emphasizes the necessity of multilevel social research of the cultural potential of Russian society. The main directions of theoretical, methodological and empirical program of such research are formulated.


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