Principles of sociology - University of London International ...

21 Principles of sociology
20
Asking sociological questions: making the familiar strange
Most people feel they have some understanding of crime and, certainly in
countries like the United States and the UK that have high reported crime
rates, people spend quite a lot of time talking about it. The conversations
you hear are usually about how bad crime is, why it happens and, above
all, what can be done to stop or at least reduce it.
Sociologists are also interested in these questions and a number of
sociologists work in crime prevention. However, thinking as a sociologist
also raises other questions. The famous US sociologist Peter Berger –
whose book Invitation to sociology we have recommended as further
reading for this chapter – says that part of the sociologist’s art is making
the familiar become strange. This means trying to see the taken-forgranted
world around you afresh, by looking at it with the eyes of a
stranger, or a tourist in a foreign land.
Activity 1.3 Making the familiar strange
Try this yourself. If you have travelled to another country for work or a holiday, think
back to the first day or two when it was new to you. Recall how much you took in;
for example, how different the houses were, the streets, the people, or some of the
customs, or whatever. Making the familiar strange means learning to look at your familiar
environment in the same way. Select a setting that is very familiar to you, such as your
place of work, college or home, and spend a little time pretending you are a visitor from
another country and have never been here before. Write down what you notice. What
questions spring to mind? What do you find odd, amusing, interesting about this ‘new’
culture? What do you like or dislike about it? Finally, returning to your ‘real life’, is there
anything you might now question or do differently as a result of ‘your visit’? But be
careful here, some people may not understand that you are ‘doing’ sociology. They may
feel that you are playing tricks on them and may take exception to your behaviour.
From this perspective, sociologists question some of the things that most
people just take for granted about crime.
For example, why are some actions defined as ‘crimes’ in the first place,
whereas other acts that may be equally harmful are seen as quite
acceptable? Why do societies change their minds about what is and what
isn’t a crime and what should be done about crime? For example, in the
UK 40 years ago, it was quite legal for a man to rape his wife but illegal to
be a practising homosexual. Now it is illegal for a man to rape his wife, but
in many countries, including the UK, the laws relating to the prohibiting
of homosexual relationships have been changed and it is not illegal to
be homosexual. What this shows is that what is defined as a crime is
socially defined. Sociologists are interested in how these definitions are
constructed in everyday life. For example, which social groups have the
power to define some acts (but not others) as crimes and some individuals
(but not others) as criminals? What is considered as a crime, by the legal
system, is what the law states is a crime. However laws are changed by
people and laws change over time.
Another difference between sociological and commonsense thinking – as
we shall see in the next chapter – is that sociologists are interested in how
everyday social order is maintained. From this point of view sociologists
are not just interested in how crime disrupts social order, they are also
interested in how crime contributes to social order. The famous French
sociologist, Emile Durkheim (1858–1917), observed that it is only by
identifying certain acts as crimes, and labelling certain people as criminals
and punishing them, that people are made aware of the boundaries
between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Thus, paradoxically,