IanWiki - Sociology

Sociology -- What is it?

Sociology as a discipline emerged in the 19th century as an academic response to the challenge of modernity: as the world is becoming smaller and more integrated, people's experience of the world is increasingly atomized and dispersed. Sociologists hoped not only to understand what held social groups together, but also to develop an "antidote" to social disintegration. Today sociologists research macro-structures that organize society, such as race or ethnicity, class and gender, and institutions such as the family; social processes that represent deviation from, or the breakdown of, these structures, including crime and divorce; and micro-processes such as interpersonal interactions.

Sociologists often rely on quantitative methods of social research to describe large patterns in social relationships, and in order to develop models that can help predict social change and how people will respond to social change. Other branches of sociology believe that qualitative methods -- such as focused interviews, group discussions and ethnographic methods -- allow for a better understanding of social processes.

======= History =======

Sociology is a relatively new study among other social science disciplines including economics, political science, anthropology and psychology. The term was coined by Auguste Comte, who hoped to unify all studies of humankind--including history, psychology and economics. His own sociological scheme was typical of the 18th century; he believed all human life had passed through the same distinct historical stages and that, if one could grasp this progress, one could prescribe the remedies for social ills.

In the end, Sociology did not replace the other social sciences, but came to be another of them, with its own particular emphases in terms of subject matter and methods. Today, Sociology studies humankind's organizations and social institutions, largely by a comparative method. It has concentrated particularly on the organization of complex industrial societies.

======= Major Branches =======

functionalism
conflict theory
interactionism or Social Action theory and symbolic-interactionism

======= Specialized areas =======

Environmental sociology
Human ecology (sometimes included into sociology proper)
Industrial sociology
Medical sociology
Micro sociology
Political sociology
Rural sociology
Sociology of religion
Sociology of science and technology
Systems theory
Urban sociology
Sociology of Markets
Economic Sociology
Sociology of Industrial Relations
Social Demography

======= Key Sociological Topics: =======

functionalism
conflict theory
interactionism or Social Action theory and symbolic-interactionism
sociology of knowledge (or: social constructionism)
structuralism
class
race
gender/sex
culture
deviance
justified irresponsibility
role and role homogeneity
work
role
social structure
modernity
generations

======= Sociology and the internet =======

The internet is of interest for sociologists in three views at least: as a tool for research, for example by using online questionnaires instead of paper ones, as a discussion platform (see 'External links' section below), and as a research topic. Sociology of the internet in the last sense includes analysis of online communities (e.g. as found in newsgroups) and virtual communities, organisational change catalysed through new media like the internet as well as societal change at-large in the transformation from industrial to informational society (or to information society).

======= Sociologists =======

Famous sociologists include Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim, Georg Simmel, Max Weber, Albion Woodbury Small, Ferdinand Toennies, Charles Horton Cooley, Pitirim Sorokin, Robert E. Park, Karl Mannheim, Talcott Parsons, Robert K. Merton, Peter Blau, Reinhard Bendix, Norbert Elias, John Rex, David Lockwood, Erving Goffman, Harold Garfinkel, and Anthony Giddens. Karl Marx would not have called himself a sociologist, but his thought has had an immense impact on sociological theory.

======= Comparison to other Social Sciences =======

In the early 20th century, sociologists and psychologists who conducted research in non-industrial societies contributed to the development of anthropology. It should be noted, however, that anthropologists also conducted research in industrial societies. Today sociology and anthropology are better contrasted according to different theoretical concerns and methods rather than objects of study.

A distinction should be made between these and forensic studies within these disciplines, particularly where anatomy is involved. These latter studies might be better named as Forensic psychology.

======= Social Theory =======

Social theory is a distinction applied to the work considered outside of the mainstream of sociology. Among sociologists who model their work on the successful sciences of physics or chemistry, social theory may be applied to all work produced outside of the scientific method, in contradistinction to a sociological theory which has been "correctly" tested. However, a natural science model has never completely predominated sociology, nor has their ever been much consensus, even among the adherents of that model, as to what would constitutes valid evidence or even the proper unit of analysis. Consequently, the distinction between sociology and social theory has has always been more reflective of classifier than the theory described as belonging to one or the other. Many theorists prefer to describe themselves as social theorists because they are critical of the sociological community or were not trained as sociologists.

Marxist theory, critical theory, post-colonial theory, feminist theory, structuralist theory, post-structuralist theory, queer theory, Postmodern theory, and other theories probably unmentioned have all at times been considered outside the mainstream of sociology and been referred to as social theory. However, as all these theories have been adopted to some extent by mainstream sociology, distinctions are made less often.

======= Comparison to other Social Sciences =======

A distinction should be made between these and forensic studies within these disciplines, particularly where anatomy is involved. These latter studies might be better named as Forensic psychology.

======= Social Theory =======

During both the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries advances in science and technology encouraged people to believe that there could be a rational explanation for everything and that scientific study could lead to the solving of all of the problems faced by human beings. First, the post-Newtonian physical sciences had promised comprehensive explanations of the Earth and its place in the universe.

The post-Darwinian natural sciences presented explanations of life on Earth with the theory of evolution and the origin of the species. Finally, it was anticipated that the social sciences would extend this 'enlightenment project' into explanations of the collective activities and relationships of human beings. In fact, Auguste Comte, who gave the name to sociology, confidently expected that it would provide the highest level of scientific explanation in establishing laws of human society itself.

The 'classical sociologists' of the nineteenth century were European and mainly from France and Germany but the great expansion of the discipline took place in the USA during the mid-twentieth century. Whereas the contribution from Europe was mainly theoretical, North Americans were determined to exploit its practical potential through investment in empirical research projects connected with the continuing development of their society and its enormous economic potential.

Sociology was first taught in Britain at the beginning of this century but the expansion here took place much more recently and was at first greatly influenced by US sociology. During the 1960s, especially it became a major social science subject, taught in universities and colleges, and with the development of the sociology 'A' level during the 1970s it became a major subject in schools too. Now, as well as being an academic subject in its own right, sociology forms part of many other programmes such as business studies, medical training, geography and environmental science and the newer sports and health sciences.

======= Modern Sociology =======

From its original purpose as the 'science of society', sociology has moved on to more reflexive attempts to understand how society works. It seeks to provide insights into the many forms of relationship, both formal and informal, between people. Such relationships are of course the 'fabric' of society. Smaller scale relationships are connected to larger scale relationships and the totality of this is society itself. Human beings have wants, needs and desires but the form that these take is related to attachments to social groupings and participation in social institutions. The latter are patterns of human interaction which become 'instituted' over time. People therefore recognise them and orientate their actions towards them.

Alternatively, people may react against social institutions. Either way it is the actions of people that serve both to reproduce society and to effect the changes that are a constant feature of the process.Developments in communication have accelerated over the past few decades and whether we refer to societies in the plural or to one human society, there are clearly huge spatial connections. It is a development referred to as globalisation but it does not detract from temporal connections in terms of how the present form of human society relates to past forms and to likely forms in the future.

Another way of putting all of this is to summarise the principles of sociology as follows:

By definition, human society involves people entering into forms of relationship with each other. Such relationships take many forms and may (for instance) be described as predominantly cultural, economic or political, although various combinations of these are normal.
Patterns of human relationship become institutionalised in the course of their reproduction over time and may therefore be referred to as 'social institutions'.
The reproduction of social institutions has increasingly incorporated global influences and exchanges but local influences remain important. The outcome is a process of interchange between the global and the local.
In order to participate in society human beings maintain an understanding of their relationships with others and of the institutions in which they participate, whatever the scale.

The task for sociologists, therefore, is to capture this understanding in a more systematic way and provide substantive explanations which nevertheless are understandable in terms of everyday life.

In short, Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and societies, and how people interact within these contexts. Since all human behavior is social, the subject matter of sociology ranges from the intimate family to the hostile mob; from organized crime to religious cults; from the divisions of race, gender and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture; and from the sociology of work to the sociology of sports. In fact, few fields have such broad scope and relevance for research, theory, and application of knowledge.

Sociology provides many distinctive perspectives on the world, generating new ideas and critiquing the old. The field also offers a range of research techniques that can be applied to virtually any aspect of social life: street crime and delinquency, corporate downsizing, how people express emotions, welfare or education reform, how families differ and flourish, or problems of peace and war. Because sociology addresses the most challenging issues of our time, it is a rapidly expanding field whose potential is increasingly tapped by those who craft policies and create programs. Sociologists understand social inequality, patterns of behavior, forces for social change and resistance, and how social systems work.

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