What is Sociology?

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. Sociology is the study of society.[1] It is a social sciencea term with which it is sometimes synonymouswhich uses various methods of empirical investigation[2] and critical analysis[3] to develop and refine a body of knowledge about human social activity. For many sociologists, the goal is to apply findings directly to the pursuit of social welfare, while others seek purely academic or intellectual knowledge. Subject matter ranges from the micro level of the individual agency and interaction to the macro level of systems and groups social structures.[4] Sociology is both topically and methodologically a very broad discipline. Its traditional focuses have included social stratification, social class, social mobility, religion, secularisation, law, deviance. As all spheres of human activity are

sculpted by social structure and individual agency, sociology has gradually expanded its focus to further subjects, such as health, medical, military and penal institutions, the Internet, and even the role of social activity in the development of scientific knowledge. The range of social scientific methods has also broadly expanded. Social researchers draw upon a variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques. The linguistic and cultural turns of the mid-twentieth century led to increasingly interpretative, hermeneutic, and philosophic approaches to the analysis of society. Conversely, recent decades have seen the rise of new analytically, mathematically and computationally rigorous techniques, such as agent-based modelling and social network analysis.[5][6] Sociology should not be confused with various general social studies courses which bear no relation to classical social theory and social science research methodology. Sociology is the study of the social world around us, 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 widely, from the family to the anonymous crowd, organized crime to organized religion, from inequality along the lines 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. Sociology offers a unique way of observing and understanding the social world in which we dwell. Sociology looks beyond taken-for-granted views of reality to provide deeper, more illuminating and challenging understandings of social life. Through its particular analytical perspective, theoretical approaches, and research methods, sociology expands our awareness of social relationships, cultures, and institutions that profoundly shape both our lives and human history. Sociology also helps us to understand more clearly the forces shaping the particulars of our own lives. The ability to see and understand this connection between large-scale social forces and personal experience, what C. Wright Mills called "the sociological imagination," offers invaluable academic preparation for our personal and professional lives in an ever-changing society.

Origin and Development of Sociology

Origin and Development of Sociology-Historical context 1. Industrial Revolution-Unprecedented social change disturbed old social order. 2. Urbanization

3. Political Revolution-particular French Revolution (1789) 4. The Enlightenment-Reasons became the god of the philosophers (Rousseau) Auguste Comte (1798-1857)Comte is considered to be founding father of sociology. 1. Comte work-Cours de philosophie positive (Positive Philosophy) System de politique positive (positive Politics) 2. Positivism- Positive philosophy to combat negative philosophies of the enlightenment. 3. Organicism-He sought new bases of social order be developing a theoretical. The law of three stagesTheological- All phenomena produced by immediate action of supernatural beings. a. Fetishism b. Polytheism c. Monotheism Metaphysical or Abstract Stage- Abstract forces/entities/personified abstractions produce all phenomena. Positive-Reasoning and observation 5. The new science should study-Social status and dynamics 6. Intellectual progress determines social order. Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)1. English sociologist who translated Comtes work 2. Studied customs and social practices in Britain and USA 3. Work- Society in America (1837) examines religion, politics, child rearing, immigration, class intention

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)1. An English sociologist 2. Spencer was influenced by Darwins evolutionary theory of species 3. Unlike Comte, Spencer did not intend to correct society; instead he hoped to understand the better 4. Spencer coined the term `Survival of the Fittest 5. Societies are bound to change eventually. One need not to be highly critical social organization (Status Quo).

Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)1. Famous French sociologist 2. Work-The division of labor in society, Suicide, The rules of sociological method, the elementary form of religious life. 3. Central concern- Social Cohesion 4. In modern society anomie leads to suicide Karl Marx (1818-1883)1. Born in Germany in an age of transformation 2. The communist Manifesto (1848) 3. Alienation-a concept of young Marx 4. Das Kapital (1867) - Study of origin and development of socio-economic system (base-superstructure model) 5. Class structure of modern society Max Weber (1864-1920)1. Strong critic of Karl Marx 2. Rounded out Marx-Criticized economic determinism 3. Verstehen-understanding, insights 4. Ideal type-a conceptual tool 5. What are the characteristic of an office? 6. Weber ideal type of bureaucracy a. Division of labor b.Hierarchy of authority c. Written rules and regulations d. Employment based on technical qualifications

Educational Sociology
The sociology of education is the study of how public institutions and individual experiences affect education and its outcomes. It is most concerned with the public schooling systems of modern industrial societies, including the expansion of higher, further, adult, and continuing education.[1] Education has often been seen as a fundamentally optimistic human endeavour characterised by aspirations for progress and betterment.[2] It is understood by many to be a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality and acquiring wealth and social status.[3] Education is perceived as a place where children can develop according to their unique needs and potential.[2] It is also perceived as one of the best means of achieving greater social equality.[3] Many

would say that the purpose of education should be to develop every individual to their full potential and give them a chance to achieve as much in life as their natural abilities allow (meritocracy). Few would argue that any education system accomplishes this goal perfectly. Some take a particularly negative view, arguing that the education system is designed with the intention of causing the social reproduction of inequality. .
Sociological views
Contemporary society generally views family as a haven from the world, supplying absolute fulfillment.[citation needed] The family is considered to encourage "intimacy, love and trust where individuals may escape the competition of dehumanizing forces in modern society." During industrialization, "[t]he family as a repository of warmth and tenderness (embodied by the mother) stands in opposition to the competitive and aggressive world of commerce (embodied by the father). The family's task was to protect against the outside world."[25] However, Zinn and Eizen note, "The protective image of the family has waned in recent years as the ideals of family fulfillment have taken shape. Today, the family is more compensatory than protective. It supplies what is vitally needed but missing in other social arrangements."[26] "The popular wisdom," Zinn and Eitzen say, is that the family structures of the past were superior to those today and families were more stable and happier at a time when they did not have to contend with problems such as illegitimate children and divorce. They respond to this, saying, "there is no golden age of the family gleaming at us in the far back historical past."[27] "Desertion by spouses, illegitimate children, and other conditions that are considered characteristics of modern times existed in the past as well."[28] Still others argue that whether or not we view the family as "declining" depends on our definition of "family." The high rates of divorce and out-of-wedlock births indicate a decline in the institution of the family[citation needed]. No longer are marriages arranged for political or economic gain, and children are not expected to contribute to family income. Instead, people choose mates based on love. This increased role of love indicates a societal shift toward favoring emotional fulfillment and relationships within a family, and this shift necessarily weakens the institution of the family.[29]