Study Guide

Sociology is the study of social life and the change and consequences of human behavior. Human behavior is social in nature, the topic of sociology ranges from divisions of race, gender and sociology of work and sports. In my opinion, sociology is one of the few fields which have such a broad scope and relevance for breadth, depth and application.

Sociology is very hard to give one definition to, as it is a century old and contains methodical approaches and theoretical approaches. One way to look at sociology is to look at people and how they are affected by society and how society affects them. Also, how they are associated by institutions, groups and societies. Sociology is a relatively new academic discipline. Emerged in the 19th Century as people were starting to challenge modernity. The world was advancing, and people were becoming aware of different societies. Sociologists realised that they needed to find out how different groups held themselves together and possible solutions to social solidarity. Sociology was coined by a man called Auguste Comte and is little more than historical interest. (Piero, 2016) He wanted to show that sociology was important and that it could improve a society and direct human activity, and this was developed to remedy the social malaise of the French revolution calling for new social doctrine based on sciences.(Ritzer,2003) .Other classical theorists of this time were Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim. Their historical context has had continued importance and their ideas have been used throughout history. “People were using science instead of religion to understand the world” (Giddens, 2006). Emile Durkheim had more of a lasting impact than Comte although Durkheim used a

Everyone in the world has a theory about why something happens or how it happens, but in sociology there are many different types of theories that often contradict each other. Theory is defined as “a statement of how and why specific facts are related” (Macionis, 2013). Most theories explain why people act in certain ways and explains why a person in a group may act different than someone that is alone. When building sociological theories most sociologist ask their selves two different questions: “What issues should we study?” and “How should we connect the facts?” (Macionis, 2013). By answering these questions the sociologist is led to a road map, or a theoretical approach. Theoretical approach is described as “a basic image of society that

Sociologists employ three major theoretical perspectives in sociology today. They are the structural-functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic interactionism. The structural-functionalist perspective is done at a macro level and its focus is on the relationships between the parts of society. The Conflict perspective is done at a macro level and its main focus is on how the wealthy controls the poor and weak.

“The first wisdom of sociology is this:  things are not what they seem”  (Berger 1963)  http://archiv.watzlawickehrenring.at/2008/peter‐l‐berger/fotos.html Berger, P. (1963).  Invitation to Sociology, Bantam Doubleday Dell cited in:  http://www.soc.iastate.edu/sapp/Berger.html: date accessed 12 January  2016. Key Concept: The sociological imagination C. Wright Mills: “ …enables its possessor to  understand  the

1) While the findings of sociologists may at times seem like common sense, they differ from common sense because they rest on

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2010), Sociology is referred to as “.the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of organized groups of human beings” (para. 1); however, the transformable qualities of this science are not represented by this definition, as they should be. To best understand these changes, we must first consider changes within people as study objects; for as previously stated, Sociology changes in ways which are commensurate to changes in the world around it.

Sociology is the scientific study of human society. It examines the development of social structures, and the interaction between these structures and human behaviour. Sociologists aim to provide tools of understanding the process of socialisation, and investigate the causes and consequences of things such as labels, belief systems, bureaucracy, gender roles, relationships, and inequality. Becker and Horowitz (1972) claimed that "good sociology is sociological work that

Sociology to me after taking this class means many things. Sociology is the study of human behavior and how humans development from the moment they are born. It is the study of how our upbringing, family, race, religion, and status effect us from the moment we step onto this earth. It is how other people see us and treat us in different ways. It’s about how people from different backgrounds all have different behaviors and different ways they effect society.

| According to sociologist C. Wright Mills, the ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and the larger society is referred to as:

The science known as sociology is the study of the origin, development and function of human society. This science is important for without it our knowledge of the world would be limited to only our brief life experiences and to the limited world around us. We use the information gathered about other societies and our own to show how people think and why. As well as what influences them to do things, how societies are created and mistakes we can learn from in the future.

I thought the concept of sociology referred to how people socialize in communities. Little did I know that sociology study all aspects of life, including how society and people affect each other positively or negatively. I also did not know that sociology looks at what makes people exhibit behaviours that may deviate from the set norms and values of society.

People around the world have certain ideas that seem to be so obvious that they defend them in any possible way, sometimes without doubting and testing. Sociologists always analyze the ideas and conduct a scientific study to make sure that information is accurate. They are not trying to find out what is wrong and what is right, but are looking for the reasons why people act in a specific way. Just like we have learned from the chapter, sociologists do not ask ethical or moral questions and do not make any judgments. Instead, they ask questions that can be tested scientifically.

The first question I asked in these interviews was, “ What the discipline of sociology is, and what they expect when they enroll in an Introduction to Sociology class.” The majority of my respondents did not know what the discipline of sociology meant. Except for one respondent said “ The discipline of sociology can range from criminology, politics, and philosophy.” To the second part of the first question, the answers were all the same. All of my respondents went on to say, the basics of sociology, study human behavior, the interactions of people from, different races, gender and different socioeconomic class.

“The study of man contains a greater variety of intellectual styles than any other area of cultural endeavor. How different social scientists go about their work, and what they aim t accomplish by it, often do not seem to have a common denominator ... Let us admit the case of our critics from the humanities and from the experimental sciences: Social science as a whole is both intellectually and morally confused. And what is called sociology is very much in the middle of this confusion.”