Contributions Of Robert Merton

Giddens, A (1997) states "It is the business of sociology to investigate the connections between

Sociology is defined as ‘The study of human social life, groups and societies’ (Giddens, 1989). It involves describing and analysing how different forces such as social, cultural, political, and economic have on behaviour and an individuals identity. (Van Kreiken et al.2000). Furthermore, it encompasses the complex connections on a micro level along with those on a macro level thus enabling sociological imagination.

Chapter six brings a different approach at introducing the importance of sociology. This chapter, focuses upon the historical significance of American sociology as society knows of it today. It discusses many different aspects of sociology, but it intentionally focuses on these important aspects that include: “The Chicago school”, sociologists whom attributed to American sociology, and the rise of female sociologists. These three fundamentals establish the overall history of American sociology.

Before commencing a discussion on analyzing the article “What makes sociology a different discipline” from the other sciences we should have the know-how about sociology. In the words of modern thinkers of sociology namely Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim “Social fact should be the subject matter for the study of social life and can provide explanations for human thinking and behavior (p19)”. What we infer from the above definition is that man is born as a social animal. Man cannot live alone. He prefers to live in groups and his behavior that is actions and deeds are well governed and regulated by certain rules and laws of conduct that comprises of moral ethics and civic standards. His standard of living is said to be within the

Sociology is the study which seeks to understand society, social life and to understand ourselves, humans, as part of that social world [Giddens, A, 2006, p.2]. The term ‘sociology’ was developed by Auguste Comte, a French philosopher, in 1838. Comte believed that scientific facts are able to explain the social world. Sociologists, such as Comte, study issues including: education, inequality and religion. Comte believed that sociologists play crucial roles in guiding society. In the 18th century the ‘Enlightenment’, which was a philosophical movement that stressed human reasoning over bling faith and obedience. At the time it was different to the religious and political order, as it encouraged a ‘scientific’ was of thinking. Political

After reviewing the article titles given for this first assignment, I believe they indicate that Sociology, generally speaking, is not only a study of diversity or commonality in traits among people; it is also a science about factors in a person’s life and how these factors culminate responses. Interestingly enough, its topics of concern seem to be directly determined by current and common events of the world. Through the invention and expansion of new ideas, popular trends and fashions through time, Sociology adapts to responsibly to service the very subjects of interest it studies; for, even the slightest change of a person’s daily experience can have an insurmountable impact on attitude, personal growth, family

A key part of engaging in sociology is to adopt a sociological viewpoint or 'think sociologically'. Etymologically, sociology is the 'study of society' but this doesn't differentiate sociology from other forms of social study. Hence, many begin to describe thinking sociologically by what it is not - it is not thinking politically, thinking anthropologically, thinking historically or thinking psychologically, for example (Berger 1966: 11-36; Reiss 1968: 2-3). Others try to determine the nature of sociological thinking by detailing practical phenomena which can be thought about such as social systems and their subsystems, social institutions and social structure, and social aggregates, relationships, groups and organisations (Reiss 1968: 1),

Mills said in his essay, “the most fruitful distinction with which the sociological imagination works is between ‘the personal troubles of milieu’ and ‘the public issues of social structure’” (1959, 4).

Haralambos, M. & Holborn, M. 1995, Sociology: Themes and Perspectives (4th Edition), Collins Educational, London.

The social sciences are a relatively new branch of science and with this youth comes complexities and growing pains. The evolution from looking strictly at history, to applying natural science research methods to the stratified version of research methods now utilized in the social sciences has progressed organically over time. This is a very interesting phenomenon since the founding fathers oscillated between history, the present-day’s ethnographic research as well as the views of their contemporaries. This leads one to ask if the time period in which sociology came about lead to its birth? Or were these founding fathers generally interested in the social ties that bind us together? I believe it is a combination of both that

The field of sociology is an old but ever changing study that originated around the time of the Industrial Revolution (Furze et al. 2015, p. 2); this revolution evoked a series of new and serious social troubles that attracted the attention of many social thinkers. Such social thinkers included the American sociologist C. Wright Mills. In his famous work, The Sociological Imagination, Mills (1978) discusses the relationship between ‘private troubles’ and ‘public issues’ by highlighting the connection between the aspects of private troubles and social structures. From the works of sociologists such as Mills; sociology was shaped into the diverse field as we presently know it. Essentially in descriptive terms, sociology is the “systematic study

Furze, B., Savy, P., Webb, R., James, S., Petray, T., Brym, R., & Lie, J. (2015). Sociology in

Sociology, according to Giddens & Sutton (2010) is still vibrant, has a wider range and is exciting academic enterprise in the 21st century. Sociology today is different from that of 1950s and 1980s, this is because it is currently more diverse both theoretical and in terms of its subject matter. It has for instance incorporated more areas of social life using specialized fields of inquiry (Giddens & Sutton, 2010). Browne (2005) argues that sociology in simpler terms is planned and organized study of human groups and social life in modern societies, more so concerned with social institution. Contribution of sociologist in understanding human behavior is remarkable. The aim of this paper is to explain how sociologist views the relationship between the key social variables of race, gender, class and health.

I formerly associated the term “sociology” with a mundane definition: the study of the different complexities of society. Now, only after a few classes, a litany of connections sparks when I hear the word “sociology”. I think about the different levels of analysis- societal, group, and individual- and how they interact with and influence one another. I think about the philosopher Aristotle’s point that humans lack their humanity without social interaction, and we would simply be animals without the connections we make. Now, when I read the word “sociology” I think about the industrial revolution, and my past knowledge of the push-pull factors when it comes to the migration of people, and urbanization and how the advancement of technology plays a role. I unmistakably think about Comte, and how the industrial revolution of France led to Comte attempting to make sense of the ever-increasing changes that were occurring in the nation, and how these thoughts ultimately created the discipline of sociology. I previously understood the theory that every factor within the social world is to serve a function, but I also learned the difference between manifest and latent functions. I find it compelling that the purpose of certain functions is beyond the understanding of the people performing them (hence the term latent

Van Krieken R, Smith P, Habibis D, Mcdonald K, Haralambos M, Holborn M, Sociology Themes and Perspe