Sociological Reflection

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 all about society and how we as humans interact with one another in our environment. Every person is different, and every person comes from different backgrounds, and the different environments and the different ways people are raised pretty much determines how their life will turn out. Social forces that have shaped my life are family, education, gender, and the media,

Sociology is the study of how social forces influence individuals living within a society. Any society is made of norms, values and beliefs that have the effect of constraining individuals’ thoughts and behaviors. Through understanding and sociological imagination, individuals can remove or at least lessen the social forces’ impacts that are causing the constraints.

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

After taking a Sociology class this semester, I learned a lot of about the different topics and concepts in this course and how they are related to our society, which has changed my perspective as well as how I view and see the meaning of my surroundings. I would also think about what would be going on inside a specific person's mind and how he or she was feeling. After learning about different concepts in Sociology and watching the videos presented in class, it became easier to just stop and think about a person, wonder who that person was, and be curious about that person's life story. We pass by people all the time every day, but we never really know what is going on with them and don't really think about it or care since it is so

Sociology is a social science that enables people to understand the structure and dynamics of society. By using a scientific approach, and by critically analysing society using qualitative and quantitative methods, sociologists can find patterns and connections within human behaviour to provide explanations of how society affects people. Sociological views are based on theories that have been tested through unbiased research and attempt to take all values into account. Common sense theories are generally individualistic and naturalistic assumptions that are based on opinions than can vary depending on an individuals

Sociology is the systemic study of human society and social interaction. Sociologists study human societies and their social interactions in order to develop theories of how human behavior is shaped by group life and how, in turn, group life is affected by individuals (Kendall, 4). The movie Crash (Haggis, 2005), is full of many sociological issues, such as race, social class, and gender. Crash makes you see how group life is affected by individuals and how human behavior is shaped by group life.

Society is often a big influence whether it be the way you act, the way you dress, or even what you think about. A comment to

The study finds out how a culture fits in to the society and how the society

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.

Sociology is the study of diverse subjects in a society which includes: religion, race culture, and social classes. It also involves the study of the behavior of people and all the changes that happen in society. In each social setting, there are shared beliefs which also change through time. Sociology informs us of the making of policies which tend to improve the lives of people in a setting. It provides distinct perspectives to generate new ideas and modify the old ones. The sociological research uses different techniques to provide evidence of any aspect of social life. Qualitative data such as ethnography and archival works as well as quantitative data like statistical modeling of

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.

Throughout the course of this semester, I have learned there are many different terms and theories about society that I feel like I can relate to and have a much better understanding about the concept of sociology. For the last paper of this class I would like to talk about the last three sociological concepts that I feel have helped me improve my understanding of the relationship between society and myself. The three concepts that I will talk about are: fictive kin, agenda setting theory, and lastly, bystander effect or diffusion of responsibility.

The first section of the course develops an understanding of sociology and emphasizes the use of sociological imagination and sociological perspective to question the obvious in order to recognize the opportunities and constraints in our lives through the connection of personal aspects of an individual’s life to social and historical influences. The three main theoretical approaches (Structural-Functionalist, Conflict, Symbolic-Interaction) were discussed during the lecture and were applied to analyze sports. Sociological methods were also studied to help distinguish common myths, based on anecdotal evidence and correlating data that is affected by other factors that are not considered in the research, from facts supported by scientific evidence. The three research orientations used by sociologists are positivist sociology, interpretative sociology and critical sociology. Positivist sociology conducts quantitative research such as surveys, experiments and statistical data to demonstrate a cause and effect relationship. Interpretive sociology conducts qualitative research and focuses on subjective realities and tries to understand what people do and why they do it. Critical sociology disagrees with the common idea that society has a natural order and focuses on the need for social change. Furthermore, the course discusses the concept of social stratification, which refers to a division of society into 2 or more hierarchically ordered groups. In this section, the differences between caste and class is clarified. Caste is hereditary and there is little or no mobility. On the contrary, there is some mobility in the class system, where an individual’s status is defined by income, education and work. The distinction between race and ethnicity is established during the lecture. Contrary to the common myth, race is not biology and is just based on physical traits. It is relatively fluid and changes over time through interracial marriage. In Portraits of White Racism, David Wellman makes the distinction between prejudice and racism by redefining racism as the “system of advantage based on race.” Ethnicity categorizes people based on shared culture, heritage, language, religion, family, household structure, preferences

Within taking the course of Sociology I believe that the relationship that I have had with society has definitely strengthened and improved. As time goes on, knowledge grows and that is completely how I feel since taking this course and learning all these new concepts. How I perceive a lot of situations in life has definitely changed, from how I handled or viewed something before vs now is a total 360 degree change. Each and every chapter I am enlightened with new thoughts and views in and around the society I live in today. The concepts within the units we have learned in class that has made me have a better understanding with myself and society include, blah blah, blah, and blah blah. There are many more lessons that I have been taught about, but to condense them all down I believe these three topics have impacted me the most. There is also a key concept within the past few chapters that I hope will stick through me for years to come as well.