Sociology : An Academic Discipline For Many Reasons

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 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.

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 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

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

The history of how society came about is very old but short, only emerging during the 19th century. Therefore, it is one of the youngest as well as one of the oldest of the social sciences. According to the American Sociological Association 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. In comparison to other majors, sociology has a broad scope with relevance to research, theory, and application of knowledge. Sociology provides many distinctive perspectives on the world, generating new ideas and critiquing the old. Because sociology addresses the most

Sociology is viewed as the scientific study of society, it is a scientific study because the views presented in sociology is based upon empirical data (information gained from constructing detail research). How what makes

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

According to Durkheim, Social fact or social phenomenon are the main subject matter of sociology. He said in one of his pieces that social fact must be studied distinct from the biological and psychological phenomenon. Social order is the trend of behavior being used to exercise power over another person. It has become rules and regulations that have been set up by some authorities to be obeyed by another group of people who are being undermined in a society, it is a situation that oppressed people and limits them from their liberties. When people go through these situations they cannot function the way they are supposed to function because they are limited by their freedom. These social orders are not only laws but rather certain norms created by the authority to put a whole race into a situation where they are very far from freedom of speech, movement, and knowledge. African Americans are an example of a race that has been through discrimination at workplaces, schools, community etc. They are one race which has been a label or put in a class where the situation will never permit you to climb the ladder of success. Although you might have all the certification, qualification, the best schools, etc. but the fact that you came from the poor class or the lower class, it becomes very difficult for the Caucasian people to give you the opportunity you deserve, because of this, the citizens of American have been grouped into different classes which are upper, middle, working,

Sociology and sociological thinking are a vital part of society, and through examining both society and individuals, sociology is able to make changes to areas such as policies, and attitudes that may have usually negatively affected them, and instead gained a positive result through the careful research, and applied knowledge.

There are three different theoretical perspectives. Functionalist perspective, which emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability. Functionalists see the contribution that it makes to society. The conflict perspective, assumes that social behavior is best understood in terms of tension between groups over power or the allocation of resources, and political representation. The interactionalist perspective, which generalize about everyday forms of social interaction in order to explain society as a whole (Schaefer).

The accomplice of behavior and attitudes towards the way society is functioning and changing creates the use of the term, “sociology.” Sociology is defined, in Sociology Matters by Richard T. Schaefer, as, “The scientific study of social behavior and human groups.” Merriam-Webster defines Sociology to be,”The study of society, social institutions, and social relationships.” Given the two clear definitions, sociology involves studying humans within the surrounding society posses.

Sociology is a study of society social life, social change, and social causes and consequences of human behaviour and allows us to gain an understanding of the structure and dynamics of today’s society, looking at the interlinking links patterns of human behaviour. Sociology looks at the in which social structure and institutions affect our everyday life. Sociological imagination was founded by C. Wright mills in the 1950`s it is an overall understanding of that some of the things that happen in society may lead to a particular outcome. Mills said

Sociology is the study of the behavior of people and groups within society. This helps out how society works and thinks, If people understand how society thinks we can improve it. With this in mind, you can apply sociology theories and ideas to any scenario of daily life dealing with person to person interaction or even to an individual in regards to the society.