Sociology || Introduction to sociology

The Development of sociological thinking  When they start studying sociology many students are puzzled by the diversity of perspective they encounter. Sociology has never been a discipline where a single body of idea's is accepted as valid by everyone, though there have been times when some theories have been more widely accepted than others. Sociologist often disagree about how to study human behaviour and how research findings should be interpreted. This is quite normal and part of all scientific subjects. However, unlike physics or chemistry, sociology involves studying ourselves, and this can severely challenge our long-held views and attitudes. Sociology can be unsettling and disturbing. Nonetheless, we have to make every effort to set aside our emotional and political commitments while we are in the process of  'doing sociology'.      Theories and theoretical perspectives It is in fact that I brought a cup of coffee this morning, t...

What is sociology for ?  Sociology has several practical implications for our lives, as C. Wright mills emphasized when developing his idea of the sociological imagination. First, sociology gives us an awareness of cultural differences that allows us to see the social world from many perspective. Quite often, if we properly how other live , we aslo acquire a better  understanding of what their problems are. Practical policies that are not based on an information awareness of the ways of life of people they effect have little chance of success. For example , a white english social worker operating in a predominantly Latin American community in South London will not gain the confidence of its members without being sensitive to the different experience of ethnic groups in the UK.  Second, sociological research provides practical help in assessing the result of policy initiatives. A programme of practical reform may simply fail to achieve what it's designers...

One important distinction between different theoretical perspective involves the level of analysis at which each is directed. The study of everyday behaviour in situation of face-to-face interaction is usually called mircosociology, while macrosociology is the analysis of large-scale social structures and long-term process of change. At first glance, it might seem that microanalysis and macroanalysis are entirely distinct from one another, but infact the two are closely connected.  Macroanalysis is essential if we are to understand the institutional backdrop of daily life. The ways in which people live their everyday lives are influenced by social institution, as is obvious when we consider the impact our lives of the education system, the political framework and the system of laws by which we live. Similarly, while we may many choose to send acquaintance an email message, we can also choose to fly thousands off miles to spend the weekend with a friend. Neither of these c...

   Is sociology scientific ?  In the early nineteenth century August comte described sociology as an emerging science that should adopt the successful and positivist methods of the natural sciences such as physics and chemistry to be successful. Durkheim , Marx , and the other founders of sociology aslo thought of sociology as a scientific subject, but today many sociologist are not so sure. "Can we really study social life in a scientific way " ? Are laud humphreys' observations on the tearooms really scientific? Before we can answer such questions we must first understand what this word means:  What exactly is science ?  Science involves the use of systematic methods of empirical investigation, the analysis of data, theoretical thinking and logical assessment of arguments to develop a body of knowledge about a particular subject matter.  On this simple defination, sociology is a scientific endeavour because both quantitative and quali...

      INTRODUCTION :- In the family of social sciences, Sociology is comparatively a new entrant. But because of its dealing with social problems, social relationships and social interactions the importance of the study of this subject has considerably increased. It has considerably developed in methodology, scope and approach. Attempts are now being made to study every social problem scientifically and objectively, eliminating subjectivity to the extent possible a distinctive way of examining human interactions. Sociology is the systematic study of social behavior and human groups. It focuses primarily on the influence of social relationships upon people’s attitudes and behavior and on how societies are established and change. As a field of study sociology has a very broad scope. It deals with families, gangs, business firms, computer networks, political parties, schools, religions, and labor unions. It is concerned with love, poverty, conformity, technology, d...