Sociology || Introduction to sociology

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...