Transcript 1. Sociology, circle of its questions and destination

Sociology
 Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science (a
term with which it is sometimes synonymous) which uses
various methods of empirical investigation body of
knowledge about human social activity and critical
analysis to develop a. For many sociologists the goal is to
conduct research which may be applied directly to social
policy and welfare, while others focus primarily on
refining the theoretical understanding of social processes.
Subject matter ranges from the micro level of individual
agency and interaction to the macro level of systems and
the social structure.
 The traditional focuses of sociology have
included social stratification, social class, culture,
social mobility, religion, secularisation, law, and
deviance. As all spheres of human activity are
affected by the interplay between social
structure and individual agency, sociology has
gradually expanded its focus to further subjects,
such as health, medical, military and penal
institutions, the Internet, and the role of social
activity in the development of scientific
knowledge.
 The range of social scientific methods has
also expanded. Social researchers draw
upon a variety of qualitative and
quantitative techniques. The linguistic and
cultural turns of the mid-twentieth century
led to increasingly interpretative,
hermeneutic, and philosophic approaches
to the analysis of society. Conversely,
recent decades have seen the rise of new
analytically, mathematically and
computationally rigorous techniques, such
as agent-based modelling and social
network analysis.
 Sociology should not be confused with
various general social studies courses which
bear little relation to sociological theory or
social science research methodology.
Structure and agency, form an enduring ontological debate
in social theory: "Do social structures determine an
individual's behaviour or does human agency?" In this
context 'agency' refers to the capacity of individuals to
act independently and make free choices, whereas
'structure' relates to factors which limit or affect the
choices and actions of individuals (such as social class,
religion, gender, ethnicity, and so on). Discussions over
the primacy of either structure and agency relate to the
core of sociological epistemology ("What is the social
world made of?", "What is a cause in the social world, and
what is an effect?"). A general outcome of incredulity
toward structural or agential thought has been the
development of multidimensional theories, most notably
the action theory of Talcott Parsons and Anthony
Giddens's theory of structuration.
Areas of sociology
 Social organization is the study of the various
institutions, social groups, social stratification,
social mobility, bureaucracy, ethnic groups and
relations, and other similar subjects like family,
education, politics, religion, economy, and so on
and so forth.
 Social psychology is the study of human nature
as an outcome of group life, social attitudes,
collective behavior, and personality formation. It
deals with group life and the individual's traits,
attitudes, beliefs as influenced by group life, and
it views man with reference to group life.
Areas of sociology
 Social change and disorganization is the
study of the change in culture and social
relations and the disruption that may occur in
society, and it deals with the study of such
current problems in society such as juvenile
delinquency, criminality, drug addiction,
family conflicts, divorce, population
problems, and other similar subjects.
 Human ecology deals with the nature and
behavior of a given population and its
relationships to the group's present social
institutions. For instance, studies of this kind
have shown the prevalence of mental illness,
criminality, delinquencies, prostitution, and
drug addiction in urban centers and other
highly developed places.
 Population or demography is the study of
population number, composition, change,
and quality as they influence the economic,
political, and social system.
 Sociological theory and method is concerned
with the applicability and usefulness of the
principles and theories of group life as bases
for the regulation of man's environment, and
includes theory building and testing as bases
for the prediction and control of man's social
environment.
 Applied sociology utilizes the findings of pure
sociological research in various fields such as
criminology, social work, community
development, education, industrial relations,
marriage, ethnic relations, family counseling,
and other aspects and problems of daily life.
 For Simmel, culture referred to "the cultivation of
individuals through the agency of external forms
which have been objectified in the course of history".
Whilst early theorists such as Durkheim and Mauss
were influential in cultural anthropology, sociologists
of culture are generally distinguished by their
concern for modern (rather than primitive or
ancient) society. Cultural sociology is seldom
empirical, preferring instead the hermeneutic
analysis of words, artifacts and symbols.
 The field is closely allied with critical theory in the
vein of Theodor W. Adorno, Walter Benjamin, and
other members of the Frankfurt School. Loosely
distinct to sociology is the field of cultural studies.
Birmingham School theorists such as Richard
Hoggart and Stuart Hall questioned the division
between "producers" and "consumers" evident in
earlier theory, emphasizing the reciprocity in the
production of texts. Cultural Studies aims to
examine its subject matter in terms of cultural
practices and their relation to power.
 For example, a study of a subculture (such as
white working class youth in London) would
consider the social practices of the group as
they relate to the dominant class. The
"cultural turn" of the 1960s, which ushered in
structuralist and so-called postmodern
approaches to social science and placed
culture much higher on the sociological
agenda.