Welcome to sociology

Socioligy is a fascinating and widely applicable field which teaches how to think about how people create, maintain and are effected by social forces. Critical thinking, problems solving, written communication, oral communication and interpersonal skills are all cultivated by studing sociology. We are excited about the opportunities that sociology has for students and welcome you to explore the world through a sociological perspective.

Let’s figure out just what sociology is. Unlike many other subjects, sociology is a new subject for many students. Therefore, it may be helpful to give a quick introduction to what siciologists do. Sociologists are interested in all sorts of topics. For example, some sociologists focus on the family, adressing issues such as marriage, divorce, child rearing, and domestic abuse, the ways these things are defined in different cultures and times, and their effect on both individuals and institutions. Others examine larger social organizations such as business and governments, looking at their structure and hierarchies. Others focus on social movements and political protest. Finally, sociologists may look at divisions and inequality within society, examining phenomena such as race, gender, and class, and their effect on people’s choices and opportunities. As you can see, sociologists study just about everything.

At its most basic, sociology is an attempt to understand and explain the way that individuals and groups interact within a society. How exatly does one reach this goal? C. Wright Mills in his book “The Sociological Imagination” (1959) writes that “ neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both.” Why? Well, as Karl Marx observes “humans make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please, they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly encounted, given and transmitted from the past.” Thus, sociology is the study of the interaction between individuals and larger social forces.

Three types of arguments are particularly common: the “individual argument,” the “human and nature argument,” and the “society argument.” The “individual argument” generally states that “individual is free to make choices, and any outcomes can be explained exclusively of his or her ideas and decisions.While it is true that we all make our own choices, we must also keep in mind that, to paraphrase Marx, we make these choices under circumstances given to us by the structure of society. Therefore, it is important to investigate what conditions made these choices possible in the first place, as well as, what allows some individuals to successfully act on their choices while others cannot. The “human nature argument” seeks to explain social behavior through a quass-biological argument about humans, and often states that: ”Humans are by nature X, therefore it is not surprising that Y.” While siciologists disagree over whether a universal human nature even exists, they all agree that it is not an acceptable basis of explanation. Instead, sociology asks why we call some behavior natural, and demands to look into the social factors which have constructed “natural” state. The “society argument” often arises in response to critiques of the above styles of argumentation, and tends to appear in a form such as: ”Society made me do it.” This sociological argument uses society as the basis for explanation. Society is really a process, made up of ongoing interactions at multiple levels of size and complexity. People make decisions and choices. Some groups and individuals benefit, while others do not. Identifying these intermediate levels is the basis of socioligical analysis.

Sociology is an empirical discipline. Empirism in sociology means basing your conclusions on evidence that is documented and collected with as much rigour as possible. This evidence usually draws upon observed patterns and information from collected cases and experiences, not just from isolated reports. Socioligical evidence falls into two main groups: quantitative and qualitative.Quantitative data are based on surveys, censuses, and statistics. These provide large numbers of data points, which is particularly usefull for studing large scale of social processes, such as income inequality, population changes, changes in social attitudes, etc. Quantitative data produces a measurement of subject’s characteristics and behavior, while qualitative research generates information on their meanings and practices. Unfortunately, much of sociology has split into two methods. Many tend to exclusively favor qualitative over quantitative data, or vice versa. However, since each method has its own strength and weakness, combining methods can be particularly effective.

So we reach the end of this brief glimpse into the world of sociology. These basic guidelines will help you get started.