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Sociology 1

This document defines sociology and outlines its key concepts. [1] Sociology is the systematic study of human society and social interactions. [2] It was founded in the 19th century by Auguste Comte and aims to scientifically study social life. [3] Sociology is important because it examines how social forces shape human behavior and influence individuals' lives, allowing society to be viewed in a new light.

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85 views2 pages

Sociology 1

This document defines sociology and outlines its key concepts. [1] Sociology is the systematic study of human society and social interactions. [2] It was founded in the 19th century by Auguste Comte and aims to scientifically study social life. [3] Sociology is important because it examines how social forces shape human behavior and influence individuals' lives, allowing society to be viewed in a new light.

Uploaded by

Drip Boss
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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SOCIOLOGY

Sociology as a discipline

Definitions

● Sociology is the systematic study of society ( Macionis and Plummer 2005)


● Sociology is the study of human behavior in society. (M.L. Anderson & H. Taylor 2004).
● Sociology is a scientific study of social interactions, social institutions, social patterns and
social change of human society guided by sociological theories and methods.

What is Sociology

● The word sociology comes from the Latin socios (society) and the Greek logos (knowledge).
● It was coined by Auguste Comte (1798- 1857) who is referred to as the ‘founding father’ of
sociology.
● It is an academic discipline that deals with human social life and human behaviour.
● It is also classified as a social science and is considered to be relatively new, when
compared to other social sciences such as political science, anthropology, economics and
psychology

Why is sociology important ?


Sociology is an important social discipline because it allows us to look at society/ the social world
differently: Sociologists look at the following aspects of the social world
❖ The way society evolves and changes with time
❖ How society creates and maintains its culture
❖ The impact structures and institutions have on human social behaviour
❖ Roles of institutions within societies
❖ How groups and institutions influence human social behaviour
❖ How individual interact with and relate to each other in their everyday life,

The sociological Perspective - Coined by sociologist Peter Berger

● Invites sociologists to look at familiar surroundings in a fresh/new way


● Emphasizes that our social backgrounds influences our attitudes, behaviours and life chances
● look beyond what is obvious and examining how societal forces around us has impacted or
is impacting ones’ life for eg. a person may behave a particular way because of how the
educational, justice or political system has/have shaped him/her.

How to develop the Sociological Perspective?

by looking beyond what is obvious and deliberately questioning what we have usually taken for
granted.
1. Become more observant of our surroundings and our everyday life.
2. admit that society does impact our lives
3. Become more analytical and assess the extent to which the societal forces around us are
impacting our lives and the lives of others. (how society is shaping our believes, values, and
behaviors).

The sociological Imagination Charles Wright Mills an American Sociologist (1916-62) :

The sociological imagination is the ability to see the impact of historical and social forces on our
lives : in other words looking at how past events impact /shape contemporary society. It is the
ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and the larger societies.

The Sociological perspective and the sociological imagination allow the sociologist to become more
aware of the social world. That is, he/she becomes more aware of how historical and societal forces
have impacted and are still impacting individual lives

Activity

Use your sociological perspectives and imaginations to critically examine this issue below

To what extent does societal forces impact the lives of citizens living in the ghetto , causing them
to dump their garbage in drains and gullies?

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