Here’s a quick intro to what sociology is and some core concepts.
What is sociology? This was a question I had when I was looking through college classes a few years ago.
I needed some options to take during the spring semester and stumbled upon this subject. I read the course description, but it wasn’t too clear.
It basically described what a sociologist does.
But I wanted to know what sociology was. So I searched it up on Google.
“The science of society, social institutions, and social relationships,” described by Merriam-Webster dictionary.
This still wasn’t that clear. But I was cramped on time and had to make my decision.
So I signed up anyway, not 100 percent knowing what the course was about.
But on the first day of class, my professor explained that sociology was a study of people and their relationship with society.
It looks at how people are influenced by society and how society is influenced by human behaviours.
He also said that there are many social institutions and they all play a different role in socializing (or influencing) people.
For instance, a school will teach young students how to interact with one another. It will teach the students etiquette and values.
These students (the majority of them anyway) will then absorb these teachings and carry them with them for the rest of their life. It will influence how they behave in society.
On that same day, my professor also said that there are different schools of sociological thought.
These schools, which are referred to as the 4 Paradigms of Sociology, each view society differently.
The 4 Paradigms of Sociology
Here are the 4 schools of sociological thought and how each views the world:
- Functionalism – looks at the relationship and interdependency between all social groups.
- Conflict Theory -looks at the inequalities of society and how this affects people.
- Symbolic Interaction – looks at how individuals interact with one another and how this socializes them.
- Feminism -looks at the inequality among the genders and how this affects each group.
After taking this course, I fell in love with sociology and switched over to major in it (I was taking business previously).
It was so interesting and I really enjoyed learning the classical theories, like the works of Karl Marx and W.E.B Du Bois. I liked how it was philosophical, but also required you to look at stats.
It’s a subject that I think everyone should learn, even if it’s just the core basics.
You’ll have a better understanding of how the world works. You will be able to view society through a different lens and be critical of it. You’ll see that there is more to a social issue than what is shown.
*Shameless Plug
Now, (WARNING: SHAMELESS PLUG) if sociology is something you are interested in learning, I just published a book on the subject.
It’s called SOCI 001: An Armchair Sociologist’s Guide to Sociology. This book is by no means a textbook on sociology.
What it is, however, is a clear and concise guide that will discuss all the core theories and major concepts. And it also has descriptive examples that will help you better understand a theory.
So if you are interested, you can buy a copy from Amazon here.
Conclusion
What’s one thing about sociology that you think you will be most interested in learning?