...DEFINITION OF SOCIOLOGY Tuesday, March 24, 2009 | Posted by Nimesh Suranga (නිමේෂ් සුරංග) | 'Sociology' which had once been treated as social philosophy, or the philosophy of the history, emerged as an independent social science in 19th century. Auguste Comte, a Frenchman, is traditionally considered to be the father of sociology. Comte is accredited with the coining of the term sociology (in 1839). "Sociology" is composed of two words : socius, meaning companion or associate; and 'logos', meaning science or study. The etymological meaning of "sociology" is thus the science of society. John Stuart Mill, another social thinker and philosopher of the 19th century, proposed the word ethology for this new science. Herbert Spencer developed his systematic study of society and adopted the word "sociology" in his works. With the contributions of Spencer and others it (sociology) became the permanent name of the new science. The question 'what is sociology' is indeed , a question pertaining to the definition of sociology. No student can rightfully be expected to enter on a field of study which is totally undefined or unbounded. At the same time, it is not an easy task to set some fixed limits to a field of study. It is true in the case of sociology. Hence it is difficult to give a brief and a comprehensive definition of sociology. Sociology has been defined in a number of ways by different sociologists. No single definition has yet been accepted as completely satisfactory. In...
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...SOCIOLOGY – AQA – UNIT 4 - CRIME AND DEVIANCE The exam is split into 3 questions: • Q.1 is a pure methods section which contains two parts a) 12 marks and b) 21 marks. You should spend 45 minuets on this question. • Q.2 is a method in context question. Part a) is for 9 marks [could also be a 3 and 6 mark question] and part b) is for 15 marks. You should spend 30 minuets on this question. • Q.3 is a theories essay for 33 marks. THIS QUESTION IS SYNOPTIC! You should spend 45 minuets on this question. Below is a list of all the areas and studies you need to know for each section of the exam. Don’t worry if you don’t know all the studies, each college/school are likely to teach slightly different ones, just make sure you know about that amount for each section. Q.1 For the first two pure crime parts you need to know: Functionalist theories of crime and deviance Durkheim – Social control, social regulation including suicide Merton-Strain theory, blocked aspirations Cohen – Status frustration Cloward and Ohlin – Deviant subcultures New Right/Right Realism James Wilson – Strict law enforcement needed Wilson and Kelling – Broken windows, zero tolerance Murray – Cultural deprivation, single parents and ineffective, the underclass Erdos – Families without fathers Subcultural theories Cohen – Delinquent subcultures Cloward and Ohlin – Delinquency and opportunity, criminal, conflict and retreatist...
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...Is Sociology a Science? A Classroom Exercise for Promoting Discussion* Royce A. Singleton, Jr. College of the Holy Cross *I wish to thank Dave Hummon for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, 1998. © 2005 Royce A. Singleton, Jr. Is Sociology a Science? A Classroom Exercise for Promoting Discussion Abstract Though sociology was founded on the idea that the social order is subject to scientific study, the “science” question remains controversial. By learning about this controversy, students can learn much about the discipline. This paper describes an exercise, together with data collected from six classes, that asks students to project their personal images of scientists and social scientists. These images invariably contain half-truths and misconceptions that can be used to address three related questions: (1) What is science? (2) How is sociology scientific? and (3) What are the major challenges to sociology as a science? I draw upon my own students’ responses to show how the exercise can generate a wide-ranging discussion of these issues. Is Sociology a Science? A Classroom Exercise for Promoting Discussion The question of whether sociology is a science has a long history in the discipline. It was addressed by virtually all the classical social theorists. But for some time the debate about the scientific status of sociology was muted. In the post-World...
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...Chapter 2 – Examining the Social World: How Do We Know? Ballantine, Roberts, and Korgen. Our Social World: Condensed, Fourth Edition. © 2015 SAGE Publications The Development of Sociology • Social thought before sociology: strongly influenced by religion and philosophy • Modern sociology arose in 19th century Europe, influenced by several conditions: – Colonialism: exposure to other cultures – Industrial Revolution & French Revolution: desire to know how dramatic change could be systematically explained – Advances in the natural sciences: desire to apply scientific method to the social world Ballantine, Roberts, and Korgen. Our Social World: Condensed, Fourth Edition. © 2015 SAGE Publications The Development of Sociology August Comte & the science of society • Coined the term “sociology” in 1838 • Thought society’s problems could not be understood by philosophical or religious speculation; scientific knowledge was needed • Two main concerns – What holds society together? (social statics or structure) – Why is there change in society? (social dynamics or process) Ballantine, Roberts, and Korgen. Our Social World: Condensed, Fourth Edition. © 2015 SAGE Publications The Development of Sociology Early sociology after Comte • Focus on massive social and economic change brought by Industrial Revolution • Focus on relationship between micro-, meso-, and macro-level processes • Early sociological theorists: Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, Harriet...
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...Version 1.0 General Certificate of Education January 2012 Sociology SCLY4 2191 Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods; Stratification and Differentiation with Theory and Methods; Unit 4 Mark Scheme Mark schemes are prepared by the Principal Examiner and considered, together with the relevant questions, by a panel of subject teachers. This mark scheme includes any amendments made at the standardisation meeting attended by all examiners and is the scheme which was used by them in this examination. The standardisation meeting ensures that the mark scheme covers the students’ responses to questions and that every examiner understands and applies it in the same correct way. As preparation for the standardisation meeting each examiner analyses a number of students’ scripts: alternative answers not already covered by the mark scheme are discussed at the meeting and legislated for. If, after this meeting, examiners encounter unusual answers which have not been discussed at the meeting they are required to refer these to the Principal Examiner. It must be stressed that a mark scheme is a working document, in many cases further developed and expanded on the basis of students’ reactions to a particular paper. Assumptions about future mark schemes on the basis of one year’s document should be avoided; whilst the guiding principles of assessment remain constant, details will change, depending on the content of a particular examination paper. Further...
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...Investigation. A. Sociological investigation begins with two key requirements: 1. Apply the sociological perspective. 2. Be curious and ask questions. B. Sociology is a type of science, a logical system that bases knowledge on direct, systematic observation. Science is one form of truth. Scientific knowledge is based on empirical evidence, or information we can verify with our senses. C. Scientific evidence sometimes contradicts common sense explanations of social behavior. 1. SOCIOLOGY IN FOCUS BOX (p. 28)—Is What We Read in the Popular Press True? The Case of Extramarital Sex. Every day, we see stories in newspapers and magazines that tell us what people think and how they behave. But a lot of what we read turns out to be misleading or even untrue. Take the issue of extramarital sex, which refers to a married person having sex with someone other than his or her spouse. A look at the cover of many of the so-called women’s magazines you find in the checkout aisle at the supermarket or a quick reading of the advice column in your local newspaper might lead you to think that extramarital sex is a major issue facing married couples. II. Three Ways to Do Sociology. There are three ways to do research in sociology: positivist sociology, interpretive sociology, and critical sociology. A. Positivist Sociology. 1. Scientific sociology is the study of society based on systematic observation of social behavior. The scientific orientation to knowing, called positivism, assumes that an objective...
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...Definition of Sociology The subject has been looked from various points of view and now it is an opportune time to define the subject properly. According to P.A. Sorokin “sociology is a generalizing science of socio-cuitural phenomena viewed in their generic forms, types, and manifold interconnections. ” (Bierstedt, 1970. 3-28) Sociology is the scientific study of human society and social behaviour. The subject matter of sociology is huge and complex, and the knowledge produced by sociological research is still imperfect in many ways. However, it has taught us a great deal about ourselves. (RotarTson, 1977 :3) No formal definition of sociology is very satisfactory. Short definitions don’t really define; long definitions are clumsy. Yet a definition of some sort is needed, and sociology is often defined as the scientific study of human social life.. Human beings behave differently from other animals. They have unique forms of group life; they pursue customs, develop institutions, and create values. Sociology applies scientific methods to the study of these phenomena in the research for scientific knowledge. Sociology concentrates its study upon the group life of human beings and the product of their group living. (HurTon and Chester 1984: 25-27) The sociologist is especially interested in the customs, traditions, and values which emerge from group living, and in the way group living is, in turn, affected by these customs, traditions, and values. Sociology is interested in the...
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...are created. It also can explain behaviors such sexism, racism, why a person may behave one way in a certain situation and like a completely different person in a different situation, and even how individuals fall in and out of love (Myers, 2010). Clinical Psychology Social psychology is very similar to other psychologies, such as clinical psychology and sociology, but has distinctions of its own. For instance, one contrast between social psychology and clinical psychology is social psychology tends to focus on situational influences of “normal” behavior, whereas clinical psychology focuses on particular behaviors mainly intra-psychic influences of “abnormal” behavior. Clinical psychology is an expansive field of research within the sphere of psychology that applies psychological principles to rehabilitation, prevention, assessment, amelioration, or psychological dysfunctional behavior, distress, and disability, in the hope of improving psychological and physical well-being (Clinical Psychology, n.d.). General Psychology General psychology means the study of the mind and behavior, therefore general psychology is a study of the human persona. Naturally, however, different perspectives bring about different opinions on the subject. The term “psychology” stems from the Greek...
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...active learningActive learning requires that students be active in the classroom. This can include doing problems, working with groups, participating in discussions, answering questions that require more than just facts, writing essays, or any other activity that is not just listening to a lecture. The basis for active learning is that students learn more and better when they are participants in thelearning process. It has also been found that student attention span starts to dramatically decrease about 12-15 minutes after the start of a lecture. By breaking up the lecture, students are able to keep their attention up, and therefore learn more.Cooperative learning puts student together to solve problems or discuss concepts that leads to greater understanding. Group activities also give students better social skills. Group work can be out of class projects, but this site concentrates on activities that can be done in the classroom. Groups can be informal (those students who happen to be sitting together) or formal (assigned by the instructor). Groups can be short-term (for one or a few activities) or long-term (for one semester to a number of years). | Some Cooperative Learning strategies There are some popular strategies that can be used with all students to learn content (such as science, math, social studies, language arts, and foreign languages). However, they are particularly beneficial to ELLs for learning English and content at the same time....
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...Homework#1: What is Sociology? For your first homework assignment, I want you to think about the discipline of sociology, and how acquiring a sociological perspective can be useful, even if you do not major in sociology. Your response should be uploaded to Blackboard using the "view/complete" link at the bottom of this prompt no later than 11:59pm on WEDNESDAY, October 29th. Respond to each of the 'prompts' in bold (there are six--Path 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and "Why Sociology?"). Watch this brief video featuring NKU sociology students describing how the discipline of sociology has pushed them to think sociologically about the world around them, and how the sociological perspective is benefitting them in their careers. Watch the (11 minute) video, and write a brief response (described below). The video can be accessed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj9POR7YTww&feature=youtu.bev NOTE: If clicking the link does not work, try to copy and paste the link into a web browser. THE ASSIGNMENT The video describes five ‘paths’ towards the creation of knowledge in sociology, and concludes with a description of why students might study sociology. As you watch the video, pay attention to the questions related to each path/topic (listed below). For each item, write a short (~1 paragraph) response that addresses the question(s). NOTE: There are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers. The purpose of this assignment is to get you started in thinking about the discipline of sociology and what sociologists...
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...Technology’s Impact on society Humanity has evolved from the essence that separates humans from beasts. The ability to use the mind for reason. Reason is the ability to analyze, create, deduce, and formulate. It is reason that enables human beings to strive to invent; it is through invention that mankind has developed society and created a better world. We could say that technology is the sum total of instrumentally useful culturally-transmissible information. Technology is a word used to collectively describe or portray the advancements, abilities, creations, undertakings, views, and knowledge of a singular group of persons: we as human-kind. When there is talk about the relationships between technology and humanity, it is evident that we have to deal with the interrelations between some very complex phenomena. Technology, science, society or systems of societies, and systems of rights of a universal nature. The discovery and development of a large number of powerful energy sources-coal, petroleum, electricity etc. have enabled humanity to conquer the barriers of nature. All this has facilitates the growth of fast modes of transport, which in turn has transformed the world into a global village. In the “old days”, we used phones for talking to each other. That was it. Not for texting. Not for browsing the web. And not for playing Angry Birds (a nightmare, I know). In the past, technology was a bonus, not a necessity. We did not rely on technology to get from...
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...Sociology and sociological imagination are both connected to each other; one cannot stand-alone from the other. Therefore, they go hand in hand. However, when looking at these two terms they are very different from each other. According to McGraw Hill sociology is, “the study of the relationship between the individual and society and of the consequences of difference.” Sociology mainly focuses on how other individuals affect us and even how we affect other individuals. For example, our parents and others close to us shape the way we think in one way or another. Not only our parents are part of who we are but also the world around us. Therefore, sociology specifically focuses on the influences that shape us as an individual. On the other hand, McGraw Hill stated that sociological imagination was, “an awareness of the relationship between who we are as individuals and the social forces that shape our lives.” Sociological imagination focuses more on the understanding of an individual. It is also considered a tool used in sociology. This tool allows us to see people in depth and have a better understanding of who they are. Therefore, sociology is broader in the way that it focuses on the influences; while social imagination is more focused on the individuals way of being due to the influences that surround him/her. Sociological imagination is of great importance in order for us to understand our society and individuals because as the books stated we can be the...
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...Science relating to sociology is based upon the debate of how society should be studied. There two perspectives, Positivism and Interpretivism. Positivists such as Emile Durkheim believed that society can be studied with the same methods as all other natural sciences as Sociology is known as a social science. Interpretivists such as Weber argue that knowledge is based upon people's interpretations of things. Positivist sociologists argue that the methods used to study and research natural sciences can be used to study people within society, and that by doing this research problems within society can be resolved and social progress can be attained. Positivists believe that reality does exist and not is a figment of individuals minds which means it can objectively be studied and give factual results. Positivists prefer to use methods of research which will give them easily quantifiable results which they can then use to observe patterns and new laws within society. Positivists aim to find these patterns within society as they can then make general statements about society works. Comte believed that sociology was a science as it shared the same basics with sociology of trying to find cause and effects, and that by applying these scientific methods true objectivity would be able to attained. The view a positivist would take is that reality is not random but is made up of patterns allowing us to research it quantifiably. And that this quantifiable data would allow for sociologists...
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...human nature to ask such questions and to try to discover more about the complexity of human actions and causes. Of course, there are many perspectives in the field of psychology that attempt to address these significant questions. For instance, biopsychology considers important factors including one’s brain, genetic predisposition, and many others when addressing behavior. However, social psychology, even though it agrees with other branches in psychology, does focus on different aspects when seeking these kinds of conclusions. Social psychology centers their attention on understanding human actions such as what led to the cruelty of killing millions of people during War II. Why will one always help him or herself first, before helping others? Why do others matter more when making decisions? Social psychology is essential not only to the field of psychology but also to every individual because it provides answers to questions one seeks about him or herself and others. However, social psychology does more than provide answers to these few questions, as these merely touch the surface of social psychology’s focus (Myers, 2010). Definition of Social Psychology Social psychology is a science just like many other fields including astronomy, psychology, biology, sociology, and psychology. A much clearer distinction can be made however, when they are further divided. For instance, astronomy and biology are parts of natural science whereas sociology and social psychology...
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...AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY DIPLOMA IN SOCIAL WORK AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES COURSE CODE: SWD112 COURSE TITLE: INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY QUESTION PICK ANY SOCIOLOGY FOUNDING FATHER, WRITE HIS OR HER CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGY BY HEZEKIAH KELLY .M.O. D12SG0016 DATE: JUNE 2013 EMILE DAVID DURKHEIM (1858 – 1917) BRIEF HISTORY AND EARLY LIFE STAGES OF DURKHEIM Durkheim was born in the eastern Pascoag providence of Lorraine, which at that time was part of Germany, on April 15th 1858. He came from a long line of conservative French Jews but, he decided early in his life he would not follow in his family’s footsteps. He led a completely secular lifestyle. he never completely detached himself from his family or the Jewish community. Many of his colleagues and students were either from the Jewish community or of blood relation. In 1879 Durkheim entered École Normale Supérieure, as a very promising student. That year’s class was one of the most brilliant in the nineteenth century. Many of his classmates, such as Jean Jaurès and Henri Bergson, went on to become very influential to France’s history. Very early in his career, Durkheim became interested in the scientific approach to society by reading works by social scientists, Herbert Spencer and Auguste Comte, and studying with Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges. Thus, he found many problems with the French...
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