SOCIOLOGY (Merriam Webster)

1
: the science of society, social institutions,
and
social
relationships; specifically :
the
systematic study of the development, structure,
interaction, and collective behavior of organized
groups of human beings
2
: the scientific analysis of a social institution
as a functioning whole and as it relates to the rest
of society
Sociology is the academic study of social
behavior, including its origins, development,
organization,
and institutions. It
is
a social
science that uses various methods of empirical
investigation[2] and critical analysis[3] to develop a
body of knowledge about social order, social
disorder and social change. Many sociologists aim
to conduct research that may be applied directly to
social 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
include social
stratification,
social
class,
social, religion, secularization, law, sexuality and de
viance. 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, th
e Internet, education, and the role of social activity
in the development of scientific.
The range of social scientific methods has also
expanded. 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 towards the analysis of
society. Conversely, more recent decades have
seen
the
rise
of
new
analytically, mathematically and computationally rig
orous
techniques,
such
as
agent-based
modeling and social network analysis.

Social
research
informs politicians and policy
makers, educators, planners,lawmakers, administra
tors, developers, business
magnates,
managers, social
workers, non-governmental
organizations, non-profit organizations, and people
interested in resolving social issues in general.
There is often a great deal of crossover between
social
research,
market
research,
and
other statistical fields.

The term anthropology is a compound

of Greek anthrpos, "human being"
(understood to mean "humankind" or "humanity"),
and - -logia, "study." Unknown in ancient
Greek or Latin, it first appears in the scholarly
Latinanthropologia of Renaissance France, where it
spawns the French word anthropologie, transferred
into English as anthropology. It belongs to a class
of words produced with the logy suffix, such as
archeo-logy, bio-logy, etc., "the study (or science)
of".
Anthropology is a global discipline where
humanities, social, and natural sciences are forced
to confront one another. Anthropology builds upon
knowledge from natural sciences, including the
discoveries about the origin and evolution of Homo
sapiens, human physical traits, human behavior,
the variations among different groups of humans,
how the evolutionary past of Homo sapiens has
influenced its social organization and culture, and
from social sciences, including the organization of
human social and cultural relations, institutions,
social conflicts, etc. Early anthropology originated
in Classical Greece and Persia and studied and
tried to understand observable cultural diversity. As
such, anthropology has been central in the
development of several new (late 20th century)
interdisciplinary fields such as cognitive science,
global studies, and various ethnic studies.
Sociocultural
anthropology
draws
together
the
principle
axes
of cultural
anthropology and social anthropology. Cultural
anthropology is the comparative study of the
manifold ways in which people make sense of the
world around them, while social anthropology is the

study of the relationships among persons and

groups. Cultural anthropology is more related to
philosophy, literature and the arts (how one's
culture affects experience for self and group,
contributing to more complete understanding of the
people's knowledge, customs, and institutions),
while social anthropology is more related
to sociologyand history. in that it helps develop
understanding of social structures, typically of
others and other populations (such as minorities,
subgroups, dissidents, etc.). There is no hard-andfast distinction between them, and these categories
overlap to a considerable degree.
Inquiry in sociocultural anthropology is guided in
part by cultural relativism, the attempt to
understand other societies in terms of their own
cultural symbols and values. Accepting other
cultures in their own terms moderates reductionism
in cross-cultural comparison. This project is often
accommodated in the field of ethnography.
Ethnography can refer to both a methodology and
the product of ethnographic research, i.e. an
ethnographic
monograph.
As
methodology,
ethnography is based upon long-term fieldwork
within
a
community
or
other
research
site. Participant observation is one of
the
foundational methods of social and cultural
anthropology. Ethnology involves the systematic
comparison of different cultures. The process of
participant-observation can be especially helpful to
understanding a culture from an emic(conceptual,
vs. etic, or technical) point of view.
The
study
of kinship and social
organization is a central focus of sociocultural
anthropology, as kinship is a human universal.
Sociocultural
anthropology
also
covers economic and political organization, law and
conflict resolution, patterns of consumption and
exchange,
material
culture,
technology,
infrastructure,
gender
relations,
ethnicity,
childrearing and socialization, religion, myth,
symbols, values, etiquette, worldview, sports,
music, nutrition, recreation, games, food, festivals,
and language (which is also the object of study in
linguistic anthropology).
Biological Anthropology and Physical
Anthropology are synonymous terms to describe

anthropological research focused on the study of

humans and non-human primates in their
biological,
evolutionary,
and
demographic
dimensions. It examines the biological and social
factors that have affected the evolution of humans
and other primates, and that generate, maintain or
change contemporary genetic and physiological
variation.
Archaeology is the study of the human
past through its material remains. Artifacts, faunal
remains, and human altered landscapes are
evidence of the cultural and material lives of past
societies. Archaeologists examine these material
remains in order to deduce patterns of past human
behavior and cultural practices. Ethnoarchaeology
is a type of archaeology that studies the practices
and material remains of living human groups in
order to gain a better understanding of the
evidence left behind by past human groups, who
are presumed to have lived in similar ways.
Linguistic
anthropology (also
called anthropological
linguistics)
seeks
to
understand
the
processes
of
human
communications, verbal and non-verbal, variation
in language across time and space, the social uses
of language, and the relationship between
language and culture. It is the branch of
anthropology that brings linguistic methods to bear
on anthropological problems, linking the analysis of
linguistic forms and processes to the interpretation
of
sociocultural
processes.
Linguistic
anthropologists often draw on related fields
including sociolinguistics, pragmatics, cognitive
linguistics,semiotics, discourse
analysis,
and narrative analysis.

Max Weber illustrated how social

institutions are dependent on each other. In his
major work, he showed that when a change
occurred in the religious institution during the
sixteenth century, it contributed to a change in the
economic institution. Previously, most people
thought of religion and economics being
autonomous and completely separated from each
other.
Weber showed how the emerging values of
Protestantism (especially as taught by John Calvin)
supported the development of modern capitalism.
He also introduced the idea that
bureaucracy would be the wave of the future. He
distinguished three types of legitimate authority in
societies: traditional, charismatic, and rationallegal.
He did not favor Traditional (the son of the
chief becoming the new chief) or charismatic (a
person led by virtue of having a "magnetic"
personality). For example, the son of the chief
could be an idiot and a charismatic person (like
HItler)
could
make
bad
decisions.
He preferred rational-legal leadership, which
is typical of bureaucratic governments. People
occupy position based on competency, and powers
and responsibilities are clearly spelled out.
He also said that sociology must adopt
"Vershtehan," a kind of subjective understanding of
the phenomenon being studied.
Weber differed only marginally from Marx
when he defined as a class a category of men who
(1) "have in common a specific causal component
of their life chances in so far as (2) this component
is represented exclusively by economic interests in
the possession of goods and opportunities for
income, and (3) it is represented under the
conditions of the commodity or labor market." He
was even fairly close to Marx's view, though not
necessarily to those of latter-day Marxists, when he
stated that class position does not necessarily lead
to class-determined economic or political action. He
argued that communal class action will emerge only

if and when the "connections between the causes

and the consequences of the 'class situation' "
become transparent; Marx would have said when a
class becomes conscious of its interests, that is, of
its relation, as a class, to other classes. Yet
Weber's theory of stratification differs from that of
Marx in that he introduced an additional structural
category, that of "status group."
Classification of men into such groups is
based on their consumption patterns rather than on
their place in the market or in the process of
production. Weber thought Marx had overlooked
the relevance of such categorization because of his
exclusive attention to the productive sphere. In
contrast to classes, which may or may not be
communal groupings, status groups are normally
communities, which are held together by notions of
proper life-styles and by the social esteem and
honor accorded to them by others. Linked with this
are expectations of restrictions on social
intercourse with those not belonging to the circle
and assumed social distance toward inferiors. In
this typology we again find Weber's sociological
notion of a social category as dependent on the
definition that others give to social relationships. A
status group can exist only to the extent that others
accord its members prestige or degrading, which
removes them from the rest of social actors and
establishes the necessary social distance between
"them" and "us."
Empirically there are fairly high correlations
between standing in the class and in the status
order. Especially i capitalist society, the
economically ascendant class will, in the course of
time, also acquire high status; yet in principle,
propertied and propertyless people may belong to
the same status group. At certain times, an
economically weak element, such as the East
Elbian Junkers, may exercise considerable
influence and power because of its preeminent
status. Generally, as much pos-Weberian analysis
of American politics has shown, political behavior
may at times be influenced by men who are fearful
of losing their status or who bridle at not having
been accorded a status they think is their due; such
influence may be as powerful as class-determined
modes of political behavior.

In Weber's view every society is divided into

groupings and strata with distinctive life-styles and
views of the world, just as it is divided into
distinctive classes. While at times status as well as
class groupings may conflict, at others their
members may accept fairly stable patterns of
subordination and superordination.
With this twofold classification of social
stratification, Weber lays the groundwork for an
understanding of pluralistic forms of social conflict
in modern society and helps to explain why only in
rare cases are such societies polarized into the
opposing camps of the "haves" and the "havenots." He has done much to explain why Marx's
exclusively class-centered scheme failed to predict
correctly the shape of things to come in modern
pluralistic societies.
In regard to the analysis of power in society,
Weber again introduces a pluralistic notion.
Although he agrees with Marx in crucial respects,
he refines and extends Marx's analytical scheme.
For Marx, power is always rooted, even in only in
the "last analysis," in economic relations. Those
who own the means of production exercise political
power either directly or indirectly. Weber agreed
that quite often, especially in the modern capitalist
world, economic power is the predominant form.
But he objects that "the emergence of economic
power may be the consequence of power existing
on other grounds." For example, men who are able
to command large-scale bureaucratic organizations
may wield a great deal of economic power even
though they are only salaried employees.
Weber understands by power: the chance of
a man, or a number of men "to realize their own will
in communal action, even against the resistance of
others." He shows that the basis from which such
power can be exercised may vary considerably
according to the social context, that is, historical
and structural circumstance. Hence, where the
source of power is located becomes for Weber an
empirical question, one that cannot be answered by
what he considers Marx's dogmatic emphasis on
one specific source. Moreover, Weber argues, men
do not only strive for power to enrich themselves.
"Power, including economic power, may be valued
'for its own sake.' Very frequently the striving for

power is also conditioned by the social 'honor' it

entails."
From Coser, 1977:228-230.
Karl Marx broke down how economics,
politics, religion, and other social institutions were
all related, changed, and how they affected both
individual people and social groups. With that he
exposed the negative side of capitalism and
proposed socialism/communism as an alternative.
Nowadays most people just walk around
saying "communism doesn't work", although they
don't fully understand what it is exactly that Marx
was saying and trying to do. He brought about
class/social consciousness to the lower and middle
classes. A lot of what Marx said, most of what he
said, is not applied at all, outside of bits and peices
of his ideas being practiced in Cuba, and in small
ways in China and Russia. Although they follow
some of Marx's ideals, many Marxists would say
that communism as Marx intended it has never
been done before. An example of a
misinterpretation of "socialism" being practiced
today is called petty socialism, where the
government helps and protects the middle and
upper classes, or just the upper class, instead of
those who really need help (the working class).
Marx is often called the "Father of
Sociology" because he was one of the first people
to examine society, social trends, and social groups
to the extent that he did.
mile Durkheim's great contribution was to provide a
systematic framework for thinking about human
behaviors in sociological contexts. In other words,
he claimed that one could better understand a
subjective phenomenon, behavior, or institution,
with religion being a very prominent example, by
studying the the social organizations from which it
emerged, looking for relationships between the two.
This is the heart of sociological practice. He also
explored the relationship between the individual
and society, and concluded that conflict emerges
from differences between individual imperatives
and those of society.

Max Weber, while interested in similar questions,

has become most famous for exploring the role that
ideas play in the formation of value systems and
othe social structures. In his famous work The
Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, for
example, he argued that capitalism emerged first in
Protestant society because Protestants, specifically
Calvinists, valued money-making but eschewed
shows of wealth. Therefore Calvinist businessmen
invested earnings back into their businesses as
capital. In this way, Weber was attempting to
explain capitalism as a set of values.
Karl Marx's great contribution to sociology was his
claim that human institutions and behaviors can
only be understood in terms of their relationship to
the means of production. Religion, for example,
was understood by Marx to be another way for the
bourgeoisie to keep working people subjugated,
happy, and quiet. Marx sought to find an economic,
or materialist basis for all of human behavior. While
both Weber and Durkheim imposed major revisions
on Marx's work, it remains influential, and he is still
considered one of the fathers of sociology.

The Power Trio of Sociology

Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber are the
three most important figures in sociology. Their
ideas about society are still discussed today, and
youre apt to hear their names in all branches of
sociology. Its important to know what they thought
and said.

Karl Marx (1818-1883) was a German

philosopher who believed that material
goods are at the root of the social world.
According to Marx, social life is
fundamentally about conflict over food, land,
money, and other material goods. Marx
believed that the ideal government would be
a communist state where resources are
equally shared.

Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) was a French

sociologist who helped establish sociology
by arguing that society had to be studied on
its own terms that understanding
individual psychology was insufficient.

Durkheim believed that societies are held

together by shared values, which change
over time as societies become bigger and
more complex.

Max Weber (1864-1920) was a German

sociologist who agreed with Marx that
people often fight to protect their own
interests, but he agreed with Durkheim that
what people consider their interests often
are determined by socialization and shared
values. He believed society is becoming
more rationalized and bureaucratic over
time.