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Sociology is a social science on the the study of the social lives
of humans, groups, and societies, sometimes defined as the study
of social interactions. It is a relatively new academic discipline
that evolved in the early 19th century. It concerns itself with
the social rules and processes that bind and separate people not
only as individuals, but as members of associations, groups, and
institutions. Sociology is interested in our behavior as social
beings; thus the sociological field of interest ranges from the
analysis of short contacts between anonymous individuals on the
street to the study of global social processes. In a broad sense,
sociology is the scientific study of social groups, the entities
through which humans move throughout their lives. There is a current
trend in sociology to make it a more applied discipline for people
who want to work in an applied setting like non-profits.
The results of sociological research aid educators, lawmakers,
administrators, and others interested in resolving social problems
and formulating public policy. Most sociologists work in one or
more specialties, such as social organization, social stratification,
and social mobility; racial and ethnic relations; education; family;
social psychology; urban, rural, political, and comparative sociology;
sex roles and relations; demography; gerontology; criminology; and
sociological practice.
Historical sociology
Sociology is a relatively new academic discipline among other
social sciences including economics, political science, anthropology,
history, and psychology. The ideas behind it, however, have a long
history and can trace their origins to a mixture of common human
knowledge and philosophy.
Sociology as a scientific discipline emerged in the early 19th
century as an academic response to the challenge of modernity: as
the world was becoming smaller and more integrated, people's experience
of the world was increasingly atomized and dispersed. Sociologists
hoped not only to understand what held social groups together, but
also to develop an antidote to social disintegration.
Auguste Comte, who coined the term sociologyThe term "sociology"
was coined by Auguste Comte in 1838 from Latin socius (companion,
associate) and Greek logia (study of, speech). Comte hoped to unify
all studies of humankind--including history, psychology and economics.
His own sociological scheme was typical of the 19th century; he
believed all human life had passed through the same distinct historical
stages and that, if one could grasp this progress, one could prescribe
the remedies for social ills.
The first book with the term 'sociology' in its title was written
in the mid-19th century by the English philosopher Herbert Spencer.
In the United States, the discipline was taught by its name for
the first time at the University of Kansas, Lawrence in 1890 under
the course title Elements of Sociology (the oldest continuing sociology
course in America and the Department of History and Sociology was
established in 1891) and the first full fledged independent university
department of sociology in the United States was established in
1892 at the University of Chicago by Albion W. Small, who in 1895
founded the American Journal of Sociology. The first European department
of sociology was founded in 1895 at the University of Bordeaux by
Émile Durkheim, founder of L'Année Sociologique (1896).
In 1919 a sociology department was established in Germany at the
Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich by Max Weber and in 1920
in Poland by Florian Znaniecki. The first sociology departments
in the United Kingdom were founded after the Second World War.
Max WeberInternational cooperation in sociology began in 1893
when Rene Worms founded the small Institut International de Sociologie
that was eclipsed by the much larger International Sociologist Association
starting in 1949 (ISA). In 1905 the American Sociological Association,
the world's largest association of professional sociologists, was
founded.
Other "classical" theorists of sociology from the late
19th and early 20th centuries include Karl Marx, Ferdinand Toennies,
Émile Durkheim, Vilfredo Pareto, and Max Weber. Like Comte,
none of these sociologists thought of themselves as just "sociologists".
In particular, their works address religion, education, economics,
psychology, ethics, philosophy, and theology. With the exception
of Marx, who made contributions to sociology that are still used
but greater dedication in economics, their most enduring influence
has been on sociology, and it is in this field that their theories
are still considered most applicable.
Karl MarxEarly sociological studies considered the field to be
similar to the natural sciences like physics or biology. As a result,
many researchers argued that the methods and methodology used in
the 'hard' sciences were perfectly suited for use in the study of
sociology. The effect of employing the scientific method and stressing
empiricism was the distinction of sociology from theology, philosophy,
and metaphysics. This also resulted in sociology being recognized
as an empirical science. This early sociological approach, supported
by August Comte, led to positivism, a methodological approach based
on sociological naturalism.
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