What is Sociology? Essays
My Career As A Sociology
Reflective Sociology Essay
What is Sociology?
Essay on Groups in a Society
Essay on Why Should We Study Sociology?
Reflection In Sociology
Sociological Theories Essay
Sociology In Sociology
Sociology
1. What is Sociology? Essays
What is Sociology? After reviewing the article titles given for this first assignment, I believe they
indicate that Sociology, generally speaking, is not only a study of diversity or commonality in traits
among people; it is also a science about factors in a person's life and how these factors culminate
responses. Interestingly enough, its topics of concern seem to be directly determined by current and
common events of the world. Through the invention and expansion of new ideas, popular trends and
fashions through time, Sociology adapts to responsibly to service the very subjects of interest it
studies; for, even the slightest change of a person's daily experience can have an insurmountable
impact on attitude, personal growth, family...show more content...
How has Sociology changed? According to the Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary (2010),
Sociology is referred to as ".the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and
collective behavior of organized groups of human beings" (para. 1); however, the transformable
qualities of this science are not represented by this definition, as they should be. To best understand
these changes, we must first consider changes within people as study objects; for as previously
stated, Sociology changes in ways which are commensurate to changes in the world around it.
For example, during the 1970's, single parent households did exist, but these arrangements were
considered to be the exception, not the rule. In contrast, today's family structures are as diverse as
the people within them. Given that it has become routine for some parents to live separately, and
couples of same sex marriages are now common place, unique areas of consideration have opened up
and are in need of further scrutiny. Through updated theories and advanced equipment, inventive
techniques have been applied to study people adjoined to the modernized world they live in. Also,
social sciences have fundamentally altered their beliefs of acceptability and acknowledged
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2. My Career As A Sociology
I'm currently a sociology major but I have changed my major multiple times. I feel pretty
confident with sociology but that could possibly change. Having a sociology degree is very
versatile. I'm so passionate about traveling and learning about different cultures and I felt as though
this major was the closest thing relating to that. At first I was worried about salary and the chances
of not getting a job but I'm not going to spend 4 years of my life and thousands of dollars devoted to
studying something that I'm not interested in. Right now I'm leaning towards a career in Marketing.
When you have a sociology degree and you're in marketing you basically analyze data. They usually
conduct research, evaluate product demand, establish pricing strategies, identify a target audience
and determine the best way to reach that audience. They may also participate in package design,
develop advertising campaigns and choose media outlets, such as television, radio, Internet,
billboards or newspapers to promote their company 's products. Marketing managers also build brand
awareness through e–mail campaigns, newsletters, contests, celebrity endorsements and product
placement in television shows and movies (Marketing Manager). This interests me because I love
learning about the way people think. I just think it's so interesting to see how society's ideals
change over a course of time. I also love advertising. I always watch commercials and see ads and I
am always thinking of
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3. Reflective Sociology Essay
The last six weeks have challenged my preconceived ideas about sociology and the role that it plays
in society in the popular and social media, my values, behaviours and belief system. What I hope to
highlight throughout this reflective essay is what I have learnt and how that has shaped my new
thought process and reinforced old thought patterns. Week one I learnt about the Sociological
imagination where to quote C Wright "The sociological imagination enables us to grasp the
connection between history and biography." (Henslin et al., 2011). Upon further reflection of the
reading material in Sociology a down to earth approach there was one particular story that really
resonated with me. It was the illustration about expecting...show more content...
Week three see's the introduction of the fathers of sociology Auguste Comte, Herbert Spenser, Karl
Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Georg Simmel. Karl Marx and Durkheim are the two that
really resonate with me, Durkheim due to his theories around the subject of suicide and how that
subject is particularly personal with me and also Karl Marx theory around class inequality.
Karl Marx believed that man's basic needs were food and shelter and the evolution of these basic
needs led to capitalism, after the industrial revolution we see there being two distinct classes of
people the workers and the capitalist and the effect that this ultimately has on social aspect of
society. Marx looked at the unequal power struggle in this theory and how that conflict would lead to
socialism and eventually communism and it was then that he co–wrote with Englels in 1948 "The
Communist Manifesto". I can really see the same picture that Marx was looking at, even in today's
society in Australia we see the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, but more evident in
third world countries where there are polar opposites in wealth and power.
This subject has actually spilled out into my conversation at different locations, talking at a bar with
a guy about the possibility that Jesus was a
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4. What is Sociology?
.
Introduction
Sociology is described by Layder (2006, p.1) as being "How the encounters of everyday life and
individual behaviour influence, and are influenced by, the wider social environment in which we live"
Bauman & May (2001. p.1) describe a visual image of the output of sociology, as being a "collection
of books in a library". The discussion within this collection broadly follows main concepts and
perspectives, with many authors, but also of key peer tested Authors.
I will initially outline the main concepts and main perspectives from a selection of these authors,
and aim to conclude, that is is the "sociological thinking" gained from "unpacking" this knowledge,
that can be applied to Social Work today. "Social theory,
...show more content...
The comparison being to a machine working in harmony to maintain a state of balance. Conflict
perspective
The conflict perspective (Karl Marx. and latterly Wright–mills) views society as composed of
different groups and interests, competing for power and resources. For example, feminist theory
argues that we live in a patriarchal society that feminism "demands that existing economic, political,
and social structures be changed" (Weir and Faulkner 2004, p.xii).
Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
Reflecting the micro–sociological perspective, Symbolic interactionism emphasizes that "human
behaviour is influenced by definitions and meanings that are created and maintained through
symbolic interaction with others". Goffman (1959 p.26) states""I assume that when an individual
appears before others he will have motives for trying to control the impression they receive of the
situation"
Positivism
Augustus Comte is regarded as the founder of this, however it is described as "a simple adherence
to the traditions of all great scientific minds" Mill (2005 chptr 1) and a "doctrine that science
(including the social sciences) can deal only with observable things and that phenomena, in any
form, have to be studied in a scientific manner. It does not take account of the individual's
interpretation
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5. Essay on Groups in a Society
Groups in a Society
Groups are the essence of life in a society for the reason that everyone is born into one, such as to
a mother and father. Your family, church congregation, faculty at a university, and sports teams
whether professional or not are all examples of groups. In a general sense, " Groups are people
who have something in common and who believe that what they have in common is significant."
Societies are the largest and most difficult groups that are studied by social scientists. They are
people who share a culture and a territory; they also contain smaller groups within itself. " The types
of groups within a society are primary groups, secondary groups, reference groups, social networks,
in–groups and...show more content...
In–groups exercise a high degree of control over us and it fosters ethnocentrism.
Out–groups are groups toward which they feel antagonism. Two examples of out–groups are the Ku
Klux Klan (KKK), and the Black Panther Party. The KKK is an organization founded on rebellion
against American principles of justice and equality. The KKK developed out of Southern white
citizens in Pulaski, Tennessee in 1865, who were angered over the Civil War defeat and the
Reconstruction period after the war. To this group, the freedom of slaves represented a defeat of
their Confederate armies and their racist way of life. Their only way of victory, or satisfaction during
that period was through terrorism. "Fear and hatred, however, which nourish feelings against
out–groups, often give birth to highly destructive acts." Most groups feed off of a sense of
belonging, and all the members of the KKK shared the same views on how the south should be
operated.
The Black Panther Party for Self–Defense was founded in Oakland, California in 1966. The basis
for the organization was centered on a document called the Ten Point Plan, in which the Panthers
believed that " the only way to deal with such a system is to destroy it and replace it with an
acceptable, just society." This group was able to directly influence public opinion and motivate
individuals and communities through various
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6. Essay on Why Should We Study Sociology?
We should study Sociology because it can affect all aspects of our lives, each and every day and
learn valuable lessons from the studies and improve our living. We can use Sociology change our
lives today, so that tomorrow will be better for ourselves, children, and so on. Not only is Sociology
good for our lives as a person, but it is useful to our neighbors, co–workers, government, state,
country and in fact, the entire world benefits from the study of human behavior.
Once a person has studied Sociology, they can consider and appreciate other human's perspectives
instead of believing that your own perspective is the only answer. This will assist them in their job
to be more understanding of their customers, co–workers and bosses...show more content...
Choosing a topic sounds relatively easy, but since humans are very complex in their day to day
living, this could be somewhat difficult.
The second step in the plan should be to review the past research on the topic they plan to study.
The reason it is important to review the literature in the second step is so that a study will not be
duplicated or so that you can define your own study against one, or altered in a different way. For
example, if we wanted to study the IQ of people of the United States versus the people of Japan,
we would need to know if the people in Alaska and Hawaii were also included in this study. If not,
it could quite possibly skew the data one way or the other. If we were to not take this into
consideration, all of the efforts of this study would be useless and void. Another reason for
researchers to read existing data on the topic they plan to research is so that some of the idea's they
plan to test may have been looked over. This review may give them ideas they may have not taken
into consideration.
The third research method step is to identify and define the core concepts which are powerful
communication and thinking tools that will allow researchers efficient, complex information. This
step, like all others will provide accurate details to allow for a more thorough investigation.
The fourth step is to choose a research design and data–gathering techniques. The researcher must
identify what or
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7. Reflection In Sociology
After taking a Sociology class this semester, I learned a lot of about the different topics and
concepts in this course and how they are related to our society, which has changed my perspective
as well as how I view and see the meaning of my surroundings. I would also think about what would
be going on inside a specific person's mind and how he or she was feeling. After learning about
different concepts in Sociology and watching the videos presented in class, it became easier to just
stop and think about a person, wonder who that person was, and be curious about that person's life
story. We pass by people all the time every day, but we never really know what is going on with
them and don't really think about it or care since it is so...show more content...
It is crazy to hear that the top richest people in this world have the same wealth as the poorest 3
billion people in this world. Even though rich countries are giving aid to poor countries, the huge
gap difference between their wealth is due to large corporations form rich countries taking more
money from poor countries, and this really explains a lot why poor country never have the chance to
actually thrive. The thought that poor people should be able to come up from where they came
from, which is a thought in many people's minds, especially those who have money, isn't all that
simple.
The activity we had to do for homework with the Sorting People stood out to me as well and
made me realize that classifying and judging people based on how they look and guess what their
races and ethnicities are solely by appearance, is not the right way to categorize people. I learned
that the majority of my guesses were wrong, and after reading about the people's mini bios, I then
realized that people's races and ethnicities are not determined by their physical looks. Appearance
doesn't always tell you about someone's ancestry or self–identities of themselves. "Race" cannot tell
where someone came from, what they are good at, or even how their personalities and behaviors are
like.
It was also very interesting to learn about different cultures, especially during the movies we watched
in class about adoption. It shows how culture along with the beliefs,
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8. Sociological Theories Essay
Sociological theory creates ways to understand the social world by having different theories to
explain understand social life. It aids to make sense of this social world. It draws together a wide
range of perspectives to help provide the fullest picture. (Macionis & Plummer p.36) It shows that
one theory can explain something that another cannot. My aim is to answer this question with
reference to both functionalism and conflict theory. This will be done by comparing and contrasting
both theories in relation to their perspectives on both suicide and gender discrimination as social
issues relevant to this day and age. Functionalism and conflict perspectives are both macro theories.
This means that they focus on the big picture, for...show more content...
(Turner, p.112) Functional analysis established itself as a way of 'bringing to light the significance of
the institutional order and connecting it with the unintentional consequences of social action.
(Turner, p.121) On page 35 of Back et al. it states that Durkheim's argument is that classification is a
process of 'marking–off', of showing things that are related, but have distinct points of difference to
another. Functionalism assumes that society's social institutions perform important functions to
help ensure social stability. Rapid social change threatens social order, but slow social change is
desirable. Durkheim believed that the individual has no way of limiting passions, so the moral
authority of society must do this. Individual aspirations are limited two ways, by socialisation and
social integration. Socialisation helps us learn the rules of society and the need to cooperate.
Social integration allows us to integrate into society and reinforce our respect for its rules. These
both, as stated by Durkheim create a strong collective conscience. Suicide, as an example of a
social issue, is explained with the functionalism perspective by not focusing on the individual
unhappiness, but instead on the group rates of suicide resulting form external forces. This may be
caused by normlessness, which may result from periods of rapid social change, and people find it
hard and unclear about how to deal with problems in their life. This frustration
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9. Sociology In Sociology
Sociology is the study of groups of people and how society interacts with them. There are many
people out there that have done research or contributed in some way to sociology. Not just on
people, but things like religions, countries, genders, race, and many more. Many things play in
the role to form us and our society. Here in America, we have Trump as our president and we eat
burgers and french fries, but over in japan they grow lots of their own food and eat it like potatoes
with vegetables and chicken. Different things happen around the world and we just can't seem to
think there is other things out there than what we just do or what we call ourselves and so forth.
We don't think about how our society affects us and how we affect society. Society can affect us
in a positive way or even a negative way. A positive way society can influence us is if the
president said all schools in the United States have to have extra curricular activities and the
government will fund it. This could be great for a poor boy in San Joaquin, California who really
wanted to be on the track and field team, but his school did not have it because they couldn't
afford it. This would have kept him out of trouble in the past, but when it finally was available by
the government, he joined and it kept him out of trouble and he worked much harder in school. A
negative way society can impact us is Obama's health care act. Now that they are trying to get rid of
it, many people will have to go without
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10. Sociology
In this essay I will examine the reasons for the changes in the birth rate and family size since 1900.
Since the 1900 there have been changes in the state polices, changes in attitudes and changes in
our living standards which have led to unbalanced changes in birth rates and family size. Firstly in
the early 1900's there was no health service and a poor quality of life and there had been an
industrial revolution know has industrialization which had meant that many workers and their
families had left their homes and extended families to live in houses that were crammed together
along narrow streets, poorly built, and incredibly crowded. Whole families were packed into attics,
cellars, or single rooms which caused many diseases. This had...show more content...
This caused controversy between religion and social trends, as Catholics are strictly against abortion
and believe that children are a "God's Gift" and there was still a social stigma surrounding abortion
& contraception yet in recent years there has been a decline in religion so it's become socially
acpectable. A few sociologists are led to believe that feminism is the main cause of decline in the
birth rate and family size in recent years and fail to acknowledge cultural differences and ethnic
diversity. For example studies have shown Afro–Caribbean's that have migrated to the UK, prefer not
to live with men which has led to a slight increase in lone parent households & south Asian
families tend to have bigger families (extended family) and tend to get married earlier then white
people which means they are far more likely to have children at an earlier age the British white.
In conclusion there are many reasons for both the increase and decrease of birth rates and family
size and there is just a single reason behind the complete changes from 1900 to present. As the as
the mode of production changed so did people's attitudes, state policies & living standards
which have caused both the increase & decrease of
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