It is a social science that is in charge of studying the scientific structure and the functioning of human society or regional population. It could be said that sociology has existed for a long time, long before it was developed as a science or its object of study was delimited. Sociology was consolidated as an autonomous science only in the mid-nineteenth century and moving forward into the twentieth century, schools and dominant currents began to differentiate.
What is sociology
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Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. Sociologists are charged with investigating the structure of groups, organizations, and societies, and how people relate to one another within these contexts.
As all human behavior is social, the subject of sociology ranges from the intimate family to the hostile mafia; from organized crime to religious cults; from the divisions of race, gender and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture; and from the sociology of work to the sociology of sport. In fact, few fields have such a wide scope and relevance for research, theory and the application of knowledge.
Origin of sociology
It has its origin in France, during the 19th century, which makes it look relatively young when compared to other sciences. The French thinker Augusto Comte, is considered the father of sociology since in 1838 he used this term for the first time.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, advances in science and technology encouraged people to believe that there could be a rational explanation for everything and that scientific study could lead to the resolution of all the problems faced by human beings.
Comte felt that this science could be used to study the social world.
The characteristics of sociology are:
- Empirical science where data is observed.
- It is an objective science, it separates research from the value system.
- Critical Science, for its dedication to showing how society is oriented.
- Theoretical science based on abstraction.
- Cumulative science, refers to, that the accumulated knowledge is the sum for the following research, based on the state of the art.
Object of sociology
Its main object of study are human beings and their social relationships, that is, human societies. Sociology uses a variety of methods of empirical research and critical analysis to develop and refine a body of knowledge about human social activity, often with the aim of applying this knowledge in the achievement of social well-being.
Sociology analyzes all social phenomena at the macro and micro level, from the objective to the subjective spectrum. To address this analysis, different quantitative and qualitative research methods are applied.
As already mentioned, this is a discipline totally dedicated to the study of human relationships, which has led to the emergence of opposite currents. Such a situation has been enriched, through the confrontation of knowledge.
Loading…Branches of sociology
Sociology carries out particular studies in all fields of human activities, for this it has the so-called auxiliary sciences of sociology, such as law, politics, education, religion, etc., it is in this way that they are found specialties and study links in all areas. Among them are:
Sociology of Education
Education is a subsystem of society. The sociology of education is the new subject that evolved from the social sciences. It is the branch of sociology that emphasizes social problems in search of solutions.
This field of study of sociology, takes advantage of the concepts, theories and models of it to understand the social dimension of education. In addition, it studies the objectives of the university as a social establishment and its relationship with the community. It also deals with the education that the human being receives within the informal system, that is, in all types of social interaction such as in the family, in clubs, in churches, etc., and the influence that this education has on the school environment
Legal sociology
The concept of legal sociology indicates that this is a scientific discipline that tries to explain the causes and effects of legal norms. Legal sociology addresses the full range of topics covered by law and the social sciences. That is, each branch of law has its analogue in this branch of sociology.
For example we have family legal sociology, there is also the hereditary, corporate, administrative aspect and, of course, especially criminal law, which is an important branch because it is close to criminology, that is, constitutional law.
It is important to say that the legal problems of greatest importance today are transnational crime, the crises of the judicial systems around the world, the abuse and mistreatment of women or minors, we also have migration and the reappearance of feelings of xenophobia around the world. All these issues are at the core of legal sociology today, in the vast majority of countries in the world.
Political sociology
Political sociology deals with the study, causes and consequences of power in society. Here is understood the power of a group or individual to stay in a line of action, to make and implement decisions. That is, determine the agenda for decision making. And this is able to do, if necessary, against the wishes and interests of other groups or individuals.
Power can be manifested through the ability to influence or the possibility of a punitive sanction. The key fact is the ability to control and manipulate that some human beings possess over others.
Criminal sociology
Criminology is essentially a branch of the social sciences that applies scientific principles to the study of crime, criminal behavior, and punishment. In essence, it is a branch of behavioral science in which crime is the conduct under study.
This branch of sociology carries out the study of the elaboration, rupture and application of criminal laws. The object of study of criminal sociology is to empirically understand, develop, and test theories that explain criminal behavior, the formation and enforcement of laws, and the functioning of the criminal justice system.
Loading…Sociology of work
The sociology of work refers to social relations, organizational structures and normative codes, which are part of people's experiences and identities during the course of their working lives. The study of work, industry, and economic institutions is an important part of sociology, because economics influences social production in general.
The sociology of work goes back to the classical sociological theorists: Marx, Durkheim and Weber. Each considered the analysis of modern work to be fundamental to the fledgling field of sociology.
Marx was the first social theorist to seriously examine working conditions in the new factories that were springing up all over England during the industrial revolution, and he examined how the transition from independent craft work to working inside a factory for a boss resulted in dexterity. and alienation. The Marxist tradition continues to consider power dynamics in the workplace and different forms of managerial control of work
Loading…Economic sociology
The definition of economic sociology is based on the application of concepts, techniques, methods and ideologies to analyze trade, consumption and the distribution of goods and services in the economy. Analyze and detail the relationship between economic activities, society and changes in companies linked to production. This type of sociology is based on traditional ideologies and focused on the economic society that considers independent and constitutes an individual. One of its main founders is Max Weber and the classical economists.
Sociology of knowledge
The fundamental objective of this branch of sociology is the study of the extra-intellectual factors that are in the base of knowledge and influence its formation, such as interests, impulses, economic or social structures and needs. Pay special attention to socioeconomic formations, since they group the expression of impulses, instincts, needs and interests, which condition all knowledge.
In addition to those already mentioned, there is rural sociology, which is a field of applied sociological research and training, which has historically focused on the population and rural places. One of the main aspects studied by this branch of sociology has to do with more complex factors such as: the laws that regulate the work of the land, the health system, education, state properties and the migration of its inhabitants to the urban centers.
Urban sociology
Urban sociology is the science that studies human interactions in large populations and metropolitan areas. Its main objective is to discover how to improve the lives of people within cities, studying the structures, problems and changes that can be found in them.
This discipline has developed since the 19th century with the work of authors such as Max Weber and George Simmel. These thinkers began to study and theorize about the effects that urbanization could have on people's thinking and well-being.
Sociology Study Methods
Sociology can be studied in different ways, the qualitative method, which includes detailed descriptions and explanations of behaviors, subjects and situations, and the quantitative method, which deals with the variables that can be presented by numerical values that allow looking for possible relationships to through the analysis of statistics.
Regarding the main sociological paradigms, functionalism, Marxism, structuralism, symbolic interactionism and systems theory can be highlighted. In sociology a multitude of techniques are used for interdisciplinary research in order to analyze and interpret from different theoretical points of view the causes, meanings and influences that motivate the appearance of various behavioral trends in the human being, specifically when it is in social coexistence and within the shared habitat.
Qualitative
It is an open search for knowledge committed to the truth and well-being of human beings. It involves a compromise between people, constant interaction and negotiation. The main qualitative methods are: action research, ethnographic method, biographical method (life stories). constant comparative method, illuminative evaluation.
In data collection, the time and quality of the researcher's permanence in the field is important and these data, subject to variability, must be exposed to everyone, always visible, collected from various sources and through a combination of techniques..
Qualitative methods generally aim to understand the experiences and attitudes of individuals, the community, or the worker. The purpose of these methods is to answer questions about the 'what', 'how' or 'why' of a phenomenon rather than 'how many' or 'how much', which are answered by quantitative methods.
Quantitative
Quantitative methods highlight objective measurements and numerical or mathematical statistical analysis of data collected through surveys and questionnaires, or by manipulating pre-existing statistical data using computational techniques. Quantitative research focuses on collecting numerical data and generalizing between groups of people or explaining a particular phenomenon.
The goal of conducting a quantitative research study is to determine the relationship between one thing and another within a population. Quantitative research designs are descriptive or experimental. A descriptive study establishes only associations between variables; an experimental study establishes causality.
Quantitative research deals with numbers, logic, and an objective position. It focuses on immutable and numerical data and detailed convergent reasoning rather than divergent reasoning, that is, generating a variety of ideas about a research problem spontaneously and fluently.
Comparative
The comparative method studies the correlation that exists between one or more phenomena that are collated. When studying, for example, the direct relationship between the development of urban planning and the relaxation of customs, or between the extension of education and democracy, the comparative method is used.
The most frequent comparisons in the social sciences are between macrosocial units, such as cultures, societies, institutions, states, countries, norms, even though it is also possible that it is made between smaller social groups. These comparisons are based on the analysis of the actions of the historical agents involved and the structure and characteristics of the phenomenon studied.
Where to study sociology
The career of sociology is one of the most attractive in the area of Social Sciences.
The individual who studies sociology uses the sociological imagination, that is, the ability to think, moving away from life's own, daily and familiar routines, to be able to see them as if they were something new since it is in direct relation to life. practical activity, intervening in the solution of immediate problems and in carrying out plans that seek to improve the lives of the world's inhabitants.
Sociology must allow people to move from immediate sensory explanations, typical of daily life, to deeper questions about various social phenomena such as: crime, development, poverty, underdevelopment, strikes and wars, among others. Phenomena about which human beings almost always have a very personal and intuitive opinion.
The highest house of study in Mexico is UNAM, with national and international recognition for its prominent study programs and its excellent teams of academics and teachers. The professionals graduated in the area of sociology from this house of study will have an enriched theoretical-methodological preparation, with which they will be able to understand the socioeconomic, political and cultural problems of society, and thus be able to face them in practical reality.
Sociology should be viewed as an effort to question the obvious, common sense, overcome personal relationships, and analyze problems critically and objectively.
