Sociology

The French philosopherAuguste Comte (1798–1857)—oftencalledthe “fatherof sociology”—firstused
the term “sociology”in1838 to referto the scientificstudyof society.He believedthatall societies
developandprogressthroughthe followingstages: religious,metaphysical,andscientific.Comte argued
that societyneedsscientificknowledge basedonfactsand evidence tosolve itsproblems—not
speculationandsuperstition,whichcharacterizethe religiousandmetaphysical stagesof social
development.Comte viewedthe science of sociologyasconsistingof twobranches: dynamics,orthe
studyof the processesbywhichsocietieschange;and statics,or the studyof the processesbywhich
societiesendure.He alsoenvisionedsociologistsaseventuallydevelopingabase of scientificsocial
knowledge thatwouldguide societyintopositivedirections.
Herbert Spencer
The 19th‐centuryEnglishman HerbertSpencer(1820–1903) comparedsocietytoa livingorganismwith
interdependentparts.Change inone part of societycauseschange inthe otherparts,so that everypart
contributestothe stabilityandsurvival of societyasawhole.If one partof societymalfunctions,the
otherparts mustadjustto the crisisand contribute evenmore topreserve society.Family,education,
government,industry,andreligioncomprise justafew of the parts of the “organism”of society.
Spencersuggestedthatsocietywill correctitsowndefectsthroughthe natural processof “survival of
the fittest.”The societal “organism” naturallyleanstowardhomeostasis,orbalance andstability.Social
problemsworkthemselvesoutwhenthe governmentleavessocietyalone.The “fittest”—the rich,
powerful,andsuccessful—enjoytheirstatusbecause nature has“selected”themtodoso.In contrast,
nature has doomedthe “unfit”—thepoor,weak,andunsuccessful—tofailure.Theymustfendfor
themselveswithoutsocial assistance if societyistoremainhealthyandevenprogresstohigherlevels.
Governmental interference inthe “natural”orderof societyweakenssocietybywastingthe effortsof its
leadershipintryingtodefythe lawsof nature.
Karl Marx
Noteveryone hassharedSpencer'svisionof societal harmonyandstability.Chief amongthose who
disagreedwasthe Germanpolitical philosopherandeconomistKarl Marx(1818–1883), who observed
society'sexploitationof the poorbythe rich and powerful.Marx arguedthatSpencer'shealthysocietal
“organism”was a falsehood.Ratherthaninterdependenceandstability,Marx claimedthatsocial
conflict,especiallyclassconflict,andcompetitionmarkall societies.
The class of capitaliststhatMarx calledthe bourgeoisie particularlyenragedhim.Membersof the
bourgeoisieownthe meansof productionandexploitthe classof laborers,called the proletariat,who
do notown the meansof production.Marx believedthatthe verynaturesof the bourgeoisie andthe
proletariatinescapablylockthe twoclassesinconflict.Buthe thentookhisideasof classconflictone
stepfurther:He predictedthatthe laborersare not selectively“unfit,”butare destinedtooverthrow
the capitalists.Sucha classrevolutionwouldestablisha“class‐free”societyinwhichall peoplework
accordingto theirabilitiesandreceive accordingtotheirneeds.

Unlike Spencer,Marx believedthateconomics,notnatural selection,determinesthe differences
betweenthe bourgeoisie andthe proletariat.He furtherclaimedthatasociety'seconomicsystem
decidespeoples'norms,values,mores,andreligiousbeliefs,aswell asthe nature of the society's
political,governmental,andeducational systems.Alsounlike Spencer,Marx urgedpeopletotake an
active role inchangingsocietyratherthansimplytrustingittoevolve positivelyonitsown.
Emile Durkheim
Despite theirdifferences,Marx,Spencer,andComte all acknowledgedthe importance of usingscience
to studysociety,althoughnone actuallyusedscientificmethods.Notuntil Emile Durkheim(1858–1917)
dida personsystematicallyapplyscientificmethodstosociology asadiscipline.A Frenchphilosopher
and sociologist,Durkheimstressedthe importance of studying social facts,or patternsof behavior
characteristicof a particulargroup.The phenomenonof suicide especiallyinterestedDurkheim.Buthe
didnot limithisideasonthe topicto mere speculation.Durkheimformulatedhisconclusionsaboutthe
causesof suicide basedonthe analysisof large amountsof statistical datacollectedfromvarious
Europeancountries.
Durkheimcertainlyadvocatedthe use of systematicobservationtostudysociological events,buthe also
recommendedthatsociologistsavoidconsideringpeople'sattitudeswhenexplainingsociety.
Sociologistsshouldonlyconsiderasobjective“evidence”whattheythemselvescandirectlyobserve.In
otherwords,theymustnot concernthemselveswithpeople'ssubjective experiences.
Max Weber
The German sociologist MaxWeber(1864–1920) disagreedwiththe “objectiveevidence only”position
of Durkheim.He arguedthatsociologistsmustalsoconsiderpeople'sinterpretationsof events—notjust
the eventsthemselves.Weberbelievedthatindividuals'behaviorscannotexistapartfromtheir
interpretationsof the meaningof theirownbehaviors,andthatpeople tendtoactaccording to these
interpretations.Because of the tiesbetweenobjective behaviorandsubjectiveinterpretation,Weber
believedthatsociologistsmustinquire intopeople'sthoughts,feelings,andperceptionsregardingtheir
ownbehaviors.Weberrecommendedthatsociologistsadopthismethod of Verstehen(vûrste hen),or
empatheticunderstanding.Verstehenallowssociologiststomentallyputthemselvesinto“the other
person'sshoes”andthusobtainan “interpretiveunderstanding”of the meaningsof individuals'
behaviors.
From Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia
Sociology

Social NetworkDiagram(segment).svg
Outline History
Theory
PositivismAntipositivismFunctionalismConflicttheoriesSocialconstructionismStructuralism
InteractionismCritical theoryStructure andagency
Methods
Quantitative Qualitative Historical Mathematical Computational EthnographyEthnomethodology
Networkanalysis
Subfields
ConflictCriminologyCulture DevelopmentDeviance DemographyEducationEconomicEnvironmental
FamilyGenderHealthIndustrialInequality Knowledge Law Literature Medical MilitaryOrganizational
Political Race &ethnicityReligionRural Science Socialchange Social movementsSocial psychology
StratificationTechnologyUrban
Browse
Portal People OrganizationsJournalsIndexTimeline
v t e
Sociologyasa scholarlydiscipline emergedprimarilyoutof enlightenmentthought,shortlyafterthe
FrenchRevolution,asapositivistscience of society.Itsgenesisowedtovariouskeymovementsinthe
philosophyof scienceandthe philosophyof knowledge.Social analysisinabroadersense,however,has
originsinthe commonstock of philosophyandnecessarilypre-datesthe field.Modernacademic
sociologyarose asa reactionto modernity,capitalism, urbanization,rationalization,secularization,
colonizationandimperialism.Late 19thcenturysociologydemonstratedaparticularlystronginterestin
the emergence of the modernnationstate;itsconstituentinstitutions,itsunitsof socialization,andits
meansof surveillance.Anemphasisonthe concept of modernity,ratherthanthe Enlightenment,often
distinguishessociological discourse fromthatof classical political philosophy.[1]
Variousquantitativesocial researchtechniqueshave become commontoolsforgovernments,
businessesandorganizations, andhave alsofounduse inthe othersocial sciences.Divorcedfrom
theoretical explanationsof social dynamics,thishasgivensocial researchadegree of autonomyfrom
the disciplineof sociology.Similarly,"social science"hascome tobe appropriated asan umbrellaterm
to referto variousdisciplineswhichstudyhumans,interaction,societyorculture.[2]
Contents [hide]
1 Precursors
1.1 Ancienttimes

1.1.1 IbnKhaldun(14th century)
2 Classical origins
2.1 The Enlightenmentandpositivism
2.1.1 Henri de Saint-Simon
2.1.2 Auguste Comte
2.2 Industrial revolutionandthe Darwinianrevolution
2.2.1 Historical materialism
2.2.2 Social Darwinism
2.3 Otherprecursors
3 Foundationof the academicdiscipline
3.1 The canon: Durkheim,Marx,Weber
4 19th Century:Frompositivismtoantipositivism
5 20th Century:Critical theory,postmodernism, andpositivistrevival
6 See also
7 References
8 Furtherreading
Precursors[edit]
Ancienttimes[edit]
Sociological reasoningmaybe tracedback at leastas far as the ancientGreeks(cf.Xenophanes′remark:
"If horseswouldadore gods,these godswouldresemble horses").Proto-sociological observationsare to
be foundinthe foundingtextsof Westernphilosophy(Herodotus,Thucydides,Plato,Polybiusandso
on),as well asinthe non-Europeanthoughtof figuressuchasConfucius.[3] The characteristictrendsin
the sociological thinkingof the ancientGreekscanbe tracedback to theirsocial environment.Because
there wasrarelyany extensive orhighlycentralizedpoliticalorganizationwithinstatesthisallowedthe
tribal spiritof localismandprovincialismtohave free play.Thistribal spiritof localismandprovincialism
pervadedmostof the Greekthinkinguponsocial phenomena.[4]
The originof the surveycanbe tracedback to the DoomesdayBookorderedbykingWilliamIin
1086.[5][6]

In the 13th century,Ma Tuan-Lin,a Chinese historian,firstrecognizedpatternsof social dynamicsasan
underlyingcomponentof historical developmentinhisseminal encyclopedia,WenxianTongkaoor
"ComprehensiveExaminationof Literature".[7]
IbnKhaldun(14th century)[edit]
There isevidence of earlyMuslimsociologyfromthe 14thcentury.Some considerIbnKhaldun,a14th-
centuryTunisian,Arab,IslamicscholarfromNorthAfrica,tohave beenthe firstsociologistandfatherof
sociology;[8] hisMuqaddimahwasperhapsthe firstworktoadvance social-scientificreasoningonsocial
cohesionandsocial conflict.[9][10][11][12][13][14] IbnKhaldun(1332–1406), in hisMuqaddimah(later
translatedasProlegomenainLatin),the introductiontoasevenvolume analysisof universal history,
was the firstto advance social philosophyandsocial science informulatingtheoriesof social cohesion
and social conflict.He isthusconsidered bysome tobe the forerunnerof
sociology.[9][11][13][14][15][16]
Concerningthe disciplineof sociology,he conceivedadynamictheoryof historythatinvolved
conceptualizationsof social conflictandsocial change.He developedthe dichotomyof sedentarylife
versusnomadiclife aswell asthe conceptof a "generation",andthe inevitablelossof powerthatoccurs
whendesertwarriorsconqueracity.FollowingacontemporaryArabscholar,Sati'al-Husri,the
Muqaddimahmaybe readas a sociological work:six booksof general sociology.Topicsdealtwithinthis
workinclude politics,urbanlife,economics,andknowledge.The workisbasedaroundIbnKhaldun's
central conceptof 'asabiyyah,whichhasbeentranslatedas"social cohesion","groupsolidarity",or
"tribalism".Thissocial cohesionarisesspontaneouslyintribesandothersmall kinshipgroups;itcanbe
intensifiedandenlargedbyareligiousideology.IbnKhaldun'sanalysislooksathow thiscohesioncarries
groupsto powerbut containswithinitself the seeds –psychological,sociological,economic,political –of
the group's downfall,tobe replacedbyanew group,dynastyor empire boundbya stronger(orat least
youngerandmore vigorous) cohesion.
Classical origins[edit]
The term ("sociologie")wasfirstcoinedbythe FrenchessayistEmmanuel JosephSieyès(1748–
1836),[17] fromthe Latin:socius,"companion";andthe suffix -ology,"the studyof",fromGreekλόγος,
lógos,"knowledge".[18][19] In1838, the French-thinkerAugusteComte (1798–1857) ultimatelygave
sociologythe definitionthatitholdstoday.[18] Comte hadearlierexpressedhisworkas"social physics",
but that termhad beenappropriatedbyothers,mostnotablyaBelgianstatistician,Adolphe Quetelet
(1796–1874).
The Enlightenmentandpositivism[edit]
Auguste Comte

The Positivisttemple inPortoAlegre
Henri de Saint-Simon[edit]
Saint-SimonpublishedPhysiologiesocialein1813 and devotedmuchof histime tothe prospectthat
humansocietycouldbe steeredtowardprogressif scientistswouldformaninternationalassemblyto
influenceitscourse.He arguedthatscientistscoulddistractgroupsfromwar andstrife,byfocusingtheir
attentiontogenerallyimprovingtheirsocietieslivingconditions.Inturn,thiswouldbringmultiple
culturesandsocietiestogetherandpreventconflict.Saint-Simontookthe ideathateveryonehad
encouragedfromthe Enlightenment,whichwasthe belief inscience,andspunitto be more practical
and hands-onforthe society.Saint-Simon'smainideawasthatindustrialismwouldcreate anew launch
inhistory.He saw that people hadbeenseeingprogressasanapproachfor science,buthe wantedthem
to see itas an approach to all aspectsof life.Societywasmakingacrucial change at the time since itwas
growingoutof a decliningfeudalism.Thisnew pathcouldprovide the basisforsolvingall the old
problemssocietyhadpreviouslyencountered.He wasmore concernedwiththe participationof manin
the workforce insteadof whichworkforce manchoose.Hissloganbecame "All menmustwork[2] ”and
fromthis,the sloganof communismwasevolved"Eachaccordingto hiscapacity.[2] "
Auguste Comte[edit]
Writingafterthe original enlightenmentandinfluencedbythe workof Saint-Simon,political philosopher
of social contract,Auguste Comte hopedtounifyall studiesof humankindthroughthe scientific
understandingof the social realm.Hisownsociological schemewastypical of the 19th century
humanists;he believedall humanlifepassedthroughdistincthistorical stagesandthat,if one could
grasp thisprogress,one couldprescribe the remediesforsocial ills.Sociologywastobe the "queen
science"inComte'sschema;all basicphysical scienceshadtoarrive first,leadingtothe most
fundamentallydifficultscience of humansocietyitself.[18] Comte hasthuscome to be viewedasthe
"Fatherof Sociology".[18] Comte delineatedhisbroaderphilosophyof science inThe Course inPositive
Philosophy[1830–1842], whereashisA General View of Positivism(1865) emphasizedthe particular
goalsof sociology.
Auguste Comte wassoimpressedwithhistheoryof positivismthathe referredtoitas "the great
discoveryof the year1822.” Comte'ssystemisbasedonthe principlesof knowledge,asseen in3states.
Thislawstatesany kindof knowledge alwaysbeginsintheological form.Here the knowledge canbe
explainedbyasuperiorsupernatural powersuchas animism, spirits,orgods.Itthenpassesto the
metaphysical formwhere the knowledgeisexplainedbyabstractphilosophical speculation.Finally,the
knowledge becomespositive afterbeingexplainedscientificallythroughobservation,experiment,and
comparison.The orderof the lawswascreatedinorder of increasingdifficulty.[2] Comte'sdescriptionof
the developmentof societyisparallel toKarl Marx's owntheoryhistorical progressionfromcapitalism
to communism.Theybothwere influencedbyvariousUtopian-socialistthinkersof the dayandagreed
that some formof communismwouldbe the climax of societaldevelopment.[2]

In laterlife,AugusteComte developeda'religionof humanity'togive positivistsocietiesthe unityand
cohesivenessfoundthroughthe traditionalworshippeople were usedto.Inthisnew "religion"he
referredtosocietyasthe "Great Being."Comte promotedauniversal loveandharmonytaughtthrough
the teachingsof hisindustrial systemtheory.[2] Forclose associate JohnStuartMill,itwaspossible to
distinguishbetweena"goodComte"(the authorof the Course in Positive Philosophy) anda"bad
Comte"(the authorof the secular-religioussystem).[20] The systemwasunsuccessfulbutmetwiththe
publicationof Darwin'sOnthe Originof Speciestoinfluence the proliferationof variousSecular
Humanistorganizations inthe 19th century,especiallythroughthe workof secularistssuchasGeorge
Holyoake andRichardCongreve.
Karl Marx rejectedthe positivistsociologyof Comte butwasof central influence infoundingstructural
social science.
Industrial revolutionandthe Darwinianrevolution[edit]
Historical materialism[edit]
Both Comte andMarx intendedtodevelopanew scientificideologyinthe wake of European
secularization.Marx,inthe traditionof Hegelianism, rejectedthe positivistmethodandwasinturn
rejectedbythe self-proclaimedsociologistsof hisday.However,inattemptingtodevelopa
comprehensive science of societyMarx neverthelessbecamerecognizedasafounderof sociologyby
the mid20th century.IsaiahBerlindescribedMarx as the "true father"of modernsociology,"insofaras
anyone can claimthe title."[21]
To have givenclearand unifiedanswersinfamiliarempirical termstothose theoretical questionswhich
mostoccupiedmen'smindsat the time,andto have deducedfromthemclearpractical directives
withoutcreatingobviouslyartificial linksbetweenthe two,wasthe principal achievementof Marx's
theory...The sociological treatmentof historical andmoral problems,whichComte andafterhim,
SpencerandTaine,haddiscussedandmapped,became aprecise andconcrete studyonlywhenthe
attack of militantMarxismmade itsconclusionsaburningissue,andsomade the search forevidence
more zealousandthe attentiontomethodmore intense.
— IsaiahBerlinKarl Marx 1967, [22]
In the 1830s, Karl Marx was part of the YoungHegeliansinBerlin,whichdiscussedandwrote aboutthe
legacyof the philosopher,Hegel (1770–1831) (whose seminaltome,Science of Logicwaspublishedin
1816). Although,atfirstsympatheticwiththe groupsstrategyof attackingChristianitytounderminethe
Prussianestablishment,he laterformeddivergentideasandbroke withthe YoungHegelians,attacking
theirviewsinworkssuchas The German Ideology.Witnessingthe strugglesof the laborersduringthe
Industrial Revolution,Marx concludedthatreligion(orthe "ideal") isnotthe basisof the establishment's
power,butratherownershipof capital (orthe "material")- processesthatemploytechnologies,land,

moneyandespeciallyhumanlabor-powertocreate surplus-value[23] — lie atthe heart of the
establishment'spower.This"stoodHegel onhishead"ashe theorizedthat,atits core,the engine of
historyandthe structure of societywasfundamentallymaterial ratherthanideal.He theorizedthat
boththe realmof cultural productionandpolitical powercreatedideologiesthatperpetuatedthe
oppressionof the workingclassandthe concentrationof wealthwithinthe capitalistclass:the owners
of the meansof production.Marx predictedthatthe capitalistclasswouldfeel compelledtoreduce
wagesor replace laborerswithtechnology,whichwouldultimatelyincrease wealthamongthe
capitalists.However,asthe workerswere alsothe primariyconsumersof the goodsproduced,reducing
theirwageswouldresultinaninevitable collapse incapitalismasamode of economicproduction.[2]
Social Darwinism[edit]
HerbertSpencer(1820-1903)
HerbertSpencer(1820–1903), the Englishphilosopher,wasone of the mostpopularandinfluential 19th
centurysociologists.The earlysociologyof Spencercame aboutbroadlyasa reactionto Comte and
Marx; writingbefore andafterthe Darwinianrevolutioninbiology,Spencerattemptedtoreformulate
the disciplineinwhatwe mightnowdescribe associallyDarwinisticterms.Infact,hisearlywritings
showa coherenttheoryof general evolutionseveral yearsbefore Darwinpublishedanythingonthe
subject.[24] EncouragedbyhisfriendandfollowerEdwardL.Youmans,[25][26] SpencerpublishedThe
Studyof Sociologyin1874, whichwas the firstbookwiththe term "sociology"inthe title.Inthe 1900
editionof the journal International Monthly,[24] FranklinH.Giddings(1855–1931), the firstprofessorof
sociologyatColumbiaUniversity,describeditasthe book that"firstawakenedinEngland,America,
France,Italyand Russiaa wide interestgeneral interest"[25] inthe thenfledglingdiscipline of sociology.
In the UnitedStates,CharlesHortonCooley,statedina1920 article thatThe Studyof Sociology
"probablydidmore toarouse interestinthe subjectthanany otherpublicationbefore orsince."[25] Itis
estimatedthathe soldone millionbooksinhislifetime,farmore thananyothersociologistatthe time.
So strongwas hisinfluencethatmanyother19th centurythinkers,includingÉmile Durkheim,defined
theirideasinrelationtohis.Durkheim’sDivisionof LabourinSocietyistoa large extentanextended
debate withSpencerfromwhose sociologyDurkheimborrowedextensively.[27] Alsoanotable biologist,
Spencercoinedthe term"survival of the fittest"asabasic mechanismbywhichmore effectivesocio-
cultural formsprogressed.Whilstmanyintellectualsof hisdaywere proponentsof socialismasa
scientificallyinformedmannerof steeringsociety,Spencerwasacritic of socialismandan advocate fora
laissez-fairestyle of government.Hisideaswere highlyobservedbyconservativepolitical circles,
especiallyinthe UnitedStatesandEngland.[28] AlthoughSpencer'sworkisrarelydiscussedin
contemporarysociological theory,hisworkhasbeenadaptedandchanged,andresurfacesinvarious
contemporaryforms.[29]
A contemporaryof Spencer,LesterFrankWardis oftendescribedasafatherof Americansociology[30]
and servedasthe firstpresidentof the AmericanSociologicalAssociationin1905 and servedassuch
until 1907. He publishedDynamicSociologyin1883; Outlinesof Sociologyin1898; Pure Sociologyin

1903; and AppliedSociologyin1906. Alsoin1906, at the age of 65 he wasappointedtoprofessorof
sociologyatBrownUniversity.[31]
FollowingWardaspresidentof the AmericanSociological AssociationwasWilliamGrahamSumnerfrom
1908 to 1909. He alsoheldthe firstprofessorshipof sociologyatYale College,andin1876, Sumner
became the firstto teacha course entitled"sociology"inthe English-speakingworld.Hiscourse focused
predominantlyonthe workof Auguste Comte andHerbertSpencer.He wasideologicallyopposedtothe
sociologyof Ward as he feltthatsocietycouldnotbe steeredbyscientificintervention,andfamously
statedthe alternative to"survival of the fittest"wasthe "survival of the unfittest."However,he also
opposedthe grandtheorizingof Spencer.Duringthe ProgressiveErainthe UnitedStates,social
Darwinismbecame acontentioustopicandSumnerandhiscourse at Yale College wascriticizedfor
includingSpencerianideas.ThisalmostledtoSumner'sexpulsionfromteaching.Hismostfamous
sociological worksare WhatSocial ClassesOwe toEach Otherin1883 andFolkways:astudyof the
sociological importance of usages,manners,customs,mores,andmoralsin1906.
Otherprecursors[edit]
Many otherphilosophersandacademicswere influential inthe developmentof sociology,notleastthe
Enlightenmenttheoristsof social contract,andhistorianssuchasAdam Ferguson(1723–1816). For his
theoryon social interaction,Fergusonhashimself beendescribedas"the fatherof modern
sociology"[32] Otherearlyworkstoappropriate the term'sociology'includedA Treatise onSociology,
Theoretical andPractical bythe North AmericanlawyerHenryHughesandSociologyforthe South,or
the Failure of Free Society[33] bythe AmericanlawyerGeorge Fitzhugh.Bothbookswere publishedin
1854, inthe contextof the debate overslaveryinthe antebellumUS.HarrietMartineau,a Whigsocial
theoristandthe Englishtranslatorof manyof Comte'sworks,hasbeencitedasthe firstfemale
sociologist.
Variousotherearlysocial historiansandeconomistshave gained recognitionasclassical sociologists,
perhapsmostnotablyRobertMichels(1876–1936), Alexisde Tocqueville(1805–1859), VilfredoPareto
(1848–1923) and ThorsteinVeblen(1857–1926). The classical sociological textsbroadlydifferfrom
political philosophyinthe attempttoremainscientific,systematic,structural,ordialectical,ratherthan
purelymoral,normative orsubjective.The new classrelationsassociatedwiththe developmentof
Capitalismare alsokey,furtherdistinguishingsociological texts fromthe political philosophyof the
Renaissance andEnlightenmenteras.
Foundationof the academicdiscipline[edit]
Formal institutionalizationof sociologyasan academicdiscipline beganwhenEmileDurkheimfounded
the firstFrenchdepartmentof sociologyatthe Universityof Bordeaux in1895. In 1896, he established
the journal L'Année Sociologique.

A course entitled"sociology"wastaughtforthe firsttime inthe UnitedStatesin1875 byWilliam
Graham Sumner,drawinguponthe thoughtof Comte and HerbertSpencerratherthanthe work of
Durkheim.[34] In1890, the oldestcontinuingsociologycourse inthe UnitedStatesbeganatthe
Universityof Kansas,lecturedbyFrankBlackmar.The Departmentof HistoryandSociologyatthe
Universityof Kansaswasestablishedin1891[35][36] and the firstfull-fledgedindependentuniversity
departmentof sociologywasestablishedin1892 at the Universityof ChicagobyAlbionW.Small (1854–
1926), whoin 1895 foundedthe AmericanJournal of Sociology.[37] American sociologyarose ona
broadlyindependenttrajectorytoEuropeansociology.George HerbertMeadandCharlesH. Cooley
were influential inthe developmentof symbolicinteractionismandsocial psychologyatthe University
of Chicago,while LesterWardemphasizedthe central importance of the scientificmethodwiththe
publicationof DynamicSociologyin1883.
The Universityof Chicagodevelopedthe majorsociologistsatthe time.Itbroughtthemtogether,and
evengave thema huband a networkto linkall the leadingsociologists.In1925, a third of all sociology
graduate studentsattendedthe Universityof Chicago.Chicagowasverygoodatnot isolatingtheir
studentsfromotherschools.Theyencouragedthemtoblendwithothersociologists,andtonot spend
more time inthe class roomthan studyingthe societyaroundthem.Thiswouldteachthemreal life
applicationof the classroomteachings.The firstteachingsatthe Universityof Chicagowere focusedon
the social problemsthatthe worldhadbeendealt.Atthistime,academiawasnotconcernedwith
theory;especiallynottothe pointthat academiaistoday.Many people were still hesitantof sociology
at thistime,especiallywiththe recentcontroversial theoriesof WeberandMarx.The Universityof
Chicagodecidedtogo intoan entirelydifferentdirectionandtheirsociologydepartmentdirectedtheir
attentiontothe individualandpromotedequal rights.Theirconcentrationwassmall groupsand
discoveriesof the individual’srelationshiptosociety.The programcombinedwithotherdepartmentsto
offerstudentswell-roundedstudiesrequiringcoursesinhegemony,economics,psychology,multiple
social sciencesandpolitical science.AlbionSmall wasthe headof the sociologyprogramatthe
Universityof Chicago.He playedakeyrole inbringingGermansociological advancementsdirectlyinto
Americanacademicsociology.Small alsocreatedthe AmericanJournal of Sociology.RobertParkand
ErnestBurgessrefinedthe program’smethods,guidelines,andcheckpoints.Thismade the findings
more standardized,concise andeasiertocomprehend.The pairevenwrote the sociologyprogram’s
textbookfora reference andgetall studentsonthe same page more effectively.Manyremarkable
sociologistssuchasGeorge HebertMead,W.E. Du Bois,RobertPark,CharlesS.Johnson,William
Ogburn,HebertBlumerandmanyothershave significanttiestothe Universityof Chicago.[38]
In 1920 a departmentwassetupin PolandbyFlorianZnaniecki (1882–1958).WilliamI.Thomaswas an
earlygraduationfromthe sociologydepartmentof the Universityof Chicago.Hisbuiltuponhis
teachingsandhisworkchangedsociologyinmanyways.In 1918, WilliamI.Thomasand Florian
Znaniecki gave the worldthe publicationof The PolishPeasantinEurope andAmerica.Thispublication
combinedsociological theorywithindepthexperiential research andthuslaunchingmethodical
sociological researchasawhole.Thischangedsociologist’smethodsandenabledthemtosee new
patternsand connectnewtheories.Thispublicationalsogave sociologistsanew wayto foundtheir

researchand prove iton a newlevel.Alltheirresearchwouldbe more solid,andharderforsocietyto
not payattentiontoit. In1920, Znaniecki developedasociologydepartmentinPolandtoexpand
researchand teachingsthere.[2]
Withthe lackof sociological theorybeingtaught atthe Universityof Chicagopairedwiththe new
foundationsof statistical methods,the student’sabilitytomake anyreal predictionswasnonexistent.
Thiswas a major factorin the downfall of the Chicagoschool.[38]
The firstsociologydepartmentinthe UnitedKingdomwasfoundedatthe LondonSchool of Economics
in1904. In 1919 a sociologydepartmentwasestablishedinGermanyatthe LudwigMaximilians
Universityof MunichbyMax Weber,whohadestablishedanew antipositivistsociology.The "Institute
for Social Research"atthe Universityof Frankfurt(latertobecome the "FrankfurtSchool"of critical
theory) wasfoundedin1923.[29] Critical theorywouldtake onsomethingof alife of itsownafterWW2,
influencingliterarytheoryandthe "BirminghamSchool"of cultural studies.
The Universityof Frankfurt’sadvancesalongwiththe close proximitytothe researchinstitute for
sociologymade Germanyapowerful force inleadingsociologyatthattime.In1918, Frankfurtreceived
the fundingtocreate sociology’sfirstdepartmentchair.The Germany’sgroundbreakingworkinfluenced
itsgovernmenttoaddthe positionof Ministerof Culture toadvance the countryas a whole.The
remarkable collectionof menwhowere contributingtothe sociologydepartmentatFrankfurtwere
soongettingworldwideattentionandbeganbeingreferredtoasthe “Frankfurtschool.”Here they
studiednewperspectivesof Marx theories,andwentintodepthof the worksof WeberandFreud.Most
of thismenwouldsoonbe forcedoutof Germanybythe Nazisandarrive inAmerica,influencingsocial
researchthere.Thisforcedrelocationof sociologistsenabledsociologyinAmericatobringup to the
standardsof Europeanstudiesof sociologybyplantingsome of Europe’sgreatestsociologistsin
America.[39]
Felix Weil wasone of the studentswhoreceivedtheirdoctorate onthe conceptof socializationfromthe
Universityof Frankfurt.He,alongwithMax HorkheimerandKurtAlbertGerlach,developedthe Institute
of Social Researchanditwas establishedin1923. Kurt AlbertGerlachwouldserve asthe institute’sfirst
director.Theirgoal increatingthe institute wastoproduce a place that people coulddiscoverandbe
informedof social life asawhole.Weil,Horkheimer,andGerlach wantedtofocusoninteractions
betweeneconomics,politics,legalmatters,aswell asscholarlyinteractionsinthe communityand
society.The mainresearchthatgot the institute knownwasitsrevival of scientificMarxism.Many
benefactorscontributed money,supplies,andbuildingstokeepthisareaof researchgoing.When
Gerlach,became ill andhadto stepdownas director,Max Horkheimertookhisplace.He encouraged
the studentsof the institute toquestioneverythingtheystudied.If the studentsstudiedatheory,he not
onlywantedthemtodiscoveritstruththemselves,butalsotodiscoverhow,andwhyitis true and the
theoriesrelationtosociety.The National Socialistregime exiledmanyof the membersof the Institute of
Social Research.The regime alsoforcedmanystudentsandstaff fromthe entire FrankfurtUniversity,

and mostfledtoAmerica.Many people forcedfromthe institute alsoleftthe warpath,but unlike the
university,the institute losttoomanypeople andwasforcedtoclose. In1950, the institute was
reopenedasa private establishment.Fromthispointonthe Institute of Social Researchwouldhave a
close connectiontosociologystudiesinthe UnitedStates.[39]
International cooperationinsociologybeganin1893 whenRené Worms(1869–1926) foundedthe small
InstitutInternational de Sociologie,eclipsedbymuchlargerInternationalSociologicalAssociationfrom
1949. In1905 the AmericanSociological Association,the world'slargestassociationof professional
sociologists,wasfounded,andLesterF.Ward was selectedtoserve asthe firstPresidentof the new
society.
The canon: Durkheim,Marx,Weber[edit]
VilfredoPareto
Durkheim,Marx,andWeberare typicallycitedasthe three principal architectsof modernsocial science.
The sociological "canonof classics"withDurkheimandWeberatthe top owesinpart to TalcottParsons,
whois largelycreditedwithintroducingbothtoAmericanaudiences.[40] Parsons'Structure of Social
Action(1937) consolidatedthe Americansociological traditionandsetthe agendaforAmerican
sociologyatthe pointof itsfastestdisciplinarygrowth.InParsons'canon,however,VilfredoPareto
holdsgreatersignificance thaneitherMarx or Simmel.Hiscanonwasguidedbya desire to"unifythe
divergenttheoretical traditionsinsociologybehindasingle theoretical scheme,one thatcouldinfactbe
justifiedbypurelyscientificdevelopmentsinthe disciplineduringthe previoushalf century."[41] While
the secondaryrole Marx playsinearlyAmericansociologymaybe attributedtoParsons,[41] aswell as
to broaderpolitical trends,[42] the dominance of MarxisminEuropeansociological thoughthadlong
since securedthe rankof Marx alongside DurkheimandWeberasone of the three "classical"
sociologists.[43]
19th Century:Frompositivismtoantipositivism[edit]
The methodological approachtowardsociologybyearlytheoristswastotreat the discipline inbroadly
the same manneras natural science.Anemphasisonempiricismandthe scientific methodwassought
to provide anincontestablefoundationforanysociological claimsorfindings,andtodistinguish
sociologyfromlessempirical fieldssuchasphilosophy.Thisperspective,termedpositivism, wasfirst
developedbytheoristAuguste Comte.Positivismwasfoundedonthe theorythatthe onlytrue,factual
knowledge isscientificknowledge.Comte hadveryvigorousguidelinesforatheorytobe considered
positivism.He thoughtthatthisauthenticknowledge canonlybe derivedfrompositive confirmationof
theoriesthroughstrictcontinuouslytestedmethods,thatare notonlyscientificallybutalso
quantitativelybased.[2] Émile Durkheimwasamajorproponentof theoreticallygroundedempirical
research,[44] seekingcorrelationstoreveal structural laws,or"social facts".Durkheimprovedthat
conceptsthat hadbeenattributedtothe individualwere actuallysociallydetermined.These

occurrencesare thingssuch as suicide,crime,moral outrage,aperson’spersonality,time,space,and
God. He brought to lightthatsocietyhadinfluence onall aspectsof aperson,farmore thanhad been
previouslybelieved.[2] Forhim,sociologycouldbe describedasthe "science of institutions,theirgenesis
and theirfunctioning".[45] Durkheimendeavouredto applysociologicalfindingsinthe pursuitof
political reformandsocial solidarity.Today,scholarlyaccountsof Durkheim'spositivismmaybe
vulnerable toexaggerationandoversimplification:Comte wasthe onlymajorsociological thinkerto
postulate thatthe social realmmaybe subjecttoscientificanalysisinthe same wayasnoble science,
whereasDurkheimacknowledgedingreaterdetail the fundamental epistemological limitations.[46][47]
ReactionsagainstpositivismbeganwhenGermanphilosopherGeorgWilhelmFriedrichHegel (1770–
1831) voicedoppositiontobothempiricism, whichhe rejectedasuncritical,anddeterminism,whichhe
viewedasoverlymechanistic.[48] Karl Marx'smethodologyborrowedfromHegel dialecticismbutalsoa
rejectionof positivisminfavourof critical analysis,seekingtosupplementthe empirical acquisitionof
"facts"withthe eliminationof illusions.[49] He maintainedthatappearancesneedtobe critiquedrather
than simplydocumented.Marx nonethelessendeavouredtoproduce ascience of societygroundedin
the economicdeterminismof historical materialism.[49] Otherphilosophers,includingWilhelmDilthey
(1833–1911) and HeinrichRickert(1863–1936) arguedthat the natural worlddiffersfromthe social
worldbecause of those unique aspectsof humansociety(meanings,signs,andsoon) whichinform
humancultures.
At the turn of the 20th centurythe firstgenerationof Germansociologistsformallyintroduced
methodological antipositivism,proposingthatresearchshouldconcentrate onhumancultural norms,
values,symbols,andsocial processesviewedfromasubjectiveperspective.Max Weberarguedthat
sociologymaybe looselydescribedasa 'science'as itis able toidentifycausal relationships—especially
amongideal types,orhypothetical simplificationsof complexsocial phenomena.[50] Asa nonpositivist
however,one seeksrelationshipsthatare not as "ahistorical,invariant,orgeneralizable"[51] asthose
pursuedbynatural scientists.FerdinandTönniespresentedGemeinschaftandGesellschaft(lit.
communityandsociety) asthe twonormal typesof human association.Tönniesdrew asharpline
betweenthe realmof conceptualityandthe realityof social action:the firstmustbe treated
axiomaticallyandina deductive way('pure'sociology),whereasthe secondempiricallyandinan
inductive way('applied'sociology).BothWeberandGeorgSimmel pioneeredthe Verstehen(or
'interpretative') approachtowardsocial science;asystematicprocessinwhichanoutside observer
attemptsto relate toa particularcultural group,or indigenouspeople,ontheirowntermsandfrom
theirownpoint-of-view.Throughthe workof Simmel,inparticular,sociologyacquiredapossible
character beyondpositivistdata-collectionorgrand,deterministicsystemsof structural law.Relatively
isolatedfromthe sociological academythroughouthislifetime,Simmel presentedidiosyncraticanalyses
of modernitymore reminiscentof the phenomenological andexistential writersthanof Comte or
Durkheim,payingparticularconcerntothe formsof,and possibilitiesfor,social individuality.[52] His
sociologyengagedinaneo-Kantiancritique of the limitsof perception,asking'Whatissociety?'ina
directallusiontoKant'squestion'Whatisnature?'[53]

20th Century:Critical theory,postmodernism,andpositivistrevival[edit]
In the early20th century,sociologyexpandedinthe U.S.,includingdevelopmentsinboth
macrosociology,concernedwiththe evolutionof societies,andmicrosociology,concernedwith
everydayhumansocial interactions.Basedonthe pragmaticsocial psychologyof George HerbertMead
(1863–1931), HerbertBlumer(1900–1987) and, later,the Chicagoschool,sociologistsdeveloped
symbolicinteractionism.[54] Inthe 1920s, György Lukács releasedHistoryandClassConsciousness
(1923), while anumberof worksbyDurkheimandWeberwere publishedposthumously.Inthe 1930s,
Talcott Parsons(1902–1979) developedactiontheory,integratingthe studyof social orderwiththe
structural and voluntaristicaspectsof macroandmicro factors,while placingthe discussionwithina
higherexplanatorycontextof systemtheoryandcybernetics.InAustriaandlaterthe U.S.,AlfredSchütz
(1899–1959) developedsocial phenomenology,whichwouldlater informsocial constructionism.During
the same periodmembersof the Frankfurtschool,suchasTheodorW. Adorno(1903–1969) and Max
Horkheimer(1895–1973), developedcritical theory,integratingthe historical materialisticelementsof
Marxismwiththe insightsof Weber,FreudandGramsci—intheory,if notalwaysinname—often
characterizingcapitalistmodernityasamove awayfrom the central tenetsof enlightenment.
Duringthe Interwarperiod,sociologywasunderminedbytotalitariangovernmentsforreasonsof
ostensiblepolitical control.Afterthe RussianRevolution,sociologywasgradually"politicized,
Bolshevisizedandeventually,Stalinized"until itvirtuallyceasedtoexistinthe SovietUnion.[55] In
China,the discipline wasbannedwithsemiotics,comparative linguisticsandcyberneticsas"Bourgeois
pseudoscience"in1952, not to returnuntil 1979.[56] Duringthe same period,however,sociologywas
alsounderminedbyconservative universitiesinthe West.Thiswasdue,inpart,to perceptionsof the
subjectaspossessinganinherenttendency,throughitsownaimsandremit,towardliberal orleftwing
thought.Giventhatthe subjectwasfoundedbystructural functionalists;concernedwithorganic
cohesionandsocial solidarity,thisviewwassomewhatgroundless(thoughitwasParsonswhohad
introducedDurkheimtoAmericanaudiences,andhisinterpretationhasbeencriticizedforalatent
conservatism).[47]
In the mid-20thcenturythere wasa general—butnotuniversal—trendforU.S.-Americansociologyto
be more scientificinnature,due tothe prominence atthattime of action theoryandothersystem-
theoretical approaches.RobertK.MertonreleasedhisSocial TheoryandSocial Structure (1949).By the
turn of the 1960s, sociological researchwasincreasinglyemployedasa tool bygovernmentsand
businessesworldwide.Sociologistsdevelopednewtypesof quantitative andqualitative research
methods.Paul LazarsfeldfoundedColumbiaUniversity'sBureauof AppliedSocialResearch,where he
exertedatremendousinfluenceoverthe techniquesandthe organizationof social research.Hismany
contributionstosociological methodhave earnedhimthe title of the "founderof modernempirical
sociology".[57] Lazarsfeldmade greatstridesinstatisticalsurveyanalysis,panel methods,latent
structure analysis,andcontextual analysis.[57] He isalsoconsideredaco-founderof mathematical
sociology.Manyof hisideashave beensoinfluential astonow be consideredself-evident.[57]

In 1959, Erving GoffmanpublishedThe Presentationof Self inEverydayLife andintroducedthe theory
of dramaturgical analysiswhichassertsthatall individualsaimtocreate a specificimpressionof
themselvesinthe mindsof otherpeople.C.WrightMillspresentedThe Sociological Imagination,
encouraginghumanisticdiscourse andarejectionof abstractedempiricismandgrandtheory.Parallel
withthe rise of varioussocial movementsinthe 1960s, particularlyinBritain,the cultural turnsawa rise
inconflicttheoriesemphasizingsocial struggle,suchasneo-Marxismandsecond-wavefeminism.[58]
Ralf Dahrendorf andRalphMilibandpresentedpioneeringtheoryonclassconflictandindustrialized
nationstates.The sociologyof religionsaw arenaissance inthe decade withnew debateson
secularisationthesis,globalization,andthe verydefinitionof religiouspractise.TheoristssuchasLenski
and Yingerformulated'functional'definitions of religion;enquiringasto whata religiondoesrather
than whatit isin familiarterms.Thus,variousnew social institutionsandmovementscouldbe examined
for theirreligiousrole.Marxisttheoristscontinuedtoscrutinizeconsumerismandcapitalistideologyin
analogousterms.AntonioGramsci'sSelectionsfromthe PrisonNotebooks[1929–1935] was finally
publishedinEnglishduringthe early1970s.[59]
ZygmuntBauman
In the 1960s and 1970s so-calledpost-structuralistandpostmodernisttheory,drawingupon
structuralismandphenomenologyasmuchas classical social science,made aconsiderableimpacton
framesof sociological enquiry.[citationneeded]Oftenunderstoodsimplyasa cultural style 'after-
Modernism'markedbyintertextuality,pasticheandirony,sociological analysesof postmodernityhave
presentedadistincterarelatingto(1) the dissolutionof metanarratives(particularlyinthe workof
Lyotard),and (2) commodityfetishismandthe 'mirroring'of identitywithconsumptioninlate capitalist
society(Debord;Baudrillard;Jameson).[60] Postmodernismhasalsobeenassociatedwiththe rejection
of enlightenmentconceptionsof the humansubjectbythinkerssuchasMichel Foucault,Claude Lévi-
Straussand, to a lesserextent,inLouisAlthusser'sattempttoreconcile Marxismwithanti-humanism.
Most theoristsassociatedwiththe movementactivelyrefusedthe label,preferringtoaccept
postmodernityasahistorical phenomenonratherthanamethodof analysis,if atall.Nevertheless,self-
consciouslypostmodernpiecescontinue toemerge withinthe social andpolitical sciencesingeneral.
In the 1980s, theoristsoutside of France tendedtofocusonglobalization,communication,and
reflexivityintermsof a 'second'phase of modernity,ratherthana distinctnew eraperse.Jürgen
Habermasestablishedcommunicativeactionasa reactionto postmodernchallengestothe discourse of
modernity,informedbothbycritical theoryandAmericanpragmatism.Fellow Germansociologist,
UlrichBeck, presentedThe RiskSociety(1992) as an accountof the mannerin whichthe modernnation
state has become organized.InBritain,AnthonyGiddenssetouttoreconcile recurrenttheoretical
dichotomiesthroughstructurationtheory.Duringthe 1990s, Giddensdevelopedworkonthe challenges
of "highmodernity",aswellasa new'thirdway' politicsthatwouldgreatlyinfluence NewLabourinU.K.
and the Clintonadministrationinthe U.S.LeadingPolishsociologist,ZygmuntBauman,wrote
extensivelyonthe conceptsof modernityandpostmodernity,particularlywithregardtothe Holocaust
and consumerismashistorical phenomena.[61] While Pierre Bourdieugainedsignificantcritical acclaim

for hiscontinuedworkoncultural capital,[62] certainFrenchsociologists, particularlyJeanBaudrillard
and Michel Maffesoli,were criticisedforperceivedobfuscationandrelativism.[63][64]
Social networkdiagram
FunctionalistsystemstheoristssuchasNiklasLuhmannremaineddominantforcesinsociologyuptothe
endof the century.In1994, RobertK. Mertonwonthe National Medal of Science forhiscontributions
to the sociologyof science.[65] The positivisttraditionispopulartothisday,particularlyinthe United
States.[66] The discipline'stwomostwidelycitedAmericanjournals,the AmericanJournal of Sociology
and the AmericanSociological Review,primarilypublishresearchinthe positivisttradition,withASR
exhibitinggreaterdiversity(the BritishJournal of Sociology,onthe otherhand,publishesprimarilynon-
positivistarticles).[66] The twentiethcenturysaw improvementstothe quantitative methodologies
employedinsociology.The developmentof longitudinal studiesthatfollow the same populationover
the course of yearsor decadesenabledresearchersto studylong-termphenomenaandincreasedthe
researchers'abilitytoinfercausality.The increase inthe size of datasetsproducedbythe new survey
methodswasfollowedbythe inventionof new statistical techniquesforanalyzingthisdata.Analysisof
thissort isusuallyperformedwithstatistical software packagessuchasSAS,Stata, or SPSS.
Social networkanalysisisanexample of anew paradigminthe positivisttradition.The influenceof
social networkanalysisispervasive inmanysociologicalsubfieldssuchaseconomicsociology(see the
workof J. Clyde Mitchell,HarrisonWhite,orMark Granovetter,forexample),organizational behavior,
historical sociology,political sociology,orthe sociologyof education.There isalsoaminorrevival of a
more independent,empirical sociologyinthe spiritof C.WrightMills,andhisstudiesof the PowerElite
inthe UnitedStatesof America,accordingtoStanleyAronowitz.[67]
In sociology,sociological theoriesare statementsof how andwhyparticularfactsabout the social world
are related.[1] Theyrange inscope fromconcise descriptionsof asingle social processtoparadigmsfor
analysisandinterpretation.Some sociological theoriesexplainaspectsof the social worldandenable
predictionabout future events,[2] while othersfunctionasbroadperspectiveswhichguidefurther
sociological analyses.[3]
Contents [show]
Sociological theoryvs.social theory[edit]
KennethAllan[4] proposedthe distinctionbetweensociological theoryandsocial theory.InAllan's
usage,sociological theoryconsistsof abstractandtestable propositionsaboutsociety.[4] Itoftenheavily

reliesonthe scientificmethod,whichaimsforobjectivity,andattemptstoavoidpassingvalue
judgments.Incontrast,social theory,accordingtoAllan,focusesoncommentaryandcritique of modern
societyratherthanexplanation.[4] Social theoryisoftenclosertoContinental philosophy;thus,itisless
concernedwithobjectivityandderivationof testable propositions,andmore likelytopassnormative
judgments.[5] Sociological theoryisgenerallycreatedonlybysociologists,whilesocial theorycan
frequentlycome fromotherdisciplines.
Prominentsociological theoristsinclude TalcottParsons,RobertK.Merton,Randall Collins,James
Samuel Coleman,PeterBlau,Marshal McLuhan,Immanuel Wallerstein,George Homans,Harrison
White,ThedaSkocpol,GerhardLenski,Pierre vandenBerghe andJonathanH.Turner.[5] Prominent
social theoristsinclude:JürgenHabermas,AnthonyGiddens,Michel Foucault,DorothySmith,Alfred
Schütz,JeffreyAlexander,andJacquesDerrida.[5] There are alsoprominentscholarswhocouldbe seen
as beingin-betweensocial andsociological theories,suchasHaroldGarfinkel,HerbertBlumer,Claude
Lévi-Strauss,Pierre BourdieuandErvingGoffman.[5]
Historyof sociological theories[edit]
For more detailsonthistopic,see Historyof sociology.
The fieldof sociologyitself--andsociological theorybyextension--isrelativelynew.Bothdate backto
the 18th and 19th centuries.The drasticsocial changesof thatperiod,suchas industrialization,
urbanization,andthe rise of democraticstatescausedparticularlyWesternthinkerstobecome aware of
society.The oldestsociological theoriesdeal withbroad historical processesrelatingtothese changes.
Since then,sociological theorieshave come toencompassmostaspectsof society,including
communities,organizationsandrelationships.[6]
Central theoretical problems[edit]
Overall,there isastrongconsensusregardingthe central theoretical questionsandthe central problems
that emerge fromexplicatingsuchquestions.Sociologicaltheoryattemptstoanswerthe followingthree
questions:(1) Whatisaction?(2) What issocial order?and (3) What determinessocial change?Inthe
myriadattemptstoanswerthese questions,three predominatelytheoretical (i.e.notempirical)
problemsemerge.These problemsare largelyinheritedfromthe classical theoretical traditions.The
consensusonthe central theoretical problemsis:how tolink,transcendorcope withthe following"big
three"dichotomies:[7] subjectivityandobjectivity,structure andagency,andsynchronyanddiachrony.
The firstdealswithknowledge,the secondwithagency,andthe lastwithtime. Lastly,sociological
theoryoftengrappleswiththe problemof integratingortranscendingthe divide betweenmicro,meso
and macro-scale social phenomena,whichisasubsetof all three central problems.These problemsare
not altogetherempirical problems,rathertheyare epistemological:theyarise fromthe conceptual
imageryandanalytical analogiesthatsociologistsuse todescribe the complexityof social processes.

Subjectivityandobjectivity[edit]
Main articles:Objectivity(science),Objectivity (philosophy) andSubjectivity
The problemof subjectivityandobjectivitycanbe dividedintoaconcernoverthe general possibilitiesof
social actions,and,on the otherhandthe specificproblemof social scientificknowledge.Inthe former,
the subjective isoftenequated(thoughnotnecessarily) withthe individual,andthe individual's
intentionsandinterpretationsof the objective.The objective isoftenconsideredanypublicorexternal
actionor outcome,on upto societywritlarge.A primaryquestionforsocial theorists,ishow knowledge
reproducesalongthe chainof subjective-objective-subjective,thatistosay:how isintersubjectivity
achieved?While,historically,qualitativemethodshave attemptedtotease outsubjective
interpretations, quantitative surveymethodsalsoattempttocapture individual subjectivities.Also,
some qualitativemethodstake aradical approachto objective descriptioninsitu.
The latterconcern withscientificknowledge resultsfromthe factthat a sociologistispartof the very
objecttheyseektoexplain.Bourdieuputsthisproblemrathersuccinct:
How can the sociologisteffectinpractice thisradical doubtingwhichisindispensableforbracketingall
the presuppositionsinherentinthe factthat she isa social being,thatshe istherefore socializedandled
to feel "like afishinwater"withinthatsocial worldwhose structuresshe hasinternalized?How canshe
preventthe social worlditself fromcarryingoutthe constructionof the object,ina sense,throughher,
throughthese unself-consciousoperationsoroperationsunaware of themselvesof whichshe isthe
apparentsubject
—Pierre Bourdieu,"The Problemof ReflexiveSociology"inAnInvitationtoReflexiveSociology,1992,pg
235
Structure and agency[edit]
Main article:Structure andagency
Structure and agency,sometimesreferredtoasdeterminismversusvoluntarism,[8] formanenduring
ontological debate insocial theory:"Dosocial structuresdetermine anindividual'sbehaviourordoes
humanagency?"In thiscontext'agency'referstothe capacity of individualstoact independentlyand
make free choices,whereas'structure'relatestofactorswhichlimitoraffectthe choicesandactionsof
individuals(suchassocial class,religion,gender,ethnicity,andsoon).Discussionsoverthe primacyof
eitherstructure andagencyrelate tothe core of sociological epistemology("Whatisthe social world
made of?","What isa cause inthe social world,andwhatisan effect?").[9] A perennialquestionwithin
thisdebate isthat of "social reproduction":how are structures(specifically,structuresproducing
inequality) reproducedthroughthe choicesof individuals?
SynchronyandDiachrony[edit]

Synchronyanddiachrony,or staticsand dynamics,withinsocialtheoryare termsthatreferto a
distinctionemergingoutof the workof Levi-Strausswhoinheriteditfromthe linguisticsof Ferdinandde
Saussure.[10] The formerslicesmomentsof time foranalysis,thusitisananalysisof staticsocial reality.
Diachrony,onthe otherhand,attemptstoanalyze dynamicsequences.FollowingSaussure,synchrony
wouldrefertosocial phenomenaasastatic conceptlike alanguage,while diachronywouldreferto
unfoldingprocesseslike actual speech.InAnthonyGiddens' introductiontoCentral ProblemsinSocial
Theory,he statesthat,"in orderto show the interdependence of actionandstructure...wemustgrasp
the time space relationsinherentinthe constitutionof all social interaction."Andlike structure and
agency,time isintegral todiscussionof social reproduction.Intermsof sociology,historicalsociologyis
oftenbetterpositiontoanalyze social lifeasdiachronic,whilesurveyresearchtakesasnapshotof social
life andisthusbetterequippedtounderstandsocial lifeassynchronic.Some argue thatthe synchrony
of social structure isa methodological perspective ratherthananontological claim.[10] Nonetheless,the
problemfortheoryishowto integrate the twomannersof recordingandthinkingaboutsocial data.
Classical theoretical traditions[edit]
The contemporarydiscipline of sociologyistheoreticallymulti-paradigmatic.[11] InRandall Collins'well-
citedsurveyof sociological theory[12] he retroactivelylabelsvarioustheoristsasbelongingto four
theoretical traditions:Functionalism,Conflict,SymbolicInteractionism,andUtilitarianism.[13] Modern
sociological theorydescendspredominatelyfromfunctionalist(Durkheim)andconflict-centered(Marx
and Weber) accountsof social structure,as well asthe symbolicinteractionisttraditionconsistingof
micro-scale structural (Simmel) andpragmatist(Mead,Cooley) theoriesof social interaction.
Utilitarianism,alsoknownasRational Choice orSocial Exchange,althoughoftenassociatedwith
economics,isanestablishedtraditionwithinsociological theory.[14][15] Lastly,asarguedbyRaewyn
Connell,atraditionthatisoftenforgottenisthatof Social Darwinism, whichbringsthe logicof
Darwinianbiological evolutionandappliesittopeople andsocieties.[16] Thistraditionoftenalignswith
classical functionalismandisassociatedwithseveral foundersof sociology,primarilyHerbertSpencer,
LesterF. Ward and WilliamGrahamSumner.Contemporarysociological theoryretainstracesof each
these traditionsandtheyare byno meansmutuallyexclusive.
Functionalism[edit]
Main article:Structural functionalism
A broadhistorical paradigminbothsociologyandanthropology,functionalismaddressesthe social
structure as a whole andin termsof the necessaryfunctionof itsconstituentelements.A common
analogy(popularizedbyHerbertSpencer)istoregardnorms andinstitutionsas'organs'that work
towardthe proper-functioningof the entire 'body'of society.[17] The perspective wasimplicitinthe
original sociological positivismof Comte,butwastheorizedinfull byDurkheim, againwithrespectto
observable, structural laws.Functionalismalsohasananthropological basisinthe workof theoristssuch
as Marcel Mauss, BronisławMalinowski andAlfredRadcliffe-Brown.ItisinRadcliffe-Brown'sspecific
usage that the prefix 'structural'emerged.[18] Classical functionalisttheoryisgenerallyunitedbyits
tendencytowardsbiological analogyandnotionsof social evolutionism.AsGiddensstates:

"Functionalistthought,fromComte onwards,haslookedparticularlytowardsbiologyasthe science
providingthe closestandmostcompatible model forsocial science.Biologyhasbeentakentoprovide a
guide toconceptualizingthe structure andthe functionof social systemsandtoanalyzingprocessesof
evolutionviamechanismsof adaptation...functionalismstronglyemphasizesthe pre-eminenceof the
social worldoveritsindividualparts(i.e.itsconstituentactors,humansubjects)."[19]
Conflicttheory[edit]
Social conflictisthe struggle betweensegmentsof societyovervaluedresources.[20] Fromthe
perspective of social conflicttheory,inthe West,bythe nineteenthcentury,asmall populationhad
become capitalists.Capitalistsare peoplewhoownandoperate factoriesandotherbusinessesin
pursuitof profits.Inotherwords,theyownvirtuallyall large-scale meansof production.However,
capitalismturnedmostotherpeople intoindustrial workers,whomMarx calledproletarians.
Proletariansare people who,because of the structure of capitalisteconomy,mustsell theirlaborfor
wages.Conflicttheoriesdrawattentiontopowerdifferentials,suchasclass,genderandrace conflict,
and contrasthistoricallydominantideologies.Itistherefore amacrolevel analysisof societythatsees
societyasan arena of inequalitythatgeneratesconflictandsocial change.[21] Karl Marx isthe fatherof
the social conflicttheory,whichisacomponentof the fourmajor paradigmsof sociology.[citation
needed] Otherimportantsociologistsassociatedwiththistheoryinclude HarrietMartineau,Jane
AddamsandW.E.B. Du Bois.Thissociological approachdoesn'tlookathow social structureshelpsociety
to operate,butinsteadlooksathow"social patterns"cancause some people insocietytobe dominant,
and othersto be oppressed.[22] However,some criticismstothistheoryare that itdisregardshow
sharedvaluesandthe wayin whichpeople relyoneachotherhelptounifythe society.[22]
SymbolicInteractionism[edit]
Main articles:Symbolicinteractionism,Dramaturgy(sociology),Interpretivesociologyand
Phenomenological sociology
Symbolicinteraction;oftenassociatedwithInteractionism,Phenomenological sociology,Dramaturgy,
Interpretivism, isasociologicaltraditionthatplacesemphasisonsubjectivemeaningsandthe empirical
unfoldingof social processes,generallyaccessedthroughanalysis.[23] The approachfocusesoncreating
a frameworkforbuildingatheorythatseessocietyasthe productof the everydayinteractionsof
individuals.Societyisnothingmore thanthe sharedrealitythatpeopleconstructas theyinteractwith
one another.Thisapproachseespeople interactingincountlesssettingsusingsymboliccommunications
to accomplishthe tasksat hand.Therefore,societyisacomplex,ever-changingmosaicof subjective
meanings.[24] Some criticsof thisapproachargue that itonlylooksat what ishappeninginaparticular
social situation,anddisregardsthe effectsthatculture,race orgender(i.e.social-historical structures)
may have inthat situation.[25] Some importantsociologistsassociatedwiththisapproachinclude Max
Weber,George HerbertMead,ErvingGoffman,George Homansand PeterBlau.Itis alsointhistradition
that the radical-empirical approachof Ethnomethodologyemergesfromthe workof HaroldGarfinkel.

Utilitarianism[edit]
Main articles:Utilitarianism, Rational choice theoryandExchange theory
Utilitarianismisoftenreferredtoasexchange theoryorrational choice theoryinthe contextof
sociology.Thistraditiontendstoprivilege the agencyof individual rational actors andassumesthat
withininteractionsindividualsalwaysseektomaximizetheirownself-interest.AsarguedbyJosh
Whitford,rational actorsare assumedto have fourbasicelements,the individualhas(1) "a knowledge
of alternatives,"(2) "aknowledgeof,orbeliefsaboutthe consequencesof the variousalternatives,"(3)
"an orderingof preferencesoveroutcomes,"(4) "A decisionrule,toselectamongstthe possible
alternatives"[26] Exchange theoryisspecificallyattributedtothe workof George C. Homans,PeterBlau
and RichardEmerson.[27] Organizational sociologistsJamesG.March andHerbertA. Simonnotedthat
an individual'srationalityisboundedbythe contextororganizational setting.The utilitarianperspective
insociologywas,mostnotably,revitalizedinthe late 20th centurybythe work of formerASA president
JamesColeman.
List of contemporarytheories[edit]
Anomie theory,seekstounderstandnormlessness,where societyprovideslittle moral guidance to
individuals.[28] SociologistEmile Durkheimobservedthatsocial periodsof disruptioningreateranomie
and higherratesof suicide andcrimes.[29] Mertontheorizesthatanomie (normativebreakdown) and
some formsof deviantbehaviorderive largelyfromadisjunctionbetween“culturally prescribed
aspirations”of a societyand“sociallystructuredavenuesforrealizingthose aspirations.InThe Division
of Labor inSociety,Durkheimdescribedanomieasone resultof an inequitable divisionof labourwithin
the society.Broadlyspeaking,then,duringtimesof greatupheaval,increasingnumbersof individuals’
‘cease to acceptthe moral legitimacyof society,”associologistAnthonyR.Mawson,Universityof Keele,
UK, notes.[29]
Critical theoryisa lineage of sociological theory,withreference tosuchgroupsas the FrankfurtSchool,
that aimsto critique andchange societyandculture,notsimplytodocumentandunderstandit.[30]
Dramaturgy or Dramaturgical Perspective isaspecializedsymbolicinteractionismparadigmdeveloped
by ErvingGoffman,seeinglife asaperformance.As"actors,"we have a status,whichisthe part that we
play,where we are givenvariousroles.[31] These rolesserveasa script,supplyingdialogueandaction
for the characters (the people inreality).[32] They alsoinvolve propsandcertainsettings.Forinstance,a
doctor (the role),usesinstrumentslikeaheartmonitor(the prop),all the while usingmedical terms(the
script),while inhisdoctor'soffice (the setting).[28] Inaddition,ourperformance isthe "presentationof
self,"whichishowpeople perceive us,basedonthe waysinwhichwe portrayourselves.[33] This
process,sometimescalledimpressionmanagement,beginswiththe ideaof personal performance.[34]

Engagedtheoryisan approach that seekstounderstandthe complexityof social life through
synthesizingempirical researchwithmore abstractlayersof analysis,includinganalysisof modesof
practice,and analysisof basiccategoriesof existencesuchatime,space,embodiment,andknowledge.
Feminismisacollectionof movementsaimedatdefining,establishing,anddefendingequalpolitical,
economic,andsocial rightsforwomen.[35] The theoryfocusesonhow genderinequalityshapessocial
life.[36] Thisapproachshowshowsexualityboth reflectspatternsof social inequalityandhelpsto
perpetuate them.Feminism, fromasocial conflictperspective,focusesongenderinequalityandlinks
sexualitytothe dominationof womenbymen.[37]
Fieldtheoryexaminessocial fields,whichare social environmentsinwhichcompetitiontakesplace (e.g.,
the fieldof electronicsmanufacturers).Itisconcernedwithhow individualsconstructsuchfields,with
howthe fieldsare structured,andwiththe effectsthe fieldhasonpeople occupyingdifferent positions
init.
Groundedtheoryisa systematicmethodologyinthe social sciencesinvolvingthe generationof theory
fromdata.[38]
Interpretivesociologyisatheoretical perspective basedonthe workof Max Weber,proposesthat
social,economicand historical researchcanneverbe fullyempirical ordescriptiveasone mustalways
approach itwitha conceptual apparatus.[39]
Middle Range theoryisan approachto sociological theorizingaimedatintegratingtheoryandempirical
research.Itis currentlythe de facto dominantapproachtosociological theoryconstruction,especiallyin
the UnitedStates.Middle range theorystartswithan empirical phenomenon(asopposedtoa broad
abstract entitylike the social system) andabstractsfromitto create general statementsthatcanbe
verifiedbydata.[40]
Mathematical theory,alsoknownasformal theory,isthe use of mathematicstoconstruct social
theories.Mathematical sociologyaimstotake sociological theory,whichisstronginintuitive content
but weakfroma formal pointof view,andto expressitinformal terms.The benefitsof thisapproach
include increasedclarityandthe abilitytouse mathematicstoderive implicationsof atheorythat
cannot be arrivedat intuitively.The modelstypicallyusedinmathematical sociologyallow sociologists
to understandhowpredictablelocal interactionsare oftenable toelicitglobal patternsof social
structure.[41]

PositivismisaphilosophydevelopedbyAuguste Comte inthe middle of the 19thcenturythat stated
that the onlyauthenticknowledge isscientificknowledge,andthatsuchknowledge canonlycome from
positive affirmationof theoriesthroughstrictscientificmethod.[42] Societyoperatesaccordingtolaws
like the physical world.Introspectiveandintuitional attemptstogainknowledge are rejected.The
positivistapproachhasbeenarecurrenttheme inthe historyof westernthought,fromthe Ancient
Egyptianstothe presentday.
Networktheoryisa structural approachto sociologythat ismost closelyassociatedwiththe workof
HarrisonWhite,whoviewsnormsandbehaviorsasembeddedinchainsof social relations.[39]
Phenomenological sociologyisanapproachwithinthe fieldof sociologythataimstoreveal whatrole
humanawareness playsinthe productionof social action,social situationsandsocial worlds.Inessence,
phenomenologyisthe belief thatsocietyisahumanconstruction.The social phenomenologyof Alfred
Schützinfluencedthe developmentof the social constructionism andethnomethodology.Itwas
originallydevelopedbyEdmundHusserl.
Post-colonialtheoryisapost-modernapproachthatconsistsof the reactionstoand the analysisof
colonialism.
Postmodernismisatheoretical perspective approachthatcriticisesmodernismandbelievesanti-theory
and anti-methodandhasa greatmistrustof grand theoriesandideologies.Due tohumansubjectivity,
theoristsbelievethatdiscoveringthe objectivetruthisimpossible orunachievable.[43] Thisisdue toa
perspective thatseessocietyasever-changingalongwiththe assumptionthattruthisconstantlysubject
to change.A post-moderntheorist'spurposeistoachieve understandingthroughobservation,rather
than data collection.Thisapproachusesbothmicroandmacro level analysis.[44] A questionthatis
askedbythisapproach wouldbe,"Howdo we understandsocietiesorinterpersonalrelations,while
rejectingthe theoriesandmethodsof the social sciences,andourassumptionsabouthumannature?or
How doespowerpermeate social relationsorsociety,andchange withthe circumstances?"[45] An
example of aprominentpostmodernististhe FrenchphilosopherMichael Foucault.
Pure sociologyisa theoretical paradigmdevelopedbyDonaldBlackthatexplainsvariationinsocial life
withsocial geometry,thatis,locationsinsocial space.A recentextensionof thisideaisthatfluctuations
insocial space - calledsocial time - are the cause of social conflict.[46]
Rational choice theorymodelssocial behaviorasthe interactionof utilitymaximizingindividuals.
"Rational"impliescost-effectivenessisbalancedagainstcosttoaccomplishautilitymaximizing
interaction.Costsare extrinsic,meaningintrinsicvaluessuchasfeelingsof guiltwill notbe accounted
for inthe cost to commita crime.

Social constructionismisasociological theoryof knowledge thatconsidershow social phenomena
developinparticularsocial contexts.[47]
Socializationtheoryisanapproachto understandingthe meansbywhichhumaninfants beginto
acquire the skillsnecessarytoperformasa functional memberof theirsociety[48] Sociologistsuse the
termsocializationtorefertothe lifelongsocial experience bywhichpeople developtheirhuman
potential andlearnculture.Unlikeotherlivingspecies,humansneedsocializationwithintheircultures
for survival.[49]
Social Exchange Theorysaysthat the interactionthatoccurs betweenpeoplecanbe partlybasedon
whatsomeone may"gainand lose"bybeingwithothers.Forexample,whenpeople thinkaboutwho
theymay date,they'll looktosee if the otherpersonwill offerjustasmuch(or perhapsmore) thanthey
do.This can include judginganindividual'slooksandappearance,ortheirsocial status.[22]
Thomastheoremreferstosituationsthatare definedasreal are real intheirconsequences.[50]
Suggeststhatthe realitypeople constructintheirinteractionhasreal consequencesforthe future.For
example,ateacherwhobelievesacertainstudenttobe intellectuallygiftedmaywell encourage
exceptionalacademicperformance.[51]
Theoriesinsubfieldsof sociology[edit]
Criminology[edit]
text
Criminology - The scientificstudyof crime andcriminals.
Main article:Criminology
The general theoryof crime:Statesthat the mainfactor behindcriminal behaviouristhe individual's
lack of self-control.
Differential associationtheory:The theorywasdevelopedbyEdwinSutherlandanditexaminesthe acts
of a criminal fromthe perspectivethattheyare learnedbehaviours.[52]
Labelingtheory:Itisthe mainideathat deviance andconformityresultnotsomuch fromwhat people
do as fromhowothersrespondto these actions.[53] Italsostatesthata society'sreactiontospecific
behaviorsare a majordeterminantof how apersonmay come to adopta "deviant"label.[54] This
theorystressesthe relativityof deviance,the ideathatpeople maydefine the same behaviorinany
numberof ways.Thus the labellingtheoryisamicro-level analysisandisoftenclassifiedinthe social-

interactionistapproach.[53] Bryant,Lee."The LabellingTheory",HistoryLearningSite,2000-2012,
retrievedMarch13, 2013.
Control theory:The theorywasdevelopedbyTravisHirschi andit statesthata weakbondbetweenan
individualandsocietyitself allowsthe individualtodefysocietal normsandadoptbehaviorsthatare
deviantinnature.[55]
Rational choice theory:Statesthatpeople commitcrimeswhenitisrational forthemto doso according
to analysesof costsand benefits,andthatcrime can be reducedbyminimizingbenefitsandmaximizing
costs to the "wouldbe"criminal.
Social disorganizationtheory:Statesthatcrime ismore likelytooccurinareas where social institutions
are unable todirectlycontrol groupsof individuals.
Social learningtheory:Statesthatpeople adoptnew behaviorsthroughobservationallearningintheir
environments.[56]
Straintheory:Statesthat a social structure withinasocietymaycause people tocommitcrimes.
Specifically,the extentandtype of deviance people engageindependonwhetherasocietyprovidesthe
meansto achieve cultural goals.[57]
Subcultural theory:Statesthatbehaviorisinfluencedbyfactorssuchas class,ethnicity,andfamily
status.Thistheory'sprimaryfocusis onjuvenile delinquency.
Psychopath:seriouscriminalswhodonotfeel shame orguiltfromtheiractions.Theydonot fear
punishmentandhave littlesympathyforthe people theyharm.[58] These individualsare saidtohave a
psychological disorderaspsychopathyorantisocial personalitydisorder.Theyexhibitavarietyof
maladaptive traitssuchasrarelyexperiencinggenuineaffectionforothers.Theyare skilledatfaking
affection,are irresponsible,impulsive,tolerate little frustrationandtheypursue immediate
gratification.[59] RobertHare,one of the world'sleadingexpertsonpsychopathy,developedan
importantassessmentdevice forpsychopathy,the PsychopathyChecklist-Revised.Formany,this
measure isthe single,mostimportantadvancementtodate towardwhatwill hopefullybecomeour
ultimate understandingof psychopathy(McCann,Weiten,641).
Containmenttheory:whenanindividual hasastrongerconscience itwill make one more tolerable to
frustrationsandtherefore are lesslikelytobe involvedincriminal activities.[60]
White-collarcrime:definedbyEdwinSutherlandascrime committedbypersonsof highsocial position
inthe course of theiroccupation(SutherlandandCressey,1978:44).[61] The white-collarcrime involves
people makinguse of theiroccupational positiontoenrichthemselvesandothersillegally,whichoften
causespublicharm.[61] In white-collarcrime,publicharmwreakedbyfalse advertising,marketingof
unsafe products,embezzlement,andbriberyof publicofficialsismore extensive thanmostpeoplethink,
mostof whichgo unnoticedandunpunished.[62]
Corporate crime:referstothe illegal actionsof acorporationor people actingonitsbehalf.Corporate
crime rangesfrom knowinglysellingfaultyordangerousproductstopurposelypollutingthe
environment.Like white-collarcrime,mostcasesof corporate crime go unpunished,andmanyare not
neverevenknowntothe public.[62]

Organizedcrime:abusinessthatsuppliesillegalgoodsorservices,includingsex,drugs,and
gambling.[61] Thistype of crime expandedamongimmigrants,whofoundthatsocietywasnotalways
willingtoshare itsopportunitieswiththem.[62] A famousexample of organizedcrime isthe Italian
Mafia.[62]
Hate crime:a criminal act againsta personor a person'spropertybyan offendermotivatedbyracial,
ethnic,religiousorotherbias.Hate crimesmayreferto race,ancestry,religion,sexualorientationand
physical disabilities.AccordingtoaStatisticsCanadapublication,"Jewish"communityhasbeenthe most
likelythe victimof hate crime inCanadaduring2001-2002. Overall,about57 percentof hate crimesare
motivatedbyethnicityandrace,targetingmainlyBlacksandAsians,while43 percenttargetreligion,
mainlyJudaismandIslam.A relativelysmall9percentismotivatedbysexual orientation,targetsgays
and lesbians.[63]
Physical traitsdonot distinguishcriminalsfromnoncriminals,butgeneticfactorstogetherwith
environmental factorsare strongpredictors of adultcrime andviolence.[60] Mostpsychologistssee
deviance asthe resultof "unsuccessful"socializationandabnormalityinanindividualpersonality.[60]

Sociology

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (7)

Similar to Sociology

Similar to Sociology (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Sociology