Why Take Sociology?
Have you ever read in a magazine, seen on the internet, or heard on the television something like this, "People without a high school diploma are more likely to live in poverty." Or, how about this, "65% of African American voters prefer this candidate for president." How do we know these things? Sociology is a subject that will help us understand such concepts.
Sociology is a Science
Sociology is a science in that it involves systematic methods of investigation and the evaulation of theories that attempt to explain human behavior in a variety of ways.
These systematic methods result in using the scientific method. However, when you think about using the scientific method, you usually think about the natural sciences (like biology, chemistry or physics). Sociology is a social science that cannot be modeled directly on the natural sciences, because studying human behavior is fundamentally different than studying the world of nature.
Why Take Sociology?
Sociology is a practical subject with a great deal of use. Sociology can contribute to social criticism and practical social reform in several ways:
- First, the improved understanding of a given set of social circumstances often gives us a better chance of controlling them.
- Second, sociology provides the means of increasing our cultural sensitivities, allowing policies to be based on an awareness of divergent cultural values.
- Third, we can investigate the consequences (intended and unintended) of the adoption of particular policy programs.
- Finally, and perhaps most important, sociology provides self-enlightenment, offering groups and individuals an increased opportunity to alter the conditions of their own lives
What is Society?
The simplest definition of society is a group of people who share a defined territory and a culture. In sociology, we take that definition a little further by arguing that society is also the social structure and interactions of that group of people.
Social structure is the relatively consistent patterns of behavior and relationships within a society. Thus, a society is not only the group of people and their culture, but the relationships between the people and the institutions within that group.
What is Culture?
In sociology, a distinction is made between society and culture. Culture refers to the norms, values, beliefs, behaviors, and meanings given to symbols in a society. Culture is distinct from society in that it adds meanings to relationships, symbols, behaviors, beliefs, etc.
Culture
For instance, what it means to eat beef (like hamburgers) in the United States is different than what it would mean to eat beef in India. The Hindu religion considers cows sacred, so eating a hamburger made out of ground beef might be seen as offensive. Thus, while cows exist in both cultures, the meaning of the animal differs by culture.
What refers to the norms, values, beliefs, behaviors, and meanings given to symbols in a society?
All human societies have a culture and culture can only exist where there is a society. Remember that societies have geographic borders. Culture can be carried anywhere. If you were to move to France tomorrow, you would inevitably take American culture with you, such as your way of speaking, dressing, thinking, and believing. You wouldn't instantly become French overnight.
For this reason, many societies contain many different cultures and many cultures can be found in many different societies.
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