TRIVIA OF SOCIOLOGY

Sociology is the scientific study of

human society and social behavior.
The term "sociology" was first
coined by Auguste Comte in 1838.

DEFINITION Émile Durkheim is considered the

father of modern sociology.
Max Weber is known for his work
Sociology is a social science that focuses on on bureaucracy and the concept of
society, human social behavior, patterns of the ideal type.
social relationships, social interaction, and Karl Marx's theories on capitalism,
aspects of culture associated with everyday social class, and exploitation have
had a major impact on sociology.
life. According to studies, 90% of
Sociology is the scientific study of human sociology majors report being
society, social relationships, and the various satisfied with their choice of major.
forms of social organization that exist within Definition
it. It seeks to understand and explain the Branches
patterns of human behavior, interactions,
Symbolic
and institutions that shape social life, and
how they are influenced by larger social,
Interactionism
cultural, economic, and political forces. Functionalism
Sociology also examines the ways in which Methods
individuals and groups are affected by social Revolutionary
inequality, power relations, and cultural Approach
diversity, as well as the ways in which they
Fun facts/Trivia
can create social change through collective
action and social movements.

GROUP 5
BROCHURE
 The
The people
people that
that contributed
contributed toto SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM
the
the development
development ofof Sociology
Sociology Symbolic interaction theory, called symbolic interaction perspective, is a sociology theory that seeks to
understand humans' relationship with their society by focusing on the symbols that help us give meaning to
the experiences in our life. Social scientists consider symbolic interaction theory as a framework for building
theories that see society as a product of everyday human interactions.
The proponents of symbolic interaction theory argued that the meaning we ascribe to the world around us
depends on our interactions with people, ideas, and events. They opined that our understanding of the world
and how we interact with our society is based on what we learn from our interactions with others rather than
the objective truth. In simpler terms, symbolic interactionists believe that our society is socially constructed
by the meanings we attach to social interactions and events.

George Herbert Mead

Symbolic interactionism Sociologists believed George Herbert Mead, an American philosophy professor, was
the true founder of symbolic interaction theory. His students gathered his teachings and lectures and published a
book titled Mind, Self, and Society in his name. This book lays out the core concept of social interactionism.
Shortly after this publication, Herbert Blumer, a follower of mead, invented the term symbolic interactionism.
Blumer also identified three premises from George Herbert Mead's symbolic interactionism theory.

These premises are:

1. Humans act toward people or things based on the meanings they assign people or things.
Auguste Comte 2. The meanings we assign to people and things arise from our social interactions with one another. Blumer
FATHER OF SOCIOLOGY argued that meaning isn’t inherent in objects but formed through social interactions.
3. Humans adjust the meanings they assign people or things by internally interpreting their interactions with the
world.
Max Weber
- Max Weber's symbolic interactionism One of the social theories that greatly influenced George Herbert Mead's
symbolic interactionism is Max Weber's social action theory, sometimes called Max Weber’s symbolic
interactionism.
- Max Weber believes society is a product of human activity and argued that social action should be the focus of
study when analyzing a society. Max Weber describes social action as an act carried out by a person after carefully
thinking about it.
Social theorists asserted that there are two ways of understanding social actions: Aktuelles verstehen and
erklarendeds verstehen. The first is direct observational understanding, and the second is understanding the
motive behind an action. Max Weber rejected the structuralist view that society exists independently of the
people that make it up and rather argued that a society is a product of social actions.

* Aside from George Herbert Mead, Herbert Blumer, and Max Weber, other theorists that contributed to
symbolic interactionism in sociology include Max Weber, Charles Horton Cooley, Charles Darwin, and William
Isaac Thomas

FUNCTIONALISM

Émile Durkheim Karl Marx Functionalism is a key consensus theory. It places importance on our shared norms and values, by which
FRENCH SOCIOLOGIST GERMAN PHILOSOPHER society is enabled to function. It is a structural theory, which means it believes societal structures shape
METHODS OF SOCIOLOGY individuals. Individuals are the product of social structures and socialisation. This is also called a 'top-down'

theory.
Survey research: It involves collecting data from a large sample of individuals
Functionalism was 'founded' by French sociologist, Émile Durkheim. Further key theorists of this
using questionnaires, interviews, or other methods.
sociological perspective were Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton. They established functionalist arguments
Participant observation: It involves observing and participating in the social
activities and behaviors of a group or community. in several areas of sociological research, including education, family formation and social inequality.
Case studies: It involves in-depth analysis of a particular person, group, or event According to the functionalist perspective of sociology, each aspect of society is interdependent and
to gain a better understanding of social phenomena. contributes to society's stability and functioning as a whole. For example, the government provides
Historical research: It involves the use of historical records and documents to education for the children of the family, which in turn pays taxes on which the state depends to keep itself
study social phenomena and changes over time. running.
Content analysis: It involves analyzing written or visual materials, such as books, Functionalists believe that society is held together by social consensus, in which members of the society agree
newspapers, or films, to identify patterns and themes related to social upon, and work together to achieve, what is best for society as a whole. This stands apart from the other two
phenomena.
main sociological perspectives: symbolic interactionalism, which focuses on how people act according to
Content analysis: It involves analyzing written or visual materials, such as books,
their interpretations of the meaning of their world, and conflict theory, which focuses on the negative,
newspapers, or films, to identify patterns and themes related to social
conflicted, ever-changing nature of society.
phenomena.
Experiments: It involves manipulating one or more variables in a controlled

environment to test hypotheses about social behavior and relationships.

Ethnography: It involves studying a particular culture or community to gain a
REVOLUTIONARY APPROACH
deep understanding of their social practices, values, and beliefs. Social revolutions are sudden changes in the structure and nature of society. These revolutions are usually
recognized as having transformed society, economy, culture, philosophy, and technology along with but more
Max Weber Herbert Spencer than just the political systems. You will often see this type of change in reaction to (1) a leadership change or (2) a
GERMAN SOCIOLOGIST ENGLISH PHILOSOPHER
crisis.
As examples: a new CIO comes in and reorganizes the department, or the IT department fails an audit
1. Theoretical Sociology
Under this branch of Sociology, the theories of Karl Marx, Auguste Comte,
Max Weber, Emile Durkhaim, Sorokin, etc are studied under the theories of
sociology. These theories are based on theoretical perspectives and the
assumption that social systems like family, roles, culture, social structure, and
society as a whole exists and are real.
2. Historical Sociology
Another name in the list of branches of Sociology is History! This is
considered to be the study of social facts and social groups. The background
is usually studied in this category. We get to know about the social events at
large.
3. Sociology of Knowledge
This branch of sociology helps to know and help to gain knowledge of social
phenomena. They come to conclusions that highlight how knowledge is
always influenced by society. The economic, religious, political, and other
interests save human belief and ideas.
4. Criminology
This branch of sociology studies the criminal behavior of people or groups of
people. Many questions are answered through it, like knowing the origin of the
crime, its types of nature, causes as well as law, punishment, police, etc.
5. Sociology of Religion
This branch of sociology helps to study the structure of religion in the social
system. Since religion has a lot of impact on society and as no society is free
from it. It analyses the social behavior of human beings towards religion and
their faith, along with the study of religious constitutions and their role in the
society.
6. Sociology of Economy
This one in the list of branches of Sociology studies the production,
distribution, consumption and exchange of goods and services. It helps to
study the economic activities of the society in which the focus is given about
the socio-cultural factors.
7. Rural Sociology
This branch of sociology studies the way of life of rural people as the rural
population is higher than the urban. Patterns of life such as behavior, belief,
culture, tradition norms, values, etc. which are totally different from urban
people are analyzed in this branch. So, it studies rural society in a scientific
way. It also studies rural life, social institutions, social structure, social
processes, etc. of the rural society.
8. Urban Sociology
This branch of sociology helps to know the way of life of urban people. It gives
details about the social organizations of urban society as well as the social
structure and social interaction the urban people got through. It also studies the
social pathology of urban society such as discrimination, crime, corruption,
robbery, beggary, loot, theft, unemployment, prostitution, environmental
pollution, etc.
9. Political Sociology
This branch of sociology studies different political moments of society. It includes
the study of different political ideologies of individuals, their origin, development
and functions. In this study, different political parties are considered as social
institutions. Various activities and behavior of political parties are studied in this
branch. It helps to understand the factors on which the political decisions are
taken.
10. Sociology of Demography
Under this branch, there are studies about the size, situation, composition,
density, distribution, and measurement etc. of the population. In this branch of
sociology, we study the distribution of the human population with the analysis of
population change in sociological perspectives. It also finds out the determining
factors of population change and its trend.
12. Sociology of Law
Sociology of law and the legal system are considered as an integral part of society.
Law is one of the very important means of social control. Law is related to other
different social subsystems. This branch of sociology is related to moral order for
the society as formulation and implementation of rules and regulations, law and
order come under this.
13. Industrial Sociology
This branch of sociology is concerned with the industrial relationship of human
beings. It studies the different industrial organizations and institutions. As well as
their interrelationship and links with other various institutions of society. The
relationship of individuals with respect to the industrial area is analyzed.