Definition Of Sociology
Sociology originated as a subject during the early 19th century, and only in the 1960s and 1970s, it gained prominence as a main subject of social sciences. Today, sociology is offered at several esteemed universities across the world. Studying the behavioral aspect of humans and animals can be challenging and interesting also. Sociology encompasses a wide variety of subjects. It analyzes the human society and also tries to find solutions to the various problems that are faced by the society as a whole. For example, at one time racial discrimination was a very big problem in the United States, and it impacted many people in the society. Sociologists study the whole aspect of it to figure out why people behave in a common way as in a society. They also try to find solutions and arrive at easier methods of working them out.
Among all things, society is the most difficult to study as it is influenced by various factors like lifestyle, origins, upbringing, culture, religion, and the environment. All these factors affect each individual differently and bring out many qualities. Every country deals with its own social issues, which are again a result of the environment and the culture of the respective area. Also, sociology applies to studying a multicultural society like India for example. People have their own groups of societies in such countries. Today, sociology is becoming a popular subject of choice for several teenagers and they are more open to working for social organizations.
Different Branches Of Sociology
Sociology is actually an umbrella term that is used to describe several branches of study of various factors affecting the society.
It is not studying about human and animal behavior alone in the society, but sociology also involves the study of the behavior under various circumstances and in various settings. Depending on what type of factor is being studied, the terms are branched out. For example, if a person is studying the effects of environmental factors on a certain group of society it is called environmental sociology.
Criminology is a branch of sociology that studies about the criminals, their mind set and the effects of society on them. Also, the sociologists study the crime rate and the common reasons of it.
Nationalism studies are the branch of sociology that studies the nationalistic behavior and what causes it.
Sociobiology (different from biology) is the branch where several common diseases and the causes of it as far as society is considered are studied. Some diseases are caused more because of the society in general.
Socio-psychology is another important branch that studies the effects of society on human psyche and also the behavior patterns of human beings because of the society. Today, we have various types of people dealing with different psychological problems. This branch of sociology studies about what exactly is causing or promoting this kind of behavior.
Sociology mainly depends on collection of data and research. Only then it is possible to analyze the causes and effects of various factors influencing the society. This data is collected by directly interacting with people and environments.
Is Sociology A Science?
Sociology is a branch of science. Science means knowledge of things. It can be the universe, human anatomy, materials and the environment and several more. Any study that deals with gathering of knowledge is called a science, and with respect to that sociology is a form of science. A person studying sociology collects information, and researches the knowledge about various factors affecting the society. Their work constantly deals with interacting with the society and studying the various factors influencing it. Sociologists basically observe, collect empirical evidence, experiments and analyze the data collected by them. That is how they are able to draw conclusions or give answers to various aspects of the society. It is a process of learning and in this case it is about the immediate environment that we live in.
Science is typically perceived as physics and chemistry by people because that is what we study in our lives. However, science is more than that. The study of stars and cosmic energies is called astrology and it is considered as a science. So, science is an umbrella term that is used to describe anything that involves research, analyzing, experimenting and drawing conclusions. Sociology is an important kind of study and it is broadly used by psychologists to study the reasons for certain human behaviors. However, some experts disagree that sociology is a science and it should come under social studies. It is just a moot point as of now. Different sociologists have different perceptions as to whether sociology is a science or not.