HANDS OUT 1

Sociologists know that, although people in different parts of the city, country, or world dress differently, speak differently, and have many different beliefs and customs, many of the same types of social forces are at work shaping their lives. This is an especially important perspective in a world where media headlines are often accused of focusing on divisive issues. Sociologists look for what social structure and processes mean for various groups. They look at how various groups shape, and are impacted, by society. Sociologists can help groups find common concerns, understand other groups’ perspectives, and find ways to work together rather than work at odds with each other.

• Sociology helps us understand why and how society changes - Obviously, the social world is constantly changing. This change has been a major interest to sociologists from the beginning of the discipline. However, many sociologists believe that sociology should not stop with only explaining society and how and why the world changes. They argue that sociologists also have an obligation to act, using their unique skills and perspectives to work to improve the world. Sociology, they argue, is a “field of inquiry simultaneously concerned with understanding, explaining, criticizing, and improving the human condition” (Restivo 1991, 4). Armed with a sociological perspective, we can more effectively take action if we don’t like what is happening. We can better participate in shaping the future for ourselves and for others.

The earliest sociologists came to sociology from a variety of disciplines:

1) Emile Durkheim and Max Weber had studied law

2) Charles Horton Cooley was an economist;

3) Lester Ward was a biologist;

4) George Simmel was a philosopher;

5) Andrew M. Greeley a Catholic priest;

Sociology as an academic discipline:

• In 1876, Yale University’s William Graham Sumner (1840–1910), taught the first course identified as “sociology” in the United States.

• The University of Chicago established the first graduate department of sociology in the United States in 1892.

• By 1910, most colleges and universities were offering sociology courses, although not in separate departments.

• Thirty years later, most of these schools had established sociology departments. Sociology was first taught in high schools in 1911–12

Sociology grew out of, and overlaps with, many disciplines. However, it also extends the boundaries of many traditional disciplines.

Discipline	Focus	Shared interests	Different focus of Sociology
Economics	Structure of material goods, financial markets, and transactions	Social consequences of production and distribution	Focus beyond a single structure
History	Context of past events/relationships	Establishing social context	Focuses on present
Political science	Group competition for power and scarce resources in the context of politics	Patterns and consequences of government	Focus beyond a single structure
Anthropology	Variations between cultures	Patterns of culture; types and consequences of interactions and communication	Focuses on industrialized rather that pre-industrial societies
Psychology	Individualistic perspective	Adjustment to life situations	Influences external to the individual