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Definition: sociology from Philip's Encyclopedia

Scientific study of society, its institutions and processes. It examines areas such as social change and mobility, and underlying cultural and economic factors. Auguste Comte invented the term 'sociology' in 1843, and since the 19th century numerous complex and sophisticated theories have been expounded by Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and others.


sociology

From Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology
Sociology is so varied a discipline that it can be identified only very loosely as the study of social relationships, institutions and structures. Not only is this definition loose, it is also negative, for ‘social’ often means, in effect, not distinctly economic, not distinctly political, not distinctly religious and so forth. Although sociologists can trace their intellectual origins back to the Scottish Enlightenment and beyond, the discipline did not begin to become established until the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Although sociology is concerned with the study of social relationships, institutions and structures, the discipline is a child of industrial capitalism and its predominant field of study is modern Western societies. There are differences in style among the sociologies of various countries. However, the predominant sociology worldwide is that of the United States, despite the fact that the word ‘sociology’ was invented by a French philosopher, Auguste Comte, …
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Full text Article sociology

From Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology
Both an academic field and a practical accomplishment, it may be understood as the competence by which ordinary participants in social settings recognize and obey (or violate) rules and norms that are widely shared by others. The performance of sociological competence leads to the practical…
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Full text Article sociology

From The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology
The term has two stems - the Latin socius (companion) and the Greek logos (study of) - and literally means the study of the processes of companionship. In these terms, sociology may be defined as the study of the bases of social membership. More technically, sociology is the analysis of the…
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Full text Article Sociology

From World of Sociology, Gale
Sociology is the social science which studies human behavior in society. Sociology seeks to understand patterns of behavior within society , and how culture and social institutions shape human behavior. Economics, political science, anthropology, and psychology are also social sciences. Each of…
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Full text Article Sociology

From The SAGE Encyclopedia of Higher Education
Sociology involves the study of societies and is concerned with how different social arrangements work for society as a whole and the different social groups within it. It strives to discern the underlying factors that underpin and cause or shape negative and positive outcomes for individuals, …
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Full text Article sociology

From Collins Dictionary of Sociology
A term coined by COMTE to describe the scientific and, more particularly, the positivistic, study of SOCIETY (see POSITIVISM ). Since then, however, the term has gained a far wider currency to refer to the systematic study of the functioning, organization, development, and types of human societies, …
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Full text Article sociology

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
scientific study of human social behavior. As the study of humans in their collective aspect, sociology is concerned with all group activities—economic, social, political, and religious. Sociologists study such areas as bureaucracy, community, deviant behavior, family, public opinion, social change, …
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Full text Article sociology

From Encyclopedia of Social and Cultural Anthropology
Sociology is so varied a discipline that it can be identified only very loosely as the study of social relationships, institutions and structures. Not only is this definition loose, it is also negative, for ‘social’ often means, in effect, not distinctly economic, not distinctly political, not…
| 2,159 words
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Full text Article sociology

From Encyclopedia of Ethics
The writings of sociology's three most important classical theorists, Emile DURKHEIM (1858-1917), Max WEBER (1864-1920), and Karl MARX (1818-1883), reveal considerable ambiguity about the place of ethics in sociological inquiry. Despite the fact that their work imparts a clear moral immediacy and a…
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Full text Article sociology

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Systematic study of the origin and constitution of human society, in particular of social order and social change, social conflict and social problems. It studies institutions such as the family, law, and the church, as well as concepts such as norm, role, and culture. Sociology attempts to study…
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Full text Article sociology

From Aesthetics A-Z
Artistic activity is socially entrenched, drawing on material and human resources and institutions as well as on social circumstances concerning patronage, production, reception, promotion, consumption, suppression, and so on. Aesthetics relates to the sociology of art inasmuch as it is willing to…
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