What is sociology?

1. What is Sociology?
Group-I Presented to:
Ms. Nazmeen Sohail
Presented By:
Mr. Waheed A. Qureshi
M.Sc. Sociology (1st Semester)

2. “Sociology may be defined “Sociology is the
as the study of society – the Auguste
objective study of human
web of human interactions Comte first behaviour in so far it is
and relationships” Ginsberg used the word affected by the fact
(“The study of Society”, Sociology in people live in groups”:
1939) Sugarman (Sociology”,
1836
1968)
“The purpose of Sociology is
the scientific study of human What is Sociology ?
society through the
investigation of people’s
social behaviour”: Giner “Sociology is the study of
“Sociology”, 1972 individuals in a social
setting…. Sociologists
study the
interrelationships between
individuals, organizations,
“Sociology is the study of human
cultures and societies”:
social life, groups and societies. It is
Ritzer (“Sociology”,
a dazzling and compelling enterprise,
1979)
having as its subject matter our own
behaviour as social beings. The
scope of sociology is extremely wide, “Sociology is the study of individuals in groups
ranging from the analysis of passing in a systematic way, which grew out of the
encounters between individuals in the research for understanding associated with the
street up to the investigation of world- industrial and scientific revolutions of the 18 th
wide social processes”: Giddens and 19th centuries”: Lawson and Garrod (“The
(Sociology”, 1989) Complete A-Z Sociology Handbook”, 1996)

3. Two Major Themes
Identify some of the things Identify some of the ways
sociologists study sociologists study social life
Sociologists study social The definitions included words like
behaviour – people and their “scientific”, “systematic” and
patterns of behaviour. The focus “objective” – ideas that tell us
is on the way people form about how sociologists study
relationships and how these behaviour and the kinds of
relationships, considered in their knowledge they are trying to
totality, are represented by the produce to explain such behaviour.
concept of a “society”
The focus of attention is group Sociologists create knowledge that
behaviour – how the groups is factual, rather than simply based
people join or are born into (family, on opinion. Systematic ways of
work, education and so forth) affect studying social behaviour are used
their development and behaviour. – sociologists test their ideas about
social behaviour using evidence
drawn from their observations

4. “Sociology is a social science concerned with the study of social
relationships and the various ways these relationships are patterned in terms
of our membership of social groups”.
This being the case, we need to look a little more closely at the concepts of
social groups in order to understand how the relationships we form shape our
behaviour…….

5. A Friendship Group A Work Group
includes people who Might include people
hang around together who do the same
because they like type of job.
each other.
A Family Group A Peer Group An Educational Group
People who are Includes people Might includes people
related by birth, of roughly the studying together in
marriage, etc. same age the same University or
class.
A “social group” is a collection of individuals who
interact – both formally and informally – with each
other.

6. The largest group
Structure to which we
Society usually belong.
Our relationships are
based on (or Institutions
structured by) both
formal and informal
rules. “Society” Small Groups
therefore, represents
a totality of
relationships that Action
Individuals
imposes rules upon
our behaviour.
Groups, such as
families, peer and
friendship groups,
etc.
Institutions are stable
patterns of group
behaviour that persist The main types of institutional groups in our society are:
over long periods of Family and Kinship, Government, Work and Cultural
time. Institutions such as the Media, Education and Religion

7. One of the main things That is, the way our individual lives are built
sociologists investigate are around social relationships and the rules we
“Social Structure” have developed to govern such relationships.
In the following screens, therefore, we need to investigate some of the
ways our behaviour is constrained, formally and informally, by social
structures…
Sociologists argue that our individual choices of behaviour are shaped by the
relationships we form (or have imposed on us).

8. Some of the Ways–Influence Our Behaviour:
Society The Media
• Language • Lifestyle
• Laws • Advertising
School Our Family
• Respect for Authority • Right and Wrong Behaviour
• Learning • Language
Our Peers Our Friends
• Fashion • Self-perception
• Gender Behaviour

9. If Sociology is the study of social
relationships and the way in which our
lives are structured by rules, it follows
that the initial answer to the question
“What is Sociology?”
is that it is the study of Social Order….
In other words, Sociology explains how order is:
A "social order" is a relatively persistent system of
 Created institutions, patterns of interactions and customs,
capable of continually reproducing at least those
conditions essential for its own existence. The
 Maintained concept refers to all those facts of society which
remain relatively constant over time. These
 Reproduced conditions could include both property, exchange
and power relations, but also cultural forms,
communication relations and ideological systems
of values.