Sociology

Introduction
Sociology is the study of people.  It came into existence in the 19th century in Europe.  Several theoretical frameworks are involved in this discipline. There are many dimensions to sociology.  I will list the most influential people in the field.  The government hires the most sociology majors, but there are other jobs as well.  It was my major in college. 

Definition
Sociology is the scientific study of society.  It looks @ how people are shaped by society and culture.  Society and culture is shaped by people as well.  Some the dimensions sociology are as followed: family, religion, crime, age, race, gender, government, environment, etc.  Studying this field can help us improve society and ourselves.

History
Confucius and Ma Duanlin engage in social analysis.  Confucius believed relationships in society should be hiearcial.  Ma Duanlin wrote about social changes in Chinese history in a encyclopedia.  Sum of the the Greek philosophers did this as well.  Ibn Khaldun was the first sociologist.  He looked @ social cohesiveness and social conflict.  He contrasted sedentary life to nomadic life.

Henri de Saint-Simon was a French theorist that believed scientists should rule society.  He thought they could improve society.  Auguste Comte invented positivism.  It is the belief that all knowledge come from our senses.  It rejects intuition; European science is seen as superior to philosophy and religion.  Karl Marx thought there was conflict between upper and lower class in Europe.  Herbert Spencer created the word sociology.  He came up with term survival of the fittest.  He believed that society become more heterogeneous over time.

Sociology classes started in the U.S. in the late 19th century.  Kansas University was the first school to have a sociology class.  Chicago University was the 2nd one to have it.  Britain got its first sociology class in 1904.  Germany got one on 1919.

In the early 20th century symbolic interactionism, social phenomenology, and social constructionism was created.  Communist Russia and China outlawed sociology.  In China and Russia it was seen as detrimental to communism.  In the late 20th century postmodernism was created.

Theoretical Frameworks
Structural Functionalism: The different parts of society work together in harmony.  Like a ant colony. 

Social Conflict: Different segments (castes & classes) fight each other over resources.

Symbolic Interaction: The subjective experiences of individuals create our society.

Utilitarianism: People interact with each other 4 their own self interest.

Critical Theory: Critique and change society.

Feminism: It looks @ gender inequality and it effects on society.  May have been created by the CIA to stop the Black Power movement and/or the anti-war movement.

Grounded Theory: Gather data then create a theory based on it. 

Middle Range Theory: It integrates theory and empirical research.

Postmodernism: It rejects objectivity.  We can learn more from observation than data collection.

Methodology
You target a certain population for your research and you chose a sample (small group) from the population.  Then you apply your findings from the sample to the population.  Statistics play a big role in this.  It tells you what percentage of population your findings apply too.  This is very objective; logic is of supreme importance.

There are various forms of methodology.  I will list a few.  Experimental Research: The sociologist creates a social experiment in a laboratory.  Longitudinal Study:  A person or group is studied over along period of time.  Survey Study: The sociologist gathers information from a survey. 

Dimensions
Sociology of Culture: It looks @ how culture shapes individuals in society. 

Sociology of Knowledge: It looks looks @ how ideas influence society. 

Sociology of Leisure: It looks @ what people do with their free time. 

Sociology of Religion: It looks @ how religion shapes society. 

Sociology of Race and Ethnic Relations:  It studies the economic, political, and social interaction between different races and tribes. 

Military Sociology: It deals with gender, race, combat, families, society, peace, and war of the military. 

Political Sociology: It looks @ how politics influence society. 

Most Influential People
Karl Marx: He created the social conflict paradigm.  Marxism is critical of religions.  His famous phrase was religion is the opium of the masses.  The fathers of sociology helped sociology become a class in universities.  Marx is a 1st father of sociology.   

Emile Durkheim: He was the 1st professor of sociology in France.  Structural-functionalism was invented by him.  He made sociology more scientific.  Prior to him I assume it was more philosophical.  Religion kept society cohesive.  He is a father of sociology.

Max Weber: He created symbolic interactionism.  He studied six religions in several countries.  Religions can led to different economic systems.  Protestantism led to capitalism in his opinion.  He called it the Protestant Ethic.  He a father of sociology.

W. E. B. Dubois: He followed the social conflict paradigm.  He was the first sociologist to study Black people in the states.  He helped create NAACP.  He was a pan-Africanism and supported women rights.  The government was scared of Black soldiers after WWI, so they got Dubois to spy on them.  He's the final father of sociology.

Charles Wright Mills: He came up with term power elite.  He knew the government was controlled by wealthy people.  He understood that democracy is a lie.  It's really a oligarchy and aristocracy

Daniel Bell: He believed services became more important than goods in U.S. society.  'Knowledge became form of capital.'  Creating new idea is the way to grow this economy instead of new goods. 

Erving Goffman: He believed our sense of self comes from our society.  Most of us try to fit in society, so we conform.

Careers
The top 6 jobs for sociology r as followed: guidance counselor, human resources representative, lawyer, management consultant, media planner, and market research analyst. 

Guidance Counselor: They help students in academics and with career choices.  They help students resolve conflicts.  They create group sessions with students to talk about drugs, safe sex, and bullying.  They make over 50 grand.

Human Resources Representative: They determine who gets the job.  They resolve conflicts @ work.  They make about 60 grand.

Lawyer: 'They research and litigate court cases.'  They make about 100 gs.

Management Consultant: They solve bizzness problems 4 clients.  They make about 80 gs.

 Media Planner: They help clients advertise.

Market Research Analyst: They help make market campaigns and study the demographics of customers.  The demographics of the customers help them determine how the campaign should be marketed. 

Who's Bad
I was a sociology major in college.  I chose it because I like a minor it  had.  It was race, gender, class.  @ first I was undecided, until I saw that minor.  The funny thing is, I never minored.  I enjoyed the all my sociology classes.  I got great grades in most of them.  I graduated with a B.A. in sociology from Hampton University.

 Conclusion
Sociology is the scientific study of society.  It has been around for 6 or 7 centuries.  It has many different theoretical frameworks and dimensions.  There were several influential sociologists.  There are many different careers for sociology majors.  I majored in sociology and I enjoyed it.  Sociology will give us insight on how to create a better world.   

References
Definition
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_sociology
Auguste Comte
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Spencer#Sociology
Theoretical Framework
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociological_theory
https://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/laurie-penny/2012/02/women-white-miller-woman-young-2
https://degreeinsociology.net/influential-sociologists/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/editorial-why-w-e-b-du-bois-matters-n719971
https://www.scribd.com/read/163596674/Black-Lies-White-Lies-The-Truth-According-to-Tony-Brown
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-jobs-for-sociology-majors-2059633
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_research#Methodological_assumptions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociology_of_culture
https://www.thoughtco.com/military-sociology-3026277