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Branches of Sociology The application of sociology to different fields of human relationships has given birth to so many branches of sociology.

A table below lists its main or important branches of study. Branches of sociology Sociological theory Historical sociology Sociology of the family Human ecology and demography Sociology of community Social pathology Sociology of crime Sociology of marriage Sociology of education Political sociology Sociology of law Sociology of religion Industrial sociology Sociology of knowledge Sociology of values Sociology of art Sociology of culture Special sociologies Description The study of sociological concepts, principles, and generalizations. The study of the past social institutions and the origin of the present ones. It studies the origin, growth, functions, kinds, nature of family, and its problems like those of divorce, etc. It studies the influence of population and geographical factors on society. It is a study of community. It is divided into two parts: (a) rural sociology; and (b) urban sociology. Rural sociology. This is the field of the , rural problems and welfare etc. The study of pathological, broken or disintegrated social relationships, associations and institutions, their causes, factors, and remedies, etc. The study of crime, its causes, remedies and checks, child delinquency, prison reform, correctional administration, police and law courts, etc. It studies the nature and forms of marriages in different societies, their functions, structures, advantages, disadvantages, problems, change and dynamics, marital conflicts, divorce and correctional remedies, etc. The study of the aims, means and techniques of eduction, their problems and remedies from sociological viewpoint and methods. The study of states, it agencies, formation, procedure, function, etc., the government, election, political parties, sovereignty, etc. The study of the sources, bases and forms and functions of law, its problems and remedies, etc. The study of religion, its origin, bases, sources, criteria, forms, methods, functions and ideals and means, etc. The study of the human relationships in the field of industries, the bureaucracy, the labor, the consumer, the producer, their relationships, functions and dysfunctions, problems and remedies, etc. The study of the types, functions, limits, methods, and procedures of knowledge. The study of the nature, types and sources of values, their control and dynamism, etc. The study of art forms, their types, nature, causes, problems and remedies, etc. The study of culture, its types, forms, functions and dysfunctions, evolution, change, growth, method and procedures, etc. It includes the study of all the aspects of culture. Recently, special sociologies have been developed to study different aspects of social relationships.

As the application of sociology in different fields of human relationships is growing, more and more independent branches of sociology will originate and grow. A list of branches of sociology Applied sociology (or clinical sociology, sociological practice) Architecture, sociology of Art, sociology of Body, Sociology of Business, Sociology of Childhood, Sociology of Collective behavior Communication, Sociology of Comparative sociology Computational sociology Consumption, sociology of Criminology, sociology of (a.k.a. sociology of crime) Culture, sociology of Demography Development, Sociology of Deviance, Sociology of Disaster, Sociology of Dramaturgical sociology Economic sociology, sociology of Economic development Education, Sociology of Emotions, Sociology of Environmental sociology (sociology of human ecology) Ethnicity, Sociology of Evolutionary sociology Family, sociology of the

Fatherhood, Sociology of Feminist sociology Film, Sociology of Food, Sociology of Gender, Sociology of (a.k.a. sociology of sex roles) Gerontology (a.k.a. sociology of Aging) Globalization, Sociology of Historical sociology History of science, Sociology of the Human sociobiology Immigration, Sociology of Industrial sociology (a.k.a sociology of work) Internet, sociology of Interpersonal relationships Knowledge, Sociology of Language, Sociology of Law, Sociology of Leisure, Sociology of Literature, Sociology of Markets, Sociology of, also known as behavioral finance Masculinity, Sociology of Mathematical sociology Media, Sociology of Medicine, sociology of (a.k.a. sociology of health and illness) Memory, Sociology of Migration, Sociology of Military, Sociology of the Music, Sociology of Organizations, Sociology of

Peace, war, and social conflict, Sociology of Political sociology (a.k.a. sociology of government or sociology of the state) Popular culture, Sociology of Program evaluation Public sociology Punishment, Sociology of Pure sociology Race, Sociology of Racial and ethnic relations Religion, Sociology of Rural sociology Science and technology, Sociology of Social class Social demography Social disorganization Social geography Social movements Social pathology Social psychology Social research Social stratification Social survey and research Social theory (a.k.a. sociological paradigms, sociological theory) Social thought Sociobiology Sociography Sociological practice (a.k.a. applied sociology) Sociometry Sociomusicology

Sport, Sociology of State, Sociology of the Technology, Sociology of Terrorism, Sociology of Time, Sociology of Transport, Sociology of Urban sociology Visual sociology War, Sociology of Work, Sociology of Youth, Sociology of Sources: Clement Sociology for nurses Sharma Fundamentals of sociology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subfields_of_sociology

Four major fields or subdisciplines: cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, archaeology, and physical or biological anthropology. Cultural anthropologists study humans in terms of their cultures, the often-unconscious standards by which social groups operate. Linguistic anthropologists study human languages and may deal with the description of a language, with the history of languages, or with how languages are used in particular social settings. Archaeologists study human cultures through the recovery and analysis of material remains and environmental data. Physical anthropologists focus on humans as biological organisms; they particularly emphasize tracing the evolutionary development of the human animal and studying biological variation within the species today. [Source: Haviland Anthropology The Human Challenge (2010)]

Importance (or Functions) of Sociology According to Rajendra Kumar Sharma enumerates the ff. functions of sociology: Technical function Introductory function Informative function Tolerative function Cultural function Democratic function According to Clement Sociology studies roles of the institutions in the development of the individual The study of sociology is indispensable for understanding and planning of society Sociology is of great importance in solving social problems Sociology has drawn our attention to the intrinsic worth and dignity of man Sociology has changed our outlook with regard to the problems of crime, etc. Sociology has made a great contribution to human culture Sociology is of great importance in solving international problems Sociology is useful as a teaching subject Sociology as a profession

Sociological Theory A theory states how facts are related, weaving observations into insight and understanding. Sociologists use three major THEORETICAL APPROACHES to describe the operation of society. Theory Level of analysis View of society Foundation Focus of study Advantages Structural-functional approach Macro A set of interacting parts Consensus of shared beliefs and values Social order Gives an understanding of social structure and social stability Is ineffective in dealing with social change Social-conflict approach Macro A set of competing interest groups Conflict, coercion, and power Social conflict and social change Uncovers historical processes that lead to social change Gives a weak understanding of social consensus and social stability Symbolic-interaction approach Micro A social reality that is created and re-created in social interaction Shared meanings The dynamic interplay between the individual and society Gives an understanding of human beings as active agents in social life Has difficulty dealing with social structure

Disadvantages

Contemporary Sociology Critical theory o Early critical theorists were German sociologists who fled the Nazi regime in the 1930s and came to the United States, where some remained. o They criticized sociology for having a scientific approach that viewed individuals as passive and helpless entities locked in social structures, and for analyzing societies without detecting social problems or envisioning what societies should be. o They also criticized Marxism because they believed it denied the importance of culture by viewing it as part of the superstructure, largely determined by economic forces. o They argue that mass culture (e.g., television, film, popular music), a product of a capitalist media industry, cannot be a true reflection of peoples beliefs, tastes, values, ideas, and lifestyles. Instead, mass culture pacifies, represses, and controls people who might otherwise recognize important contradictions and inequalities in their social lives. o They claim that mass culture makes the political system seem to be a benign entity, supporting the status quo, that benefits all. Feminism
o o Radical and materialistic feminism. Radical feminism: patriarchy (male dominance) is the main and universal cause of women's oppression and women must organize separately from men to protect their interests They generally have a conflict perspective: there is an INEQUALITY of POWER such that males have unfair power over females Material feminism: gender inequalities are viewed in historical and economic contexts and women should organize with men of the same class to solve the problem of gender inequality They look at the history of economic and power relations but from a different way: ways in which almost working at a cooperative way with men to solve the gender inequities that are there (this is in stark opposition to SEPARATING themselves from men) The feature they share is that they can both be realized through any of the SF, CT, or SI paradigms: feminists can center their work in a SF paradigm or a CT paradigm or SI -- so they are working in a variety of ways About social construction, and how this has to do with feminism. Social constructionism is when we have these things in society which seem to be unchangeable (biological) realities (i.e. the role of women; what does it mean to be a woman, etc.) but in fact were originally created by us, the SOCIETY. And so the concept of gender -- and ESPECIALLY gender ROLES -- is socially constructed. That is, people believe that women like to wash dishes because this is what society tells them, NOT because it is a real truth

o o

Postmodernism

o Societies characterized by postindustrialization, consumerism, and global communications bring into question existing assumptions about social life and the nature of reality o Postmodern theories are not taken seriously by a lot of people: they say that sociology is a set of ideological statements that need to be deconstructed in order to reveal its biased assumptions about truth and society In other words, we have to start over from scratch with no preconceived notions i.e. We look at McDonald's and see how they work and spread culture around the world

Sources: Hughes Sociology: The Core (2010) Kendall Sociology in Our Times (2010) Macionis Sociology, census update, 13e (2011)

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