Information About Sociology

What is Sociology?

Sociology is the “study of human society.” For the examination, you need to know a number of concepts and terms used in the subject. There are three main areas you need to consider; 

Functionalism

Functionalists believe that society can best be compared to a living organ, in which institutions and people all have a function to play with society. For example, the function of the family is to socialise children. Functionalist theorists include Talcott Parsons and Emile Durkheim. 

Information About Sociology

Sociology is the study of social life: the nature and structure of groups, institutions and societies. Sociology attempts to identify and understand the social functions and processes of human behavior. Sociology's subject matter ranges from the intimate family to the hostile mob, from crime to religion, from divisions of race and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture, from the sociology of work to the sociology of sport, from the study of conformity to the study of deviance, from childhood to old age and death.

The sociology major is designed to provide undergraduate preparation leading to careers in social work, politics, law, public administration, urban and environmental planning, public relations, personnel, criminal justice, counseling and other service professions. The Bachelor of Arts in Sociology will also prepare a student for advanced studies in several areas including sociology, social welfare, environmental studies, education, public health and urban planning.

Field

The major in sociology offers an internship to provide supervised field experience. This permits students to apply relevant sociological knowledge in practical settings. The course may earn from one to three units. An independent study is also offered for this purpose. It allows students to expand upon individual interests within the field of sociology. This study may be in the form of an individual research project, either library or field. Conferences are scheduled with the supervising faculty member as necessary to provide for maximum benefits. No more than nine units of any combination of internships and independent studies may be applied toward the thirty-six units required for the major. Senior seminars will be offered each semester on topics of current sociological relevance . The seminar is open to students of all disciplines with senior classification who have had upper-division course work in the area. The topics will vary from semester to semester depending upon the specialty and training of the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit.