Chapter 5. Sociology: Understanding Society
Sociology studies social life, groups, institutions and social change. The “sociological imagination” links personal experience to wider social forces [6][7].
Major perspectives
| Perspective | Key idea | Thinkers |
| Functionalism | Society is a system of institutions that contribute to stability | Durkheim, Parsons |
| Conflict theory | Society is shaped by struggles over power and resources | Marx, Weber |
| Symbolic interactionism | Meaning is created through everyday interactions and symbols | Mead, Blumer |
| Feminist and critical theories | Examine gender and other forms of inequality and power | Many |
Classical thinkers. Émile Durkheim studied social facts and showed in Suicide that social integration affects suicide rates [8]. Karl Marx analysed class relations and capitalism [10]. Max Weber studied bureaucracy, authority and the link between religious ideas and economic life in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism [9].
Culture, norms and socialization. Culture is shared knowledge, beliefs, values and practices. Norms are expected behaviours; values are shared ideas of what is good. Socialization is the lifelong process by which people learn their culture, through family, school, peers and media [6][7].
The social construction of reality. Many things we treat as natural, such as money, race categories and gender roles, are shaped by social agreement and history [11].
Social structure and institutions: family, education, religion, economy, government and media.
Stratification and inequality. Societies rank people by class, status and power. Inequality also involves gender, ethnicity, caste, age, disability and place. Social mobility is movement between positions in the hierarchy [6][7].
Deviance and social control. What counts as deviant varies across time and place; societies use formal (laws, courts) and informal (disapproval, ridicule) controls.
Social change. Industrialization, urbanization, migration, globalization and digital technology continue to reshape social life.
Review: What did Durkheim’s Suicide show? (Answer: that suicide rates are linked to social factors, such as levels of social integration, and not only to individual psychology.)