Sociology

Subject Overview

Sociology is the study of human social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organisations, and societies, and how people interact within these contexts. Since all human behavior is social, the subject content of sociology ranges from investigating and understanding the  family; looking at organisations involved in crime and explaining why certain groups are more likely to commit crime; from the divisions of race, gender and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture. There are very few fields which have such broad area of interest and relevance for research, theory, and application of knowledge.

Sociology provides many distinctive perspectives on the world, generating new ideas and criticising the old. The field also offers a range of research techniques that can be applied to virtually any aspect of social life: street crime and delinquency, corporate downsizing, how people express emotions, welfare or education reform, how families differ and flourish, or problems of peace and war.  Due to the fact that sociology addresses the most challenging issues of our time, it is a rapidly expanding field whose potential is increasingly sought out by those who devise policies and create new initiatives. Sociologists understand social inequality, patterns of behavior, forces for social change and resistance, and how social systems work.