What Is Sociology?

In this introduction to the discipline of sociology, Dr. Lori Peek overviews the focus, history, and approach of sociological inquiry. She defines sociology as the systematic study of society, and the sociological perspective as one that analyzes patterns of individual experience. She identifies several foundation thinkers, including Comte, Marx, Weber, and Durkheim, and describes the major theoretical approaches that derive from them. She also focuses on methodological aspects of sociology, defining the scales at which sociologists work and the differences between quantitative and qualitative data gathering and analysis. She highlights some key sociological concepts, including structure and agency, social stratification, and inequality. She ends by discussing the future of sociology and highlights the move toward interdisciplinary work and new methodologies to address wicked problems.