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INTO Newcastle UniversityFoundation ProgrammeHumanities and Social Science PathwayIntroduction to SociologyLecture: What is Sociology?

Aims:To consider the meaning of SociologyTo consider what social research is and how it can be used

SociologyDefinition -

A society is a large social grouping that shares the same geographical territory and is subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.What is Sociology?Sociology is the scientific study of human life, groups and societies (Giddens, 2006: 4)

For example, why is the coffee house an often daily part of peoples life?

http://images.google.co.uk/images

C. Wright Mills (1970): The Sociological Imagination The ability to link the experiences of individuals to the social processes and structures of the wider world. It is this ability to examine the ways that individuals construct the social world and how the social world impinges on the lives of individuals (Lawson & Garrod, 1997: 258).Sociological Imagination

Private v. Public IssuesTherefore,Sociology is interested in;People, as groups and societies

A global sociologySociologists are increasingly interested in global social issuesFor example,Internationalisation

How do sociologists study people and their lives? -What does Sociology tell us?How our societies are constructedWhere our beliefs and daily routines come fromOverall, it attempts to help give a better understanding of the world in which we live

http://images.google.co.uk/imagesHow can sociological information be used?UK Census

Charitable trustsIn the UK, there are many research companies which provide valuable information to the government about social issues or problems.Joseph Rowntree Foundation

BibliographyGiddens, A (2006) Sociology (5th Edn) Cambridge: Polity Presshttp://images.google.co.uk/http://www.jrf.org.uk/