Sociology studies social interactions and culture. It suggests solutions to existing issues, taking into account different theories and concepts. Sociology describes all social groups and international communities. The main goal of this paper is to discuss sociological theories and methods applied by specialists in this field.
Sociological imagination is a technique that is aimed to change a perception of an individual, making a person look at the big picture. This method gives an opportunity to find reasons for existing problems and understand a historical context. Sociological imagination is used to overcome sociological challenges, ignoring routine problems (Isaksen). Mills’s concept of the sociological imagination presents two terms.
These are private troubles and public issues (Susanto). Private troubles affect an individual, whereas public issues have an impact on society. However, Mills revealed the connection between these aspects. A problem that might seem to be private subsequently leads to public issues (“Mental Health as a Private Trouble.”). For example, if a drunken person drives a car with a passenger who does not warn the police, it is a private trouble. However, tolerating such a behavior leads to a serious public issue of drunk driving.
Another important term is critical thinking. This concept implies an intellectual process that involves analysis, assessing, gathering information, monitoring, rationale, and experience in order to control one’s actions (“Defining Critical Thinking.”). Hence, critical thinking is one of the main principles of sociological imagination. To understand society and its problems, it is necessary to scrutinize various cases, assess their importance, find correlations, and make a thorough analysis that assists in predicting future outcomes.
Participation of women in the development of sociology was mostly insignificant due to the unfair treatment. They could not get on influential positions in universities. Their scholar works were not taken into consideration. In addition, some minorities suffered from the similar discriminatory attitudes. For example, non-European specialists were also ignored by most scientists. However, the expansion of democracy gives them equal rights, and that intensified the development of sociology.
Had it happened earlier, the modern sociology would have covered many more areas. Marginalizing women and minorities prevented this science from sufficient progress as relationships among these communities are one of the main subjects of sociology.
Sociological theory is a concept that describes society as a system made up of various parts to maintain its stability. The theory provides a framework of sociology. It explains functions of social structures and correlations among them. Hence, theory suggests a comprehensive narrative that allows further developing of this science.
Three key theoretical paradigms of sociology are structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Structural functionalism presents society as a complex whose parts work together and contribute to prosperity. The conflict theory claims that communities are always in conflict with each other due to the lack of irreversible resources (“Conflict Perspective.”). Symbolic interactionism states that social interactions affect both an individual and society.
Symbolic interactionism labels some behaviors as more prestigious while others might get strong disapproval. The fact that a person might be punished for a label is highlighted in symbolic interactionism. On the other hand, structural functionalism describes deviance as a normal part of any community that creates social order (“Structural Functional Theory.”). Finally, the conflict theory argues that society is divided into groups each of which commits acts of deviance.
However, each group is treated unequally. Hence, a punishment depends on a social status of an individual. Deviances and subsequent punishments also depend on traditional gender roles. This differentiation is established by laws. Therefore, crimes are defined differently, regarding the gender of a criminal.
In conclusion, sociology offers various narratives in order to explain complicated relationships in societies. However, there is no consensus in certain areas. Society is a complicated structure that evolves and constantly undergoes transformations. Therefore, further research in this field should be conducted more widely and intense.
Works Cited
“Conflict Perspective.” SparkNotes, n.d.
“Defining Critical Thinking.” The Critical Thinking Community, n.d.
Isaksen, Joachim. “The Sociological Imagination: Thinking Outside the Box.” Popular Social Science, n.d. Web.
“Mental Health as a Private Trouble.” Private Troubles and Public Issues. 2014. Web.
“Structural Functional Theory.” SparkNotes, n.d.
Susanto, Bobby. “What is the Difference Between Personal Troubles and Public Issues in Sociology?” Quora. 2016.