｡･ﾟﾟ･ Socstudies: Sociology 102 ･ﾟﾟ･｡
102: How did sociology originate?
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Welcome back to the second lesson! Now what we have established what sociology is, it's important to have an understanding of where it came from. The founding of sociology has important context that we need to think critically about!
｡･ﾟﾟ･Who was the first sociologist?･ﾟﾟ･｡
This is difficult to say for sure, since there are many people across history who can be ascribed to have been doing sociology since before it had been clearly defined as a discipline.
The first person to use the term 'sociology' was Auguste Comte in 1838, however before him there have been activities similar to what we now define as sociology in societies such as Ancient Greece, Medieaval England, and China.
1x Luke's coffee cup earnt for making it this far!
｡･ﾟﾟ･Why are the origins of sociology problematic?･ﾟﾟ･｡
Like almost everything, the origins of sociology are rooted in racism. One of the most popular early theories was Social Darwinism which compared societies to Darwin's theory of evolution. In this, they would rank societies from 'primitive' to 'civilised' ... unsurprisingly ranking their own white Euro-American societies as the most civilised... What a coincidence.... In contrast to this, today many sociologists study structural racism and work towards reversing the effects of it. Still, it is important to recognise this, and to think critically when exploring many of the early 'classic' sociological texts.
1x Luke's coffee cup earnt for making it this far!
｡･ﾟﾟ･How has sociology changed since its conception?･ﾟﾟ･｡
When it first originated, early sociologists were preoccupied with it becoming a recognised and respected science. Because of this, they wanted to study society in a way that as comparable to maths or physics - as in a study that would result in data that could be tested and as repeatable by other researchers. Now, there is more of a focus on the qualitative, on the things that aren't as easily turned into statistics, such as interviews, participant observation, and ultimately ethnography. Early sociology was positivist, whereas now it is more antinaturalist.
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｡･ﾟﾟ･What will the sociology of the future look like?･ﾟﾟ･｡
Like many other fields, the future of sociology looks very exciting! New technology has created both new things to study, and new ways to study them. My area of interest - the internet and social media - didn't even exist until relatively recently, and there are many other things that we will study in the future that don't exist yet. As long as there are people, there will always be things for sociologists to study. :)
1x Luke's coffee cup earnt for making it this far!
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｡･ﾟﾟ･Review Questions!･ﾟﾟ･｡
1x Luke's coffee cup earnt for each correct answer! (and half a cup for attempting!)
Who is the first named sociologist? (Bonus: what year did he first use the term sociology?
Why are sociology's origins considered problematic?
Early sociology took a positivist approach, what approach is generally taken now?
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Thank you for taking part! Exchange your cups here, view the previous lesson here, and view the syllabus here!
