SOC363H1 : SOC103 -notes
Document Summary
Sociology: emerged 200 years ago in response to new social problems that arose from industrialization, urbanization & political revolution. Two social revolutions were especially important for the growth of sociology. Industrial revolution: changed people"s lives by drawing them into harsh urban conditions and new kinds of exploitative, impersonal economic relationships. French revolution: which overthrew the monarchy, convinced people throughout the western world that new social and political arrangements were possible and should be developed. Present-day sociology is deeply concerned with how we know what we know: how we view and judge different pictures of reality. Herodotus: world first historian, devoted his attention to the differences between egyptian, greeks, and persians. Voltaire: french enlightenment thinker, reflected on differences between english protestants and french catholics. Max weber: analyzed different religions to understand why capitalism arose in northwestern europe, but not elsewhere. Sociology: the systematic study of social behavior, or the study of society.
