Outline of sociology

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the discipline of sociology:

Sociology studies society using various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to understand human social activity, from the micro level of individual agency and interaction to the macro level of systems and social structure.

Nature of sociology
Sociology can be described as all of the following:


 * The study of society.
 * Academic discipline – body of knowledge given to - or received by - a disciple (student); a branch or sphere of knowledge, or field of study, that an individual has chosen to specialise in.
 * Field of science – widely-recognized category of specialized expertise within science, and typically embodies its own terminology and nomenclature.  Such a field will usually be represented by one or more scientific journals, where peer reviewed research is published.  There are many sociology-related scientific journals.
 * Social science – field of academic scholarship that explores aspects of human society.

Essence of sociology

 * Positivism
 * Antipositivism
 * Structural functionalism
 * Conflict theory
 * Public sociology
 * Social research
 * Social theory
 * Feminism

Branches
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Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary fields involving sociology
• 4

Related fields

 * Global studies
 * Human geography
 * Law
 * Political science
 * Social anthropology/Cultural anthropology
 * Social history
 * Sociolinguistics
 * Social research

History of sociology
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 * History of sociology
 * Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406) – in his Muqaddimah (later translated as Prolegomena in Latin), the introduction to a seven volume analysis of universal history, was the first to advance social philosophy and social science in formulating theories of social cohesion and social conflict. He is thus considered by some to be the forerunner of sociology.

Theoretical perspectives in sociology
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General sociology concepts
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Sociological publications

 * Magazines
 * Contexts
 * MANAS Journal
 * Polemic
 * Salmagundi
 * Youth Studies Australia
 * Sociology books

Academies

 * College of Sociology, Paris, 1937-39
 * New School for Social Research, New York