Introduction to Sociology

This course is about the fundamental concepts of sociology; foundations of group life; social change, processes, and problems. This class describes the discipline of sociology—the study of social life. It is a fundamental social science (in good company with Economics, Psychology, History, Anthroplogy, Communication, and Political Science). What is interesting about sociology is that it actually tackles fundamental questions in each of these sub-disciplines. You might even call it the “father” of the social sciences. That said, it is a pretty new discipline (younger than our country). Still, we have done a lot in just a very short time. It is very likely that you have heard of some of its early founders—the most famous is Karl Marx but others include Max Weber and Emile Durkheim.