Open Educational Resources
Document Type
Textbook
Publication Date
Summer 7-3-2025
Abstract
This comprehensive overview explores the foundational concepts, historical evolution, and seminal theorists of sociology, tracing its origins from the transformative revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries to its modern-day significance. Central themes include the sociological imagination of C. Wright Mills, the complex interplay between individual experience and societal structure, and the pivotal roles of social structure, action, functional integration, power, and culture in shaping human relations. The discussion highlights the lasting contributions of early sociologists such as Auguste Comte, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, and George Herbert Mead, examining how their theories continue to inform contemporary understandings of social behavior, identity, and structural dynamics. By interweaving historical analysis with theoretical insight, this work demonstrates the enduring relevance of sociological perspectives for interpreting both personal and collective experiences within an ever-changing social landscape.
Included in
Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Other Sociology Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Theory, Knowledge and Science Commons
