SAMPLE Sociology
C. Brief History of Sociology Since ancient times, people have been captivated by the relationship between individuals and the groupstowhichtheybelong.Inthe13 th century,Chinesehistorian MaTuan-Lin wasthefirstindividual who believed that organized social dynamics were a historical development component. He wrote about this in the encyclopedia General Study of LiteracyRemains .
The next century brought IbnKhaldun (1332–1406),whomanyholdasthe world’sfirsttruesociologist.KhaldunwasborninTunisiaandiscreditedwith writing about many topics that helped set the foundations for modern sociology and economics. He provided a foundation for the social conflict theory,nomadicandsedentarylife,andpoliticaleconomies. Inaddition,he researched tribal social cohesion and power potential.
Duringthe18thcentury,knownasthe AgeofEnlightenment ,therewereseveralsociologicalthinkers, such as John Locke (1632–1704), Voltaire (1694–1778), Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679),and MaryWollstonecraft (1759–1797).WhileLocke,Voltaire,Kant,andHobbes are credited with leading discourse on society and societal issues, creating writings that they hoped would bring social reform, Wollstonecraft stands out as one of the first women in sociology. Despite receiving little support in the male-dominated academic world, she focused on studying the societal rolesandconditionsofwomen.So,inthe1970s,followingthegrowthoffeminism,Wollstonecraftwas identified as the first feminist thinker of consequence.
D. The Creation of Sociology The Industrial Revolution brought many changes during the 19th century including new types of employment. There was significant social and political turmoil with the rise of empires that exposed many people to new societies and cultures. Three major changes that spurred the development of sociology in European societies include an increaseinthenumberofcities , factories ,and democraticcultures. Thedemocratizationofsocietyled to a shift from class-based systems to a systemwithgreateremphasisonindividualrights.Moreover, sociology was developed in the mid-nineteenth century when European social observers began to use scientific methods to test their ideas based onthe following four factors:
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