ANSO 105-01, Introduction to Sociology, Fall 2006

Abstract

Sociology is the study of how our social world, our everyday, taken for granted reality, is constructed and mediated through social action and social structures. In short, sociology is the study of how individuals, groups and institutions co-exist and interact in a world of complex social and historical forces. Can humans successfully study themselves and others scientifically, and if so, to what end? Do the features inherent in the social construction of reality promote or retard wisdom? What does it mean to be part of a complex process through which structures are created which in turn create us? These are some of the questions we will address in this course en route to understanding the historical emergence and practice of sociology.