Sociology


The presentation of sociology on this site is distinctly different that the usual academic tradition. As here presented, it includes parts of sociology as usually interpreted, and much of cultural anthropology, or ethnology. In the usual treatments, the study of modern or industrialized peoples is considered to belong to sociology, while the study of non-modern and non-industrial peoples is considered to belong to anthropology. While this distinction has a good deal of historical tradition giving weight to it, it is artificial in important respects. Sociology on this site includes the study of social structure and change, cities and communities, and the study of whole societies and civilizations, whether industrialized or not.	Sapience Home Site Map About Sapience Peoples Communities Social structure and change

The presentation of sociology on this site is distinctly different that the usual academic tradition. As here presented, it includes parts of sociology as usually interpreted, and much of cultural anthropology, or ethnology. In the usual treatments, the study of modern or industrialized peoples is considered to belong to sociology, while the study of non-modern and non-industrial peoples is considered to belong to anthropology.

While this distinction has a good deal of historical tradition giving weight to it, it is artificial in important respects. Sociology on this site includes the study of social structure and change, cities and communities, and the study of whole societies and civilizations, whether industrialized or not.

Peoples

There is limited information on particular nations. These are at present divided into four major categories: Western peoples and civilization,Asiatic peoples and civilization, African peoples and civilization, and American Indian peoples and civilization.

Communities

At present, this will be limited to considering the larger cities of the world. No further attempt at classifying or analyzing them is yet included, although this may be added in the future.

Social Structure and Change

Social structure and change will include more of sociological theory. It includes large and small scale social change, movements such as urbanization, imperialism, colonialism, processes of social change and factors and causes of social change. It also includes social types, such as hunting and gathering societies, horticultural societies, agrarian societies, and industrial societies. It deals with social structure, including things such as community organization, social classes, institutional and cultural organization, and demographic structure.


History Many studies of sociology virtually ignore history. This seems to be a profound error. Many aspects of human society only make sense in the context of history. If direct experimentation on societies and communities is impossible, impractical, or unethical, consideration of history is the next best thing to it. Various aspects of sociology can be examined through prehistory, antiquity, classical and medieval history, modern history, and into the future. Institutions The various peoples of the world, communities, and social structure and change all depend heavily on religion, government, economics, education, and families.	Links to other sites Social Sciences - Wikipedia Social Sciences in the Yahoo! directory WWW Virtual Library: Social and Behavioral Sciences Julian Dierkes Sociology The SocioWeb Ed Stephan's Timeline of Sociology Sociology Online Intute: Social Sciences Internet Public Library - Social Sciences Sociology Virtual Library
Culture Culture is vital to the examination of peoples of the world, communities, and social structure and change. Behavioral culture is useful. Cultural events such as holidays, gatherings, disasters, and miscellaneous events are also important. Recreation and entertainment with sports, games, theater, dance, and music are likewise significant to societies. Occupations are also useful. Service related occupations such as institutional occupations such as legal, education, training, and library, protective and military occupations; sports, recreation, and entertainment; commercial and financial; and social and medical services are also useful. Industrial occupations are useful. Communication-related, transportation related, building-related, and food-related occupations are useful. Customs including institutional, social interaction, dress and adornment, living and dwelling, and vital customs are important. Conceptual culture is vital to the study of sociology. Philosophy including philosophical schools and doctrines, epistemology, ethics, asethetics, metaphysics, and logic can be applied to the study of sociology. Applied science can be considered. Applied social science includes the methods of social science. Accounting may be helpful. Information science is also used. Medical science has some uses. Navigation is rather indirectly useful. Engineering science seems to be indirectly useful. Measurement is also important. Mathematics including statistics, geometry, analysis, algebra, arithmetic, and mathematical foundations can also be used. Literature with particular literary works, types and genres, literary forms, and oral tradition is also useful. Graphic arts including later computer graphics and photography is significant. printmaking, painting, and drawing can be considered. Language is important. Languages of the world including Indo-European languages, Afro-Asiatic languages, Asiatic languages, African languages, and American Indian languages is significant. Writing and linguistics are essential. Material culture is an important part of society and is almost the only means of studying some. Miscellanous artifacts such as sculpture, musical instruments, medicines, weaponry, and toys are also important. Communications technology including electronic, graphic, and written communications is also significant. Transportation technology including space transportion, air transportation, water, land transportation, and containers can be considered. Clothing with textiles, garments, and adornnment is also useful. Foodstuffs including agricultural products, processed and preserved food, and prepared food is also important. Building technology including materials, components, structures, and outdoor strutures is also important. Industrial technology including tools, fuel, machinery, utilities, and other technology can be considered. Anthropology Anthropology is useful in examining peoples of the world, communities, and social structure and change. Particular groups are highly important. One example of these is the Wright Brothers. Human geography is vital to these studies, since it gives a place to events, communities, and peoples. Asian geography including Southwest Asia down to the Near East, Arabia, Asia Minor, the Transcausasus, and the Iranian Highlands is also significant. Geography of South Asia, East Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and North Asia is important. European geography including the Balkans, Italy, Iberia, Northwest Europe, Island Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia is important. African geography including North African geography, East African, West African, North Central, South Central, and Southern African geography is also useful. North American geography including Northern North American geography, Middle North American, and Southern North American is vital to these studies. South American and Oceanic geography are a little less significant at present. Human ecology, which considers the influence of people on the environment, relationships with other living things, and the impact of the environment on people is also important. Physical anthropology including human dispersion, racial variation, and human origins, while significant, is generally less important than culture. Demography including studies of population change, population size and structure, morbidity and mortality, migration, and birth and fertility is highly important to sociology. Social foundations is more usually considered part of sociology than anthropology. Social group behavior, social group types, social control, social interaction, and social presentation are all fundamentals that apply to all societies. Personal studies Biographies are useful in identifying the most important movements and changes, and in helping measure the relative influence of particular societies. There are too many people to list here: they are discussed in the particular divisions of sociology. Psychology also has limited direct use. Its divisions of social psychology, personality, mental disorders, developmental psychology, behavior patterns, mind, and behavioral elements seem to be mostly indirectly useful. Connections to the human body are mostly indirectly important. These include appearance, life cycle,disease, body function including control functions, reproductive functions, vital functions, mobility, and strength, and body systems including control systems, reproductive systems, vital systems, and structural systems. Science Biology including Biohistory is somewhat indirectly useful. Precambrian, Paleozoic, and Mesozoic history seems to be less useful than Cenozoic life. Ecology including behavioral ecology, population ecology, community ecology, systems ecology, evolution, ecosystems, and biogeography including marine and terrestrial biogeography will be useful. Systematics including animals, fungi, plants, protists, and microbes is often at least indirectly important in sociology. Organism biology including behavior, life cycle, forms, organs systems, tissues, and habital is less directly useful. Cell biology including cell types, behavior, and anatomy seems to be indirectly useful. Molecular biology including nucleinc acids, proteins, Lipids, carbohydrates, small organics, and inorganics seems to be at best indirectly useful. Earth science including Geohistory including Precambrian, Paleozoic, and Mesozoic history seems to be less useful than Cenozoic events. Events of the Holocene epoch seem to be most useful. Physical geography including mapping, terrestrial geography, and oceanic geography can be connected. Atmospheric science including climatology, meteorology, and atmospheric structure can be considered. Hydrospheric science including studies of the oceans, glaciars, groundwater, and freshwater is indirectly useful. Geology including interior geology, geologic processes, landforms, rocks, and minerals appears to be mostly indirectly useful. Astronomy is somewhat useful. Cosmology has little direct connection to sociology. Events of galactic astronomy are usually not directly observed. Events of stellar astronomy seem to have an indirect effect on sociology. Events of solar system astronomy sometimes influence human society. Chemistry including chemical systems chemical change, and chemical substances does not seem to be directly applicable. Physics is at too low a level to be directly useful in sociology.

History

Many studies of sociology virtually ignore history. This seems to be a profound error. Many aspects of human society only make sense in the context of history. If direct experimentation on societies and communities is impossible, impractical, or unethical, consideration of history is the next best thing to it. Various aspects of sociology can be examined through prehistory, antiquity, classical and medieval history, modern history, and into the future.

Institutions

The various peoples of the world, communities, and social structure and change all depend heavily on religion, government, economics, education, and families.

Culture

Culture is vital to the examination of peoples of the world, communities, and social structure and change.

Behavioral culture is useful. Cultural events such as holidays, gatherings, disasters, and miscellaneous events are also important. Recreation and entertainment with sports, games, theater, dance, and music are likewise significant to societies. Occupations are also useful. Service related occupations such as institutional occupations such as legal, education, training, and library, protective and military occupations; sports, recreation, and entertainment; commercial and financial; and social and medical services are also useful. Industrial occupations are useful. Communication-related, transportation related, building-related, and food-related occupations are useful. Customs including institutional, social interaction, dress and adornment, living and dwelling, and vital customs are important.

Conceptual culture is vital to the study of sociology. Philosophy including philosophical schools and doctrines, epistemology, ethics, asethetics, metaphysics, and logic can be applied to the study of sociology. Applied science can be considered. Applied social science includes the methods of social science. Accounting may be helpful. Information science is also used. Medical science has some uses. Navigation is rather indirectly useful. Engineering science seems to be indirectly useful. Measurement is also important. Mathematics including statistics, geometry, analysis, algebra, arithmetic, and mathematical foundations can also be used. Literature with particular literary works, types and genres, literary forms, and oral tradition is also useful. Graphic arts including later computer graphics and photography is significant. printmaking, painting, and drawing can be considered. Language is important. Languages of the world including Indo-European languages, Afro-Asiatic languages, Asiatic languages, African languages, and American Indian languages is significant. Writing and linguistics are essential.

Material culture is an important part of society and is almost the only means of studying some. Miscellanous artifacts such as sculpture, musical instruments, medicines, weaponry, and toys are also important. Communications technology including electronic, graphic, and written communications is also significant. Transportation technology including space transportion, air transportation, water, land transportation, and containers can be considered. Clothing with textiles, garments, and adornnment is also useful. Foodstuffs including agricultural products, processed and preserved food, and prepared food is also important. Building technology including materials, components, structures, and outdoor strutures is also important. Industrial technology including tools, fuel, machinery, utilities, and other technology can be considered.

Anthropology

Anthropology is useful in examining peoples of the world, communities, and social structure and change.

Particular groups are highly important. One example of these is the Wright Brothers.

Human geography is vital to these studies, since it gives a place to events, communities, and peoples. Asian geography including Southwest Asia down to the Near East, Arabia, Asia Minor, the Transcausasus, and the Iranian Highlands is also significant. Geography of South Asia, East Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and North Asia is important. European geography including the Balkans, Italy, Iberia, Northwest Europe, Island Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia is important. African geography including North African geography, East African, West African, North Central, South Central, and Southern African geography is also useful. North American geography including Northern North American geography, Middle North American, and Southern North American is vital to these studies. South American and Oceanic geography are a little less significant at present.

Human ecology, which considers the influence of people on the environment, relationships with other living things, and the impact of the environment on people is also important.

Physical anthropology including human dispersion, racial variation, and human origins, while significant, is generally less important than culture.

Demography including studies of population change, population size and structure, morbidity and mortality, migration, and birth and fertility is highly important to sociology.

Social foundations is more usually considered part of sociology than anthropology. Social group behavior, social group types, social control, social interaction, and social presentation are all fundamentals that apply to all societies.

Personal studies

Biographies are useful in identifying the most important movements and changes, and in helping measure the relative influence of particular societies. There are too many people to list here: they are discussed in the particular divisions of sociology.

Psychology also has limited direct use. Its divisions of social psychology, personality, mental disorders, developmental psychology, behavior patterns, mind, and behavioral elements seem to be mostly indirectly useful.

Connections to the human body are mostly indirectly important. These include appearance, life cycle,disease, body function including control functions, reproductive functions, vital functions, mobility, and strength, and body systems including control systems, reproductive systems, vital systems, and structural systems.

Science

Biology including Biohistory is somewhat indirectly useful. Precambrian, Paleozoic, and Mesozoic history seems to be less useful than Cenozoic life. Ecology including behavioral ecology, population ecology, community ecology, systems ecology, evolution, ecosystems, and biogeography including marine and terrestrial biogeography will be useful. Systematics including animals, fungi, plants, protists, and microbes is often at least indirectly important in sociology. Organism biology including behavior, life cycle, forms, organs systems, tissues, and habital is less directly useful. Cell biology including cell types, behavior, and anatomy seems to be indirectly useful. Molecular biology including nucleinc acids, proteins, Lipids, carbohydrates, small organics, and inorganics seems to be at best indirectly useful.

Earth science including Geohistory including Precambrian, Paleozoic, and Mesozoic history seems to be less useful than Cenozoic events. Events of the Holocene epoch seem to be most useful. Physical geography including mapping, terrestrial geography, and oceanic geography can be connected. Atmospheric science including climatology, meteorology, and atmospheric structure can be considered. Hydrospheric science including studies of the oceans, glaciars, groundwater, and freshwater is indirectly useful. Geology including interior geology, geologic processes, landforms, rocks, and minerals appears to be mostly indirectly useful.

Astronomy is somewhat useful. Cosmology has little direct connection to sociology. Events of galactic astronomy are usually not directly observed. Events of stellar astronomy seem to have an indirect effect on sociology. Events of solar system astronomy sometimes influence human society.

Chemistry including chemical systems chemical change, and chemical substances does not seem to be directly applicable. Physics is at too low a level to be directly useful in sociology.

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