Last Updated on June 17, 2025 by Karl Thompson
The British Sociology Association (BSA) defines sociology as ‘the study of human social life, groups, social institutions* and societies. It is the study of how society is organised and how we experience life’ (1)
*Social Institutions are those relatively stable aspects of social life which are found in the majority of societies. Institutions include the government and various economic entities such as banks and companies. They also encompass the workplace, legal institutions like the police and courts, religion, the media, schools, and the family.
So what is sociology?
In Thinking Sociologically Bauman and May (2001) define sociology as a disciplined practice. It is also a body of knowledge which is constantly being added to.
Bauman and May go on to distinguish four things which further distinguish Sociology as a unique discipline and separate Sociology from ‘common sense’ (it’s important to do this because the subject matter of sociology is every day life, of which we all have our own common-sense understandings):
Four things which define sociology
- Rigorous Research Methods Sociology, unlike common sense, subjects itself to ‘rigorous rules of responsible speech’. Sociology confines itself to statements backed by reliable, valid, and representative evidence. Others can verify these statements, ensuring they are not untested propositions.
- Understanding human behavior involves examining social relations. We must look at individual actions in the context of broader social connections. – Sociology aims to ‘broaden horizons’ and to examine individual biographies in the context of wider social processes. In this sense, Sociology encourages people to rise above their daily concerns. It helps them see what they share in common with others. These commonalities relate to our specific historical social context.
- Sociology examines the broader social context. It does not focus on the individual’s perspective. – it stands against the view that someone’s biography is purely down to their own motives, efforts and intentional action. Thinking Sociologically is to make sense of the world through looking at the manifold webs of human dependency.
- Defamilarisation – Sociology involves examining ordinary life in a more fully conscious way. It requires going through a process of defamiliarisation. This means looking at society in new ways and realising that ‘this is not the only way we could do things.’ This new perspective will not be to everyone’s liking, especially those who benefit from existing social relations.
The Benefits of Sociology
Sociology involves constantly examining the knowledge we have of selves and others – this is an ongoing process. If we open ourselves up to this processes then it should have the following benefits –
- It should make us more tolerant of diversity.
- It should render flexible that which may have been oppressive.
- It should make individuals more effective agents of social change. Society does act as a restraining force in many ways. Realizing this should enable the individual to direct their efforts more effectively at making changes. (A nice quote here – ‘Sociology stands in praise of the individual, but not individualism’).
- It should enhance social solidarity. It helps us realise that many of our private troubles are shared by several, possibly billions, of other people.
Signposting
This question is one of the first things I teach as part of my introduction to sociology module.
A fuller outline of what ‘doing sociology’ involves can be found in Bauman and May’s (2001) work ‘Thinking Sociologically’ which to my mind remains one of the best introductions to Sociology there is – below is a summary of the introduction
For a summary of the introductory chapter of Bauman and May – please see this post
Sources
(1) The British Sociological Association)