The 10 types of Sociology (and their functions)

It is estimated that, as of today, we are almost 7.6 billion people. With this imposing figure we reflect an inalienable reality: human beings live in society, like it or not. This polysemic concept designates a particular type of grouping between individuals (human and non-human) whose relationship goes beyond a mere flow of genetic transmission and involves a certain degree of communication and cooperation.

When society is established, the generational transmission of behavior and knowledge (learning) can take place to give way to culture, a process rather than a final product. Surprisingly, current ethological research indicates that culture is not unique to human beings. humans, since other animals are also capable of developing it, although perhaps not as we conceive it U.S.

As human behavior is so complex and difficult to define, there must be a grouping of scientific branches that allows us to help to study the society, culture and heritage that is transmitted between generations: here science comes into play social. If we spin even finer, we will see that

one of the most important social sciences is sociology, in charge of scientifically studying human society. Today we tell you their types.

• We recommend you read: "The 90 best phrases about society"

What is sociology?

Sociology is a social science that aims to investigate the social relationships that occur within a specific human population. The job of a sociologist is to study, analyze, and describe the structure, function, and organization of societies, as well as the behaviors and problems that derive from living in one of them.

Being a science, this discipline is based on scientific methods to obtain answers. These can be quantitative (based on random sampling, statistics, numbers, and trends) or qualitative (non-numerical data collection, such as statistics and surveys), but their objective is common: to analyze the foundations and consequences of a given society in the short and long term in a demonstrable.

What are the branches of sociology?

Under this scientific premise, a sociologist can specialize in many different fields, almost as many as there are social needs in the world at the population level. Next, we present the 10 most interesting types of sociology and their functions on a human and scientific level.

1. Theoretical sociology

Sociological theory is defined as the set of theoretical constructs of sociology, created in order to power systematize the data obtained in research carried out by sociologists and other specialists in the social sciences.

Theoretical sociology is in charge of gathering, registering and analyzing theories that are based on social behavior, especially on the basis of their "size" and relevance. For example, a sociologist who specializes in class struggle theory is exercising a clear study of a sociological-theoretical nature.

2. Historical sociology

As its name suggests, this branch of the social sciences deals with the study of how societies develop through human history. Starting from a relatively advanced evolutionary point of view (because if we weren't dealing with a prehistoric study), this aspect reflects how the concept of State varies over the years, the relationships that occur between societies, the appearance of classes or castes, the political systems proposed and many other things more.

Historical sociology has various uses, among which are these 3 essential pillars:

• Validate a theory: if a social theory is applicable to various historical facts, it can be validated.
• Compare and contrast events: you may be familiar with the following phrase "knowing the mistakes of the past is the first step to avoid repeating them in the future."
• Establish causalities: look for relationships between social causes and effects, not only based on deduction, but through the use of research methods.

3. Economic sociology

This branch studies the social configurations of economic phenomena, at the level of production, consumption, exchange and, of course, innovation. It is also in charge of the process of investigation and description of the means of economic support in different societies, based on a series of specific socio-cultural patterns for each context.

This aspect of sociology could in turn be differentiated into several branches, since consumption, business, work and markets can be studied separately. In any case, all these disciplines have a common objective: to redefine in sociological terms the issues traditionally dealt with by economists.

4. Rural sociology

As its name suggests, this branch is in charge of the study of social life in rural or non-metropolitan areasIn other words, it includes those people who live in distant places with large population concentrations. It also touches on interdisciplinary areas, such as food, agriculture or access to natural resources, which go "beyond" the rural nucleus itself.

Like any other discipline of a scientific nature, rural sociology includes the analysis of statistical data (methods quantitative), interviews, social theory, case studies, life stories, observation and survey research (methods qualitative). Based on these research methods, the culture, beliefs and needs of typically rural nuclei are studied.

5. Urban sociology

Quite the opposite of the previous case: this discipline focuses on social phenomena resulting from a process of urbanization. Urban sociology has a very clear applicability, then, when studying the problems and needs in people who live in the city, urban planning and policy design actions can be implemented to address them.

In urban sociology, a wide range of topics are studied: migration trends, demography, economics, poverty, relationships. racialized, economic trends, segregation and many other factors that arise, in part, as a product of life in the town.

6. Demographic sociology

The sociology of population and demography is one of the most dense aspects and interdisciplinary of those listed here. In it, concepts as complex as the longevity and health of the population of a given society, problems by gender and age, fertility patterns and many other things are studied.

For example, the study of the social impact of pensions in the elderly and its consequences at the demographic level are events that are studied in this branch of sociology.

7. Family sociology

This subfield of sociology deals with study the family structure as a social institution and unit of socialization from various perspectives. It uses, for example, quantitative methods (such as population censuses) to find out how they are family units distributed in a region, their variation over time and possible explanations for it.

8. Sociology of Education

As its name suggests, the sociology of education investigates the most social component of the learning phenomenon itself in humans. Its main objective is to understand the relationships between the educational process and the present society, then, finally and after all, by going through a student center we are all training ourselves to be the most “socially” productive possible.

9. Legal sociology

Legal or legal sociology specializes in the origin, differentiation, application, problems and effectiveness of any legal process applicable to a company. It does not study the Law as a norm or theory, but is responsible for covering the applications at a practical level, that is, how they are translated through the State and its operation. Curiously, it is a marginal research area both in the field of sociology and law, so the institutions that apply it tend to go "on their own".

10. Industrial sociology

Industrial sociology was, until recently, another aspect of economic sociology, more specifically in the workplace. Today, due to the exponential technological and industrial growth that we experience, this slope becomes “independent” to study globalization, labor markets, labor relations employability and any process that leads to the industry and has an impact on society.

Resume

Sociology is a truly powerful knowledge toolIt is based on the establishment of causalities, data collection, statistical analysis and many other things to understand what we went and where we are going on a social level. Not only that, but it records the common problems that arise in each study area and, therefore, Therefore, it encourages the creation of plans and actions that improve the well-being of the human being living in society.

Many people who are dedicated to the natural sciences fall into the error of believing that the social sciences have little applicability: nothing could be further from the truth. If a social problem is detected and solutions are proposed, it is thanks to the study of the 10 types of sociology collected here.