Have you ever wondered how the world works? How the inner machinations that make up this society that we all must live in function with one another? Something like that? For example, why are some things popular? What makes certain things attractive in the eyes of some people? Why does crime exist? Why are some things appropriate in some situations but not in others?

Sociology aims to visualize a society that surrounds us, reader.

It is, in short, the scientific study of society, of patterns of social relationships, social interactions, culture, of things it affects and what affects it in turn. Ask yourself this: Can you define society? That's a pretty hard task, isn't it. How about something simpler: what is a group? Now, what differentiates a group and a society? What is the distinction, if you believe there to be one?

Sociology as a field was born around the 1830s, and is accredite to Auguste Comte. He was the father of positivism, which is the belief that society could be studied scientifically. During this time, many issues were rising in France, and he served to address them. For context, it was around this time that feudalism started to collapse. Republicanism was the rising ideal system. From all this turmoil, came ideological confusion. Furthermore, there was the Industrial Revolution, which brought about industrial development. With this also came social development.

Karl Marx, who proposed Conflict Theory. elaborate

Herbert Spencer, who also proposed another key theory: based on Darwinism, he introduced the idea of Social Darwinism. It is exactly as it sounds. It sees that natural competition is essential to progress as a society.

These two key figures above led to the two main branching theoretical approaches to sociology: Micro-Sociology and Macro-Sociology.

Sees Society on a Micro level, hence the name. More specifically, it states that "society" does not exist. What we call society is the people of that term. Or something along those lines. From Max Weber. This thinking that society does not exist is called Social Nominalism.

The key thinker here to remember is Émile Durkheim.. He posits that society exists, a concept known as Social Realism, and is as real as the physical objects around us. Not simply a shared idea.

Moving on....

Under the umbrella of Micro-Sociology, we arrive at the emergent theory of Social Systems Theory, from Talcott Parsons. It states that all inhabitants of a social system exist to uphold that social system. Crime, for example, exists to: define norms and values, clarify moral boundaries, strengthen social cohesion, and encourage social change.

Meanwhile, from Macro-Sociology comes H. G. Blumer's Symbolic Interactionism. Humans assign meanings to signs and symbols, and act based on those meanings. These meanings are constructed by the viewer and their defining group. Concept are not naturally shared (Are pets considered a part of a family? What is family? Answers vary), but rather socially constructed through shared meaning and collective interpretation. Then society in turn will regulate human behavior through these constructions. Keep in mind, while society shaped people, this also works in the inverse, with society being shaped by people.

A break from definitions.

In understanding societies and cultures, we must apply sociological imagination, sociological thinking. Firstly, one must empathize with the subjective world experienced by others, comprised of their feelings, motives, and experiences. It is understanding the inner worlds, necessary for understanding social phenomena. Then apply a functional analysis. For example, what function could a cultural or religious practice serve? Perhaps, to bring about a sense of community or hope. The example was vague to allow for a reader to fill in with their own example.

However, this understanding, this cultural relativism, can go too far. There is a debate as to whether one can and should accept certain practices as cultural differences, or if critique is necessary. Fir example, corporal punishment in school settings.

There are many attempts made at defining such an abstract, intangible concept. Defining it is paramount to understanding Cultural Studies, as it is the quite obviously (lol) the foundations on which the field is based upon.

Here we could turn to Raymond Willliams, who in his book Keywords (1976) offered up three potential definitions.

• It could be, "a general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development".
• Or possibly "A particular way of life, whether of a people, a period or a group".
• Lastly, culture could be "The works and practices of intellectual and especially artistic activities"