sociology essay topics

sociology essay topics

Exploring Contemporary Issues in Sociology

1. Introduction to Sociology and its Relevance in Modern Society

Our public policymakers have recently been turning to sociology for orientation. This orientation is often indeed needed. Observe what must be understood. Why do some children grow up to lead responsible and productive lives; others, whose opportunities seem just as good, do not? Some in poverty rise out of it, and others with both better opportunities and more determination remain within it. What part do these rather permanent ascribed statuses, and the transient-achieved statuses play in life? Why do some under the same conditions display criminal behavior while others do not? What are the requirements to ensure that families with ample means do their fair share to support the schools when the community is poor, as well as when the community is affluent? What do people want from their work, and what does their choice of occupations mean to them? For who should the research projects needed for social orientation be planned? The ultimate users of all knowledge, are, of course, the readers of this book.

Today we are deluged by changes. We are now in the Jet Age, the Age of Travel, and the Space Age. While our lives are changed and changing, the social sciences are also in revolution. Particularly is this so in sociology. Only once in history before has man been so critical of his institutions and of the social scene. This was on the occasion of his discovering that there are physical laws to be known and understood. That marked the beginning of the Scientific Revolution. Now man has begun to subject the social scene to research. He is beginning to feel that the task is possible, that he need not always “obey; for that’s the way we are made.” Sociology is the science that will foresee all social changes. The social scene encompasses the interaction of human beings, both as individuals and as groups. Any of their interrelations – from those of the family and the work groups to those of large societies, be they of the past, the present, or the future – are sociology’s encompassment.

2. Key Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology

The “Conflict Theory” is night and day different from the others, for this one focuses on how the need for social order benefits those in power at the expense of the lower, working class order. Conflict theorists believe that over time, power is central to every piece of social life. These so-called “functions” are the items that hold communities together. The “dysfunctions” are the unseen traits of society that do the opposite, that pull society apart. Conflict theorists believe that social order can and does serve the interests of people, but they don’t believe that it always serves the interest of everyone. They think that war, famine, disease, and crime will always be normal for society because the wealthy try to maintain power and the poor try to obtain power, resulting in even more powerful hate, power struggle, and power-imposed slavery no matter who, what, where, how, or perhaps, why. Yes, after reviewing both of the above, one really can’t help but admire all the hard work put into society’s attempt at maintaining order.

The term “functionalism,” which emphasizes the way that trauma and its resolution can lead to positive, or “functional,” consequences, was introduced by sociologist Talcott Parsons. Parsons believed that social systems make order and predictability possible and pervade all aspects of human life and experience. From a functionalist perspective, trauma may be viewed as a challenge that threatens the sense of cooperation and mutual interdependence that is typical of all social systems. This interference can lead to both negative and positive outcomes. Despite these risks, a traumatic stressor, shared by affected individuals, brings about a renewed social cohesion as a result of group identification.

3. Contemporary Issues in Sociology: Inequality and Social Justice

Social Class: While the economy and the political system benefit the rich the most, those who have wealth possess more power in society because they can control more resources. They also have more money than those who are not so wealthy, who have to struggle just to survive. The distribution of wealth, therefore, is very unequally distributed in American society. Those at the bottom struggle to afford education and trade school, and those who graduate struggle to enter a desirable profession due to family connections. Large and invisible class divides push democratic empowerment and minority resilience to the edge within society. Consequently, the collective nature of each class poses ideological and even functional obstacles against solidarity, hindering the development of social policies that leverage the power of democratic welfare.

Race and Ethnicity: While our laws state that all people should be treated equally, our laws and our social lives are different. Racial inequalities surrounding jobs, housing, education, and income, among others, continue in society. For example, a standard measure of income inequality is that median white households earn roughly twenty times more money than the median black household. Furthermore, it is estimated that black and Hispanic women earn thirty percent less money than white women. Additionally, the percentage of women in less wage jobs is higher for black and Hispanic women when compared to white women.

Sociologists argue that in some societies, certain groups experience unequal opportunities due to historical reasons. Social factors also contribute to this observed inequality. These social factors include race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, and age, among others.

4. Globalization and its Impact on Societal Structures

At its core, globalization is much more than a spatial expansion, but is also integrally involved in social expansion as interconnected social, economic, and technical networks overlay the traditional networks within communities, regions, or social groups that have connected various social institutions over the course of history. Scholars from economics, political sciences, international relations, and sociology have contributed much to our understanding of forces and relations of globalization. Remarkably absent from sociological explorations of globalization is the extent of penetration of capitalist forms within localized and highly localized settings, and the examination of connectivity or disconnections across the numerous divides that may be constituted within these spaces.

The concept of globalization continues to shape sociology in exciting and innovative ways. As sociology has always been concerned with contemporary social questions and phenomena, sociological examinations of issues such as the economic and social changes that globalization brings have always both informed and been informed by the field itself. One of the most important contributions that sociology can make in relation to globalization is that of alerting societies to the detrimental effects of globalization, and to the changeable nature of globalization realities. In summary, globalization can be understood as a process that has a transformative impact on societies and individuals as localized societies are increasingly connected across national boundaries, thus implicating peoples at every level of abstraction from the individual, to the family, to communities, to states, and including regions at differing geographic levels.

5. Emerging Trends in Sociological Research

Society uses labels and takes them seriously itself. Increasingly these affiliations are being replaced with new and equally embracing series of labels. Typically these are based on emerging identities created by people who bring together elements of ethnic, cultural, and social backgrounds. Some labels are self-given. Others are attributed communally (e.g., “They are immigrants from”), created collectively to describe the shared features of a group. Some terms are created to provide a positive identity for groups of people who may have been seen as oppressed. Some groups have done remarkably successful in their makeover, turning historically nasty words into positive series of self’s. With their boosted identities, they no longer need to be cooped up in stigmatized categories of the past.

As sociology has matured, it has also broadened its purview. This shift is evident in the growing breadth of research that is taking place and the explicit interdisciplinary and oftentimes multidisciplinary nature of this work. As we proceed through the pages of this book, you’ll see how research examining the sociology of medicine or deviant behavior is being informed by multiple disciplines. With those opening statements, it becomes easy to understand why we can deduce that emerging trends in sociological research are, in turn, examining categories themselves less. While race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, social class, and other markers of identity remain critically important, contemporary research is increasingly overcoming such divisive notions.