Social science helps to improve people’s lives by addressing health, education, business and other fields. In particular, it provides tools to measure social dynamics. That is, it provides insight about how societies and social relationships work. Social science integrates nature and the environment as well as individual will, the mind, and community relationships.
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Continue reading “The Excitement of Sociology”“However, much of the time the sociologist moves in sectors of experience that are familiar to him [sic] and to most people in his society… It is not the excitement of coming upon the totally unfamiliar, but rather the excitement of finding the familiar becoming transformed in its meaning. The fascination of sociology lies on the fact that its perspective makes us see in a new light the very world in which we have lived all our lives.”
– Peter Berger, (1963: 21) “Invitation to Sociology” [my emphasis]
Social science offers sophisticated methods for governments to better understand social media. The London School of Economics & Political Science argues that social scientists are using their research techniques to improve meaningful collection of social data.
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We’re constantly told to act according to common sense. Common sense is supposed to stop us from making foolish mistakes, and in many ways it does. This notion describes all of our social learning in a nutshell. It’s the collection of the sum total of our personal experiences as well as those of the people around us. It helps us walk into a situation with a certain level of familiarity. The problem with common sense is that it can be misleading.
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Social policy makers need ongoing research into the social behaviour of crowds. This is partly about urban planning, such as management of landscapes, improving infrastructure, decreasing traffic congestion and so on. Governments also need to understand crowd behaviour because local communities need to improve social service delivery.
Continue reading “Social Science of Crowds”Wonderful discussion of the social changes to portrait photography. The artists discuss how portraits were once only done of wealthy and distinguished people, implying that it began as a class exercise. It has more recently developed into an art form … Continue reading Social Changes to Portrait Photograhy
Sociology defines culture as something we do (social practices). It involves using things such as dress and food to communicate our social belonging to particular groups, as well as using other physical resources (materials).
Continue reading “Sociology of Culture”Comical look at the classificatory kinship system in Chinese families (from a young Chinese American perspective). A nice illustration of how culture influences the social organisation of the family. Continue reading Kinship in Chinese Families
Tides of people follow social norms of respectful admiration after La Sylphide ballet performance at the Arts Centre Melbourne Australia. There are certain times during a ballet when you’re supposed to clap and not necessarily after a long pause in … Continue reading Sociology of a Crowd
Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke speaks about film censorship in China at the Melbourne International Film Festival. Speaking in his native Chinese language here Zhang-ke says his thought-provoking film, A Touch of Sin, made its debut in Cannes in May and … Continue reading Film Censorship in China
Social Science Insights 