Interview with a Sociologist: Sociology Of the Family
To add value to our readers, I have decided start a new series of Interviews from the perspective of a non sociology based profession, in which I will select experts (sociologists, PhDs and other experienced members of the communities) within the sociology community and ask them targeted questions that many of us may wonder when it comes to sociology and the role it plains within our community.
Most sociology of the family courses start with examining the three main perspectives within sociology functionalist, conflict, and structural perspective, but additionally there are several theoretical paradigms that are specific to sociology of the family that are examined.
Interviewer: What is Sociology of the Family?
First, it is important to note that there are numerous other fields that study the family these fields include: Anthropology, Biology, Child Development, Economics, Education, Genealogy, History, Public Health, Religion and Social Work. Sociology is one of the many fields that discuss family.
Most sociology of the family courses teaches that families are social constructions this means that family is a classification of reality agreed upon by members of society. Sociology of the family also examines theories and concepts related to the family as a social institution. It investigates the Family, its changing forms and values, and the social conditions influencing it. Specific topics that a course such as Sociology of the Family discusses include: mate selection, partnering and marriage formation, the responsibilities and opportunities of parenthood, social class and race and ethnic variations within families, premarital and non-marital relationships and sexuality.
Interviewer: What are some of the topics discussed in Sociology of the Family?
In a class such as sociology of family we discuss several topics including: definitions of how the family has changed over time, conceptualizations of family that emphasize the structural, functional, and relational dimensions; we compare and contrast institutional and analytical definitions of family; distinguish between primary and secondary groups, and identify the main functions of the family as a primary group; and define and give examples of monogamy and polygamy, and note the prevalence of both marital arrangements in the United States and around the world.
Interviewer: What are some other things I can expect to learn as a student taking Sociology of the Family?
There are numerous things that you can expect to learn, and depending on the instructor they might choose to focus on certain topics more than others. But some of the topics covered would include understanding some of the core sociological theories such as the Conflict, Functional and Structural perspectives as well as other theoretical perspectives that are more directly related to sociology of the family such as: the Social Exchange Framework; Family Systems Framework; and the Contemporary Family Theory.
The course will also cover other topics of interest such as: dating and courtship; partnering and marriage formation; parenthood and fertility; parenting role and child socialization; family stress and violence and family policies.
Interviewer: Why is sociology of the family important?
Sociology of the family teaches us to look and understand families as both a social institution and as a scientifically meaningful category. It allows us to examine the family from multiple dimensions and to think of the ways in which numerous issues and topics impact families.
Sociologist’s take on, Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas/Happy….?
So an interesting observation was brought to my attention, I have a tendency to always respond to people
Sociologist Holiday Celebration
Now that I have left the retail environment and now a member of the “big people” world, I am presented with the question of how should I respond based on societies expectations. There are a multitude of caveats that a modern day sociologist is presented with that a person without a sociology degree may not even think about, but are now very visible to me. For instance we all have inherited a talent that makes us respond automatically when someone makes the statement to us of “Merry Christmas”, most of us usually respond with “Merry Christmas to you also”. A friend of mine was talking to me about this and was giving me an example of someone who was of religion that didn’t celebrate Christmas but told him Merry Christmas. He then responded with Merry Christmas in return and was told that he shouldn’t bother as he didn’t celebrate this holiday. This was the eye opening albeit awkward moment made me think that I should share this story with the world. What is the correct etiquette for responding to holiday greetings?
In addition to that we now have these new fancy ways of communicating with friends via text messaging or internet group or online community that allows us to do these mass text messaging. Every year I get a slew of these messages wishing me Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas and I usually just ignore them 
, not because I don’t celebrate the holidays because I do but they are freaking annoying! This year I thought for the first time, what if someone on that distribution list didn’t celebrate this holiday would that be a slight on them? What should we do? I found this as a perfect example of a sociological question that any sociologist would find as an interesting thought problem. Does the presence of the simple greeting demean our fellow man, should we just not greet? Also do we greet because we want to or because we believe that is the hand that society has dealt us?
I for one, have now become of the belief that it is just a matter of how I or anyone for that matter was raised. This inclination for greeting a person with holiday greetings is just a matter of respect and acknowledgment for my fellow man. It is an acknowledgment of a year completed and a preservation of time to be spent with ones family. I hope that I have not insulted anyone in the past or by writing this article, but I thought it would be a good thought conversation that any sociologist or non-sociologist for that matter could sympathize with. So In closing I would like to say to anyone reading this article, that I hope your year has been grand and I hope that you had an opportunity to spend some time with your family and reflect on the year that has past and any sacrifices that were made. Also before I leave, I felt it appropriate to end with my newly acquired greeting of Happy Holidays .
Modern Sociologists vs Contemporary Sociologists
The ways of the past
Studying sociology or the life within a society is not an easy task. Fortunately there are the likes of the popular sociologist Karl Marx who took the initiative, spent time and were really interested about our society. Marx believed that human poverty is triggered by the unequal wealth distributed among people. Another sociologist Max Weber studied the various patterns present in a culture that explains how the society can greatly affect an individual’s life. These two are actually what you may call the “Contemporary” or “Traditional” sociologists. They focus on how people living together in a group called the society can greatly impact one another’s life.
Contemporary Sociology actually used three techniques when studying about sociology – the symbolic interactionism, the so-called functional analysis and the conflict theory.
- Symbolic Interactionism – This is all about evaluating yourself based on how other people around you behave or based on who they are. This involves the use of symbols to describe and analyze people’s feelings and thoughts. In other words, this technique is all about how younger people tend to carry themselves better when surrounded by older relatives or friends.
- Functional Analysis – This, on the other hand, indicates that our society is made up of self-sufficient entities working closely together. Meaning, you cannot expect that all members of the society will behave in exactly the same way.
- Conflict Theory – This theory came about when sociologist Karl Marx studied the unequal distribution of wealth in our society. According to his observations, man needs to struggle against one another in order to survive within a group. He discovered that a small group can easily manipulate a bigger group for lack of resources. He even suggested that if only all the resources available have been shared equally, then there would have been no human struggle against one another.
Modern Sociology, on the other hand, focuses on modernity in the society as 100% moral order. As a matter of fact, there is one sociologist in the name of Durkheim that stressed about the conventional social order. He says that in modern sociology, people within a society are now more engrossed with their own egos which break the social order even more. Furthermore, there are more and more sociologists claiming that there should be improvement in terms of the techniques that should be used for creating order in the society.
This branch of sociology actually delved on the study the significance between Industrial Revolution and many other factors such as globalization and urbanization. In this modern society we live in, sociologists say most of us are still partial to our historical awareness which makes us even more confused as to what we need to expect in the future world. The modern society we have now is definitely enveloped in capitalism, urbanism, globalization and industrialism.
Last but not least, while Marx felt that our democracy is all about capitalism, he stressed out that people tend to live miserably because of their own doings. They nurture false beliefs, wrong notions; exploitative ideas that make them go even further down the drain. This is exactly what the modern sociologists also say – that our present leaders are exhausting all resources and means for personal gratifications when they do not bear any social relevance at all.
What are Sociologists
The Role and Contributions of Sociologists
A sociologist engages in the objective study of society. He observes society and records his observations. A sociologist
Famous Sociologist
also gives surveys, in similar fashion to those of a research psychologist, and analyzes the data he has collected from those surveys. The sociologist’s goal is to compile a body of knowledge on how groups relate to each other and to society as a whole.
A sociology degree can be applied to many professions, including criminal justice, environmental jobs, health agencies, advocacy groups, researching for corporations, social work, the counseling and psychology fields, nursing, adoption agencies, and the teaching profession. A graduate sociology degree is highly advised for professional sociologists.
Sociology projects vary in their subjects and participants. One interesting study called The Nun Study was begun in 1930, where a group of 180 nuns who were all in their early twenties wrote short autobiographies. All of the optimistic words, like “happy,” “contented,” etc., were gleaned from these essays. The negative words, such as “depressed” and “rigid,” were tabulated. Then the nuns were arranged into four groups, with the nuns who had written the most positive words in the top group. Each group after that reflected less positives, with the fourth group having the most negative words.
Fifty years later, the sociologists returned to the same convent to see how the nuns had fared. All of the nuns in the three lower groups had died, but all of the nuns in the top and most optimistic group were still alive!
Sociology projects, like The Nun Study, speak volumes about the value of optimism and the destructiveness of a negative attitude. It took The Nun Study to show how optimism does more for longevity than any other factor.
Sociological theories wax and wane, depending upon the prevailing thought of the day. Consider two sociologists whose ideas were accepted, then rejected, and finally brought back again to fit within current thinking:
One of the very early sociologists was Auguste Comte, whose life spanned from the late 1700s to the mid-1800s. Comte is considered to be one of the founders of the field of sociology.
Comte created the doctrine of positivism. Positivism still influences social science today in its assertion that real learning is based on experience, the senses and positive verification. Comte moved intellectual study and the study of social groups away from ambiguity and metaphysics and towards scientific observations as a basis of thought. In his day, Comte’s positivism concept was adopted as the bedrock of social research.
Later there were “anti-positive” sociologists who refuted Comte’s doctrine of positivism. However, Comte’s ideas and doctrines found their way back into modern sociological theory and method, which is extraordinary, considering that it was a school of thought developed in the early 1800s.
A more contemporary sociologist, Talcott Parsons, attempted to establish a balance between the positivist theory of Comte and the later theory of idealism. From these two traditions (positivist and idealist), Parsons developed the happy medium of voluntarism, which was a school of thought that placed the will far above intellect and emotion.
Parsons’ ideas and sociological theories were generally accepted by the profession until the 1970s and the seepage of Marxist philosophy into the grand scheme of social science. Recently, however, Parsons’ views have had a resurgence of acceptance by the profession of sociology in their positive image of society overall.
Present sociological thought views social action in a continuous evolution towards a better, more harmonious world. Whether Talcott Parsons was truly onto something in viewing society as moving towards an improved overall state remains to be seen. There are sociologists today who adhere to Parsons’ theories and those who think the opposite to be more in line with reality.
Sociologists have made so many contributions to the fields of psychology, criminology and the behavioral sciences that it is difficult to determine where one field leaves off and another begins. This is because culture, norms and deviances overlap and flow into law, religion, education and every institution in modern society.
Today’s sociologists can teach, be social workers, research and provide insight into the study of class structure, law, the internet, race, psychology and all aspects of groups relating to society.
Should I become a Sociologist?
Jeff thinking about his sociologist career
Sociology is the study of society; a sociology degree is used to help understand the various dynamics of society. Although numerous individuals each year choose to get a sociology degree, many do not know what they indent to do with the degree. Several people that decide to become a sociologist because they think that it is interesting or because it sounds like a good option, most choose to major in sociology without really thinking out what they will do with the degree. I would urge anyone interested in gaining a sociology degree to truly understand that it is about and what they would like to do with it before they decide to pursue it. This article and the other sources on this website give some very helpful pointers in helping one to understand if a sociology degree is right for them.
What are your interests?
Are you interested in finding out about the inner working of society? Are you interested
in institutional and structural level dynamics? If so, sociology might be the right
field for you. In other words, sociology does not focus on individual level dynamics
and phenomenon like other fields such as psychology. Sociologists are interested in
understanding the bigger picture.
What type of job would you like?
If you find that you are interested in understanding the larger level dynamics of the social
world, then you can ask yourself what type of job would you like to do? A sociology
degree is often times thought of as a generic degree. This is because sociologist tend to come from different walks of life and have specific niches that they focus on Gaining a bachelors degree in sociology does not necessarily set you up for a career. It does not work like other degrees such as Computer Science, in which people are able to get a career-track job in their field right after their bachelors’ degree. In fact, there is not really a mainstream “sociology field”. Sociologists tend to work in a wide range of fields and organizations such as: Government; Non-Governmental Organizations; Pubic and Privet Research Institutions; Public and Privet Businesses; Hospitals; and Law Firms. Yet, the type of work you would like to do with your degree will should determine what types of courses you should take as you are getting your degree. Please refer to the article Courses in Sociology, for more information on this topic.
Is a bachelors degree enough?
You often hear the expression that “a master’s degree is the new bachelor’s degree”. In
other words, for what you would be able do with a bachelor’s degree you now need a
master’s degree to do. This is especially the case as you have more and more individuals
gaining mater’s degrees and competing for the same jobs that those with bachelors’
degrees are competing for. I would say that with sociology, this is becoming the case.
There are few jobs that specify a degree in sociology as the primary qualification. The
jobs that do specify a sociology degree as a requirement generally require some working
experience or a graduate degree before you can truly consider yourself a sociologist.
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