Sosiologia

Sosiologia is the academic discipline that studies society, social relationships, and the institutions that organize collective life. It seeks to understand how social structures—such as families, schools, markets, and religious organizations—shape individual behavior, identities, and life chances, and how collective actions, norms, and institutions produce social order and change.

Historically, sosiologia emerged in the 19th century with thinkers such as Auguste Comte, Émile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber, who sought scientific explanations for social cohesion, conflict, and modernization. Today the field covers a broad range of topics including inequality, gender, race, urbanization, work, politics, religion, culture, and technology, across diverse societies and historical periods.

Methodologically, sosiologists employ quantitative methods (surveys, statistics, experiments) and qualitative approaches (interviews, ethnography, case studies), often combining both. The discipline also advances various theoretical perspectives, including functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism, to interpret patterns in social life.

Subfields include sociological theory, sociological methods, urban sociology, economic sociology, political sociology, medical sociology, and cultural sociology. Contemporary concerns include globalization, social networks, migration, digital life, and social inequality, with research aimed at informing public policy, social planning, and critical reflection on social change.