Why exactly sociology now occupies a priority position among social and humanitarian disciplines, and how does it fit into the general system of social knowledge? The answers to these questions explain the reason for sociology being among the choices of required courses for Liberal Arts Majors in most college campuses across the US. Sociology is directly involved in the life of society through the performance of certain social functions. It contributes to the formation of knowledge about social reality and changes in it, explains the processes of social development, helps people to determine their place in society, to choose a life path. As underlined by Charon (326), sociology also plays an important role in understanding and shaping democratic cultures. It is especially important that this sociological approach helps to understand the possibilities of democracy as it analyzes the composition, categories and characteristics of society Charon (328). Overall, breaking a group into a composition can tell a lot about trends and the cultural code of individuals, and this is what sociology does.
Work Cited
Charon, Joel. “Why Study Sociology?” Ten Questions: A Sociological Perspective, 8th ed., Cengage Learning, 2012, pp. 324–40.