Principles of Sociology

Course Code: SOCI 1000

Academic Year: 2024-2025

In a dynamic society, it is important for everyone to understand the social forces, cultural values and ideological beliefs that frame and shape their behaviour and the pace and direction of change. Sociology, as the scientific study of the behaviour of people in groups, helps us to understand the patterns of social organization and why people think, function and behave the way they do. This course examines the classical sociological theories of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber, as well as contemporary social theorists. This theoretical examination is then applied to understanding the importance of economic and political power, cultural and religious values, ethnic and racial identity, gender, age and class, in shaping who we are both as individuals and as members of a social group.