Macrosociology

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Macro-sociology is a way of looking at the world of people in a broad way. It studies mass of many peoples. It is about "concerned with human societies". Macrosociology is considered one of the main foundations of sociology (contrast with micro-sociology).

In sociology there are different levels of analysis. Macro-sociology is the analysis of either large collectivities (the city, the church) or, more abstractly, of social systems and social structures. (Dictionary of Sociology, 2000)

With the perspective of macro-sociology, it is possible to better understand societies, culture, groups and organizations.

Important representatives of macro-sociological theories are:

  • Karl Marx; who analyzed society from the perspective of class conflict between workers and owners
  • Max Weber; who viewed society as rapidly modernizing and looked at the effects of this process, such as bureaucratization
  • Emile Durkheim; who viewed individual issues as reflective of greater social patterns, completing the first sociological study (which linked suicide to societal trends)

[edit] References

  • Gerhard Lenski, Human societies: An introduction to Macrosociology, McGraw-Hill, 1982, ISBN 0-07-037176-8


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