Macrosociology
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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