Sociology class - Essay Example

Hence, a human being has a never ending list of roles to play in coinciding with the social groups they belong to (Ferrarte, pg 15-18). A man may be a father, a brother, and a husband at the same time. Along with this, his identity may also constitute being an African-American, middle aged, Christian, and a Masters in Philosophy, and other social categories that he may belong to include being a tennis player, a stamp collector, and a huge fan of the Beatles. Hence, the man has several roles to fulfill in his life that are part of his identity and personality and he acts differently in each role.

Sociology is the study of society and social groups. Sociology aims to understand human behavior collectively in order to determine the roles that human beings hold and how these roles function in the development of society. All human behavior and all human interaction are upheld by the roles human beings play, the perceptions they hold, and the way they act. Society is formed by human behavior and the world functions and develops through society (Ferrarte, pg 62). Shakespeare’s famous line, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely actors”, holds true when discussing the functioning of society.

All human beings hold several roles that they play during their lifetime and their roles determine their identity. The roles that human beings play form society and vice versa. However, how do human beings understand the behavior expected of them in each role? Sociology aims and enables the understanding of human behavior and social roles. It defines the behavior and actions expected of each human being in each particular role which enables a human being to identify themselves. There are several roles that a human being plays which include gender roles, relationship roles, and professional roles.

Sociology enables a human being to understand the behavior associated with their role in a societal context (Ferrarte, pg 16-32). Human beings may understand their behavior individually but may not understand what their role in society holds and how they are to use this role to influence society. Hence, unless and until they are able to understand their behavior on a collective scale, they are unable to understand their societal role and their identity within society. A person is identified in society through the roles he holds and the behavior he/she exhibits.

To illustrate an example, the concept of gender roles entails identifying the traits belonging to the male or female gender or to neither. The concept of gender is the social context of a person’s sex. While sex entails describing the biological identity of a person, gender seeks to identify the sociological identity of a person. If a person inhibits the traits of being female, then her gender is female. Therefore, once a person identifies him/herself as belonging to a certain gender, he/ she then understands the roles that other genders play and how they affect society and the individual (Ferrarte, pg 83).

An example is the feminist movement, which occurred after females identified the role they played in society and how society viewed females. Hence, they learnt that the perception that society held towards females and the role that males played in this society was unfair and biased. Therefore, they aimed to collectively change this perception and the role description that was given to females by society (Wilson, pg 82). Roles