Sociology versus Common-sense views of Society - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... Consequently, Sociological studies have focused on topics such as social stratification, social class, social mobility, and religion; other subjects of interest to discipline of Sociology include secularization, law, and deviance behaviour, among other social phenomenon in society. Currently, Sociology has expanded its focus from these conventional areas to include other fields such as health, medical, military, and penal institutions, as well as the internet, especially because human activities are highly influenced by the intricate relationship between social structure and the individual agency. This paper will dwell on the topic of how Sociology informs reason by helping individuals to see beyond the common sense views of society, by providing evidence of sociological studies that have addressed the issue of homosexuality. Sexuality has been a common topic of concern to sociologists over the years (Green, 2008), and a significant proportion of Sociological studies that have been conducted in the past have focused on the issue of homosexuality with the aim of establishing Sociological perspectives and explanations of this behaviour. ...
many years on moral and religious foundations, viewing it as a disorder, and a sin respectively, and the homosexuals as a minority group (Weitz and Bryant, 1997), despite the relentless efforts by gay rights movements that have furiously campaigned for the acceptance and recognition of homosexuality. However, the homosexuality debate has recently resurfaced becoming the single most consistent subject matter of many debates in media, religion and in political scenes (O'Brien, 2005). The issue has led to the emergence of thoroughly polarized opinions and perspectives especially between the state and the church, which largely have little to do with science than religion, morals, and politics (Koch, 2007). These ‘common sense’ opinions and perspectives that are informed by neither reason nor empirical studies are thoroughly subjective and misguiding, thus, cannot be relied upon as credible commentaries on the subject of homosexuality (“Sociology; New sociology…”). However, sociologists have grappled with the topic of homosexuality over the years and can help individuals to see beyond the ‘common sense’ views of society concerning homosexuals. To this effect, there has been a remarkable progress in scientific knowledge concerning homosexuality, which has led to a better understanding of this behaviour thereby not only challenging previous assumptions and misconceptions about homosexuals, but also rectifying the pervasive ‘common sense’ thinking that dominated society. For over four decades now, western sociology has endeavoured to provide theoretical explanations of sexuality by firstly viewing sexuality as a part of nature (Bolso, 2012), then proceeding with the search for sociological frameworks that can be used to analyse it accordingly. Notably, there ...Download file to see next pagesRead More