Sociology Haralambos & Holborn

"Sociology is one of a number of social sciences (including economics, psychology and human geography) that attempt to explain and understand the behaviour of human beings in society. Unlike some social sciences (such as economics), it does not confine itself to one particular area of social life. Indeed, sociologists have studied a vast and diverse range of topics including shopping, popular music, sexuality, the body, ethnic conflict, poverty, sport, science, health, drug use, the law, war, religion, migration, death, colonialism, housework, mobile phones, humour and murder. It is hard to think of any significant area of social life that has never been the subject of a sociological study. Because the subjects it examines are so numerous and so varied, sociology cannot be defined simply in terms of the subjects it studies. It is more useful to define sociology in terms of its approach or approaches to explaining social life rather than its subject matter."