A Summary for Anthony Giddens Essentials of Sociology
by
darkespeon (student)
A Summary for Anthony Giddens’ Essentials of Sociology
The article begins with presenting that in the current world, several tragedies have occurred such as the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, as well as the mass murder at the Columbine High School, which in previous times were not as likely to happen. The article questions the reasons behind why such occurrences are more frequent during the current time and not in previous generations.
The article goes on to define Sociology as the “rigorous, organized, and meticulous study of human social life, groups and societies” (Giddens, 1). Love is used as an example of a topic that has a different reception based on which country it may be viewed in, the key contrasting nations being Afghanistan and Western-countries. After explaining that the concept of love being a factor in marriage has not been common occurrence until recently, it concludes that what is considered natural currently, has not always been and may not always be and our accepted way of life is influenced heavily by what has occurred before.
Once the definition and an example of where sociology comes in is given, the article expounds on how to develop a sociological perspective, also emphasizing that there is a need to do so as the world is now more interdependent than it had been in the past due to the progress of technology, relations and trading. The concept is explained to mean that every choice we make affects someone on the other side of the world and vice versa. Because of this, there is a need to track and interpret the changes the society undergoes in order to properly address rising problems.
