Sociology & Society, SAN-SPE
The study of human societies is an important tool for the improvement of living conditions. It analyzes the innumerable factors that are the makeup of human behavior and that can cause social injustice, stratification, and societal disorder in the form of crime, deviance, and revolution. It helps to find the best possible solutions to issues such as economic inequality, race relations, and gender discrimination. The discipline of sociology has grown by leaps and bounds in the last century with the contribution of scholars from different schools of thought.
Sociology & Society Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Santhal
Santhal, ethnic group of eastern India, numbering well over five million at the turn of the 21st century. Their......
Sapir, Edward
Edward Sapir was one of the foremost American linguists and anthropologists of his time, most widely known for......
Sarria, José
José Sarria was a Latino American drag performer and political activist who was the first openly gay person to......
Saturnalia
Saturnalia, the most popular of Roman festivals. Dedicated to the Roman god Saturn, the festival’s influence continues......
Saubel, Katherine Siva
Katherine Siva Saubel was a Native American scholar and educator committed to preserving her Cahuilla culture and......
Savage, Michael Joseph
Michael Joseph Savage was a statesman who, as New Zealand’s first Labour prime minister (1935–40), won public support......
Schapera, Isaac
Isaac Schapera was a South African social anthropologist known for his detailed ethnographic and typological work......
Schiff, Jacob H
Jacob H. Schiff was an American financier and philanthropist. As head of the investment banking firm of Kuhn, Loeb,......
Schmidt, Wilhelm
Wilhelm Schmidt was a German anthropologist and Roman Catholic priest who led the influential cultural-historical......
Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe
Henry Rowe Schoolcraft was an American explorer and ethnologist noted for his discovery of the source of the Mississippi......
Schrieke, Bertram
Bertram Schrieke was a Dutch social anthropologist known for his critical analyses of early Indonesian economic......
Schutz, Alfred
Alfred Schutz was an Austrian-born U.S. sociologist and philosopher who developed a social science based on phenomenology.......
Schuyler, Louisa Lee
Louisa Lee Schuyler was an American welfare worker, noted for her efforts in organizing public welfare services......
Schäffle, Albert
Albert Schäffle was an economist and sociologist who served briefly as Austrian minister of commerce and agriculture......
Sciences, Academy of
Academy of Sciences, institution established in Paris in 1666 under the patronage of Louis XIV to advise the French......
Sciences, Academy of
Academy of Sciences, highest scientific society and principal coordinating body for research in natural and social......
Scripps, Ellen Browning
Ellen Browning Scripps was an English-born American journalist, publisher, and philanthropist whose personal fortune,......
Scudder, Vida Dutton
Vida Dutton Scudder was an American writer, educator, and reformer whose social welfare work and activism were......
secret society
secret society, any of a large range of membership organizations or associations that utilize secret initiations......
Seddon, Richard John
Richard John Seddon was a New Zealand statesman who as prime minister (1893–1906) led a Liberal Party ministry......
Sedentism
Sedentism, a way of life in which many members of a society live in one place year-round or nearly year-round.......
segregation
segregation, separation of groups of people with differing characteristics, often taken to connote a condition......
segregation, Racial
Racial segregation, the practice of restricting people to certain circumscribed areas of residence or to separate......
seigneur, droit du
droit du seigneur, (French: “right of the lord”), a feudal right said to have existed in medieval Europe giving......
Seligman, C.G.
C.G. Seligman was a pioneer in British anthropology who conducted significant field research in Melanesia, Ceylon......
Sen Rikyū
Sen Rikyū was a Japanese tea master who perfected the tea ceremony and raised it to the level of an art. Sen Rikyū......
Separate but equal
Separate but equal, the legal doctrine that once allowed for racial segregation in the United States. The doctrine......
Separation
Separation, in law, mutual agreement by a husband and a wife to discontinue living together. A legal separation......
Servants of India Society
Servants of India Society, society founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale in 1905 to unite and train Indians of different......
service club
service club, an organization, usually composed of business and professional men or women, that promotes fellowship......
Service, Elman Rogers
Elman Rogers Service was an American anthropological theorist of cultural evolution and formulator of the nomenclature......
sexism
sexism, prejudice or discrimination based on sex or gender, especially against women and girls. Although its origin......
sexology
sexology, interdisciplinary science that focuses on diverse aspects of human sexual behavior and sexuality, including......
shadkhan
shadkhan, one who undertakes to arrange a Jewish marriage. Such service was virtually indispensible during the......
Shariʿati, ʿAli
ʿAli Shariʿati was an Iranian intellectual and critic of the regime of the shah (Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi). Shariʿati......
Shaw, Lemuel
Lemuel Shaw was the chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (1830–60), who left an indelible......
Shippen, William, Jr.
William Shippen, Jr. was the first systematic teacher of anatomy, surgery, and obstetrics in the United States.......
Shivaji
Shivaji opposed the Mughal dynasty and founded the Maratha kingdom in 17th-century India. His kingdom’s security......
Shover, Neal
Neal Shover is an American academic specializing in corporate and white-collar crime. Shover’s first publication,......
Shriver, Eunice Kennedy
Eunice Kennedy Shriver was an American social activist who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of the intellectually......
Shudra
Shudra, fourth and lowest of the traditional varnas, or social classes, of India, traditionally artisans and labourers.......
Shuttleworth, Mark
Mark Shuttleworth is a South African entrepreneur, philanthropist, and space tourist who became the first South......
Sibling
Sibling, typically, a brother or a sister. Many societies choose not to differentiate children who have both parents......
sibling rivalry
sibling rivalry, intense competition among siblings for recognition and the attention of their parents. Sibling......
Sierra Club
Sierra Club, American organization that promotes environmental conservation. Its headquarters are in Oakland, California.......
Silent Generation
Silent Generation, generation of people sandwiched between the “Greatest Generation,” which fought World War II,......
Sills, David L.
David L. Sills was an American sociologist known for his studies of organizational goals in voluntary associations.......
Simmel, Georg
Georg Simmel was a German sociologist and Neo-Kantian philosopher whose fame rests chiefly on works concerning......
Simwinga, Hammerskjoeld
Hammerskjoeld Simwinga is a Zambian environmentalist who helped fight wildlife poaching in Zambia by creating new......
Sinarquism
Sinarquism, (from Spanish sin, “without,” anarquía, “anarchy”), fascist movement in Mexico, based on the Unión......
Singanhoe
Singanhoe, united national independence front formed by the Korean nationalists and the Korean communists that......
Skeat, Walter William
Walter William Skeat was a British ethnographer of the Malay Peninsula whose detailed works laid the foundation......
Skocpol, Theda
Theda Skocpol is an American political scientist and sociologist whose work significantly shaped the understanding......
slave code
slave code, in U.S. history, any of the set of rules based on the concept that enslaved persons were property,......
slavery
slavery, condition in which one human being was owned by another. A slave was considered by law as property, or......
- Introduction
- African, Colonial, Abolition
- Forced Labor, Oppression, Inequality
- Colonialism, Abolition, Resistance
- Transatlantic, Abolition, Trafficking
- Abolition, Resistance, Emancipation
- Legal, Social, Economic
- Master-Slave, Legal, Relationships
- Family, Property, Ownership
- Manumission, Abolition, Laws
- Forced Labor, Abolition, Resistance
- Plantation, Labor, Coercion
- Resistance, Abolition, Protest
- African Heritage, Resistance, Legacy
Sloan, Alfred P., Jr.
Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. was an American corporate executive and philanthropist who headed General Motors (GM) as president......
Small, Albion W
Albion W. Small was a sociologist who won recognition in the United States for sociology as an academic discipline......
Smelser, Neil
Neil Smelser was an American sociologist noted for his work on the application of sociological theory to the study......
Smith, Erminnie Adele Platt
Erminnie Adele Platt Smith was an American anthropologist who was the first woman to specialize in ethnographic......
Smith, Gerrit
Gerrit Smith was an American reformer and philanthropist who provided financial backing for the antislavery crusader......
Smith, Sophia
Sophia Smith was an American philanthropist whose inherited fortune allowed her to bequeath funds for the founding......
Smith, William Robertson
William Robertson Smith was a Scottish Semitic scholar, encyclopaedist, and student of comparative religion and......
Smith, Zilpha Drew
Zilpha Drew Smith was an American social worker under whose guidance in the late 19th century Boston’s charity......
Smithson, James
James Smithson was an English scientist who provided funds for the founding of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington,......
Snow, C.P.
C.P. Snow was a British novelist, scientist, and government administrator. Snow was graduated from Leicester University......
social capital
social capital, concept in social science that involves the potential of individuals to secure benefits and invent......
social class
social class, a group of people within a society who possess the same socioeconomic status. Besides being important......
social contract
social contract, in political philosophy, an actual or hypothetical compact, or agreement, between the ruled or......
social Darwinism
social Darwinism, the theory that human groups and races are subject to the same laws of natural selection as Charles......
social equilibrium
social equilibrium, a theoretical state of balance in a social system referring both to an internal balance between......
social group
social group, any set of human beings who either are, recently have been, or anticipate being in some kind of interrelation.......
Social history
Social history, Branch of history that emphasizes social structures and the interaction of different groups in......
social identity theory
social identity theory, in social psychology, the study of the interplay between personal and social identities.......
social psychology
social psychology, the scientific study of the behaviour of individuals in their social and cultural setting. Although......
social service
social service, any of numerous publicly or privately provided services intended to aid disadvantaged, distressed,......
social settlement
social settlement, a neighbourhood social welfare agency. The main purpose of a social settlement is the development......
social status
social status, the relative rank that an individual holds, with attendant rights, duties, and lifestyle, in a social......
social structure
social structure, in sociology, the distinctive, stable arrangement of institutions whereby human beings in a society......
social welfare program
social welfare program, any of a variety of governmental programs designed to protect citizens from the economic......
Society of Christian Endeavor
Society of Christian Endeavor, international and interdenominational organization for Protestant youth that gave......
Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) is a broad-based organization that aims to improve and protect journalism......
socioeconomic challenges in India
socioeconomic challenges in India, interconnected social and economic issues that limit the country’s development......
Sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics, the study of the social dimensions of language use. Human language, across all of its many modalities,......
sociology
sociology, a social science that studies human societies, their interactions, and the processes that preserve and......
- Introduction
- Replacing Determinism, Social Structures, Interactionism
- Functionalism, Conflict, Debate
- Social Stratification, Inequality, Class
- Qualitative, Establishment, Historical
- Quantitative, Qualitative, Theory
- Data Collection, Surveys, Interviews
- Social Structures, Research, Theory
- Scientific Status, Theory, Research
- Research, Analysis, Education
soft skills
soft skills, nontechnical and non-industry-specific skills applicable to a wide range of tasks across many roles......
Solana, Javier
Javier Solana is a Spanish politician who served as the ninth secretary-general (1995–99) of the North Atlantic......
Solomon Northup Day
Solomon Northup Day, annual observance held in July in Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S., in recognition of Solomon......
Songkran
Songkran, splashy and water-filled New Year festival observed in Thailand and, by other names, in Cambodia, Myanmar......
Sorokin, Pitirim Alexandrovitch
Pitirim Alexandrovitch Sorokin was a Russian-American sociologist who founded the department of sociology at Harvard......
Soromenho, Fernando Monteiro de Castro
Fernando Monteiro de Castro Soromenho was a white Angolan novelist writing in Portuguese who depicted African life......
Sororate
Sororate, custom or law decreeing that a widower should, or in rare cases must, marry his deceased wife’s sister.......
Soros, Alexander
Alexander Soros is an American philanthropist and a son of financier and philanthropist George Soros. Alexander......
Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference (SEC), American collegiate athletic association that grew out of the Southern Conference.......
Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the largest Baptist group in the United States, organized at Augusta, Georgia,......
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), nonsectarian American agency with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia,......
Southern Student Organizing Committee
Southern Student Organizing Committee (SSOC), organization of students from predominantly white colleges and universities......
Southwest Conference
Southwest Conference, former American collegiate athletic organization founded in 1914 with eight members: the......
Speck, Frank Gouldsmith
Frank Gouldsmith Speck was an American cultural anthropologist known for his work on the Algonquin Indian tribes......
Spence, Catherine Helen
Catherine Helen Spence, was a writer and activist who sought to improve educational and welfare programs in Australia......
Spencer, Herbert
Herbert Spencer was an English sociologist and philosopher, an early advocate of the theory of evolution, who achieved......