Key Sociological Theories and Thinkers
Introduction to Sociology
Foundational Thinkers
Émile Durkheim
Durkheim was one of the founders of sociology. In the context of this topic, his main contribution is the idea that sociology studies institutions — like family, religion, and school — which create order and hold society together. He introduced the concept of social facts: things like norms and laws that exist outside individuals but shape how they behave. His work shows that personal behavior (like suicide) is shaped by larger social patterns. He helped make sociology a scientific discipline, focused on data and systematic analysis.
Max Weber
Weber contributed to the definition of sociology as the study of social action, meaning actions that are meaningful and directed at others. He emphasized that we must understand the meaning people give to their behavior, making sociology interpretive, not just descriptive. This helps explain why people act differently in different contexts.
Anthony Giddens
Giddens said sociology looks at how people behave in relation to others, especially in complex, modern societies. His key idea — relevant here but developed further in identity and structure — is structuration theory, which argues that people are both shaped by society and able to shape society. In this topic, Giddens reminds us that sociology studies both individuals and the structures they live in.
C. Wright Mills
Mills invented the concept of the sociological imagination, a powerful idea that encourages people to connect their personal problems to larger social issues. For example, unemployment isn’t just bad luck — it might reflect economic inequality or failing education. This concept explains the usefulness of sociology in helping people understand their lives within a bigger system.
Power Dynamics
Robert Dahl
Dahl focused on decision-making power — he said A has power over B if A can make B do something B wouldn’t otherwise do. This helps define visible, direct power, often in politics or leadership.
Bachrach & Baratz
They expanded the idea of power by saying it also includes agenda-setting — deciding what issues are allowed to be discussed. If a topic is kept off the table, people lose the power to act on it.
Steven Lukes
Lukes created the idea of three dimensions of power and invented the concept of ideological power — shaping what people think, want, or believe. He showed how invisible power works: people can be dominated without realizing it. This is crucial in sociology because it explains why people often accept inequality or injustice.
Pierre Bourdieu (Power)
Bourdieu introduced the idea of different types of capital — economic, social, and cultural — that give people power. He said that those with cultural capital (education, manners, language) can dominate others without using force, because their behaviors are seen as “normal” or “better.” He showed that power is hidden in culture and everyday life, not just politics.
Karl Marx (Power)
In this topic, Marx is important for showing that economic ownership equals power. Those who own the factories and land (the bourgeoisie) control the economy and can also influence politics, education, and media.
Antonio Gramsci
Gramsci added that power also works through culture and consent, which he called hegemony. He showed that the dominant class stays in control not just through force, but by spreading their ideas through schools, religion, and media so that others agree with the system — even if it hurts them.
Charles Tilly
Tilly studied political power and protest. He showed that political violence and revolutions are not random — they follow cycles and patterns, based on how power is distributed. He helps explain how power changes over time.
Identity Formation
George Herbert Mead
In this topic, Mead explains how we develop a sense of self. He said identity forms by imagining how others see us — we take the role of the “generalized other.” He showed that identity is socially created, not something we are born with.
Harrison White
White focused on how identity comes from networks and stories. Who you know, and the stories you tell about yourself, shape who you are. He connected identity with social structure.
Interactions and Networks
Erving Goffman
Goffman invented the idea of impression management — the way people act to create a good image in different situations. He said social life is like a performance, and we play different roles (e.g., student, friend) depending on where we are.
Harold Garfinkel
Garfinkel invented ethnomethodology, the study of hidden rules in daily life. He used breaching experiments to show that even small social rules (like how to greet someone) are deeply important.
Sacks, Schegloff & Jefferson
They developed conversation analysis, which studies how people take turns in talking. Their work shows that conversation has hidden structures that keep it flowing and meaningful.
Mark Granovetter
Granovetter invented the theory of the strength of weak ties. He showed that weak connections (like acquaintances) are better for finding jobs and spreading information than close ties, because they connect us to new social circles.
Culture and Inequality
Pierre Bourdieu (Culture)
Bourdieu said culture is a form of capital, not just shared beliefs. He introduced the concept of habitus — our deep, automatic behaviors shaped by class and background. He showed that culture helps maintain inequality, because people from higher classes know how to act in ways that are rewarded in school, jobs, and society.
Social Class
Karl Marx (Class)
Marx invented the idea that class is based on economic ownership. He saw society as divided into bourgeoisie (owners) and proletariat (workers). His theory explains exploitation and how the economy shapes every other part of society.
Max Weber (Class)
Weber expanded Marx’s idea by adding status and power to economic class. He said people’s opportunities depend not just on money, but also on social position and how others see them.
Pierre Bourdieu (Class)
Bourdieu added cultural and social capital to explain why inequality continues even when money is not the only factor. For example, education and networks can give advantages without wealth.
Gender
Judith Butler
Butler invented the idea that gender is a performance — we are not born men or women, we “do” gender by how we dress, talk, and act. Her theory shows that gender roles are not natural, but learned and repeated.
Race
This topic uses the constructivist theory to argue that race is socially created, not biologically real. This connects to thinkers like W.E.B. Du Bois (though not detailed here), who showed how race affects life chances because of social systems, not genes.
Demography
The topic uses demographic transition theory, which comes from population scientists and helps explain how birth and death rates change over time in modern societies.
Urbanization
Ernest Burgess
Burgess invented the concentric zone model, which shows how cities grow in rings (business center, factory zone, working class, suburbs).
Robert Park & Louis Wirth
Part of the Chicago School, they said cities are ecological systems where groups compete for space and resources.
Georg Simmel
Simmel said city life affects the mind, making people more rational, fast-paced, and emotionally distant — but also more creative.
Urban Planners (Haussmann, Soria, Le Corbusier)
These were urban planners who reshaped cities (e.g., Paris, linear cities), showing how the design of space affects social life.
Family Structures
Friedrich Engels
Engels (Marx’s collaborator) argued that the family exists to pass wealth and power from men to their children, keeping women and workers in lower positions.
Symbolic Interactionists
These theorists (linked to Mead and Goffman) see family as a place of daily interactions and negotiated roles.
Feminist Theorists
They show how the family often benefits men, and how women do unpaid care work or are expected to act in traditional roles. They also study diverse families and how class and race affect family life.