What is Sociology? The scientific study of society is known as
sociology and covers a very broad range of fields, ranging from
social class and culture to law and social stratification. Over
the years, the study of society has also come to incorporate
health and medical, law and the Internet. Sociology uses
different methods of investigation and analysis for research
purposes and the development of a body of knowledge. The History
of Sociology Studies While forms of social analysis have been
undertaken since the dawn of time, it wasn't until the 19th
Century that Emile Durkheim established sociology as a formal
academic study. In 1895, Durkheim set up the first European
department of sociology at the French University of Bordeaux.
With the growth of industrialization, urbanization and
secularization, sociology took on the role as an academic
response to these concepts. Parallel to developments in Europe
was the growth of sociology studies in the United States. In
1875, William Graham Sumner taught the first S