Basic, Applied and Public Sociology

2 minute read

By the 1940s, the application of sociology had shifted from social reform to social theory.
Talcott Parsons was an advocate of social theory and developed abstract models of society.
C. Wright Mills, another sociologist, thought sociologists should focus on social reform. His ideas became popular in 1970s when activism in America was at its peak.

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Basic Sociology: sociological research for the purpose of making discoveries about life in human groups, not for making changes in those groups.
Some sociologists see their proper role as doing basic (or pure) sociology, analyzing some aspect of society with no goal other than gaining knowledge.

Applied Sociology: the use of sociology to solve problems — from the micro level of classroom interaction and family relationships to the macro level of crime and pollution.
Others reply, “knowledge for what?” They argue that gaining knowledge through research is not enough and sociologists need to help reform society, especially to bring justice and help the poor.
In modern times, sociologists apply sociology to solve social problems like issues in the workplace, rape, pollution, spread of AIDS, terrorism and negative impacts of industrialization.

Public Sociology: applying sociology for the public good; especially the use of the sociological perspective (how things are related to one another) to guide politicians and policy makers.
Public sociology is a middle ground between research and reform.
One of the most important aspects of public sociology is to make policy makers understand the society so they develop policies in a pragmatic manner.

A tension between social reform and social analysis runs through the history of sociology.
We can divide sociology in three time periods:
1. the first period which lasted until the 1920s, the primary purpose of sociology was to improve society.
2. the second period which lasted from 1920s till the end of World War II, the concern switched to gaining abstract knowledge.
3. the third period which began around the end of World War II and still exists today, where sociologists try to apply their research findings.
Sociology is filled with diverse opinions. Even in these three periods, there was debate and difference of opinions between sociologists e.g. Herbert Spencer campaigned against helping the poor for he thought it was better for the progress of society.
Each particular period, however, does have basic emphases, and this division of sociology into three phases pinpoints major trends.