Sociology & Society, SMI-THA

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.
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Sociology & Society Encyclopedia Articles By Title

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 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......
sociolinguistics
sociolinguistics, the study of the sociological aspects of language. The discipline concerns itself with the part......
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 in Thailand, and, by other names, in Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma),......
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......
Spencer, Sir Baldwin
Sir Baldwin Spencer was an English biologist and anthropologist, and the first trained and experienced scientist......
Spengler, Oswald
Oswald Spengler was a German philosopher whose reputation rests entirely on his influential study Der Untergang......
Spingarn Medal
Spingarn Medal, gold medal awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)......
spiral of silence
spiral of silence, in the study of human communication and public opinion, the theory that people’s willingness......
sportswashing
sportswashing, the use of an athletic event by an individual or a government, a corporation, or another group to......
Sprague, Kate Chase
Kate Chase Sprague was the daughter of Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of the treasury, Salmon Chase. While continually......
St. Lucia’s Day
St. Lucia’s Day, festival of lights celebrated in Sweden, Norway, and the Swedish-speaking areas of Finland on......
St. Nicholas Day
St. Nicholas Day, feast day (December 6) of St. Nicholas, the 4th-century bishop of Myra. St. Nicholas is the patron......
St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day, feast day (March 17) of St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain in the late......
St. Stephen’s Day
St. Stephen’s Day, the name for either of two holidays that are observed in honor of two Christian saints, both......
St. Swithin’s Day
St. Swithin’s Day, (July 15), a day on which, according to folklore, the weather for a subsequent period is dictated.......
stakeholder
stakeholder, any individual, social group, or actor who possesses an interest, a legal obligation, a moral right,......
Stamboliyski, Aleksandŭr
Aleksandŭr Stamboliyski was the leader of the Agrarian Party in Bulgaria, supporter of the Allied cause during......
Stanford Prison Experiment
Stanford Prison Experiment, a social psychology study in which college students became prisoners or guards in a......
Stanford, Leland
Leland Stanford was an American senator from California and one of the builders of the first U.S. transcontinental......
Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup, trophy awarded to the winner of the world’s professional ice hockey championship, an annual play-off......
Stanner, W.E.H.
W.E.H. Stanner was an Australian anthropologist who helped found the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies......
Starr, Ellen Gates
Ellen Gates Starr was an American social reformer, a cofounder (with Jane Addams) of the Hull House social settlement......
Stauning, Thorvald
Thorvald Stauning was a Danish Social Democratic statesman who as prime minister (1924–26, 1929–42) widened the......
Staël, Germaine de
Germaine de Staël was a French-Swiss woman of letters, political propagandist, and conversationalist, who epitomized......
Stein, Jill
Jill Stein is a former practicing physician and an environmental activist who has run as the candidate of the Green......
Sternberg, Sir Sigmund
Sir Sigmund Sternberg was a Hungarian-born British philanthropist and entrepreneur who was known for his efforts......
Stevenson, Matilda Coxe
Matilda Coxe Stevenson was an American ethnologist who became one of the major contributors to her field, particularly......
Steward, Julian
Julian Steward was an American anthropologist best known as one of the leading neoevolutionists of the mid-20th......
Steyer, Tom
Tom Steyer is an American business executive and philanthropist who founded (1986) Farallon Capital Management......
Stop AAPI Hate
Stop AAPI Hate, nonprofit organization that works to protect the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and......
strain theory
strain theory, in sociology, proposal that pressure derived from social factors, such as lack of income or lack......
Straus family
Straus family, Jewish American immigrant family whose members prospered as owners of Macy’s department store in......
Straus, Nathan
Nathan Straus was an owner of Macy’s department store in New York City and a pioneer in public health and child......
stree-dhan
stree-dhan, in Indian society, material assets given to a woman by her parents at the time of her marriage. It......
Strong, William Duncan
William Duncan Strong was an American anthropologist who studied North and South American Indian cultures and emphasized......
structural functionalism
structural functionalism, in sociology and other social sciences, a school of thought according to which each of......
structuralism
structuralism, in cultural anthropology, the school of thought developed by the French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss,......
structuration theory
structuration theory, concept in sociology that offers perspectives on human behaviour based on a synthesis of......
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), American political organization that played a central role in......
Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), American student organization that flourished in the mid-to-late 1960s......
Sumner, William Graham
William Graham Sumner was a U.S. sociologist and economist, prolific publicist of Social Darwinism. Like the British......
sundown town
sundown town, in U.S. history, a town that excluded nonwhite people—most frequently African Americans—from remaining......
surrogate motherhood
surrogate motherhood, practice in which a woman (the surrogate mother) bears a child for a couple unable to produce......
sustainability
sustainability, the long-term viability of a community, set of social institutions, or societal practice. In general,......
Sutherland, Edwin
Edwin Sutherland was an American criminologist, best known for his development of the differential association......
Swanton, John Reed
John Reed Swanton was an American anthropologist and a foremost student of North American Indian ethnology. His......
Swiss Federation of Protestant Churches
Swiss Federation of Protestant Churches, confederation founded in 1920 to represent the interests of the churches......
Sykes, Gresham M.
Gresham M. Sykes was an American criminologist known for his contributions to the study of delinquency and prisons.......
Synagogue Council of America
Synagogue Council of America, a Jewish organization founded in 1926 to provide most congregationally affiliated......
Sørensen, Rasmus Møller
Rasmus Møller Sørensen was a teacher and politician who was a leading agitator for agrarian reform and for the......
taboo
taboo, the prohibition of an action based on the belief that such behaviour is either too sacred and consecrated......
Tajfel, Henri
Henri Tajfel was a Polish-born British social psychologist, best known for his concept of social identity, a central......
Tano
Tano, Korean holiday celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month to commemorate the start of summer and......
Tappan, Arthur
Arthur Tappan was an American philanthropist who used much of his energy and his fortune in the struggle to end......
Tarde, Gabriel
Gabriel Tarde was a French sociologist and criminologist who was one of the most versatile social scientists of......
Tata family
Tata family, family of Indian industrialists and philanthropists who founded ironworks and steelworks, cotton mills,......
Tata, Jamsetji
Jamsetji Tata was an Indian philanthropist and entrepreneur who founded the Tata Group. His ambitious endeavours......
Tax, Sol
Sol Tax was an American cultural anthropologist who founded the journal Current Anthropology. He was also known......
tea ceremony
tea ceremony, time-honoured institution in Japan, rooted in the principles of Zen Buddhism and founded upon the......
Teach for America
Teach for America (TFA), nonprofit educational organization formed in 1990 to address underachievement in American......
TED
TED, series of conferences that promote new ideas and work in a wide variety of human endeavour. TED was founded......
Templeton Prize
Templeton Prize, award presented annually to a living person who has “made an exceptional contribution to affirming......
Testino, Mario
Mario Testino is a Peruvian fashion photographer known for his evocative portraits and vivid advertisements. Testino,......
thanatology
thanatology, the description or study of death and dying and the psychological mechanisms of dealing with them.......
Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving Day, annual national holiday in the United States and Canada celebrating the harvest and other blessings......

Sociology & Society Encyclopedia Articles By Title