Sociology & Criminology for a Changing World
At first glance, children’s television appears harmless: colorful characters, simple narratives, clear conflicts. From a sociological perspective, however, children’s TV series are anything but trivial. They construct model worlds in which children learn what is considered “normal” – which family forms, occupations, conflicts, gender roles, and forms of authority are taken for granted. Children’s series
What we eat, when, how, and with whom – these are not purely personal decisions. The sociology of food reveals that eating is a deeply social practice. It signifies belonging, marks differences, reflects power relations, and has become increasingly moralized. Between everyday routines and global food systems, a complex field of research unfolds, offering insights
Émile Durkheim’s The Rules of Sociological Method (1895) marks a milestone in establishing sociology as an autonomous, empirical discipline. While earlier approaches were often philosophical or speculative, Durkheim formulated the foundations for systematic research based on observable, verifiable data. The work remains central for understanding the scientific core of sociology and the role of objective
Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates by Erving Goffman is one of the most influential sociological works of the 20th century. Originally published in 1961, the book presents a powerful analysis of psychiatric hospitals and similar institutions, which Goffman defines as total institutions. These settings, according to Goffman, profoundly
The Power Elite (1956) by C. Wright Mills is one of the most influential works in twentieth-century sociology. It offers a powerful critique of postwar American society by arguing that political, economic, and military leaders form a tightly interconnected ruling class. Unlike pluralist theories that see power as widely dispersed, Mills claims that a relatively
Auguste Comte (1798–1857) is regarded as one of the founders of sociology and a key theorist of Positivism. His concept of “Positive Philosophy” aimed to place the social sciences on the same empirical and systematic footing as the natural sciences. Comte himself coined the term “sociology”, defining it as a science grounded in observation, classification,