Macrosociology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Macrosociology is a sociological approach that analyzes societies, social systems or populations on a large scale or at a high level of abstraction.[1] It is considered one of the main foundations of sociology, alongside microsociology and mesosociology). Macrosociology can also be the the analysis of large collectivities (eg. the city, the church). [2] Lenski [3] defines macrosociology simply as "concerned with human societies". Important representatives of macrosociological theories are:
- Karl Marx; who analyzed society from the perspective of class conflict between workers and owners
- Max Weber; who viewed society as rapidly modernizing and looked at the effects of this process, such as bureaucratization
- Emile Durkheim; who viewed individual issues as reflective of greater social patterns, completing the first sociological study (which linked suicide to societal trends)
[edit] References
- ^ Craig Calhoun(ed) Dictionary of the Social Sciences (Article: Macrosociology), Oxford University Press, 2002
- ^ John Scott & Gordon Marshall (eds) Dictionary of Sociology, Oxford University Press, 2000
- ^ Gerhard Lenski, Human societies: An introduction to Macrosociology, McGraw-Hill, 1982, ISBN 0-07-037176-8
[edit] Further reading
- Charles Tilly, Macrosociology Past and Future in Newsletter of the Comparative & Historical Section, American Sociological Association, (1995) 8: 1, 3, 4, online

