Sociology Discourse Community Essay

Sociology is defined as the study of human society’s development, structure, and functioning. It is the subject of sociology that provides us with the tools and methods needed to understand an array of increasingly complex and rapidly changing social environments. As a student of the sociology discourse community, instructors have introduced students to a survey of influential theories, methods, and subtopics in this community. These were presented in sociology texts which take multiple forms, such as reviewing sociological literature, applying or testing a concept or theory, or a combination of both. Despite there being different techniques used to write sociological literature, there are common values in the sociology discourse community

In sociological literature this value is created through the inclusion of all elements of a particular topic and the use of correct terminology. Sociologist aim to share all aspects of their main idea when writing so that the audience is able to thoroughly understand the material. In “Understanding Mass Incarceration”, the rate of which women in the United States are incarcerated is higher than that of more than three dozen countries, including Japan, Nigeria, and Pakistan.1 The author could have just stated the incarceration rate of women in the United States which is 67 per 100,000. Instead, the author made sure to mention that the incarceration rate of women in the United States is higher than the countries listed above. Emphasis is placed on the comparison so the audience has a better understanding of the topic at hand. Comprehensibility is also valued within my sociology class; Professor Gordon assigns multiple readings each week which are associated with the topic being discussed in lecture. For instance, for the week of power and resistance there were three different readings that covered this topic. One reading was based on how power is measured and another was about social movements. Professor Gordon hoped that by reading about the multiple aspects of power and resistance students would comprehend the topic more thoroughly. Accordingly, sociologist and professors admire the inclusion of all the elements of a certain topic in sociological literature to boost