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Theory

Sociological Theories and Perspectives

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A sociological theory is an assumption that, from a sociological viewpoint, seeks to consider, examine, and/or describe artifacts of social reality, drawing ties between individual concepts in order to organize and substantiate sociological knowledge.

Such awareness is therefore made up of diverse theoretical structures and methodology, anomie, chaos theory, ethnomethodology, marxism, game theories, sociobiology and sociolinguistics.

General

Anomie

Chaos Theory

Ethnomethodology

Sociology of Knowledge

Marxism

General

A

C

  • Conocimiento y Sociedad
    A site on epistemology and social theory. Editor: Antonio Berthier (Universidad Mesoamericana).
  • Critical Theory & Postmodern Thought 
    A large collection of links on the theoretisation of postmodernism. Editor: Martin Ryder (School of Education, University of Colorado at Denver, USA), who describes himself as "an engineer trapped in a teacher's mind".
  • CTheory 
    An international, electronic review of books on theory, technology and culture. Sponsored by the Canadian Journal of Political and Social Theory, reviews are posted periodically of key books in contemporary discourse as well as theorisations of major "event-scenes" in the mediascape. Editors: Arthur and Marilousie Kroker.

D

  • Dead Sociologist’ Society 
    A list of the various theorists, some biographical information and a summary of their work. Comte, Marx, Spencer, Durkheim, Simmel, Weber, Veblen, Cooley, Mead, Park, Pareto and Sorokin. Editor: Larry Ridener.
  • Durkheim Pages | Resources on Durkheim
    Devoted to the presentation of information concerning Emile Durkheim. Contents: Some full texts, a complete bibliography of Durkheim's work, a timeline describing important events related to Durkheim and the Third French Republic, a glossary of terms and concepts, a bibliography of secondary material, news, a list of Durkheim scholars and mailing list, and Durkheimian Studies information. Editor: Robert Alun Jones (Univ. of Illinois, USA).

G

Gerardi, S.
[2010] Functionalism 2.0 – Rethinking an America Tradition of Conservative Thought (cybersociosite)
Functionalism has long had a bad name in sociology as the handmaiden of elite interests, justifying all manner of inequality and power abuse by implying (and sometimes suggesting outright) that these things are “functional” for our society. As this article demonstrates however, this need not be the case. Functionalism can provide a useful rubric for understanding modern society and need not be the handmaiden of conservative thought.
In: The Socjournal, 7.6.2010

H

Henslin, James M. - Southern Illionois University, Edwardsville, USA
Sociology - A Down-to-Earth Approach
Sociological resources organized by chapter of the textbook.

M

McDonaldization.com

S

  • Social Capital Gateway (SCG)
    Resources for researchers and students interested in the study of ‘social capital’. The site publishes materials for the study of social capital and related topics in a multidisciplinary perspective. Editor: Fabio Sabatini.
  • Social Science History: Time line for the history of science and social science
    A time line from before writing began to the present, linked to Andrew Roberts' book Social Science History and to other resources, including extracts and works of authors. The alphabetical index of authors is very helpful. And so are the Main Chronological Headings in plain English.
  • Stephan, Ed [1995-2008]
    The Division of Territory in Society

T

Timeline of Sociology

V

Visual Studies 
A semi-annual published journal from the International Visual Sociology Association (IVSA). It investigates the relationship between society and photographic, film and video images.

W

Anomie

Chaos Theory

Ethnomethodology

Sociology of Knowledge

 

The Sociology of knowledge studies the social sources, forms and consequences of knowledge. Central questions are: how does social organization shapes both the content and structure of knowledge? Or, how do various social, cultural, political conditions shield people from truth? The sociology of knowledge is a weapon against prevalent myths and a method for eliminating bias from social science, so that it can master the fundamental public problems of the time.

Marxism

Althusser, Louis [1918-1990]

Croce, Benedetto [1866-1952]

Fleissner, Peter [1944-]

Gramsci, Antonio (sociosite)

Ilyenkow, Evald Vasilyevich [1924-1979]

Kautsky, Karl [1854-1938]

Korsch, Karl [1886-1961]

Labriola, Antonino [1843-1904]

Lukács, Georg [1885-1971]

Luxemburg, Rosa [1871-1919]

Marx, Karl [1818-1883]

  • Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe
  • Karl Marx/Friedrich Engels 
    All the works of Marx & Engels in chronological order. Includes the complete range of the 43 volumes of the German edition MEW.
  • Marx and Engels' Writings 
    A collection of writings in economic and social theory, presented by the EServer.
  • Marxist Internet Archive (MIA)
    A continually expanding archive with the a very large database of Marxism. The Writers Archive contains collection resources (works, biographies, letters and images) on many famous marxists. It includes a fast search facility. Some days you just can't seem to remember exactly where, among the 40,000 pages of the collected works of Marx and Engels, you read that quote. M/E SEARCH will help narrow the hunt.
  • Marxist Sociology Section of the ASA
    A resource and meeting point for Marxist scholars from the American Sociological Association. The site provides information on the people of the Marxist Section, Announcements (newsletter, session new), and about Marx and Marxist Theory.

Mehring, Franz [1846-1919] 

Mészáros, István [1930-]

Trotski, Leon [1879-1940]

Uchida, Hiroshi

World Socialist Web Site

  • This site and its biweekly journal, The International Workers Bulletin (IWB) provide news reports on major world events, political analysis and commentary on a wide range of subjects. It is their hope that the material presented by the IWB will contribute to a scientific understanding of the problems that confront the modern workers' movement. The site has been established by the Socialist Equality Party in the United States, in collaboration with the International Committee of the Fourth International, to address the urgent need for a revolutionary socialist response to the crisis of the world capitalist system. It is dedicated to "the revival of a socialist and working class internationalism, based on genuine Marxist principles". All articles are full-text and free.

Rational Choice & Game Theories

  • Axelrod, Robert (University of Michigan, USA)
    Complexity of Cooperation
    An archive that contains software, documentation, bibliographies, and other resources connected with Robert Axelrod’s book The Complexity of Cooperation: Agent-Based Models of Competition and Collaboration (Princeton University Press, 1997). Including supporting material
  • Brembs, Bjön
    Chaos, cheating and cooperation: potential solutions to the Prisoner's Dilemma
    Article about the Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma (IPD) as a standard model for the evolution of cooperation. After a critical discussion of tit-for-tat and stochastic strategies as solutions, a new solution is offered: chaos.
  • Buck, Andrew, J.
    An Introduction to Game Theory with Economic Applications
  • Center for Rationality and Interactive Decision Theory - Hebrew University of Jerusalem
    Engaged in research into the various aspects of rationality in decision-making: making decisions in a manner calculated to yield maximal benefit. Of particular interest is interactive decision theory ("game theory"), which analyzes what happens when rational people with different goals interact, each making his own decisions on the basis of what is best for him - while taking into account that the others are doing the same. Rationality and interactive decision theory underline much of economic theory and have had an important impact on such diverse areas as evolutionary biology, political science, computer science, social psychology, law, statistics, philosophy and the foundations of mathematics.
  • Elster, Jon
  • Games and Software
    • Gambit
      A library of game theory software and tools for the construction and analysis of finite extensive (n-person) games and strategic games. Gambit is a set of software tools for doing computation on finite, noncooperative games. It has a graphical interface for interactively building and analyzing general games in extensive or strategy form; a number of command-line tools for computing Nash equilibria and other solution concepts in games; and, a set of file formats for storing and communicating games to external tools. All Gambit features are available through the use of a graphical interface, which runs under multiple operating systems. The Gambit Project was founded in the mid-1980’ by Richard McKelvey at the California Institute of Technology (USA).
    • Zero Sum Game Solver
      David Levine gives you a chance to play some games: Zero-Sum Game Solver, Guessing Game & Cooperative Learning Game.
    • Prisoners’ Dilemma Game 
      A fiendish cyberspace wizard has locked you and Serendip into a diabolical game with 5 rules.
    • Interactive strategy games
      This 'game theory without the theory' is presented by the GameTheory.Net.
  • Game Theory.net
    A resource for educators and students of game theory. The site contains lecture nots, links to text books, and interactive applets and games. Editor: Mike Shor (Vanderbilt University, USA).
  • Gintis, Herbert - University of Massachusetts, USA
    • [2000] Game Theory Evolving 
      Gintis presents an undergraduate/graduate text on advanced game theory (bargaining, priors, probability theory and Nash equilibrium). Only the preface is free available, but in the paper section there is other material on game theory (and other topics).
    • [2009] The Bounds of Reason: Game Theory and the Unification of the Behavioral Sciences
      Gintis argues that game theory is an indispensable tool in modeling human behavior. “Behavioral disciplines that reject or peripheralize game theory are theoretically handicapped.” However, the game theory needs a broader social theor to have explenatory power. Gintis wants to contribute to the task of unifying the behavioral sciences. One of his —controversial— central thesis is: “The bounds of reason are not forms of irrationality but rather forms of sociality.”
  • International Game Theory Review (IGTR) [full text]
  • International Journal of Game Theory (IJGT) [abstracts]
  • International Society of Dynamic Games (ISDG)
    The society on the field of dynamic game theory that promotes interactions among researchers interested in this field of academic study.
  • McCain, Roger A.
    Game Theory
    A nice introduction to most of the essential ideas in game theory.
  • Melberg, Hans O.
    Decision Theory: Papers by Hans O. Melberg
  • Levine, David K. - UCLA, USA
    What is Game Theory?
    Levine explains what (noncooperative) game theory largely deals with: how intelligent individuals interact with one another in an effort to achieve their own goals. He gives one instructive example, the very famous Prisoner’s Dilemma game. When you like to learn more about game theory, Levine suggests some good books to study.
  • Polak, Benjamin - Yale University, USA
  • Rachels, Stuart [2009] - University of Alabama
    On Three Alleged Theories of Rational Behavior
    What behavior is rational? It’s rational to act ethically, some think. Others endorse instrumentalism about rational behavior. Still others say that acting rationally always involves pursuing one’s self-interest. Many philosophers have given each of these answers. But these answers don’t really conflict; they aren’t vying to describe some shared concept or to account for some common subject matter. Insofar as this matter is debated, it is a pseudo-debate. The different uses of ‘rational action’ differ merely in meaning. 
    In: Utilitas, 21(4): 506-520.
  • Roth, Al
    Al Roth’s Game Theory and Experimental Economic Page
    Roth presents some introductory articles on bargaining, matching, and experimental economics; abtracts, excerpts, and osme complete copies of selected papers; things to participate in (experiments of the web, trounaments, conferences), and some game theory servers.
  • Walker, Paul (Univ. of Canterbury, New Zealand)
    History of Game Theory 
    The timeline starts in first fice centuries A. D. Game theory started in with the socalled marriage contract problem in the Babylonian Talmud (you might call it a ‘bigamist dilemma’). Further on the road you will meet James Waldegrave, John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern, Herbet Simon, Kuhn and Braithwaite. The journey will be concluded after you read the excellent bibliography.
  • Zagare, Frank C. (Boston University, USA)
    Recent Advances in Game Theory and Political Science

Sociobiology - Evolution

  • Actionbioscience.org
    Evolution: What is life’s history on Earth?
    A resource of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. It contains a collection of articles on several topics of evolutionary sciences.
  • Archaelogical Finds of Early Humans
    Evolution embodies the overall changes of one or more inherited traits found in populations of different organisms over an extended period of time. Human evolution or anthropogeny describes the origin, evolution and speciation of Homo sapiens from other hominids, great apes and mammals. The evolutionary cycle of the modern human refers to the genus Homo. However, studies often trace back human evolution through other hominids, such as the Australopithecines, where the Homo genus emerged from about 2.3 to 2.4 million years ago on the modern continent of Africa. Humans underwent a period of speciation along with the chimpanzees roughly 5 to 7 million years ago.
  • Becoming Human
    An interactive documentary experience that tells the story of our origins. It contains up-to-date scientific information about the study of human evolution and paleoanthropology. The site has been developed by the Arizona State University’s Institute of Human Origins (IHO) and has won a Webby Award for the Best Science Site.
  • BBC
    Evolution Website
    The web companion to the British television special presents a richt compilation of features, including the full text of The Origin of the Species with an illustrated guide from the BBC. “Natural Selections” is a collection of video conversations that include Douglas Adams on the lemurs of Madagascar, and David Attenborough on the Archeopteryx, an extinct creature that was part bird, part reptile. The site includes a number of articles by Darwin experts (Adrian Desmond, Richard Dawkins), and an extensive bibliography compiled by John S. Wilkins.
  • Colby, Chris
    Introduction to Evolutionary Biology
    A definition of of evolutionary and an attempt to explain basics of the theory of evolution and correct many of the misconceptions. Includes a large collection of links on evolutionary biology and the creation/evolution controversy.
  • Darwin, Charles [1809-1882]
  • Dawkins, Richard
    • The World of Richard Dawkins - Evolution, Science, and Reason
    • [1976/1989] The Selfish Gene
      Genes are selfish, even when seemingly altruistic. The world of the selfish gene is one of savage competition, ruthless exploitation, and deceit. But there are also acts of apparent altruism found in nature. Bees commit suicide when they sting to protect the hive, and birds warn the flock of an approaching hawk. Do these acts contravene the fundamental law of gene selfishness? Dawkins denies it. But he also shows that the selfish gene is the subtle gene and that our species might have the power to rebel against the designs of the selfish gene. Read Chapter 11 - Memes: the new replicators.
    • [1982/1999] The Extended Phenotype - The long reach of the gene
      New edition (June 1999) with an afterword by Daniel Dennett.
      An analysis of the evolution of life, and in particular of the logic of natural selection and the level in the hierarchy of life at which natural selection can be said to act.
    • [1986] The Blind Watchmaker -Why the Evidence of Revolution Reveals a Universe without Design
      Dawkins explains why the evidence of evolution reveals a universe without design. One of the most famour arguments of the creationist theory of the universe is this: just as a watch is too complicated and too functional to have springs into existence by accident, so too must all living things, with their far greater complexity, be purposefully designed. Dawkins demonstrates that this analogy (Argument from Design) is false. Natural selection is a unconscious, automatic, blind yet essentially non-random process that has no purpose in mind. If it can be said to play the role of watchmaker in nature, it is the blind watchmaker.
    • [1991] Growing up in the universe [video]
      At the Royal Institution, Richard Dawkins asks us to look at our universe with new eyes. Packed with big questions and illuminating visuals, this memorable journey through the history of life magnifies the splendor of evolution and our place in it.
    • [1995] River out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life
      A river of DNA flows through time and through ourselves. How did the replication bomb we call "life" begin and where in the world or in the universe is it heading? Like all living things, human beings are mere vehicles of information, gene carriers whose primary purpose is propagatin of their own DNA. Dawkins explains evolution as a flowering river of genes, genes meeting, competing, uniting, and sometimes separating to form a new species.
    • [1996] Climbing Mount Improbable
      Case studies of natural selection in action. The human eye is so complex and works so precisely that one might believe its current shape and function must be the product of design. How could such an intricate object have come out by chance? Yet this is exactly what Dawkins argues: life evolves through the accident of mutation, and perfection in the natural world is the result of supreme, and fascinating, improbability. The metaphor of Mount Improbable represents this combination of perfection and improbability.
    • [1996] Break the Barrier, part 1 [9:40], 2 [9:51], 3 [7:35], 4 [9:20], 5 [8:19], 6 [7:33] 
      In this documentary from the Channel-4 series Dawkins meets people who have experienced the wonders of science first-hand. We meet the astronomer who first discovered pulsars, the geneticist who invented DNA fingerprinting, a scientist who discovered a protein that causes cancer, and others.With so many expressing paranormal beliefs and ignorance of science, Dawkins encourages viewers to contrast these ancient superstitions with the power and beauty of our scientific achievements and understanding. Dawkins interviews famous admirers of science such as Douglas Adams and David Attenborough, and asks them why science means so much to them. We also see how dangerous ignorance of science can be in classrooms, courts, and beyond.
    • [1998] Darwin and Darwinism
      An explanation of why Darwin was important and the theory of Evolution by Natural Selection. First published in the British Edition of Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 98.
    • [1998] Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder
      Keats believed that Newton had destroyed all the poetry of the rainbow by reducing it to the prismatic colors. Dawkins guides us towards the opposite conclusion: science is, or ought to be, the inspiration for great poetry. Dawkins says that Newton's unweaving is the key to much of modern astronomy and to the breathtaking poetry of modern cosmology. Mysteries don't lose their poetry because they are solve: the solution often is more beautiful than the puzzle, uncovering deeper mystery. So human beings can always keep their appetite for wonder.
    • [2002] Militant Atheism [video]
      In this TEDTalk Dawkins urges all atheists to openly state their position -- and to fight the incursion of the church into politics and science. A fiery, funny, powerful talk.
    • [2003] A Devil’s Chaplain
    • [2004] The Ancestor’s Tale
    • [2005] Queerer than we can suppose: the strangeness of science [22:43]
      In this TEDTalk Dawkins makes a case for “thinking the improbable” by looking at how the human frame of reference limits our understanding of the universe.
    • [2006] The God Delusion
      Dawkins puts theological doctrines to the same kind of scrutiny that any scientific theory must withstand. His book has been called the most coherent and devastating indictment of religion. There is no God. All religion is wrong. In this video interviewDawkins explains why religion is absurd and pointless.
    • [2006] Documentary: The God Delusion, part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 [video]
      Dawkins explores the unproven beliefs that are treated as factual by many religions and the extremes to which some followers have taken them. He argues that the process of non-thinking called faith is not a way of understanding the world, but instead stands in fundamental opposition to modern science and the scientific method, and is divisive and dangerous.
    • [2006] The Virus of Faith, part 1 [9:54], 2 [10:05], 3 [9:50] 4 [9:54], 5 [8:42]
      In this documentary Dawkins opines that the moral framework of religions is warped, and argues against the religious indoctrination of children.
    • [2007] Hard Talk, part 1 [9:13], 2 [9:56], 3 [3:57]
      Richard Dawkins is interviewed by the BBC’s Stephen Sackur for News24’s HARDtalk.
    • [2008] God Strikes Back, part 1 [10:49], 2 [9:23], 3 [9:30], 4 [9:59], 5 [9:09] 
      This 2008 Channel-4 documentary is part of the series ‘The Genius of Darwin’. Dawkins examines why Darwin’s theory remains one of the most controversial ideas in history.
    • [2008] The Enemies of Reason: 1. Slaves to Superstition [47:54], 2. The Irrational healt Service [47:48]
      According to Dawkins there are two ways of looking at the world: through faith and superstition or through the rigours of logic, observation and evidence – in other words, through reason. Reason and a respect for evidence are precious commodities, the source of human progress and our safeguard against fundamentalists and those who profit from obscuring the truth. Yet, today, society appears to be retreating from reason. Apparently harmless but utterly irrational belief systems from astrology to New Age mysticism, clairvoyance to alternative health remedies are booming. Dawkins confronts what he sees as an epidemic of irrational, superstitious thinking. He explains the dangers the pick and mix of knowledge and nonsense poses in the internet age, and passionately re-states the case for reason and science.
    • [2009] The Greatest Show on Earth - The Evidence for Evolution
      Systematic opposition to the fact of evolution is now flourishing as never before, especially in America. Teachers witness insidious attempts to undermine the status of science in their classrooms. Richard Dawkins takes on creationists, including followers of ‘Intelligent Design’ and all those who question the fact of evolution through natural selection. He sifts through fascinating layers of scientific facts and disciplines to build a cast-iron case.
      In this video Dawkins introduces his book: Introduction to the book
      In this interview Dawkins explains why this book is here to prove once and for all that humans did not walk with dinosaurs. He tries to shake some sense into creationists: “I suppose anybody who reads it should no longer be capable of thinking evolution isn’t a fact. I’d like to think there’s got to be something wrong with people who finish the book and don’t think that.”
    • [2009] Creationists, now they're coming for your children
      In: The Times / The Sunday Times, August 23, 2009.
      Dawkins argues that people who reject the theory of evolution —more than 40 per cent of the American population— should be placed on a level with Holocaust deniers.
    • [2009] The Selfish Gene & Unselfish Humankind, part 1 | 2 | 3 [video]
    • [2010] The Selfish Gene Prologue [video]
    • [2011] Should doctors be Darwinian? [video]
    • Wikipedia: Richard_Dawkins
  • Evolution
    A serie of articles on evolution, presented by 2think.org.
  • Evolution and Human Behavior
    An Interdisciplinary Journal of Research, Theory and Integrative Reviews, with Open Peer Commentary. Official journal of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society (EHB).
  • Evolutionary Theory
    An organization dedicated to promoting the biological sciences and evolutionary theory. You’ll find papers, an archive, a mailing list and a chat room.
  • EvoTutor
    Learning about evolution through interactive simulation. Created by Alan R. Lemmon.
  • Fog, Anger - Copenhagen, Denmark
    • [1997] Cultural r/k Selection
      In: Journal of Memetics
    • [1999] Cultural Selection
      An interdisciplinary theory that challenges traditional sociology by its superior ability to explain the irrational or unplanned aspects of culture. It seems that our society is not as rational as we would like to believe.
    • [2003] The gap between cultural selection theory and sociology
      Cultural selection theorists and sociologists are so far from each other in terms of concepts and methods that they can hardly communicate and understand each other’s theories, even though they are studying the same phenomena. The strengths and weaknesses of each of these two paradigms are discussed. As both paradigms have something valuable to offer, which the other hasn’t, there is every reason to try to reconcile the two. This paper offers some suggestions as to why the sociological tradition has drifted away from the methods of the natural sciences, which cultural selection theory adheres to. The communication gap between the two camps is analyzed in terms of cognitive psychology, and some suggestions for bridging the gap are offered. 
      Paper presented at the 2003 meeting of the International Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Biology.
    • [2003] Explaining unintended developments with cultural selection theory
      Cultural selection theory has been rejected by many social scientists. The objections against this theory are listed and commented. Some of the objections can be dismissed as expressions of preference for one perspective over another. Different perspectives lead scientists to make different kinds of discoveries, but all perspectives are valid, and no theory or perspective can cover all aspects of social phenomena. The limitations of cultural selection theory are discussed and some improvements are proposed. It is concluded that cultural selection theory can explain certain phenomena that other theories cannot explain, especially phenomena that are unplanned or unintended.
    • [2006/9] An Evolutionary Theory of Cultural Differentiation
      In: Proceedings of the XV world congress of the International Union for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences Lisbon 2006. Publishers of British Archaeological Reports, Oxford 2009.
    • [2013] Towards a universal theory of competition and selection
      Competition takes place in many different spheres of life. This paper compares observations from economics, evolutionary biology, memetics and other fields of study in order to find similarities and differences between competition phenomena and their effects in different fields. A tentative framework is constructed for describing different competition phenomena and their effects. A systematic study of competition has many potential applications. For example, the fields of cultural dynamics and political communication could possibly benefit from a more systematic theoretical focus on the effects of competition.
    • [2014] Can a collapse of current economic empires be predicted?
      The article applies a number of theories with predictive potential from diverse areas including economics, history, systems theory and evolutionary psychology in an attempt to look into the future world situation. Current political and economic power structures in the world have certain similarities with great empires of the past, but also important differences. Four possible future scenarios are constructed, all of which indicate pervasive changes in the power structures of the world. None of the four scenarios are completely avoiding economic chaos, overexploitation of resources and destruction of environment.
  • International Society for Human Ethology (ISHE)
    ISHE encourages empirical research in all fields of human behavior using the full range of methods developed in biology and the human behavioral sciences and operating within the conceptual framework provided by evolutionary theory.
  • Kenyon, Paul (Department of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Devon, UK)
    Biological Bases of Behaviour 
    Learning material for students of evolutionary psychology and behavioral neuroscience. It covers themes like neurotransmission, depression, schizophrenia, hormones & stress, drug dependence & anxiety, animal behaviour, and psychosexual differentiation. The sections contain a lecture overview, graphics from transparencies used in class, audio clips, and animated images.
  • McEvoy, Chad Joseph [1995]
    A Consideration of the Sociobiological Dimensions of Human Xenophobia and Ethnocentrism
  • Palomar College
    • Primates
      The Taxonomy and General Characteristics of Prosimians, Monkeys, Apes, and Humans.
    • Humans
      A tutorial in which the family Hominidae (which includes our species, Homo sapiens) is analyzed.
  • PBS
    • Evolution: Humans
      A journey into where we're from and where we're going. In the 8 million years or so since the earliest ancestors of humans diverged from the apes, at least a dozen humanlijke species, called hominids, have lived on Earth. Fifty thousand years ago, something happened — the modern human mind emerged, triggering a creative, technological, and social explosion. What forces contributed to that breakthrough? Where might our power of mind ultimately lead us?
    • Origins of Humankind
      A portal for the human evolution community.
  • TalkOrigins Archive, The
    Exploring the Creation/Evolution Controversy. Talk.origins is a Usenet newsgroup devoted to the discussion of biological and physical origins. Most discussions center on the creation/evolution controversy; other topics of discussion include the origin of life, geology, biology, catastrophism, cosmology and theology. It’s a collection of articles and essays, most of which have appeared in talk.origins at one time or another.
  • Sociobiologie
    A French site that aims at the vulgarization of sociobiology. The site offers a definition and basic concepts of sociobiology, and an introduction in sociobiological theory. Editor: Barhouf.
  • Wilkins, John [1996-2003] (Melbourne, Australia)
    Darwin's Precursors and Influences
  • Wilson, Edward O. 
    • Introduction: What is Sociobiology?
      In: Michael S. Gregory, Anita Silvers, and Diane Sutch (eds.) Sociobiology and Human Nature: An Interdisciplinary Critique and Defense. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, pp. 1-12.
    • [1998] Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge
      In: Los Angeles Times, July,9,1998. Excerpts of his conversation with Times medical writer Terence Monmaney.

Sociolinguistics

  • Bibliographic Resources on Linguistics
    Editor: Harold F. Schiffman (University of Pennsylvania, USA)
  • Center for Language, Interaction & Culture - University of California at Los Angeles, USA
  • Constructed Human Languages, edited by Chris Bogart
  • Language and Social Interaction 
    A devision of the National Communication Association (NCA).
  • Language Variation and Change
  • Linguist List
    A large linguistic resource providing information on language and language analysis.
  • Linguistic Data Consuortium
    An interdisciplinary research project of the Linguistic Data Consortium (LDC) at the University of Pennsylvania, whose goal is to foster fundamental research in the study of human and animal communication by providing standards and tools for creating, searching, and publishing primary linguistic materials via networked computers. It emphasizes the linkage of transcripts and other annotations to digitized video and audio records of real-life interactions.
  • Linguistic Society America
  • Tannen, Deborah (Georgetown University, USA)
    Discourse Analysis
    An introduction to the analysis of language 'beyond the sentence'.
  • Virtual Library: Applied Linguistics
  • Winford, Donald (Ohio State University, USA)
    Languages in Contact
    What happens when people speaking different languages are having regular contacts? In some cases only a few words are borrowed, while in others whole new languages may be formed. The author analyses the dynamics of language contact from a linguistic perspective.
  • Wolfram, Walt (North Carolina State University, USA)
    Language as Social Behavior
    An explanation of the basic notion underlying sociolinguistics: language use symbolically represents fundamental dimensions of social behavior and human interaction.

Sociology of Time

General

  • Bergman, Werner [1992]
    The Problem of Time in Sociology
    A survey of sociological and psychological literature dealing with the problem of time. First the contributions of the classical writers on the sociology of time are discussed: Durkheim, Schütz, Sorokin, Merten and Mead. Then six themas in de contemporary sociology of time are examined: (1) time perspective and time orientation; (2) temporal ordening and social structure: time reckoning and the social construction of time schedules; (3) the time structure of specific social systems and profession; (4) the evolution of social consciousness of time; (5) social change and time; and (6) the concern with time in social theory and methodology. 
    In: Time & Society, 1(1): 81-134
  • Domingues, José Maurício [1995] 
    Sociological Theory and the Space-Time Dimension of Social Systems
    In: Time & Society, 4(2): 58-66
  • Daylight Saving Time
  • Gleick, James
    Faster - The acceleration of just about everything
    “We’re speeding up; our technology is speeding up; our arts and entertainment and the pace of invention and change — it’s all speeding up. And we care. If we don’t understand time, we become its victims.”
  • Kearl, Michael (Trinity University, Texas, USA)
    The Times of Our Lives - Investigations into Socio-chronology
    A Sociology of Time and Social Rhythms. A study of time and the various timetables and rhythms that shape our behaviors and thoughts. The issues are: the different meanings we give to each day of the week & months of the year; the "quality time" that working parents worry about sharing enough of with their children; the pressure we feel to be "on time" in the face of dreaded deadlines; the various social clocks whose tickings seem to govern our lives, such as the ages at which we believe we should be married, have children, or be "peaking" in our careers; the emergence of "flexitime" and four-day weeks in the world of work; and the types of time that religions impose to fortify the moralities of their members, such as eternity in heavens or hells, purgatory time, or escaping the cycle of death and rebirth.
  • Lee, Heejin / Liebenau, Jonathan
    [2000] Time and the Internet at the Turn of the Millennium
    In: Time & Society: 9(1):43-56
    Reflections on the possible changes which the Internet may have on our concept of time have focused on notions of `timeless time' (Castells), `absolute time for everybody' (Negroponte), and `virtual time'.
  • Moore, Carol
    Sunspot Cycles and Activist Strategy
  • National Museum of American History
    On Time
    An exploration of the changing ways we have measured, used and thought about time over the past 300 years. It describes the history of keeping time from the ‘marking time’ (marking days by rising and setting sun, phases of the moon, and cycles of hunger and sleep) to the ‘expanding time’ of the digital age where we count nanoseconds and even picoseconds (trillionths of a second).
  • Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
    Tempus Fugit: Time Flies
    A wonderful designed exhibit on the character of time. It features sections on 20th Centrury Time, World Times, and Conservation Time. The “20th Century time” takes you on a walk through the century - from the theory of relativity to the internet - and demonstrates the altered sense of time. “World Times” concentrates on different conceptions of time embodied in art from primitive times to the present. Western culture sees time as a single line, leading from past to present to future. But some cultures see time very differently: as a poetic journey, as the memory of an ancestor, or even as a cosmic cycle. Here you can discover different meanings of time. In “Conservation Time” you can see how conservation science can uncover the history of a work's composition and the changes wrought upon it over the course of its lifetime. You can, for instance, see that behind the final version of Bronzino’s Portrait of a Young Man there are two other hidden versions.
  • Philippe, Patek
    Concerning Time 
    This Swizz watchmaker created some impressive multimedia presentations to let us understand the hours, minutes and seconds. He explores time as it has occured to priests, poets, writers and painters across civilizations and through history.
  • Time & Society
    An international peer reviewed journal that publishes articles, reviews, and scholarly comment discussing the workings of time and temporality across a range of disciplines. It focuses on methodological and theoretical problems, including the use of time in organizational contexts. You’ll also find critiques of and proposals for time-related changes in the formation of public, social, economic, and organizational policies.
  • Timelapse.com
    A collection of modern cinematic effects created by playing with time.
  • Wikipedia: Time | Eight-hour-day | List_of_cycles | Season

Clocks - Time Measurement

  • A Walk through Time - The Evolution of Time Measurement through the Ages
    Presented by a NIST Physical Measurement Labratory.
  • Clockworks - From Sundials to the Atomic Second
    An exhibit presented by Britannica.com
  • Horology -The Index
    Presented by the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors
    The science of time, timekeepers (clocks, watches) and timekeeping. Provides a comprehensive index and crosslinks to a mountain of horological information.
  • It’s About Time - University of Wisconson
    Advances in timekeeping accuracy and atomic clocks. Only one thing is sure: You can’t take time for granted. Time slows under intense gravity and extreme velocity. You get near the speed of light, and time just about stops.
  • Quartz clocks and watches
    How quartz watches and clocks work. The quartz crystal in a modern timekeeper acts as an oscillator, replacing the balance wheel of the mechanical watch. It vibrates at a constant rate, measured in cycles per second. An electronic circuit counts these regular vibrations and translates them to time of day, date, or other time-related information.
    Presented by Explain that Stuff.
  • Wikipedia: Clock | Electric watch | Quartz clock

Present Time

  • Greenwich Mean Time (GTM)
  • TimeTicker
    A clever and easy to use tool to know how late it is, created by Martin Zwernemann.
  • World Clock - Time Zones
    Current times at many cities around the world.
  • WorldTime
    A service featuring an interactive world atlas, information on local time as well as sunrise and sunset times in several hundred cities, and a database of public holidays worldwide. Easy to see time by timezone. Presented by HAB Software, Hamburg, Germany. Zooming in and out, going against the time, and getting ahead of time.
  • The Official US Time

Calendars

  • Calendar Converter
    Each date entered will be converted to: Gregorian, Julian, Hebrew, Islamic, Persian, French republican calendar, and Julian day number. Editor: John Walker (Fourmilab, Switzerland).
  • Calendars Through The Ages
    Explore how we organize our lives in accordance with the movements of the earth, moon, and sun. Systems of counting the days, months, and years.
  • Gregorian Calendar

Personal Times

  • Aging - SocioSite
  • Accelerated aging: Werner syndrome (WS) | Progeria - Wikipedia
    Disorders characterized by the appearance of premature aging.
  • Biorhythm - Wikipedia
  • Death Clock
    The Death Clock is a friendly reminder that life is slipping away... second by second. This clock reminds you just how short life is.
  • Menopause - Wikipedia
    The permanent cessation of the primary functions of the human ovaries that marks the transition from reproductive to non-reproductive — the end of fertility.
  • Hutchison, Elizabeth D. [2007]
    A Life Course Perspective - Chapter 1
  • Life course approach - Wikipedia
    A life course is a sequence of socially defined events and roles that the individual enacts over time.
  • Life Course Theory
    An explenaition of the historical development, key principles and concepts, including selected research applications. Presented by the Marriage and Family Encyclopedia.
  • Sherman, Elaine [1980] - Hofstra University, USA
    Aging, Life Cybles and the Sociology of Time
    In: Advances in Consumer Research Volume 17, 1990, p. 902-904
  • Archiv für Lebenslaufforschung (ALLF)
    The German Archive for Life Course Research contains interview data from qualitative social research. The documented and digitised social science data collections can be used for secundary research, learning and teaching.

Generational Times

Social Times

Google Scholar - Stand on the shoulders of giants

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