Sociology & Society, WAC-WOR
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.
Sociology & Society Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Joachim Wach was a Protestant theologian and one of the foremost scholars in the modern study of religion. As a......
Morrison Remick Waite was the seventh chief justice of the United States (1874–88), who frequently spoke for the......
Lillian D. Wald was an American nurse and social worker who founded the internationally known Henry Street Settlement......
prince of Wales, title reserved exclusively for the heir apparent to the British throne. It dates from 1301, when......
Madam C.J. Walker was an American businesswoman and philanthropist who was one of the first African American female......
Anthony F.C. Wallace was a Canadian-born American psychological anthropologist and historian known for his analysis......
George Wallace was an American Democratic politician who was a four-time governor of Alabama (1963–67, 1971–79,......
Willard Walter Waller was a U.S. sociologist and educator who did much to establish the fields of sociology of......
Wilson D. Wallis was an American anthropologist noted for his explorations of science and religion in small-scale......
Walpurgis Night, a traditional holiday celebrated on April 30 in northern Europe and Scandinavia. In Sweden typical......
Sir Francis Walsingham was an English statesman and diplomat who was the principal secretary (1573–90) to Queen......
Warburg family, a family whose members were eminent in banking, philanthropy, and scholarship. Presumably of Italian......
Lester Frank Ward was an American sociologist who was instrumental in establishing sociology as an academic discipline......
W. Lloyd Warner was an influential American sociologist and anthropologist who was noted for his studies on class......
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is popularly associated with Vlad the Impaler, and some scholars do believe that the literary......
Margaret Floy Washburn was an American psychologist whose work at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie made it a leading......
Max Weber was a German sociologist and political economist best known for his thesis of the “Protestant ethic,”......
Franz Weidenreich was a German anatomist and physical anthropologist whose reconstruction of prehistoric human......
Sanford I. Weill is an American financier and philanthropist whose company, Travelers Group, merged with Citicorp......
welfare state, concept of government in which the state or a well-established network of social institutions plays......
Westboro Baptist Church, church in Topeka, Kansas, that became well known for its strident opposition to homosexuality......
Diedrich Westermann was a German scholar of African languages and culture who refined and extended the work of......
Edward Westermarck was a Finnish sociologist, philosopher, and anthropologist who denied the widely held view that......
Western European Union (WEU), former association (1955–2011) of 10 countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Greece,......
Western World, cultural-geographic descriptor generally referring to the countries of western Europe and nations......
Westernization, the adoption of the practices and culture of western Europe by societies and countries in other......
Astor. Rockefeller. Kennedy. Bezos. In 2011 the Occupy Wall Street protest movement spread the term 1 percent in......
On June 16, 1904, Irish writer James Joyce had his first date with Nora Barnacle, a woman from western Ireland......
You hear about it on Twitter, in news headlines, and at Thanksgiving dinner. But what is cultural appropriation,......
In the 2010s intersectionality became the rallying cry of many left-wing activists fighting for social justice.......
On January 1, 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, United States President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation......
From the late 1870s until the triumphs of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and ’60s, regimented racial segregation......
Twitter user and activist April Reign first tweeted “#OscarsSoWhite they asked to touch my hair” on January 15,......
In August of 1971, Dr. Philip G. Zimbardo of Stanford University in California conducted what is widely considered......
The primary difference between areas defined as urban (Latin: urbanus, “related to the city”) and rural (Latin:......
In some cultures, pants have been common garments worn by women for centuries or millennia. This was not the case......
The first Thanksgiving is said to have taken place in 1621, when the English colonists (Pilgrims) of Plymouth,......
Halloween is believed to have connections to the festival of Samhain celebrated among the Celts of ancient Ireland.......
The Rothschild family is arguably the most famous European banking dynasty in modern history. In the late 18th......
In 1893 New Zealand became the first country in the world to extend the right to vote to women. Dozens more would......
After the conclusion of each NBA regular season, a group of 100 journalists and broadcasters votes to determine......
White Father, a Roman Catholic international missionary society of priests and brothers whose sole field of activity......
White Rose, German anti-Nazi group formed in Munich in 1942. Unlike the conspirators of the July Plot (1944) or......
Leslie A. White was an American anthropologist best known for his theories of the evolution of culture and for......
John Hay Whitney was an American multimillionaire and sportsman who had a multifaceted career as a publisher, financier,......
First presented in 1959, the Grammy Awards are widely regarded as the most prestigious prizes in the music industry.......
After the glitzy red-carpet arrivals, the feel-good montages, and the host’s opening roast, the Oscars ceremony......
When Hillary Clinton, running as the first female presidential candidate of a major political party, won the popular......
The Statue of Liberty is one of the most iconic sculptures in the Western world and is often seen as a symbol of......
First presented in 1929, the Academy Awards are among the most prestigious prizes in the film industry. Competition......
People from New Zealand are called “Kiwis” because of their unique and symbolic connection to the kiwi, a flightless......
Fireworks have been part and parcel of U.S. Independence Day, the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration......
The jack-o’-lantern has a long history with Halloween, although our favorite demonic faces haven’t always been......
Annual celebrations and commemorations came about with the invention of the calendar. Not much is known about the......
Did you know that parts of Halloween may have been around for more than a thousand years? What began as serious......
Juneteenth (also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, and Jubilee Day) commemorates the end of slavery in the......
As celebrated in the United States, the holiday of Thanksgiving usually revolves around a bountiful meal. Typical......
Thanksgiving is not a good time to be a turkey in the United States. But at least one of these otherwise hapless......
A crown. A ring. Your cousin. What else do you need for a royal wedding? At this point, the fact that so many royals......
“February is Black History Month.” Since the 1970s that familiar declaration has introduced countless celebrations......
Along the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory in the Bay of Bengal in India lies a remote island called......
The origins of Labor Day can be traced to the labor movement of the late 19th century in the United States. There......
Colorful uplifting parades with floats and celebrities, joyous festivals, workshops, picnics, and parties are among......
St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17 because, according to legend, it marks the death of St. Patrick, the......
Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays in the United States, but formally establishing the day on which......
If we pronounce the title Mrs. as “missus,” why is there an r in it? Despite its pronunciation, the abbreviation......
Each March, Americans celebrate National Women’s History Month: a chance to recognize women’s varied, and often......
On the morning of January 25, 1884, Jane Pitts woke up to newspaper headlines that her daughter Helen, without......
In the United States, Martin Luther King, Jr., Day is observed annually on the third Monday in January. The day......
Peter A.B. Widener was an American transportation magnate and philanthropist. The son of poor parents, Widener......
Maximilian, prince zu Wied-Neuwied was a German aristocratic naturalist, ethnographer, and explorer whose observations......
Godfrey Wilson was a British anthropologist and analyst of social change in Africa. In 1938 Wilson was appointed......
William Julius Wilson is an American sociologist whose views on race and urban poverty helped shape U.S. public......
Winkler Prins Encyclopedie, the standard Dutch encyclopaedia, published by Elsevier in Amsterdam. The first edition......
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was established in 1968 by the Bank......
The turn of seasons from winter to spring (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) is celebrated with great zeal and......
Anna Wintour is a British editor who, as the longtime editor in chief (1988– 2025) of American Vogue magazine,......
Louis Wirth was an American sociologist who pioneered in the study of urban problems. A noted teacher at the University......
Clark Wissler was an American anthropologist who developed the concept of culture area. Though educated as a psychologist......
Annie Turner Wittenmyer was an American relief worker and reformer who helped supply medical aid and dietary assistance......
Marvin Wolfgang was an American criminologist who was described by the British Journal of Criminology as “the most......
Beginning in the mid-19th century, there existed a successful and influential community of American women sculptors.......
Throughout history, women have been interested and involved in architecture, yet in the 21st century it remains......
This infographic shows graphs that compare aspects of the lives of women in the United States over a century. Spotlight,......
Women have long played a vital role during wartime. In World War I (1914–18), however, their contributions grew......
Women have long faced an uphill battle for gender equality in politics. Globally, only about one-third of countries......
Women’s Equality Day, annual event in the United States, observed on August 26 since its inception in 1971, marking......
Women’s Equity Action League (WEAL), former national women’s organization committed to improving the status of......
Women’s Peace Society, interwar feminist and pacifist organization, active from 1919–33, that was focused on total......
Women’s Political Council, organization that was established for African American professional women in Montgomery,......
Women’s Prize for Fiction, English literary prize for women that was conceptualized in 1992 and instituted in 1996......
Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), militant wing of the British woman suffrage movement. WSPU was founded......
Women’s World Cup, international football (soccer) competition that determines the world champion among women’s......
World AIDS Day, annual observance aimed at raising awareness of AIDS and the spread of HIV. World AIDS Day occurs......
Since 1988, World AIDS Day has been observed every year on December 1. It was created by the World Health Organization......
World Athletics, organization of track-and-field federations representing more than 200 countries and territories.......
World Cancer Day, annual observance held on February 4 that is intended to increase global awareness of cancer.......
World Council of Churches (WCC), Christian ecumenical organization founded in 1948 in Amsterdam as “a fellowship......
World Cup, in football (soccer), quadrennial tournament of men’s national teams that determines the sport’s world......
World Cup, in golf, trophy awarded to the winner of an annual competition for two-man professional teams representing......