Sociology & Society, BEA-CAI
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
Sir Cecil Beaton was a photographer known primarily for his portraits of celebrated persons. He also worked as......
Cesare Beccaria was an Italian criminologist and economist whose Dei delitti e delle pene (1764; Eng. trans. J.A.......
Howard S. Becker was an American sociologist known for his studies of occupations, education, deviance, and art.......
Wilhelm Adolf Becker was a German classical archaeologist, remembered for his works on the everyday life of the......
belief, a mental attitude of acceptance or assent toward a proposition without the full intellectual knowledge......
Daniel Bell was an American sociologist and journalist who used sociological theory to reconcile what he believed......
Robert Neelly Bellah was an American sociologist who addressed the problem of change in modern religious practice......
Belmont family, family prominent in American banking and finance, politics, and patronage of the arts. The family’s......
Pierre Belon was a French naturalist whose discussion of dolphin embryos and systematic comparisons of the skeletons......
Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was an army officer and politician who served as president of Tunisia (1987–2011). Ben......
benchmarking, technique of governance designed to improve the quality and efficiency of public services. In essence,......
Ruth Benedict was an American anthropologist whose theories had a profound influence on cultural anthropology,......
Luciano Benetton is an Italian manufacturer and cofounder of the family-run apparel empire Benetton Group, where......
Arthur F. Bentley was an American political scientist and philosopher known for his work in epistemology, logic,......
Lee Berger is an American-born South African paleoanthropologist known for the discovery of the fossil skeletons......
Jessie Bernard was an American sociologist who provided insights into women, sex, marriage, and the interaction......
betrothal, promise that a marriage will take place. In societies in which premarital sexual relations are condoned......
Better Business Bureau, any of several American and Canadian organizations formed to protect consumers against......
Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India. Bharat translates to “India” and ratna to “gem” or “jewel.”......
Bhil, ethnic group of some 12.6 million people of western India. Historically, many Bhil communities have been......
bhāīband, (“brotherhood”), important instrument of caste self-government in India; the bhāīband is the council......
Big 12 Conference, American collegiate athletic organization. The Big 12 Conference has 16 members. Kansas, the......
Big East Conference, American collegiate athletic association that consists of Butler, Creighton, Connecticut,......
Big Ten Conference, one of the oldest college athletic conferences in the United States, formed in 1896 by the......
bigamy, the unlawful contracting of a marriage by or with a person who is already married to another. In earlier......
Bihu, three distinct festivals—Bohag Bihu, Kati Bihu, and Magh Bihu—celebrated in the Indian state of Assam, each......
Black Codes, in U.S. history, the numerous laws adopted in the states of the former Confederacy after the American......
Black History Month, monthlong commemoration of African American history and achievement that takes place each......
Davidson Black was a Canadian physician and physical anthropologist who first postulated the existence of a distinct......
Harry A. Blackmun was an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1970 to 1994. Blackmun graduated......
Der Blaue Reiter, organization of artists based in Germany that contributed greatly to the development of abstract......
Die Blaue Vier, successor group of Der Blaue Reiter (“The Blue Rider”; 1911–14), formed in 1924 in Germany by the......
blood brotherhood, one of several kinds of alliances or ties that bind persons together in a fashion analogous......
Amelia Bloomer was an American reformer who campaigned for temperance and women’s rights. Amelia Jenks was educated......
blue law, in U.S. history, a law forbidding certain secular activities on Sunday. The name may derive from Samuel......
Blueshirt, popular name for a member of the Army Comrades Association (ACA), who wore blue shirts in imitation......
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach was a German anthropologist, physiologist, and comparative anatomist, frequently called......
Mabel Thorp Boardman was an American Red Cross leader who reestablished the organization’s funding base and greatly......
Franz Boas was a German-born American anthropologist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the founder of......
Nikolay Bobrikov was a ruthless ultranationalist Russian governor-general of Finland from 1898 until his assassination.......
Vladimir Germanovich Bogoraz was a Russian anthropologist whose study of the Chukchi people of northeastern Siberia......
The Bohemian Club is an elite invitation-only social club founded in San Francisco in 1872 by a group of male artists,......
Bollingen Prize, award for achievement in American poetry, originally conferred by the Library of Congress with......
Bombay Presidency Association, political organization founded in January 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, by......
Boniface VIII was the pope, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, from 1294 to 1303. The extent of his authority......
Chaz Bono American actor and author known for his activism concerning LGBTQ+ rights. Bono is further known for......
Murray Bookchin was an American anarchist, political philosopher, trade-union organizer, and educator best known......
Booker Prize, prestigious British award given annually to a full-length novel in English. Booker McConnell, a multinational......
bookmobile, shelf-lined motor van or other vehicle that carries books to rural and urban areas, establishes library......
Charles Booth was an English shipowner and sociologist whose Life and Labour of the People in London, 17 vol. (1889–91,......
Jean II le Meingre Boucicaut was a marshal of France, a French soldier, and a champion of the ideals of chivalry.......
Marcellin Boule was a French geologist, paleontologist, and physical anthropologist who made extensive studies......
Pierre Bourdieu was a French sociologist who was a public intellectual in the tradition of Émile Zola and Jean-Paul......
bourgeoisie, the social order that is dominated by the so-called middle class. In social and political theory,......
Marcel Boussac was a French industrialist and textile manufacturer whose introduction of colour into clothing ended......
Boxing Day, in Great Britain and some Commonwealth countries, particularly Australia, Canada, and New Zealand,......
boyar, member of the upper stratum of medieval Russian society and state administration. In Kievan Rus during the......
Edward Riley Bradley was a U.S. sportsman, gambler, philanthropist, owner and racer of Thoroughbreds, four of whom......
Lydia Moss Bradley was an American philanthropist who founded and endowed Bradley University in Peoria. Early in......
James Buchanan Brady was an American financier and philanthropist, noted for his lavish lifestyle, fondness for......
Brahman, highest ranking of the four varnas, or social classes, in Hindu India. The elevated position of the Brahmans......
Thomas Brattle was a British American-colonial merchant and official of Harvard College. Little is known of Brattle’s......
Breast Cancer Awareness Month, international health campaign lasting the month of October that is intended to increase......
bridewealth, payment made by a groom or his kin to the kin of the bride in order to ratify a marriage. In such......
Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, Baronet was a British soldier and astronomical observer for whom the city of Brisbane,......
British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS), first Bible society in the fullest sense, founded in 1804 at the urging......
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, British order of knighthood instituted in 1917 by King George V......
British nobility, in the United Kingdom, members of the upper social class, who usually possess a hereditary title.......
British Theatre Association, organization founded in 1919 for the encouragement of the art of the theatre, both......
Paul Broca was a surgeon who was closely associated with the development of modern physical anthropology in France......
broken windows theory, academic theory proposed by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling in 1982 that used broken......
brokerage, process in which individuals called brokers act as intermediaries between individuals or groups who......
Brookings Institution, not-for-profit research organization based in Washington, D.C., founded in 1916 as the Institute......
Robert S. Brookings was an American businessman and philanthropist who helped establish the Brookings Institution......
brown babies, the offspring of white European women and African American soldiers during and immediately after......
Henry Billings Brown was an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court (1890–1906). Brown was admitted......
Baltasar Brum was a statesman noted for his reform of the educational and welfare systems in Uruguay and for his......
Beau Brummell was an English dandy, famous for his friendship with George, Prince of Wales (regent from 1811 and......
Stanisław Brzozowski was a Polish critic and novelist who is considered a major force in shaping the idiom of 20th-century......
Sir Peter Buck was a Maori anthropologist, physician, and politician who made major contributions to Maori public......
Budi Utomo, the first Indonesian nationalist organization. It was founded on May 20, 1908, a day now designated......
Warren Buffett (born August 30, 1930, Omaha, Nebraska) is an American businessman and philanthropist, widely considered......
Robert D. Bullard is an American sociologist and environmental activist, often referred to as the father of environmental......
Lonnie G. Bunch III is an American historian and museum curator and administrator, the 14th secretary of the Smithsonian......
burakumin, (“pollution abundant”), outcaste, or “untouchable,” Japanese minority, occupying the lowest level of......
Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, Baroness Burdett-Coutts was an English philanthropist who, largely under the influence......
bureaucracy, specific form of organization defined by complexity, division of labour, permanence, professional......
Ernest Watson Burgess was an American sociologist known for his research into the family as a social unit. Burgess......
burgrave, in medieval Germany, one appointed to command a burg (fortified town) with the rank of count (Graf or......
Burschenschaft, (German: “Youth Association”), student organization at the German universities that started as......
August Anheuser Busch, Jr. was an American beer baron, president (1946–75) of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., who......
Bushidō, the code of conduct of the samurai, or bushi (warrior), class of premodern Japan. In the mid-19th century,......
busing, in the United States, the practice of transporting students to schools within or outside their local school......
Conrad Busken Huet was the greatest and also one of the liveliest Dutch literary critics of his time. A descendant......
Buy Nothing Day, day of protest in which participants pledge to buy nothing for 24 hours to raise awareness of......
bystander effect, the inhibiting influence of the presence of others on a person’s willingness to help someone......
Büchner Prize, prestigious German prize established in 1923 by the government of Volksstaat Hessen (state of Hesse,......
B’nai B’rith, (Hebrew: “Sons of the Covenant”), oldest and largest Jewish service organization in the world, with......
Cabot family, prominent American family since the arrival of John Cabot at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1700. The Cabot......
John Caius was a prominent humanist and physician whose classic account of the English sweating sickness is considered......