HISTORY OF SOCIOLOGY AND INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY

Abstract

This article aims to carry out a brief analysis of the birth and consolidation of sociology as a modern science. For this, it discusses the contribution of its founding fathers, Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim and Max Weber; fundamental categories of sociological analysis are identified; the thinking of some of the contemporary sociologists; and the genesis of this science on Brazilian soil. In view of this path, this study is based on qualitative research methods, supported, especially, by the systematic literature review, through classic and contemporary works relevant to this discussion. Among the results, it is possible to establish a dialogue between classical thinkers who, in turn, are fundamental in the thinking of contemporary authors. In addition, it is possible to identify the importance of certain categories of analysis, which seek to explain modern and capitalist society. This article, therefore, intends to contribute as a form of introduction to the study of sociology, especially for academics in the early periods of the social sciences, but also for outsiders and curious people who want to know the universe of sociology and its field of analysis.