Department of Sociology
Sociology
is a discipline in which the emphasis is put on the examination of the social
development and social changes along the history, and the clarification of
various interactions and relationships in social context.
It also aims to help people to understand the connections between
personal environments and social structures, to cultivate a capacity of
reflexivity in terms of existential values and meanings, and to create the
opportunity of social reform for improving our society.
The Department of
Sociology was therefore established based on the above purposes.
In accordance with Fo Guang University’s spirit of humanity and multi-disciplinary
integration principle, the department also endeavors to fill the gap between
traditional ideas and modern discourses, and to promote dialogues between
sociology and other disciplines so as to enhance mutual support and cooperation
in order to extend related academic studies. With
regard to teaching, the department also cultivates students’ senses of
humanity by inspiring them with living experiences during teaching sessions as a
means to evoke the power of potential social practice.
Although sociology is
a discipline that originated from empirical study, the contributions of this
discipline are not limited to empirical research if we consider the essence of
humanity. Therefore, the department
also focuses on humanistic approach when it comes to social research in addition
to empirical investigation. The
purpose in this regard is to balance subjective interpretations and objective
descriptions as well as to develop localized theoretical explanations for
Taiwanese society. Theses focuses
have become the foundation of the department in terms of the localization of
sociology in