A New Series: Sociology in Simple English
Reading Time: ~10 Min (typical readers) | ~30-45 Min (readers with special learning needs)
Language Level: Simple English
A Morning in 2026
You open Instagram. The algorithm shows you posts it thinks you like. You chat with ChatGPT about your homework. On your way to school or work, a self-driving car passes you. Your phone suggests which music you should listen to.
Welcome to the AI Age!
But who decided what is “interesting” for you? Why do you see these jobs and this article and not others? Why do your friends see different videos on TikTok than you? And why does life sometimes feel like endless scrolling through algorithms?
These are sociological questions.
And that’s exactly why you need “Good old Sociology” – maybe more than ever.
Why This New Series?
Feedback Changed Everything
I write about sociology on Socioloverse.AI. The feedback was great: “The topics are so interesting!” – That made me happy.
But I also heard: “The texts are too long. And sometimes hard to understand.”
That made me think.
Sociology should be for everyone. Not just for university students. Not just for experts. Not just for people who read easily.
So I made a decision:
📅 Every Sunday a new article in simple English
🎯 One topic – explained clearly
🌍 For everyone who wants to understand society
🗣️ Especially for people with special learning needs
This is the new series “Sociology in Simple English”.
Two Important Improvements
After writing the first drafts, I thought again: What do readers with special learning needs really need?
1. ⏱️ Honest Time Estimates
“10 minutes reading time” sounds good. But is it honest? For people who read slowly, who need to reread, who need breaks – that’s not realistic. So now each article shows:
- Reading time for typical readers: ~10-12 minutes
- Reading time for people with special learning needs: ~30-45 minutes
Now you can plan your reading time better!
2. 📖 Clear Definitions
At the end of each article, you find all important words explained. Simple definitions. No complicated academic language.
Simple Language Helps the Writer Too!
But you know what? Writing in simple language taught me something important:
Simple language forces me to think clearly.
Sometimes we hide behind complexity. We write complicated sentences. We use fancy words. We build knots of thoughts. And then we think: “It’s just so complex!”
But often that’s a trick. A hiding game.
If I can’t explain something simply, maybe I don’t understand it myself.
The sociologist Niklas Luhmann said: The job of science is complexity reduction. That means, the world is complicated. And we as sociologists must make it understandable.
Simple language does exactly that:
- It unties knots of thought
- It makes connections clear
- It shows: What is really important?
- It separates important from less important
So not only readers benefit from simple language.
I benefit too. Because it forces me to think precisely.
What Is This New Series?
Welcome to “Sociology in Simple English” – your Sunday learning moment on Socioloverse.AI!
Who Is This For?
✅ You have learning difficulties – and need simpler texts?
✅ You have dyslexia – and short sentences help you?
✅ You have ADHD – and need clear structure?
✅ You’re interested in society – but have no prior knowledge?
✅ You want to understand how the world works – without fighting through 500-page books?
✅ You read slowly – and need more time?
✅ English is your second language – and you need clear, simple English?
Then you’re in the right place!
This series is inclusive. That means: It’s for everyone. Especially for people who need simpler texts.
What Makes This Series Special?
🗣️ Simple English
Short sentences. Clear words. When a technical term is important, we explain it immediately.
📅 Every Sunday a New Article
Regular. Reliable. Always on Sundays there’s new knowledge.
⏱️ 10-45 Minutes Per Article
Each article is about 2000-2500 words. You can read it in a coffee break – or take your time with breaks.
📖 Clear Definitions
Each article has a glossary at the end. There you find all important terms explained simply.
🎓 82 Articles – A Small Degree 😉
From Karl Marx to Queer Theory. From Max Weber to Climate Sociology. Everything that moves you and the world.
🗺️ Flexible Reading
You don’t have to read from beginning to end. You can read any article in any order.
🌍 Global and Diverse
Not just “dead white men from Europe and the USA”. We look at sociology from Africa, Asia, Latin America – and at the often forgotten women who co-invented sociology.
Why Sociology in the AI Age?
“Can’t AI Explain Everything?”
Good question! AI can do a lot. But AI can’t do everything. That’s both beautiful and scary.
Example:
ChatGPT can tell you that “poverty” means “having little money”. But why does poverty exist at all? Why does someone stay poor, even when they work hard? Why are 80% of people poor in some countries but only 5% in others? And why do some people think poverty is “self-inflicted” while others say “the system is to blame”?
These are sociological questions.
AI can recognize patterns. Sociology asks: Why do these patterns exist?
The AI Revolution Needs Sociology More Than Ever
Imagine:
- An algorithm decides who gets a loan. → Who has the power? (Karl Marx would find this interesting!)
- Social media only shows you opinions you already have. → How does public opinion form? (Jürgen Habermas thought about this!)
- A hiring AI rejects you because your name sounds “foreign”. → What is discrimination? (W.E.B. Du Bois knew this in 1903!)
AI is not neutral. AI was built by humans. In a society. With prejudices. With power relationships.
And to understand that, you need sociology.
How Does This Series Work?
The 3-Color System: 🟢 🟡 🔴
Not all articles are equally difficult. So we have a simple system:
🟢 BASICS (30 articles)
- Recommended for all beginners
- Foundations for university courses
- Often in exams
- Examples: “Karl Marx”, “What is Socialization?”, “Migration and Integration”
🟡 DEEPENING (45 articles)
- Interesting specializations
- For motivated learners
- Expands your understanding
- Examples: “Grounded Theory”, “Sociology of Emotions”, “Care Work”
🔴 ADVANCED (7 articles)
- Complex theory
- Abstract thinking needed
- For later studies or interested people
- Examples: “Niklas Luhmann”, “Postcolonial Theory”
What to Expect: The 9 Parts
Part 0: Introduction (3 articles)
- This article here
- How to use this series
- Why sociology is related to other sciences
Part 1: Sociological Foundations (6 articles)
- How does sociology think and work?
- Micro-Meso-Macro levels
- Quantitative vs. Qualitative research
- AI in research
Part 2: The Classics (15 articles)
- From Auguste Comte to Pierre Bourdieu
- From Karl Marx to Michel Foucault
- Plus: The forgotten women like Harriet Martineau and Jane Addams
Part 3: Big Thinking Schools (4 articles)
- Systems Theory (Luhmann)
- Critical Theory (Frankfurt School)
- Structuration Theory (Giddens)
- Practice Theory
Part 4: Social Inequality (5 articles)
- Class, Stratification, Milieu
- Migration and Integration
- Socialization and Education
- Care Work
Part 5: Feminism, Gender and Queerness (5 articles)
- The 4 Waves of Feminism
- Gender Studies
- Queer Theory
- Intersectionality
- Sociology of the Body
Part 6: Voices of the World (27 articles) 🌍
The heart of the series! Here you meet contemporary sociologists:
- German Perspectives (Hartmut Rosa, Armin Nassehi, Jutta Allmendinger)
- European Perspectives (Saskia Sassen, Bruno Latour, Nancy Fraser)
- North American Perspectives (Patricia Hill Collins, bell hooks, Matthew Desmond)
- Latin American Perspectives (Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Aníbal Quijano)
- Asian Perspectives (Arjun Appadurai, Sun Liping, Pun Ngai)
- African Perspectives (Mahmood Mamdani, Achille Mbembe, Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí)
Part 7: Public Sphere and Resistance (4 articles)
- Habermas and the Public Sphere
- Counter-Publics
- Filter Bubbles
- Social Movements
Part 8: Special Sociologies (5 articles)
- Cultural Sociology
- Sociology of Emotions
- Sociology of Religion
- Urban and Spatial Sociology
- Environmental and Climate Sociology
Part 9: Critique and Development (6 articles)
- The Problem of Eurocentrism
- Postcolonial Theory
- Decolonial Theory
- Epistemologies of the South
- Critical Race Theory
- Future of Sociology
The “Golden Age of AI”? With a Question Mark!
Back to our title. Why is there a question mark after “Golden Age”?
Because we must be critical.
Yes, AI can do wonderful things:
- Diagnose diseases
- Translate languages
- Calculate climate models
- Accelerate science
But AI can also:
- Discriminate against people (e.g., in job applications)
- Manipulate opinions (fake news, election manipulation)
- Destroy jobs (without social security)
- Normalize surveillance (like Michel Foucault predicted)
“Golden” for whom?
- For tech billionaires? Yes.
- For people in precarious jobs? Not so much.
- For the environment? Debatable (electricity consumption!).
Sociology always asks: Who benefits? Who loses? Who has the power?
This is not a pessimistic attitude. This is critical thinking. And you need it to shape the AI age – instead of just being swept along.
What Makes “Good Old Sociology” So Valuable?
1. Making Complexity Understandable
Niklas Luhmann said: “Sociology is complexity reduction.”
The world is complicated. But sociology makes it (mostly) more understandable.
That’s exactly what simple language does too: It reduces complexity without oversimplifying.
Reducing complexity ≠ making it too simple.
Reducing complexity = getting to the point.
2. Timeless Questions
Karl Marx asked: “Who controls the means of production?”
Today we ask: “Who controls the data?”
Max Weber wrote: Politics is a profession. Today we often criticize people who only work in politics.
Pierre Bourdieu analyzed: Who drives which car brand? Today we ask: Is it good or bad to buy a Tesla? Who can and who wants to drive a Tesla?
Same question, new form.
3. Recognizing Patterns
Émile Durkheim noticed in 1897: People are lonelier when social bonds weaken.
Today: Social media increases loneliness, despite having 1000 “friends”.
History repeats itself – if we don’t pay attention.
4. Thinking Alternatives
“There is no alternative!” some say.
Sociology says: “Yes there is! Look at Bolivia. Or at Rojava. Or into history.”
Can we imagine different societies than ours?
5. Understanding Yourself
Why do you think the way you think?
Why do you find some things “normal” and others “weird”?
Why do you have the chances you have – or don’t have?
Sociology is self-reflection with a system.
How to Use This Series
As Someone with Learning Difficulties
- Read every Sunday: Regular reading helps with learning!
- Read slowly: You don’t have to be fast. Take your time. 30-45 minutes per article is completely okay!
- Use the glossary: At the end of each article you find all important words explained simply.
- Take breaks: Read one section. Take a break. Read the next section.
- Mark words: Write down new words. Make your own notes.
- Read out loud: This helps with understanding.
Ask us questions. Suggest topics that interest you: stephan@pflaum.ai
As a Student
- Before the lecture: Read the corresponding article. You’ll understand the lecture much better.
- Before the exam: Focus on 🟢 articles on your topic.
- For papers: Use the literature references at the end of each article.
As Someone Just Interested
- Follow your curiosity: You don’t have to read everything. Jump to what interests you.
- Discuss: Share articles in your groups. Talk about them with friends.
- Do exercises: At the end of each article there are practical tasks (max. 45 min).
What’s Coming Next?
Article 2: “How to Use This Series? Your Learning Path Through Sociology”
→ A detailed guide through the navigation system
Article 3: “A Little Sociology Never Hurts! The Science with Hyphen-Power”
→ How is sociology different from psychology, politics, history?
Article 4: “Three Images of Humans: Homo Sociologicus, Homo Oeconomicus, Zoon Politikon”
→ Your first content introduction!
Exercises (max. 45 minutes)
Exercise 1: Reducing Complexity (10 Min)
Think of something you recently learned (e.g., at school, on the internet, in a book).
Task:
- Write it down – normally, as you understood it
- Now explain it again – but so simple that a 10-year-old child understands it
- What was hard? What did you have to leave out? What was actually the core?
That’s complexity reduction! Exactly what sociology does. Exactly what this series does.
Exercise 2: Your AI Diary (15 Min)
Note for one day when you interact with AI:
- Which apps use algorithms?
- Which decisions does AI make for you?
- Where don’t you even notice it?
Ask afterwards: Who controls this AI? Whose interests does it represent?
Exercise 3: Sociology in Everyday Life (10 Min)
Observe a situation today:
- In a cafeteria / in a café / on the bus
- Who sits where?
- Who talks to whom?
- Why is it like that? What invisible rules exist?
That’s the sociological view! Émile Durkheim called it “social facts” (more on this in Article 12).
Further Questions
🤔 Why is sociology sometimes belittled? Some think sociology is “just opinion” or “common sense”. Is that true?
🤔 Does simple language make things too simple? Or is it possible to explain complex ideas simply without distorting them?
🤔 Can AI solve social problems? Or do we need political solutions that AI can only support?
🤔 Which sociologist would you like to meet? In the next 81 articles you’ll meet over 100!
🤔 Where do sociologists actually work? Do they really all drive taxis? 😉
🤔 If nobody supposedly needs them, why did people create sociology? Could we even understand society without it?
📖 Glossary: Important Terms in This Article
Algorithm
Definition: A set of rules that computers follow to make decisions. For example: Which videos does YouTube show you?
Discrimination
Definition: Unfair, unequal treatment of people based on characteristics like gender, origin, religion, or appearance.
Society
Definition: All people who live together and are connected through rules, culture, and institutions.
Intersectionality
Definition: When multiple forms of discrimination come together (e.g., woman + immigrant + poor = multiple disadvantage).
AI – Artificial Intelligence
Definition: Computer programs that can “learn” and solve complex tasks (like ChatGPT).
Complexity Reduction
Definition: Making something complicated understandable and simple, without distorting it.
Power
Definition: The ability to enforce decisions and influence other people.
Migration
Definition: When people move from one country to another country to live there.
Pattern
Definition: A repeating structure or regularity (e.g., “Poor children study less often” is a pattern).
Public Sphere
Definition: The space where people together discuss social topics (formerly: cafés and newspapers, today: social media).
Sociology
Definition: The science that studies how people live together and how society works.
Social Facts
Definition: Rules and structures in society that influence our behavior (e.g., “On the subway you don’t talk to strangers”).
Final Words: An Invitation
Welcome to sociology!
You’re standing with us at the beginning of a journey. A journey that teaches you:
- To see the world with new eyes
- To recognize power relationships
- To think alternatives
- To understand yourself better
“Good old Sociology” is not old. It’s timeless. And in the “Golden(?)” Age of AI maybe more important than ever.
Next Article
👉 Next Sunday: Article 2 – How to Use This Series? Your Learning Path Through Sociology 🟢
Reading Time:
- Typical readers: ~10-12 minutes
- Readers with special learning needs: ~30-45 minutes
Words: ~2,800 | Language Level: Simple English
📖 Glossary: 12 terms
This article is part of the series “Sociology in Simple English” on Socioloverse.AI
Category: Simple English | Article 1 of 82
Author: Dr. Stephan Pflaum | Version 1.0 | January 2026
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