ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part examines some fundamental aspects of the ecological perspective in sociology and suggests that a true human ecology would use the theories and methods of general ecology, explicitly fitting humans, as a species, into the scheme. It provides an overview of uses of the ecological perspective in the social sciences. The part focuses on anthropology and sociology, but also discusses the fields of geography and political science. It also provides an optimistic picture of the use of ecology in the social sciences, pointing toward common ground and the potential for the development, perhaps, of a common paradigm. The part offers an historical perspective on the development of human ecological theory in sociology. It presents an exhaustive coverage of methodological concerns in sociological human ecology and explores different measures of the division of labor, noting the strengths and weaknesses of each.
