ABSTRACT
This introduction covers some key concepts discussed in subsequent chapters of this book. The book responds to two primary questions: how does a human rights perspective change the questions that sociologists ask, the theoretical perspectives and methods that sociologists use, and the implications of sociological inquiry; and how can the sociological enterprise inform and push human rights theory, discourse, and implementation toward a better world for all humanity. American sociology has its early roots in social justice, and over the course of years of strengthening the methods of empirical analysis. The work of international criminal law, with its focus on the prosecution of individual actors, is cutting-edge when it comes to investigating human rights violations. Methods used to conduct micro-level analysis will be useful to consider the role of sociologists in human rights research. Methodology that centers human rights as a part of the everyday will advance both sociology and the study of human rights.
