What is sociology?

In my 2.5 years of studying sociology, I've heard this question way too many times. It's the single most annoying question anyone's ever asked me, because - 2.5 years' study and all - not even I have figured out the answer.

Until now.

I finally got it this morning, not for any particular reason. It just came to me while I was reading my macroeconomics textbook. You wanna hear it? Here it is:

Sociology is the study of how people, as social actors, create meaning in the context of the social structures in which they operate.

Yeah, that's right - the world is inherently meaningless, the creative role of intelligent beings is to infuse objects and interactions with meaning, and sociologists are interested in how this is done and what the implications are. *Victory dance*

Fortunately, economics is somewhat easier to define...