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Strength and weaknesses of structural functionalist theory
Symbolic interactionism and its application
Strength and weaknesses of structural functionalist theory
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Introduction Sociologists develop theories to explain and analyze society at different levels and from different perspectives. Sociologists study everything from the micro level of analysis of small social patterns to the “big picture” which is the macro level of analysis of large social patterns. Sociologists employ three major theoretical perspectives in sociology today. They are the structural-functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic interactionism. The structural-functionalist perspective is done at a macro level and its focus is on the relationships between the parts of society. The Conflict perspective is done at a macro level and its main focus is on how the wealthy controls the poor and weak. Symbolic Interactionism is done at a micro and it focuses on the use of symbols and face to face interactions. Structural-Functionalist Perspective The structural-functionalist perspective looks at society as a complex system composed of various parts much like a living organism. Each aspect of society contributes to society's functioning as a whole. Social institutions play a key role in keeping a society stable. All societies need certain things to survive (Newman 2010). Auguste Comte (Newman 2010) pointed out the need to keep society unified as many traditions were diminishing. He created the term sociology. Auguste Comte suggests that sociology is the product of a three-stage development. Talcott Parson (Parsons 1951) sees society as a collection of systems within systems Parson determined that each individual has expectations of the other's action and reaction to his own behaviour, and that these expectations would be derived from the accepted norms and values of th... ... middle of paper ... ...analyzing a social issue because neither of the perspectives solely addresses all the possibly circumstances of an issue. Works Cited Durkheim, Emile. 1915. The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life: A Study in Religious Sociology. Translated by Joseph Ward Swain. New York: Macmillan. Goffman, E. 1959. The presentation of self in everyday life. Garden City, NY: Double Day Parsons, Talcott. 1951. The Social System. Glencoe, IL: Free Press. Newman, David N.2010. Sociology: exploring the architecture of everyday life. Mead, G. H. 1934. Mind, self and society and society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Merton, Robert K. 1957. Social Theory and Social Structure. New York: Free Press. Mills, C. W. 1956. The power elite. New York Oxford University Press. Weber, M. 1947. The theory of social and economic organization. New York: Free Press.
1 Most sociologists interpret social life from one of three major theoretical frameworks or theories: symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, or conflict theory. Describe the major points and key concepts of each framework. List at least one sociologist who is identified with each of these three frameworks.
Sociology is the study of society and the interactions that occur within society itself. There are numerous methods of analyzing societies and the way the function, nonetheless, most methods fall in micro and macro level theories. Micro level theories allow sociologist to study smaller relationships such as individual or compact groups of people. On the other hand, macro level studies permit for larger scale investigations to take place. With both of these theories there are three theoretical perspectives used in sociology. Micro level theories include symbolic interactionism which focuses in interactions done with language and gestures and the means which allow such interactions to take place. Macro level theories include structural functionalism
Sociology is the study of the relationships that humans have with each other and social institutions. It aims to understand the links that exist between individuals and the social structures around them and also the functions that these social institutions perform in society.
Sociology cannot be clearly explained as there are many different theories and theorists; so far none of them have been defined as a correct answer. Although with all this information of theories and theorists sociology is relatively explained as agreed philosophies that delivers a reason for human society. Sociological theories are like most other theories, they are selective, and there is no quantity of theory to explain everything or define the infinite amount of information that exist or comprehend the methods of observing reality. Sociological theories vary and can be linked to each other according to various criteria. The two main perspectives of sociology are the micro sociological approach and the macro sociological approach. The micro sociological approach is based more on the persons being capable of their own independent thoughts feelings and behaviour; therefor society is built through their interactions amongst each other and the significances they attach to them. This approach is defined using Social Action Theory and Symbolic Interactionism. The Macro Sociological approach is on a much bigger scale and consists of a person being born into a current society which will then shape their behaviour. It centres on the organisations, values and the culture of that particular society and how it impacts an individual and their role in life. This approach is made clearer using Functionalism, Feminist and Conflict Theories.
Garber, Frederick. The Autonomy of the Self from Richardson to Huysmans. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1982.
Structural Functionalism is the sociology theory that emphasizes how everything and everyone has a purpose in society. That each and every one of us is a puzzle piece that comes together in order to form a society, any missing puzzle piece would result in the downfall or shortcomings of the whole society. Whether this may be religion, education, economy, etc, all of these structures much work together in order to have a flourishing society where everyone works uniformly. Stability is achieved when everyone fulfills their duty is society.
Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday Anchor Books.
Goffman, Erving. The Presentation Of Self In Everyday Life. New York, NY, USA: Anchor, 1959. Print.
"The functionalist perspective is a sociological approach which emphasizes the way that parts of a society are structure to maintain its stability,"(Schaefer & Lamm, 1998). This perspective looks at a society in a positive manner and sees it as stable, with all the parts working together. Under the functionalist view every social aspect of a society contributes to the society's survival, and if not, the aspect is not passed to the next generation.
p109. The pssssssssssssssssssss Goffman, E. (1959). The 'Standard'. New York: McGraw-Hill. Presentation of Self In Everyday Life.
The Industrial Revolution, which had people moving to cities for jobs that were often scarce because of the growing population, played a major role in the making of Sociology as a real field of study. Herbert Spencer came up with the phrase “survival of the fittest” which he used to describe the many situations where there would be a shortage of jobs for the large amount of people searching for employment. Also, there was a shortage of homes as well which led to bad living conditions. Along with Spencer, a woman named Harriet Martineau did the first actual study of society and convinced scholars that they needed to make society better, not just study it. Karl Marx saw two sides to society, the capitalists and the workers. He also thought that there would be a day when the workers would get tired of working for the capitalists so they would join together in order to overthrow them. Marx’s theory of different social classes became instrumental in creating a sociological perspective known as the conflict theory. Émile Durkheim created the first Sociology course and he was the first to combine science with sociology. He had a functionalist view of society and believed that every part of society, good or bad, had a purpose in society. Max Weber was different than the sociologists
Structural Functionalism or what I call just functionalism, is just another theory that has society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. This approach looks at society through the macro-level of orientation, which is a broad focus on the social structures that shape society as a whole, and believes that society has evolved like organisms. This approach looks at both social structure and the social functions. Functionalism has society as a whole in terms of the function of its constituent elements; namely norms and customs, traditions, and institutions. There is a common analogy, popularized by Herbert Spencer that presents these parts of society as "organs" that works towards the proper functioning of the "body" as a whole. In the most basic terms, it simply emphasizes "the effort to impute and the rigorously as possible, to each feature, custom, or even practice the effect on the functioning of a supposedly stable and cohesive system.
The first concept examines how labels are recognized and their functionality. The structural functionalist perspective emphasizes the interconnectedness of society by focusing on how each part influences and is influenced by other parts. (Mooney, p8). Once society figures out
I think everyone should ask themselves what is sociology? I believe that sociology is the scientific study of social behavior or society, including its origins, development, organization, networks, and institutions. This is a huge topic to cover. Sociology explains the way people act and think, based on
We see many of fields of society for example; government, educational, cultural and many more. Sociology is importantly the basis for almost all policies and idea which shape the world we are in. For example; Harriet Martineau, first female sociologists brought attention to ignored topics such as marriage, children, domestic and religious life and race relations. Without this idea being brought it up it would have always been an issue from society. Solving topics are so beneficial to making our society a better place. On a personal level it’s really changed my vision in the world. This enables us to understand paradigms. Structural functionalism was inspired partly by Durkheim, he stated that society is defined as a social system, with structures organized in an orderly way to form an organic, stable whole. This system enables us to understand and meet the circumstances in order to