-Sociological Theory: A set of interrelated ideas providing a systematic understanding of the social world.
-Macro Sociology: Focuses on large-scale social systems and populations.
-Micro Sociology: Focuses on individuals and small groups within society.
-Karl Marx: Focused on class conflict (proletariat vs. bourgeois), developed Conflict Theory, emphasizing political and economic power and oppression, criticized capitalism, advocated for socialism and criticized exploitation of workers.
-Émile Durkheim: Developed Functionalist Theory, focusing on how parts of society function to maintain stability, studied manifest functions (intentional), latent functions (unintended), and dysfunctions (disruptions), emphasized social institution\\\’s role in stability
-George Herbert Mead: Developed Symbolic Interaction Theory, focusing on individual interactions and how society is created through those interactions, believed the self develops through social interactions and cannot exist outside of society, introduced the concept of the socialized self, where identity is shaped by social environment and interactions.
-Conflict Theory: Focuses on societal inequality and exploitation.
-Functionalist Theory: Focuses on the stability of society and how parts work together.
-Symbolic Interaction Theory: Analyzes individual and small group interactions to understand societal behavior.
-Marx: Focused on societal change to improve conditions for the oppressed.
-Durkheim: Interested in how rapid societal changes impact social structures.
-Mead: Focused on how individual interactions form the social self, without focusing on the broader societal issues.
-Sociological theory can be used to analyze various social issues, including crime, poverty, and education.
-By applying theories, we can gain deeper insight into complex societal phenomena and everyday interactions.
-Marx’s Perspective: Would focus on social class disparities in higher education, would ask if lower-class students have equal access to education and whether graduating from prestigious universities offers economic advantages, would advocate for making public colleges tuition free and canceling student loan debt.
-Durkheim’s Perspective: Would focus on social facts, patterns that influence thinking and behavior, Interested in rules, norms, and structures, would explore latent functions, like the social skills and debt issues associated with higher education, would analyze how patterns of who attends college and who doesn\\\’t are influenced by social factors.
-Mead’s Perspective: Would focus on social interactions, such as college party behavior, interested in how peer interactions constrain excessive behaviors, would explore the changing dynamics of dating, courtship, and marriage.
-Macro Level (Conflict Theory): Views the working poor as exploited by the wealthy due to economic and power imbalances; Example: Low wages for fast food workers vs. company profits.
-Macro Level (Functionalist Theory): Views low-wage workers as performing essential functions within society, despite their low wages, these workers contribute to economic stability by doing jobs that others won’t.
-Micro Level (Symbolic Interaction): Focuses on everyday interactions, values, and beliefs of the working poor, looks at how working-poor children perceive wealthier children and their resilience.
-Max Weber (1864-1920): German sociologist influential in studying the relationship between religion and economics, lived during the rise of capitalism in Europe and a growing sense of cultural superiority in Germany.
-Weber’s Perspective: introduced verstehen: an empathetic, interpretive approach to understanding human behavior, believed in observing and explaining social actions to understand the meanings individuals attribute to their actions, rejecting only objective methods.
-Focused on understanding social interactions from the first-person perspective, using introspection and empathy.
-Viewed as a micro-level analysis, but also applicable to macro-level issues like economics and religion.
-Integrated both micro (individual interactions) and macro (larger social structures) in his analysis, creating a comprehensive approach.
Weber and Capitalism: Examined how the religious views of Calvinists contributed to the development of capitalism in Western Europe, used verstehen to interpret how religious beliefs led to economic behaviors, which helped establish modern capitalism.
-Feminist Theory: Focuses on anti-oppression, gender relations, and gender inequality, evolved from conflict theory and emphasizes social and political reform, aims for social and political reform, advocating for women’s rights, equity, equality, diversity, and justice.
-Queer Theory: Emerged from feminist theory and gay/lesbian studies, critiques traditional categories of gender, sex, and sexuality in society, focuses on the social construction of sexuality at both micro and macro levels, argues that identity should not be based on sexual orientation and challenges cultural boundaries around gender and sexuality.
-Postmodern Theory: A critical view rejecting historical, scientific, and structured ways of investigating the social world: Michel Foucault, Jean Baudrillard, and Jean-Francois Lyotard.