Notes:Three basic social theories emerged, providing the fundamental elements of the sociological perspective. The theories are titled Conflict, Functionalist, and Symbolic Interactionism. Now that you have the images of the vineyard, village, and meadow embedded within your mind, we are ready to apply them to sociological theory. sociological theory, a set of interrelated ideas that provide a systematic understanding of the social world.The vineyard and village views represent macro sociology, a level of analysis focusing on social systems and populations on a large scale. The meadow is an example of micro sociology, a level of analysis focusing on individuals and small groups within the larger social system.
The German Karl Marx (1818–1883) lived during the Industrial Revolution (1750-1850) and is the individual looking at the vineyard. Marx wrote and thought during a time when there were predominantly two classes: the proletariat, the majority, who were the poor, property-less industrial working class, and the land and business owners referred to as the bourgeois, the small minority who were the wealthy class (C-19). His view of the world is described as conflict theory, a sociological perspective emphasizing the role of political and economic power and oppression as contributing to the existing social order (HP). You can see the conflict that is represented in the previous story by examining the working conditions of the young and old and the workers’ cruel treatment by the managers of the vineyard
Our next introduction is Émile Durkheim (1858-1917), a French sociologist. His view is the village. He sees how the villagers live in harmony and how each part of the village serves a function, such as a bakery or a mercantile store.
His theory is referred to as functionalist theory, a macro view of how the parts of society serve to maintain stability (HP).manifest functions, intentional and formally sanctioned functions of social institutions and society. Within education, the manifest function is to teach students reading, math, and science. Latent functions, unintentional and informally sanctioned functions of social institutions and society, that occur in education include learning social skills, finding romantic partners, and even negative functions, such as bullying and learning how to cheat on exams. From the story, do you remember how the bakery and mercantile store burned down and created chaos and instability in the village? This type of incident creates dysfunction, the undesirable disruptions of social patterns resulting in negative consequences within society (Poggi 2000; Jones 1986).
George Herbert Mead (1863-1931), He focused on the couple in the meadow and developed the theory of the socialized self, which states that the self cannot develop apart from society (Miller 1973; Morris 1934). In other words, you are who you are due to your social interactions and environment. His theory is referred to as symbolic interaction, a micro view of how society is the product of interactions between people, which occur via symbols that have distinct meanings (HP)The conflict and functionalist theories are both at the macro level of analysis and do not include an emphasis on social interactions. Conflict theorists focus on exploitation in society, and functionalists are more concerned with the parts of society and how each functions. Symbolic interaction theorists analyze individual interactions to better understand society as a whole. This micro-level analysis provides insight into how we form our socialized self through everyday interactions. Marx’s view was motivated by a desire to change and improve the social conditions for the oppressed members of society. Durkheim was more interested in explaining the rapid social changes occurring within Europe and the accompanying impacts on society. Mead was not interested in the plight of the oppressed and how society functioned but was keenly interested in how social interactions played a role in the development of individuals. All of this information about the theorists and theories is only important if we can still use the theories today to help us better understand our social world. Let’s turn our attention to how you can apply each theory and learn how relevant sociological theory can be in your life.
Weber was interested in how religion influenced economics.Weber had a slightly different view from the previous three theories of how to study society, which he captured with the German term verstehen (vûrst e hen), an empathetic approach to understanding human behavior, loosely translated as understanding or interpretation.By using the two methods of verstehen – observation and explanation – interpretation is required, which is a departure from solely using natural science techniques.
symbolic interaction perspective= how people interpret and give meaning to their social interactions.Therefore, verstehen can be used to investigate macro issues, such as economics and religion.He was the first sociologist to combine the micro and macro, thus integrating social actions and social structures.
A key element of feminist sociology is a focus on social and political reform, which represents the concept of applied sociology, the use of sociological theory, research, and methodologies to find solutions to problems in society.postmodern social theory, a critical view rejecting the historical, scientific, and structured means of investigating and interpreting the social world. French sociologists Michel Foucault, Jean Baudrillard, and Jean-Francois Lyotard are largely responsible for promoting this new social theory that rejects the idea of positivism and the structured and systematic approaches found within traditional sociological theories (Mirchandani 2005). In contrast, there are no grand or global theories within postmodernism that explain the social world. Postmodernist theory ultimately contends that all things in society are in a constant state of change, and as such, our understanding of society and culture is relative
social structures, the distinctive and stable arrangements of social patterns that form the society as a whole (C-19).
rationalization of society, the replacement of traditional values and personal connections with bureaucracy, efficiency, and a means-end approach
These are the common characteristics and functions of social structures:
- organizes behaviors of large groups of people
- capable of coercing individuals and groups
- provides norms, rules, and practices
- assigns roles and powers to individuals and groups
- encompasses large geographical areas
- In 1959, sociologist C. Wright Mills coined the term sociological imagination, the ability to see the details of our own lives in the context of larger social structures as opposed to merely personal choices or personal troubles
- Looking at Durkheim’s work, we find that his concept of anomie, the breakdown of social values, norms, and order resulting in social instability, offers an effective tool to understand New Yorkers’ experience from a sociological perspective. Anomie occurs when there is a lack of social control and regulation due to the deterioration of the connection between the individual and society; it is what individuals experience when society seems in disarray.
- Conflict — vineyard — macro-level analysis
Functionalists — village — macro-level analysis
Symbolic Interaction — meadow — micro-level analysis