I W S .C C C C D .E D U /M I T A S H I K I

Sociological Perspectives1. Structural/Functional2. Conflict3. Symbolic Interaction

Structural/Functional—Parts of a system. What is keeping society stable, or what is missing? Example:Durkheim’s theory of suicide shows how individuals need the bonds of society to thrive.

From Wikipedia: Functionalism is about the structure and workings of society. Functionalists see society as madeup of inter-dependent sections which work together to fulfill the functions necessary for the survival of society as awhole. People are socialized into roles and behaviours which fulfill the needs of society. Functionalists believethat behaviour in society is structural. They believe that rules and regulations help organize relationships betweenmembers of society. Values provide general guidelines for behaviour in terms of roles and norms. Theseinstitutions of society such as the family, the economy, the educational and political systems, are major aspects ofthe social structure. Institutions are made up of interconnected roles or inter-related norms. For example, inter-connected roles in the institution of the family are of wife, mother, husband, father, son and daughter.

The theory is based around a number of key concepts. First, society is viewed as a system – a collectionof interdependent parts, with a tendency toward equilibrium. Second, there are functional requirements that mustbe met in a society for its survival (such as reproduction of the population). Third, phenomena are seen to existbecause they serve a function

Functionalists believe that one can compare society to a living organism, in that both a society and anorganism are made up of interdependent working parts (organs) and systems that must function together in orderfor the greater body to function. Functionalist sociologists say that the different parts of society e.g. the family,education, religion, law and order, media etc. have to be seen in terms of the contribution that they make to thefunctioning of the whole of society. This ‘organic analogy’ sees the different parts of society working together toform a social system in the same way that the different parts of an organism form a cohesive functioning entity.

Conflict Theory—Class oppression. What class wins, what class loses (thru structural norms).

From Wikipedia: Conflict theory emphasizes the role of coercion and power, a person's or group's ability toexercise influence and control over others, in producing social order. It states that a society or organizationfunctions so that each individual participant and its groups struggle to maximize their benefits, which inevitablycontributes to social change such as changes in politics and revolutions. The theory is mostly applied to explainconflict between social classes, proletarian versus bourgeoisie; and in ideologies such as capitalism versussocialism. It is the theory that a continual struggle exists between all different aspects of a particular society. Thestruggle that occurs does not always have to involve physical violence. It can pertain to an underlying struggle foreach group or individual within a society to maximize its own benefits. The theory was founded by Karl Marx, andlater developed by theorists such as Max Weber, etc. Functionalism, which considers that societies andorganizations function so that each individual and group plays a specific role, like organs in the body. There areradical basic assumptions (society is eternally in conflict, which might explain social change), or moderate ones(custom and conflict are always mixed). The moderate version allows for functionalism to as an equallyacceptable theory since it would accept that even negative social institution

Symbolic Interaction – how people act based on what they’ve been taught. To us eating monkey meat is cruelbut to other societies it can be an accepted ritual.

Example: Blumer: "Human beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings they ascribe to those things""The meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with others andthe society." "These meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretive process used by the personin dealing with the things he/she encounters."