The Sociological Perspectives The StructuralFunctional Perspective The Conflict

The Sociological Perspectives • The Structural/Functional Perspective • The Conflict Perspective • Symbolic/Interactionist Perspective And those exciting guys and gals who brought it to our attention!!

Structural - Functional • Society is viewed as a complex system of parts (structures) that interact to perform various necessary functions • Shared values, norms, attitudes and beliefs (consensus) • Change is generally viewed as disruptive and gradual • Macrosociology (What is Macro? )

Conflict Theory • Views society as a struggle for resources and power • Change is inevitable, often beneficial and can be violent • Conflict between the classes determines social change • Some groups prosper at the expense of others • Conflict is universal; social consensus is limited and inequality is widespread • Macrosociology

Symbolic Interactionism • Studies society through interactions within individual and small groups • Interaction between individuals is negotiated through shared symbols, gestures, nonverbal, and VERBAL communications • Humans are social animals and require interaction • Asks the questions” “How do individuals experience one another? ” “How do they interpret the meaning of these interactions? ” and “How do people construct a sense of self and the society as a whole? ” • Microsociology

Brother, boyfriend, sister, girlfriend • Suppose that you fallen madly in love. Finally, after what seems forever, it is the night before the wedding. As you are contemplating tomorrow’s bliss, your mother comes to you in tears. Sobbing, she tells you that she had a child before she married your father, a child she gave up for adoption. Breaking down, she says that she has just discovered that the person you are getting married to is this child.

Famous Theorists (you should know)

Auguste Comte (French)(1798 -1857) Silent comedian in Paris night club scene. • Coined the term “sociology” • Believed society could be studied like any other science • Key concepts: positivism, sociology the “queen” of sciences, social engineering

Harriet Martineau English (1802 -1876) Pulling for Hillary • Translated A. Comte’s work into English • Concerned with social change and the plight of women and children in English factories during the early phases of industrialization • First acknowledged female sociologist • Examined emerging American society (c 1834)

Émile Durkheim (French) (1858 -1917) Clearly suffered from constipation • Founded sociology as an academic discipline • Famous for his study on suicides (1897) • Use of statistics in sociology • Key concepts: social facts, social structure social solidarity, collective conscience, mechanical and organic solidarity, anomie • Structural/functionalist theorist

Karl Marx (German) (1818 -1883) Gave every kid the exact same present while playing Santa Clause! • Founder of political / economic theory of socialism (communism) • Considered the founder of the conflict perspective • Wrote the Communist Manifesto and co wrote Das Kapital (with Friedrich Engels) • Key concepts: proletariat, bourgeoisie, capitalists, social class, dialectics (thesis, antithesis, synthesis)

Max Weber (German) (1864 -1920) Why so angry Max! • Believed that sociologist could never capture the reality of society but should focus on ideal types that best capture the essential features of aspects of social reality • Key concepts: bureaucracy, verstehen, rationalization of the modern world, people are becoming prisoners of new technology, loss of individuality

Herbert Spencer (English) (1820 -1903) Mother still loved him! • Structural/Functionalist • Coined the term “survival of the fittest” in reference to human social arrangements (Social Darwinism) • Advocated against social reform efforts to poor people because it disrupts the natural selection process of evolution

Jane Addams Watching another Chicago winter suck the life out of her (American) (1880 -1935) • Won the first Nobel Peace Prize (1931) given to an American sociologist • Founded Hull House for the poor in Chicago • Influenced the “Chicago School” of applied sociology (social problems) • Pioneered the study of social problems

A MUSICAL INTERLUDE

W. E. B. Du. Bois (American) (1868 -1963) 1 st African. American male to lose his hair • First Afro-American Ph. D graduate of Harvard University • Concerned with the social position of African-Americans in US society. • Wrote The Philadelphia Negro (1899) on race relations • Used statistics to examine racial discrimination against blacks

Talcott Parsons (American) (1902 -1979) Hemingway’s twin brother from another mother. • Reintroduced theories of European sociologists while teaching at Harvard University • Structural/Functionalist • Abstract “ivory tower” theoretician • Emphasis on empirical research--not social reform

C. Wright Mills (American) (1916 -1962) Imagined himself as the queen of Denmark • Taught at Columbia University • Marxist, structural/functionalist theorist • Key concepts: power elite, radical social change, social injustices, applied sociology, the “sociological imagination”

Robert K. Merton (American) (1910 -2002) He thought he was better looking than Kennedy • Taught at Columbia University • Sought to bridge the European “grand” theories and a more focused research style • Structural/Functionalist • Key concepts: manifest & latent functions, “Strain Theory” of deviance, dysfunctions

George Herbert Mead (American) (1863 -1961) Role played once with Queen Victoria as her puppy “Charlie” • Symbolic/Interactionist theorist • Believed that the self was a social product acquired by observing and assimilating the identities of others • Key concepts: “I” & “me”, significant other, generalized other, role taking, preparatory stage, play stage, game stage

Charles Horton Cooley (American) (1864 -1929) Use to pretend he was Cinderella in the mirror • Symbolic interactionist theorist • We develop a sense of who we are in society based upon interaction with others and how we feel others perceive us • The “Looking Glass Self”

Erving Goffman (American) (1922 -1982) First to undergo a face transplant • Symbolic interactionist theorist • Believed we play roles and present a “face” for public view • Key concepts: dramaturgical approach, frontstage & backstage selves, presentation of self

Sigmund Freud (German)(1856 -1939) Use to cry for “Mommy” while snorting cocaine • Psychoanalyst • Key concepts: unconscious, id, ego, superego, psycho-sexual stages, psychoanalysis, ego defense mechanisms, free association. dream interpretation, seduction theory, libido, libidinal energy

B(urrhus) F(redrick) Skinner (American) (1904 -1990) Rang a bell when he had to potty at the old folks home • Psychologist, learning theorist, behaviorist. Taught at Harvard University, probably the most famous American psychologist • Wrote several books including: The Behavior of Organisms, Beyond Freedom and Dignity, and Walden Two • Key concepts: operant learning, positive & negative reinforcement, punishment, shaping, schedules of reinforcement, behavior modification, the Skinner Box