Key-Theorists Flashcards
General Information about Key Theorists in this chapter
Goffman
A social psychologist, built on the earlier work of Mead, Cooley and others- developing theories of social interaction.
he developed the dramaturgical approach to studying interaction.
Mead
can be seen as the ‘forgotten father of sociology’- he developed the symbolic interactionist approach which became the alternative tradition to structuralism.
he was interested in social action and the micro scale, his work often seen as social psychology rather than sociology.
Karl Marx
He was a philosopher, economist, historian, political theorist and activist as well as a sociologist.
he is considered to be one of the founding fathers of sociology along with Durkheim and Weber.
Marxism is a structural conflict approach which emphasises the centrality of class conflict in any analysis of of society.
Marx’s work provided a starting point for much theory in sociology and other disciplines and became the foundation of the global socialist movement and sought to create an equal society where class had been abolished.
Althusser
Revived Marxist thought in the mid 20th century, developing ideas about ideology and other marxist concepts to apply them to political and economic changes of the time.
He is known for concepts of repressive and ideological state apparatuses and how the latter interpellate individuals, turning them into subjects by getting them to internalise (ruling class) ideology and see it natural and obvious.
