Quick Revision Flashcards
Key thinkers in functionalism
Durkheim
Parsons
Merton
Key thinkers in Marxism
Marx
Key thinkers in neo-marxism
Gramsci
Althusser
Key Liberal Feminists
Somerville
Oakley
Key Radical Feminists
Greer
Firestone
Key Marxist Feminists
Ansley
Benston
Key social action theorists
Weber
Key Labelling Theorists
Becker
Mead
Cooley
Key theorist for the Dramaturgical Model
Goffman
Key theorists for structuration theory
Giddens
Key late-modernists
Beck
Giddens
Key Post-Modernists
Lyotard
Baudrillard
Durkheims Key Beliefs
- social solidarity and social order are tightly connected
-Modern society- people are free/ individual but also together - saw society as existing above its members
Parsons Key Beliefs
-Organic analogy
-Value consensus- agreement on norms and values
-embedding value consensus through socialisation and social control
- 4 basic needs (AGIL)
Mertons Key Beliefs
- critiques parsons for making certain assumptions
-
functional alternatives
-functional autonomy- parts of complex society may be unrelated - disfunction conflict of interest
Marx’s Key Beliefs
- society is divided into classes
- mode of production shapes society’s political and ideological superstructure
-working class is exploited by ruling class as capitalists profit from workers labour - capitalism will eventually be overthrown by the proletariat leading to communis,m
Gramscis Key Beliefs
-Hegemony- leadership or dominance especially by one social group over others
Ruling class maintain hegemony in 2 ways
- force
- hegemony-ideas to persuade subordinate class
Althussers key beliefs
- government performs political and ideological functions to keep capitalism going using ‘apparatuses’
repressive state apparatus-army, police, prison
ideological state apparatus- media, education, family
Somervilles Key Beliefs
- principle pragmatism- gradual legislation and attitude changes
- acknowledges positive progress
- greater equality in relationships still many men not pulling their weight
Oakleys Key Beliefs
- gender roles are socially constructed
- stereotypes change depending on culture
- ideas about masculine and feminine passed down through socialisation
Greers Key Beliefs
- women are oppressed by their role in the family- wife, mother, daughter
- solution- women would be better in matrilocal families where all adults are female
Firestones Key Beliefs
- patriarchy is the result of female biology+ reproductive role
- positive about how technology can liberate women from childbirth
Ansleys Key Beliefs
- wives are the ‘takers of shit’
- women absorb mens anger and frustration at the capitalist system
- men are alienated in the workplace and come home and take it out on women
Webers Key Beliefs
- human action is directed by meanings- sociologists need to interpret
Involves 2 levels - cause- external factors
-
meaning- internal factors
For this we need Verstehen -empathy
Beckers Key Beliefs
- how someone is labelled affects their self concept
- this becomes a self fulfilling prophecy
-e.g. ‘educational failure’ fails
Meads Key Beliefs
- people have free will/ choose how to respond to stimuli
-traffic light analogy - there is no such thing as social facts
- people construct their own world
- ‘taking the role of the other’ seeing ourselves as they see us
Cooleys Key Beliefs
The ‘looking glass self’
- taking the role of the other
- we see ourselves mirrored in the way people respond to us
- this becomes a self fulfilling prophecy
- through the looking glass self the label becomes part of an individuals self concept
Goffmans Key Beliefs
- were always performing on a stage
- we display a series of masks constantly concerned about how we are coming across
- there is no true self
- we play many different parts in life e.g. child, friend
Giddens Key Beliefs (structuration)
-Duality of structure= structure and action (agency)
- 2 elements to structure- rules (norms/ customs/laws) and resourced (raw materials)
these can be affected by 2 things
- reproduced by human action
- changed by human action
Becks Key Beliefs
-Todays society faces manufactured risks rather than natural risks
- similar to Giddens: reflexivity which leads to risk consciousness heightened awareness and minimisation
Giddens Key Beliefs (late modernity)
- late modernity = high levels of social change on a global scale
Disembedding- no longer need face to face contact + breaks down geographical barriers
Reflexivity- we constantly reflect on and modify actions + tradition and customs less impotant
Lyotards key beliefs
- knowledge is not about truth just a series of ‘language games’
-Post modernity allows marginalised groups to be heard - meta narratives claimed a monopoly of the truth and could impose this with force
Baudrillards key beliefs
- todays society is no longer based on production of material goods now about buying/sellling knowledge
- world of ‘hyper reality’
-Symbols are meaningless - identity has become destabilised the it is too easy to change
Main points Functionalists think about society
• All sub-systems in society need to work together
• Social solidarity is achieved through establishing a value consensus
• This value consensus is created through socialisation, and controlled through social control
Main points traditional Marxists think about society
• Society is divided into exploitative classes causing inequality (class struggle)
• Social change is driven by economic conditions and class conflict
• Capitalism alienates workers from their labour, the products they create and their fellow workers
Main points neo-Marxists think about society
• Capitalism exploits workers but also intersects with other forms of oppression like race and gender
• Ideology maintains control causing false consciousness and preventing class consciousness
• Social change is needed to challenge inequality and capitalism
Main points Liberal Feminists think about society
• Women should have the same rights as men
• Women should have individual autonomy
• Change should come through gradual legal and social reforms
Main points radical feminists think about society
• Patriarchy is the root of oppression, it must be dismantled to achieve true equality
• Revolutionary change must be used to transform society
• Women’s reproductive rights are crucial for liberation. Control over women’s bodies is a key form of power
Main points Marxist feminists think about society
• Capitalism exploits women through unpaid domestic work and low wages in the work force
• Women’s oppression is linked to class struggle because of economic dependence on men
• Socialism is the solution aiming to replace capitalism and eliminate both gender and class oppression
Main points difference feminists think about society
• Women’s experiences differ based on factors like race, class, and sexuality
• There is no universal woman’s experience, feminism must embrace diversity
• Gender equality should be approached through and intersectional lens considering multiple aspects
Main points social action theorist think about society
• Social reality is created through interactions and shared meanings
• Symbols and language shape society and influence behaviour
• The self is socially constructed through social interactions
Main points labelling theorists think about society
• Peoples behaviour is influences by the labels society gives them which can become a self-fulfilling prophecy
• Deviance is a social construct- it is defined by society’s reactions to it
• Those with power define and enforce labels this is why marginalised groups are more likely to be labeled negatively
Main points of the dramaturgical model about society
• Individuals play roles in every day interactions like actors performing on a stage
• People carefully manage their emotions, putting on masks for different situations
• Social interactions are guided by prescribed roles and expectations which influence how people behave in various situations
Main points structuration theorists think about society
• Structure and agency are interconnected- individual actions and social structures influence each other
• Social structures are not fixed, they are continually shaped and changed through actions
• Structure has duality- it both constrains and enables individual behaviour
Main points late modernists think about society
• Society is rapidly changing and increasingly uncertain
• Individualisation gives people more freedom but also creates insecurity
• Globalisation increases interconnectedness leading to both opportunities and challenges
Main points post modernists think about society
• Meta narratives are rejected there is no single universal truth
• Social reality is fragments and society consists of diverse, competing perspectives
• Media and technology shape reality which creates a hyper reality the blurs the line between real and fake
2 critiques of functionalism
• Perspective is too optimistic – ignores how the sub-systems do not work for everyone, or how there can be conflict within them e.g. education
• Marxists would argue that people are socialised into a false consciousness
2 critiques of traditional Marxism
• The view is very outdated as Marx was writing at a different time and might be a lot less accurate
• Neglects other forms of oppression like race and gender
2 critiques of neo-marxism
• Focuses too much on class and overlooks other social inequalities like race and gender
• Functionalists believe that negative repercussions are needed to control society
2 critiques of radical feminism
• Assumes all women are in the same position, no diversity
• Forces women to live a non-heterosexual life which gives a bad name to feminism
2 critiques of liberal feminism
• Can be seen as too optimistic as some policies haven’t worked so far
• Considered a too soft movement as a result of principle pragmatism
2 critiques of Marxist feminism
• Only focuses on women in capitalist society
• Ignores class and race, only focuses on money
2 critiques of difference feminism
• Weaker movement which goes against all other types of feminism as none of them account for diversity and individual situations
• Still puts some women above others by prioritising their situations and not noticing other women’s situations.
2 critiques of social action theory
• Too individualistic, it cannot explain the shared nature of meanings
• Some typifications are unclear- blurred lines between instrumentally rational and value rational
2 critiques of labelling theory
• Functionalism disagrees with labelling theory as deviance helps maintain order, it is a social function
• Suggests that people are determined by labels and can’t resist them, that people always listen to what people tell them
2 critiques of dramaturgical model
• Ignores deeper reasons for peoples behaviour by reducing it to performances and in turn oversimplifies behaviour
• It neglects power dynamics that shape roles and interactions
2 critiques of structuration theory
• Doesn’t actually explain what happens in society and Gideon’s fails to explain how his theory applies to large scale structures
• Underestimated capacity of structures to resist change
2 critiques of late modernism
• Ignores local contexts as globalisation affects societies differently
• Overlooks structural inequalities that limit freedom and overemphasises individualism
2 critiques of post modernism
• Post modernity is self defeating- it is claiming to be telling us something true whilst simultaneously telling us that there is not such thing as truth
• Late modernists would argue that we are not in a new postmodern era but instead a continuation of modernity
Butlers key beliefs
- importance of language/ discourse
- white middle class women have dominated feminism with ‘universal ideas’
- need to deconstruct feminism- culture/times
- diversity of women’s struggles
Key thinkers of difference feminism
Butler
Benston key beliefs
- capitalism benefits from women’s unpaid domestic labour
- ‘familial ideology’ reproduction of labour- family is the ideal
-women are a reserve army of labour - this is profitable to those who own the means of production
