Topic 1- Consensus, conflict, structural and social action theories Flashcards
Consensus
Society is primarily harmonious and social order is maintained through widespread agreement
Conflict
Primarily conflict ridden and unstable and emphasises social differences and conflicts in groups
Durkheim (Functionalist)
Saw society changing from a simple structure to a more complex one which weakens social solidarity
Saw society as existing separately from its members as external social factors shape peoples behaviour
Structuralism
the sociology of system or structure
Parsons (Functionalism)
Drew an analogy between the workings of society and the human body
Like the human body, any society has functional prerequisites- basic needs
Parson’s GAIL model
Goal attainment
Adaptation
Integration
Latency
What did Durkheim say about the establishment and maintenance of social order
Suggested that people are basically selfish and that society would soon fall into chaos unless they learned to share some common values
Structural differentiation
Gradual process in which separate, functionally specialised institutions develop, each meeting a different need
Merton
Criticises the 3 assumptions of Parsons
3 assumptions of Parsons
-Indispensability- everything in society is functionally indispensable but Merton sees this as an untested assumption
-Functional unity- Parsons assumes that society is united but Merton says this isn’t necessarily true
-Universal functionalism- Questions Parsons assumption that all social institutions performed beneficial positive functions
Manifest functions
Intended and recognised consequences
Latent functions
Unintended or unrecognized consequences
Evaluation of functionalism (Strengths)
-Produces a general theory of the workings of society
-Recognises the importance of social structures in society
-Offers an explanation as to why most people generally conform to the rules of social life
Evaluation of functionalism (weaknesses)
-SAT argues that its presented as over socialised and is too deterministic
-Metanarrative- postmodernists
-Doesn’t explain social change very effectively
-It over emphasises the beneficial aspects of functions performed
Marxism
Modernist theory that believed that a scientific analysis of society and the discovery of the laws of its development
Marx
The economy was the driving force in society
Workers produce more than what is needed to pay their wage
Materialism
Is the view that humans are beings with material needs such as food
Dominant ideology
The class that owns the means of production also owns and controls the means of mental production
Evaluation of classical marxism (strengths)
-Recognises the importance of the economy and how economic changes can influence
-Focus on private ownership of the means of production
-Recognises the importance of society’s social structure
Evaluation of classical marxism (weaknesses)
-Marx’s predictions have not come true
-Overemphasises the extent of conflict
-Overemphasises social class as a source of inequality
-Too deterministic
Neo-Marxist
Developed and modified the ideas of Marx’s classical Marxism partly due to some of the criticisms
Gramsci’s concept of hegemony
He saw ideology and peoples ideas having relative autonomy from the economic base
=The concept of hegemony was leaning towards a social action approach to society
Althusser
=Economic level
=Political level
=Ideological level
Evaluation of neo Marxism (strengths)
-Tried to overcome some of the weaknesses of classical Marxism
-Concept of hegemony recognises the importance of peoples ideas
Evaluation of neo Marxism (weaknesses)
-Marx recognised the importance of ideas and meanings
-Underplay the importance of the economy in shaping social reality
-Gramsci has been criticised for overemphasising the role of ideas
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Social action or interpretivist
Individual behaviour in everyday social institutions
Mead and Blumer
Symbolic interactionism
-Sees society as built by interactions between people which take place on the basis of meanings held by individuals
1.People act in terms of symbols
2.Develop out of the interaction of an individual with others
3.People try to interpret the meanings others give to their actions
Cooley
‘Looking glass self’
-That our view of ourselves was formed not by the social structure, but through the responses of other people
Goffman
Studied the ways people construct meanings and interpretations in the process of interaction using a dramaturgical model
Impression management- used through symbols like clothing
Husserl
Phenomenology
-The world only makes sense because we impose meaning and order on it by constructing mental categories
-Giving meaning to our experiences
Schultz
The categories and concepts we use aren’t unique to ourselves
-He called these typification’s
-Enables us to organise our experiences into a shared world of meaning
Garfinkel
Ethnomethodology
-Refers to the description of methods or interpretive procedures which people use to make sense of
Evaluation of social action theory (strengths)
-Shows that humans create and negotiate meanings and make sense of the world
-Recognises that to fully explain peoples actions, it is necessary to understand the motivations
-High levels of validity
Evaluation of social action theory (weaknesses)
-Structural theories argue that it doesn’t pay enough attention to the structures of society
-Doesn’t really explain peoples motivations
-It ignores the distribution of power in society
-Metanarrative
Weber
He emphasised the importance of understanding the subjective meanings people held and how they viewed the world
Evaluation of Weber (Strengths)
-His ideas correct the over emphasis on structural factors shown by functionalism
-Stress the importance of understanding subjective meanings
Evaluation of Weber (Weaknesses)
-Schultz- too individualistic
-Weber’s typology is difficult to apply
-Weber’s use of verstehen is hard to apply
Feminist theories
Malestream sociology concentrates most on men and assumes the findings can be applied to women as well
Walby
‘A system of social structures and practiced in which men dominate, oppress and exploit women
What are Walby’s 6 structures of patriarchy
-The household
-Paid work
-The state
-Sexuality
-Male violence
-Cultural institutions
Liberal feminists
Distinguish between sex and gender
Women’s inequality arose primarily from factors like stereotyping and socialisation
Oakley
Research on housework
Sharpe
Research on gender
Evaluation of liberal feminism (strengths)
-Has produced evidence demonstrating that gender differences are socially constructed
-Challenge the division of role
-Important effects on social policies
Evaluation on liberal feminism (weaknesses)
-Only deals with reducing the effects of women’s subordination, rather than challenging the causes
Radical feminism
Regards patriarchy as the most fundamental form of inequality
Firestone and Ortner
Links women’s subordination to women’s biology which makes them dependent and vulnerable
Rich
Men continue to force women into a narrow ‘compulsory heterosexuality’. Women should begin to free themselves from oppression
Evaluation of radical feminism (weaknesses)
-It fails to recognise that social class and ethnicity are also important sources of inequality
-Doesn’t offer explanations of how patriarchy might be abolished
-Not all men are engaged with the domination of women
Marxist feminism
Gender inequality arises primarily from the nature of capitalist society
Ansley
‘Takers of shit’- helps to keep capitalism stable
Barrett and McIntosh
Ideology of the ‘cereal packet’ family is patriarchal and harmful to women
Evaluation of Marxist feminism (Weaknesses)
-Patriarchy has existed in all known societies not just capitalist societies
-Its men who benefit from women’s subordination
Black feminism
Developed in response to what it saw as the ethnocentrism of feminism as a whole
Mirza
Although Black British women suffer many of the same problems as white British women, they have the added dimensions which makes their experience of life different
Evaluation of Black feminism (strengths)
-Recognises essentialism
The idea that all women share the same fundamental essence is wrong
Takes into account that the diversity of women’s experience
Evaluation of Black feminism (Limits)
Liberal and radical feminists are critical as by emphasising the differences between women, difference feminism deflects attention away from those problems shared by all women
Post structural feminism
Sees no fixed essence of what it is to be a woman
It recognises the diversity of women’s lives and struggles
