This is particularly evident in some Media portrayal of females and through social dynamics within daily life. The three waves of feminism theory enlightens the stages of progress feminism has encountered in the search for equality. The first wave occurred between the 19th to early 20th century and marks the Socialist and Marxist feminist era. During this period, focuses were made on official, mandated inequalities such as the right to vote, which was the first step towards suffrage. The second, more radical, wave of feminism between the 1950s and 1980s focused primarily on unofficial inequalities within society, politics, the power differences between the sexes and sexism within the English language.
These combine to form the infrastructure and the superstructure i.e. education, politics, norms and values all support the dominant system determined by economic factors” Haralambos, M & Holborn, M (2000) Marxism believed that there was class conflict between the bourgeoisies (upper class/owners of land, factories etc) and the Proletariat (the working class/middle class). The Marxism theory was also a macro sociological theory as it views society in the ‘bigger picture’. The functionalist theory is different in the way that it is a consensus theory; this means that everything in society functions as individual parts that as a whole create society. Functionalists look at society like the human body; both human parts and parts of society have certain needs that need to be met if they are to survive.
Assess the Usefulness of Micro Sociology to Our Understanding of Society Assess the usefulness of micro sociology to our understanding of society (33marks) Micro sociology focuses on the actions and interactions of individuals and is a bottom-up approach. Such micro approaches, see society as shaped by its members, who possess agency, in other words, the ability to act as free agents. Micro approaches, also known as action theories, include social action theory, symbolic interactionism, phenomenology and ethnomethodoly. However, macro sociologists take a deterministic approach, as they believe that our actions are determined by society. Macro theories include Functionalism and Marxism, who see individuals as puppets, under the control of social structures.
They also believe that laws are enforced mostly to benefit the interests of the ruling class. (An example of this is 80% of laws exist to protect private property.) NeoMarxists (also known as critical criminology) are another branch of Marxism which was established in the 1970s. They discuss more contemporary ideas of crime and their ideas, such as saying crime results out of political anger. They note that the traditional Marxist perspective is too deterministic and try to implement an element of free will in their theory.
Theories and Perspectives in Sociology, Understanding sociological Theory In the study of how society works, sociologists use theories, to help explain human behaviour. Within sociology, there are several theories and perspectives used to do this. These are divided into three main theories structural functional, Conflict and social action theory. The social action theory is micro a study of society, this theory looks at individual’s behaviour and how individuals interact with each other. As stated in Giddens, sociologists who support this theory see individuals as not created by society but as the creators of society.
Feminists critisise mainstream society as being ‘malestream’ - seeing society only from the male perspective. In contrast, feminists examine society from a woman's point of view. Some feminists see their work as part of the struggle against women’s subordination. However although all feminists oppose womens subordination there are arguments among feminits about its causes and how to overcome it. In my essay I will concentrate on the following feminist theories which have had a big impact on sociology; Liberal feminism, Radical Feminism, Marxist Feminism and difference feminism.
Mills implies that by posing questions about how sociologists gain knowledge of the social world and exploring issues of self-knowledge, cultural differences, and the practical significance of the discipline we can gain a better understanding of how cultures interact with one another. I think that Mills felt that our sociological imagination can bring new understanding to daily life around us. Using our sociological imagination, we can see that there are many similarities between the social and behavioral patterns of people throughout the world. Through close examination of the patterns of social life, we can begin to think critically about the factors that shape both personal experience and public issues. A person’s sociological imagination should help to shed light on
"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins portrays a futuristic society set in a post-apocalyptic world; the novel exemplifies the perversion of Karl Marx's theory known as Marxism and the struggles between social classses. Collins shows the various ways in which a communistic society can be corrupted. It is human nature, to be greedy, selfish, lazy, and decietful; this is what ultimately forces Marxism to be an impossibility. A communistic based society would have no need for government simply because each individual would be more than willing to live their life according to the laws and ideas of Marxism. There would be a much greater chance of success for communism, if the location/environment was smaller and consisted solely of those in complete non-forceful compliance.
8th October 2012 Sociology: exam practise Assess the contribution of feminist theories to our understanding of the family. Feminism is the movement that fights against woman suppression, they believe that the gender inequality is not natural, inevitable or biological but rather it is something that is created by society. Feminists have different theories as to what is the reason behind the treatment of females. Radical feminists say that all societies are founded by patriarchal families and they believe that in this family structure the men benefit from the woman’s domestic and sexual services. It is thought that in a patriarchal society domestic violence against a woman by a man is inevitable as men like to prove their control.
This essay will discuss how women's roles have changed within the family. It will analyse these changes and draw conclusion as to whether this has adversely affected the family in Great Britain today. The discussion will compare how women were traditionally placed within the family institution over one hundred years ago and how liberation and legislation have played their part in the changing role of women within modern day families. Women were once, social and economic dependants of men. A professional career was almost impossible, and despite Britain’s ruler being female for most of the nineteenth century until 1901 when Queen Elizabeth died, women were second class citizens.