Pedagogy of the Oppressed Pedagogy of the Oppressed Summary Chapter One In chapter one of Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire (1970) writes in depth about how oppression occurs in our society. By being oppressed these individuals lose a sense of humanity resulting in dehumanization. Humanity entails qualities that make humans such as freedom, integrity, compassion, and understanding. Both oppressors and the oppressed are capable of both humanization and dehumanization characteristics. Dehumanization occurs when those who are robbed of their humanity and those who rob others of their humanity through violence, oppression, and injustice.
In this essay we will assess the usefulness of these functionalist theories, and look at how it helps us explain crime. One functionalist who tried to explain crime is Merton and his strain theory, the strain theory argues that people engage in the deviant behaviour when they are unable to achieve socially approved goals by legitimate means. Merton explanation combines 2 elements; structural factors- society’s unequal opportunity structure, cultural factors- strong emphasis to achieve goals and weak emphasis on using legit means. Merton uses the strain theory to explain some patterns of crime in society, he argues a person’s positioning in society affects the way they adapt or respond to the strain to anomie. Merton gives 5 different types of adaption; Conformity- the individual accepts socially acceptable goal and achieves it through legitimate means, Innovation- Individual accepts the role of success and wealth but uses illegitimate means to achieve them, Ritualism- Individual give up on legitimate goals but still follow strictly to the rules, Retreatism- Individuals reject legitimate goals and means of achieving them e.g drug addicts, the final type is Rebellion- Individuals reject existing goals and means but replace them with new one in desire to bring about revolutionary change.
It is very persistence and can be termed as a irrational fear of certain situations or objects (Medicine.net, 2000) INTRODUCTION: Erving Goffman and Michael Foucault are social scientists trying to explain that how social order is created in a society and where is it originated from. To start with let me talk about who creates social order so according to Goffman the people in the way of living and actions in their day to day life determines the social order. INTERACTION ORDER According to Goffman social interaction is a deliberate interaction between the person and the social entities and environment. The behaviour and the style of a person depend on the impression he wants to create in the minds of the other person. The social interaction is manipulated.
Assess the usefulness of subcultural theories in understanding crime and deviance Point | Explain | Research/Evidence | Challenge/Link | Intro: Subcultural strain theories see deviance as the product of a delinquent subculture w/different values from those of mainstream society | Delinquency subcultures are seen as a way for groups (l/w) to gain status they cannot achieve legitimately | They seek to build on and criticise Merton’s theory | However, they have been criticised for over focusing on lower class members and assuming everyone has the same goals | Albert Cohen criticises Merton who sees deviance as an individual response to strain – ignoring the fact much deviance is committed in or by groups – especially among the young | Hence why Cohen focuses on deviance among working-class boys. He argues they face anomie in M/C dominated school system | Status frustration: Suffer - Cultural deprivation + lack of skills to achieve in M/C world = bottom of status hierarchy Lack of status = ‘frustration’ Resolution = rejecting M/C values & joining/forming a subculture of others in same position = alternative status hierarchy – gain status through deviant behaviour (joy riding, vandalising, fighting and substance abuse) | Strength: Cohen offers an explanation of non-utilitarian deviance amongst W/C – unlike Merton (innovation – crime w/profit motive)Cohen ‘s ideas of status frustration and alternative status hierarchy help to explain non-economic delinquency such as vandalism, fighting and truancy Weakness: like Merton, Cohen assumes that W/C boys start off sharing M/C success goals – only to reject these when they fail. He ignores the possibility – they didn’t share these goals in the first place & so never saw themselves as failures | Like Cohen, Cloward & Ohlin take Merton’s ideas as their start point. They agree that W/C youths are
We can divide realist approaches along political lines: - Right Realists - Share the New Right or neo-conservative political outlook. - Left Realists - Are socialists and favour quite different policies of reducing crime. Right Realism - They see crime, especially street crime, as a real and growing problem that destroys communities, undermines social cohesion and threatens society’s work ethic. - Right realist views on crime correspond closely with those of neo-conservative governments during the 1970s and 1980s. The Causes of Crime - Right realists reject the idea put forward by Marxists and others that structural or economic factors such as poverty and inequality are the cause for crime.
Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the functionalist approach to society...(33 marks) Functionalism is a macro, consensus theory. They see human behaviour as being influenced by social forces, because it is a macro-scale approach is therefore seen as a strength as it allows functionalist sociologists to observe society, and its institutions, as a whole. Functionalists argue that, individuals are socialised into a shared value which is also known as a value consensus to ensure conformity and social order. However, this functionalists approach is criticised by action theorists, as they argue that individuals create society through their interactions. Marxists may argue that these norms and beliefs are all in interest of the Bourgeoisie and they can prevent or make change by ideological manipulation or force.
From a Marxist point of view laws are made by the state, which represent the interests of the ruling class. This argument forms the basis of a theory of widespread crime and selective law enforcement. This shows that crime will occur right the way through society, however poor criminals receive harsher treatment than rich criminals. Marxists tend to emphasise white collar and corporate crime, and pay less attention to blue collar variants. They emphasise that crimes of the upper class exert a greater economic toll on society than the crimes of ordinary people.
It also refers to the state of mind required in order to operate effectively as a social anthropologist. Anthropological training includes making assessments of and therefore becoming aware of one's own class assumptions, so that these can be set aside from conclusions reached about other societies. This may be compared to ethnocentric biases or the "neutral axiology" required by Max Weber. In addition, a Classless society is the ultimate of social organization, likely to happen when true communism is achieved. According to Karl Marx (1818– 83), the primary function of the state is to repress the lower classes of society in the interests of the ruling class.
The rewards can involve money or even a sense of gratification according to sociologist Jack Katz in the text book Criminal Justice in action when said “’rewards’ of crime may be sensual as well as financial. The inherent Danger, according to Katz, increases the ‘rush’ a criminal experiences on successfully committing a crime” (pg32). Not all Crimes are fun and games. They do have their costs such as probation and jail time this is because it deters the thought process in doing right from wrong. This can be found in the text Criminal Justice in Action when stated “Because crime is seen as the end result of a series of rational choices, policy makers have reasoned that severe
When someone is labelled an offender they are forced by society to live according to this label which could minimise their chances of being law abiding citizens and limit their chances of finding decent jobs. When deviants realise that society is defining them as thieves or offenders, they feel the need to act out on these labels. Deviants then try to adapt to their new profile by participating in various deviant (criminal)