The first step is to see the connection between oneself and the history his or her society is based around. It also is important to question how ones society is and is not different than other societies. The second question is regarding the understanding of how ones society fits into the bigger picture of history and how that human history influences the current societal organization. The third question links the first two questions by asking how the structures have directly influenced the individual and shaped their personality and morals. It is important to have a sociological imagination because it helps one to further question actions and thoughts in order to see what causes them and ultimately is a good framework to examine the social world.
This paper will examine the similarities and differences of the theoretical views. What are the Sociological theories? Functionalism, the Conflict Theory, and Interactionism comprise the three main sociological theories. These theories affect the way people think and perceive the world around them. Each sociological theory mentioned above: functionalism, conflict, and interactionism, presents a different set of assumptions or perspective that define a particular way of understanding of social action.
Sociology Versus Anthropology Abstract: Sociology and Anthropology both concentrate on the society and its evolution. Both share different approaches as well as have some similarities as well. This essay will discuss two research methods used in sociology as well as two research methods used in anthropology. The methods will then be compared and contrasted. Describe two research methods used in Sociology: According to the University of North Carolina, Sociology is described as “The study of human social relationships and institutions.” Sociology uses several research methods to study social relationships and institutions including quantitative research and observational research.
These differing views can be illustrated by the case studies of Monderman’s thesis and the Buchanan report, which focus on two different approaches to traffic governance. But first this essay will address both Goffman’s and Foucault’s theories. Goffman studied what he termed ‘interactional order’ – how society is constructed by its individuals, and how social order comes about through repetitive actions and interactions in the micro - the smallest scale of social life (Silva, 2009, p.309). Goffman believed that social behaviour was ‘dramaturgical’, with individuals each trying to put on a type of social ‘performance’ in order to best represent themselves, (Silva, 2009, p. 172) with the use of language, body language, eye contact and facial expression. He saw these ‘performances’ as everyday rituals of tact and trust, which make up the rules of conduct in an ‘invisible social order’.
The producer does this to position us in a specific way. In a documentary we believe it to be truthful recounts of different events. Sometimes documentaries have as much manipulation and positioning as the popular films and TV shows. Documentary film makers conduct this audience positioning by the use of many different filmic techniques, some of these include cinematography, representation, audience targeting, narrative structure, social values and discourses. Many documentary makers include their individual cultural assumptions and discourses to distort the truth and position the target audience to react in a desired manner.
At the other end of the spectrum, Ground Theory is a systematic form of enquiry which generates social theory through the study of social systems present in human relations and although there are differences between the two, they both have much in common. In respect to the similarities that exist between the two, both theories adopt an interpretivivst approach, in which the researcher seeks to explore real life situations, which requires much more interaction between persons and this takes the form of interviews or observation etc. both theorist collect and analyses data from participants perspectives and try to ensure their findings are not influenced by preconceived ideas, to achieve they must involve participants in data analysis to increase trustworthiness of the findings. In brief, Grounded and Phenomenologists Theorist seeks to explore, individuals experience in the context of the world we live in. Phenomenologists emerged from Philosophy, primary influenced by E. Husseri and M. Heidegger, it aims to describe and explore experiences which can only be done by collecting data, from individuals who have lived through those experiences.
Structuralist Perspective Society is viewed as a complex system of structures that interact to perform various necessary functions. It is perceived that change is disruptive and gradual. This perspective uses macrosociology as it looks at society from a distance. Functionalism The functionalist perspective, also called functionalism, is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology. It has its origins in the works of Emile Durkheim, who was interested in how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable.
09/13/12 The three major perspectives in sociology In modern times, there is a growing realization of the importance of the scientific study of social phenomena and the means of promoting human welfare. There are many sociological factors that influence and interact the way people think around the world. As we have discussed in class, a perspective is simply a way of looking at the world that can be a framework of new paradigms. Each sociological theory in sociology provides us with different view of our social world and helps us to predict and explain the social phenomena in society which we live. Chapter 1 mainly discusses the three primary perspectives of sociology; functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionism.
In order to carefully understand the three main perspectives in sociology, it is prudent to define and understand the terms sociology and perspectives. In the course of this piece of writing, other terms regarding the subject matter will also be defined to clearly set out the objective at hand. Sociology is defined as the scientific study of society, the ways in which society is organised and operates, and the factors contributing to both societal stability and social change. It is also a discipline that studies human behaviour and social interactions. (Anderson and Taylor, 2009) It should be noted that the terms 'perspectives' and 'schools of thoughts' are used interchangeably with the term 'theory'.
In other words, they help us to relate the larger social picture to our own personal lives. A Theory is a set of interrelated concepts that are used to define, explain, and predict how society and its parts are connected to each other. They are concepts and ideas that have been scientifically tested and combined to magnify, enlarge, clarify, and expand the understanding of people, their behaviors, and their societies (Hammond, 2008). Two Main Sociological Theories Theories vary in scope depending on the scale of the issues they are meant to explain. Grand theories, more formally called “Macro-level”, attempt to explain large-scale relationships and answer fundamental questions such as what forms societies and why does societies change.