316) · Foucault - that social order is produced through the power of knowledge and discourse (that which is talked about), which are the products of historical processes (Silva, E, pg. 319) Buchanan’s and Monderman’s views on ordering public space will be used to further illustrate Goffman’s focus on the way people negotiate interactions with each other, his interactional order and Foucault’s emphasis on authoritative knowledge and application of order by authorities or experts. The two propositions are similar in that both are concerned with the wider questions of understanding how society is produced and reproduced and specifically how social order is made and remade. Goffman and Foucault both sought to make the often invisible social order visible albeit through differing mechanisms, Goffman through metaphor and Foucault through historical analysis. Similar claims were made around the ways of understanding singular issues in interaction, although Foucault focuses on the power of historical precedent and powerful discourse on shaping the individuals and society while Goffman focuses on individuals shaping society through their interactions, rituals and habits.
Salamon suggests that Feinberg's view of social construction is an adjective that wants to modify both social and construction. As a result, Salamon (2010) states, "The social realm that produces gender oversimplifies it by legislating
The social action approach, argues that individuals experience the social world by interpreting their actions and interactions with others and the meaning they assign to social phenomena. The starting point for understanding society should be the individual as they are authors of their own ideas. Emphasis should be given to how shared meanings develop and how these influence the way individuals define, act and react to their environment. Opposing the social action approach are the structural theories. Structural theories such as functionalism and Marxism are macro (large scale), and deterministic: they see society as a real thing existing over and above us, shaping our ideas and behaviour – individuals are like puppets, manipulated by society.
Steven E. Barkan wrote in Sociology: Comprehensive Edition (v.1.0), the foremost areas of social structure is positions, roles we have in our community, community systems, groups and associations. Barkan also states that how others perceive us is critical in identifying self .Cooley (1964) quoted in Social Identity (Dalile),coined the phrase ‘looking glass self ‘”where the self grows out of one, s image through other peoples eyes”. Durkheim (1858-1917) as quoted in Plummer (2010) believed society was above any individual and was a combined entity. As society takes on its own existence people are compelled into certain behaviours as a result, much like the behaviour of a group. According to Plummer, ‘social’ is the collaboration between humans and the analysis of this interaction is the core of sociology.
Gregory Powell ______________ ______________ ______________ Society is a process made up of interactions in terms of size and complexity of multiple levels. Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science, a term with which uses several micro level of agency and interaction to the macro level of systems and social structures. Argument The first thing to remember in writing sociological argument is to be as clear as possible in stating your thesis. In the study of sociology, there are three sociological assumptions: argument, evidence, unit of analysis.
The functionalist believe that the understanding of deviance is the function for society rather than individuals themselves. Even though they believe that consensus is a function required for society. Functionalists therefore, argue that it is important for society to maintain society and the social control. However, the strain theory which is Merton's theory is based upon the theory of functionalist as they encourage anomie of deviance. Merton 1930,highlights the strains between the cultural goals of society and legitimate and regular ways to achieving the goals of success.
Social facts, positivists argue, can be observed, measured, and quantified, (hence why positivism is also known as Quantitative) producing data/statistics which, when analysed can reveal correlations, patterns of behaviour, causes (cause and effect), and ultimately, laws of human behaviour. By creating data through research methods such as structured interviews, questionnaires, and social surveys using a deductive approach to the relationship between theory and results, the emphasis is placed on the testing of theories. They also believe that it is important to examine society as a whole, using a large scale (macro) methodology, and consider social facts (institutions, beliefs, norms &values of society) to have an external existence to a person, but having an influence on behaviour, and the way a person acts. Therefore, it could be said that human beings essentially are directed by social facts, by norms, values and beliefs, and are part of wider society. Durkheim’s study of suicide being an example of this, he gathered data on suicide (social fact) and members of different religious beliefs (set), by analysis of such data and found a link between Protestantism and a high rate of suicide.
Compare and contrast the notions of contradiction in these two theories. 2) How does Mead's concept of the self in Symbolic Interaction Theory relate to an understanding of self in Relational Dialectics Theory? 3) Expectancy Violations Theory is primarily concerned with our expectations for other people's behavior, whereas Cognitive Dissonance Theory is concerned with our desire for consistency in attitudes and behavior. Show the relationship between the two theories using expectations, attitudes, and behavior as your overarching principles. 4) Discuss how the principles of Social Penetration Theory (SPT) and Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT) overlap.
Marx believed that societies grew and changed due to struggles of different social classes. Durkheim believed in studying the “social facts,” which would help determine if a society was healthy or pathological. Weber’s focus on the structure of society included the elements of class, status and power. Each sociologist had a great influence in the field of sociology, but took different approaches to studying societies. Sociology enables us to understand how society functions and under which circumstances.
------------------------------------------------- Identify and explain the main arguments proposed by positivist thinking that sociology is a science. Consider and explain the responses from anti-positivist thinking that propose an interpretist approach. Assess the advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches, illustrating your answer with references to sociological theorists, methodology and research. Positivism in short is the view that the study of sociology can be carried out in a scientific manner. It was a term coined by one of the founding fathers of classical sociology Comte and it involves: “Knowledge that is disciplined, empirical and scientific free from religious or political bias.” On the other hand as society and the early science of sociology evolved a different approach was seen by many to be the way forward.