Three Major Sociology Theories and Strengths and Weaknesses oft these Theories
Order InstructionsIn the Discussion 1 assignment, these items explain and illustrate three major theories of sociology, such as functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interaction perspectives. There are specific sociologists affiliated with these perspectives, such as Emile Durkheim (functionalist), Karl Marx (conflict), and Herbert Mead (symbolic interaction). Your job in this assignment is twofold: briefly explain the three theories, and explain the strengths and weaknesses of these theories. ou may also think of a few examples from society at large which you think a particular theory cannot explain whereas another brand explains it well. For example, think of economic inequality. Can functionalism explain this well? How about conflict and symbolic interaction? Take notes on these types of exploration. Such exploration helps you to formulate the strengths as well as weaknesses of a theory. See notes below regarding the theories. (Some of this should be in your discussion reply)
Three Theories
The functionalist theory is based on the idea that a society functions because its structures or parts work together. Social institutions are parts of society. For example, the economic institution works to feed people by giving them jobs, and thus, the function of these institutions helps the members of society survive, and this ensures society functions as well. Likewise, you may look at education, politics etc. These are social institutions as well. If our politics does not function right, society will not function properly either.
The conflict perspective, by contrast, puts emphasis on inequality, dominance, oppression, exploitation etc. Based on Karl Marx’s formulation, conflict theorists believe that society is a panorama of conflicts. For example, the owners of the factory deprive the workers by paying less whereas the workers add additional value to the raw materials. This additional value was called “surplus value” by Marx. Marx argued that the workers (proletariats) and factory owners (bourgeoisie) are on opposite poles of society because their interests are conflicting with each other. The factory owner wants to deprive the workers to maximize his profit while the workers want to gain their dues. Therefore, these two classes are in a conflicting situation. The fight or struggle between these two classes brings a classless society someday as Marx predicted. This framework can be used in explaining other forms of conflicts or exploitation, such as race, gender, etc.
The symbolic interaction explains why social meaning changes over time and by context. For example, if you compare the women’s outfits of the USA with that of Saudi Arabia, you clearly notice a significant difference. Why is this so? The symbolic interaction would tell you that this differs because the meaning systems operative in gender roles in these two societies are different. You may ask yourself a question about a very recent social phenomenon, such as homosexuality. Why is this acceptable to a great extent in our society where people were burnt to death even in the early 1980s? The answer is this: there is a change in the meaning of homosexuality now. Thirty or forty years back, the meaning of homosexuality was something like “deviance” or “crime”, but now this meaning has changed to “acceptable” to society. You clearly see how things change over time. This is symbolic interaction or social construction.
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