Happy Tuesday!!!!
Take out your articles and questions
sheet
We are going to discuss what you read
as a class
Nacirema= American
How does this change your perception
of the civilization?
What does this tell you about how
others view our society?
Theoretical Perspectives
Theory
A general statement about how some
parts of the world fit together and how
they work
There are 3 major perspectives in
sociology:
– Symbolic Interactionist
– Functionalist
– Conflict
Symbolic Interactionist
Society is composed of symbols that people
use to:
–
–
–
–
Establish meaning
Define their relationships
Develop their views of the world
Communicate with one another
Example: a symbolic interactionist studying
divorce would focus on the changing meaning
of marriage, divorce, and family to explain the
increase
Functionalist
Society is made up of parts, each with a function,
which contributes to society’s balance
Types of functions:
– Manifest functions- actions are intended to help some
part of the system
– Latent functions- unintended consequences that help
social systems adjust
– Latent dysfunctions- unintended consequences that
undermine a system’s balance
Example: in divorce, a functionalist would look at
how industrialization and urbanization both
contributed to that changing function of marriage
and family
Conflict Theory
Society is composed of groups
competing for scarce resources
Example: Divorce is seen as the
outcome of shifting balance of power
within the family
– As women have gained power and tried to
address inequalities in the relationship,
men have resisted
Level of analysis
Macro-level analysis- looks at largescale patterns of society
– Functionalist and conflict
Micro- level analysis- looks at social
interaction
– Symbolic interactionist