Development Studies
THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF ZANZIBAR
(SUZA)
DS 301 for diploma students third year.
Prepared by: Mr. Abdulrahman Mustafa Nahoda
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Theories of Culture
1.
2.
3.
Functionalism (Herbert Spencer)
Conflict theory (Max Weber & Marx)
Symbolic Interactionism (George
Herbert Mead)
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Theories of Culture
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Functionalists focus on the dominant
cultural values that integrate society and
produce social order.
Conflict theorists focus on culture as a
product of the powerful in any given society
used to encourage those they oppress to
accept their lot in life.
Symbolic Interactionists focus on culture as
a dynamic changing set of meanings that
people believe and remake in interaction with
each other.
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Functionalist Perspective
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Defends Existing social arrangements; justifies
the way things are
For instance, what would a functionalist
perspective maintain about slavery?
Assume all parts of a society serve a function.
Not all parts may serve a function when first
introduced so a biological analogy falls apart.
Difficulty accounting for instability.
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FUNCTIONALIST PRINCIPLES
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Stability
Integration
Functional Coordination
Consensus
How can the theory explain a situation
where an employee starts a strike that
leads to a general revolt against the
society?
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Understanding Conflict
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Conflict is a natural disagreement
resulting from individuals or groups
that differ in attitudes, beliefs,
values or needs
It can also originate from past
rivalries and personality
differences
Examples of conflicting
values: individualism vs
teamwork, family life vs career,
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The Conflict Perspective
Conflict Inevitable and Most
Important Agent for Social
Change
Key
Ideas of
Conflict
Perspective
Dominant and Subordinate
Groups Compete for Valued
and Scarce Resources
Dominant Groups Create a
Facade of Legitimacy to
Justify Their Actions
Ideologies Are Generated
Espousing the Fundamental
Ideas of the Dominant Groups
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Conflict Theory
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Opposite to the consensus theory
(common acceptance of basic
values such as virtue, honor, right,
and wrong)
There is little agreement on basic
values
Society is made up of many
competing groups, each with
different interests
Law is a weapon that the powerful
use to enforce their private
interests, often at the expense of
the public interest
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Symbolic Interactionist
Perspective:
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Micro level interactions
Individual behavior is based on the symbols and
shared meanings we learn- in other words, on
what we “believe” not just what is objectively true
So…society is “socially constructed” through
human interaction, and symbols change through
these interactions
We learn these symbols during interactions with
other individuals and groups
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“Order” for Symbolic Interactionists:
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Social interaction and shared beliefs (subjective)
create order
Change results from changing belief systems and
ever-changing interactions
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Weaknesses?
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Functionalism: Hard time explaining change
(since it it a dysfunction); is a conservative view
that downplays inequality between groups
(defends the status quo)
Conflict: Overlooks cohesion and stability, and
improvement in some social problems
Interactionist: Reminds us that individuals create
social structure, but too subjective in interpretation
and is not a good explanation of inequality
(ignoring the effect of larger social structures and
culture)
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