Theoretical Perspectives
Summary
TLDRThis lecture delves into the theoretical perspectives in sociology, focusing on the foundational contributions of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber. It explores three primary sociological theories: functionalism, which views society as a stable organism with each part contributing to its survival; conflict theory, emphasizing the continuous struggle and inequality within society, with Marx's influence prominent; and symbolic interactionism, which examines micro-level social behaviors and the importance of symbols and meanings in everyday interactions. The lecture also discusses the decline of functionalism in the 1960s due to global socio-political events and the rise of conflict theory, while symbolic interactionism highlights the role of subjective meanings in social life.
Takeaways
- 📚 The lecture is about theoretical perspectives in sociology, focusing on three main perspectives: functionalism, conflict, and symbolic interactionism.
- 👤 Key sociologists mentioned include Marx, Durkheim, and Weber, who contributed significantly to the development of these perspectives.
- 🧩 Functionalism views society as a structure that maintains stability, with every part of society contributing to its survival, akin to a living organism.
- 🌟 Durkheim is highlighted as a central figure in functionalism, emphasizing social solidarity, stability, and common consensus.
- 💃 The example of the Hoopy rain dance illustrates the concept of manifest and latent functions in functionalism, showing how social events can strengthen social solidarity.
- 🔄 Dysfunction is introduced as a concept within functionalism, where certain societal aspects challenge the stability of the social system, as seen in historical conflicts between Protestants and Catholics.
- 🤝 Conflict perspective, influenced by Karl Marx, sees society as a continual struggle with competing interests and power structures.
- 👊 Feminism is mentioned as a form of conflict theory that focuses on gender inequality, although it may not strictly adhere to Marxist principles.
- 🌐 Symbolic interactionism focuses on micro-sociological phenomena, examining everyday social behaviors and the meaning behind them.
- 🗣️ This perspective is rooted in the idea that humans live in a world of meaningful objects and actions, drawing inspiration from Max Weber and George Herbert Mead.
- 🙂 The lecture concludes with the importance of applying these three perspectives—functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionism—to understand various sociological phenomena.
Q & A
What are the three main theoretical perspectives in sociology discussed in the lecture?
-The three main theoretical perspectives in sociology discussed are functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism.
Who are the three main founders of sociology mentioned in the lecture?
-The three main founders of sociology mentioned are Marx, Durkheim, and Weber.
What does functionalism argue about the structure of society?
-Functionalism argues that each part of society is structured to maintain its stability, and even negative events like crime contribute to the survival of the system.
Who is considered a key figure in the functionalist perspective and what are his main contributions?
-Durkheim is considered a key figure in the functionalist perspective, mainly contributing the concepts of social solidarity, stability, and common consensus in society.
What is the difference between manifest and latent functions in the functionalist perspective?
-Manifest functions are the obvious and intended social functions, while latent functions are not obvious and represent the underlying assumptions or consequences of social events.
What is a dysfunction in the functionalist perspective?
-A dysfunction in the functionalist perspective refers to aspects within society that challenge its stability, such as the conflict between Protestant and Catholic rituals during the middle ages in Europe.
Why did the functionalist paradigm decline in the 1960s?
-The functionalist paradigm declined in the 1960s due to global uprisings and social movements that challenged social stability, such as the Vietnam War, civil rights movements, and feminist movements.
What is the main focus of the conflict perspective in sociology?
-The conflict perspective focuses on the continual struggle and inequality in society, emphasizing competing interest groups and the tension between them for dominance.
Who is the central figure in the conflict perspective and what is his main contribution?
-Karl Marx is the central figure in the conflict perspective, contributing the idea that social behavior is best understood in terms of tension between groups and power.
How does symbolic interactionism differ from functionalist and conflict perspectives?
-Symbolic interactionism differs by focusing on micro-sociological phenomena and everyday social behaviors, rather than the broader social structures considered in functionalist and conflict perspectives.
What are the key concepts in symbolic interactionism?
-Key concepts in symbolic interactionism include the focus on meaningful objects, gestures, symbols (both verbal and non-verbal), and the importance of language and meaning in social interactions.
How does the lecture suggest we should approach the study of different sociological topics?
-The lecture suggests that when studying different sociological topics such as economy, polity, sexuality, gender, religion, education, or environment, they should be understood following the three perspectives: functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionism.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology
The first paragraph introduces the fourth lecture in a series, focusing on the theoretical perspectives in sociology. It mentions the three main founders of sociology—Marx, Durkheim, and Weber—and their distinct contributions to sociological theory. The lecture will cover three broad perspectives: functionalism, conflict, and symbolic interactionism. The paragraph highlights that these theories are still relevant in contemporary sociological discourse. It briefly explains functionalism as a view that society's parts work to maintain stability and status quo, with Durkheim being a key figure in this perspective. The example of a rain dance from an American indigenous tribe is given to illustrate the concept of manifest and latent functions within the functionalist perspective.
🔍 The Evolution and Critique of Functionalist Perspective
The second paragraph delves deeper into the functionalist perspective, discussing its prominence until the 1960s and its decline due to global socio-political events that challenged social stability. It explains the concepts of manifest and latent functions, using the example of religious festivals to illustrate how these functions can strengthen social solidarity. The paragraph also introduces the concept of dysfunction, which refers to aspects of society that challenge stability, with the conflict between Protestant and Catholic rituals during the Middle Ages as an example. The paragraph concludes by noting the rise of conflict perspective in the late 60s, which critiques the functionalist view, particularly with the influence of Karl Marx.
🤝 Conflict Perspective and its Socio-Political Relevance
The third paragraph explores the conflict perspective, emphasizing the continuous struggle and inequality in society. It positions Karl Marx as a central figure and discusses how this perspective views society as a battleground of competing interests. The paragraph also touches on feminism as a form of conflict theory that focuses on gender inequality, although it may not strictly adhere to Marxist principles. The conflict perspective gained prominence in the late 60s due to socio-political events that exposed societal discontent and challenged the functionalist paradigm of social stability.
🌐 Symbolic Interactionism: The Micro View of Sociology
The final paragraph introduces symbolic interactionism, which focuses on micro-level social phenomena and everyday social behaviors. It contrasts this with the macro-level perspectives of functionalism and conflict theory. Symbolic interactionism is rooted in the study of language and meaning, emphasizing the importance of symbols in social interactions. The paragraph provides examples of symbolic gestures in customer service and flight attendants to illustrate how these interactions are part of the symbolic interactionist perspective. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of considering all three perspectives—functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionism—when studying various aspects of society.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Theoretical Perspective
💡Functionalism
💡Manifest Function
💡Latent Function
💡Dysfunction
💡Conflict Perspective
💡Symbolic Interactionism
💡Marx
💡Sociological Discourse
💡Micro and Macro Perspectives
💡Global 60s
Highlights
Introduction to the fourth lecture on theoretical perspectives in sociology.
Discussion of the three main founders of sociology: Marx, Durkheim, and Weber.
Differentiation of the three main theoretical perspectives: functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionism.
Emphasis on the importance of social forces in creating shared values and consensus in the functionalist perspective.
Marx's focus on class inequality and power structure in society.
Weber's emphasis on the subjective meaning of individuals in society.
Explanation of functionalism as a belief that every part of society contributes to its stability.
Durkheim's role as a key figure in the functionalist perspective, emphasizing social solidarity and stability.
The example of the hoop dance in American indigenous tribes to illustrate the functionalist perspective.
Introduction of manifest and latent functions in the functionalist perspective, with examples from festivals.
The concept of dysfunction as aspects of society that challenge stability, with historical examples from the Middle Ages.
The decline of the functionalist perspective in the 1960s due to global uprisings and challenges to social stability.
Introduction to the conflict perspective, which seeks discontent and struggle within society.
Marx's contribution to the conflict perspective and the focus on continuous struggle and inequality.
Feminism as a form of conflict theory that concentrates on gender inequality.
Symbolic interactionism as a micro-sociological perspective focusing on everyday social behaviors.
The importance of language and meaning in symbolic interactionism, drawing inspiration from Weber and Simmel.
Examples of symbolic interactionism in customer service and air stewardess behavior.
The significance of applying these perspectives to understand various aspects of society, including economy, polity, and education.
Transcripts
hello students hope this video finds you
well
today we are in the fourth lecture
already we have
made three lectures
so today is the last one today's lecture
title is
theoretical perspective in sociology
so as we discussed in the earlier three
lectures there are certain theoretical
perspective in the social lawsuit
broadly speaking
the three
main founder of sociology
namely
marx do came and weaver made significant
contribution in the development of
theoretical perspectives
and those three strands are quite
different from each other
broadly they
we can clap them
as theoretical perspectives in the
social outside
so
there are three will be discussing three
broad
theoretical perspective
namely functionalist
conflict and symbolic interactionism
it's important to note that while
you can
give due importance to the coercive
strength of the social forces in
generating shared values and
consensus
marks
focuses on like
class inequality and power structure in
the society
and finally max ever give the importance
to the subjective meaning of the
individual
so
yeah
so these three strands somehow still
survive in modern contemporary
sociological discourse
so first of all we would be discussing
functionalism what is functionalism
functionalism is basically
they argue that each and every parts of
the society is a structure to maintain
its stability
that means whatever things happen in the
society beat crime or anything
somehow
it
maintains the status quo in the society
so they have
many like they think society has a
living organism in which each part of
the organism contributes to the its
survival
so nothing is negative essence whatever
things happen in the society is somehow
contributing to the survival of the
system
and like
so durkin is considered to be is one the
most important
figure in the functionalist perspective
because he does talk about social
solidarity stability common consensus in
the society
to exemplify functionalist perspective
noted sociologists robert k martin give
him give example of gives example of
hoopy rain dance the picture you could
see in the slide
it's a basically american indigenous
tribe hoopie like raindance
what happens basically
like for instance forget about this hope
he renders for the time being like
globally christmas day is celebrated
and in the muslim world it is celebrated
and in the indian society particularly
in west bengal you could see durga puja
happen in bangladesh also among the
hindu minority people
what happened during the festival people
gets to get together got to women people
get together
so it is certain festive function
like people meet each other it's somehow
a strengthened social solidarity
people usually meets after a long time
so what happens according to robert
camarata
this obvious aspect of the festival can
be regarded as
latent function
there are two function in functionalist
perspective one is latent
another is manifest function
so what is uh sorry i i'm wrong like
what is obvious in the festival it's
called manifest function
but
like like people meet each other
and so and so forth but what would be
the latent function latent function
would be that
it strengthens social solidarity among
the individual it strengthens
inner bonds among the communities a
fellow people
so this is called latent function
so manifest function which is obvious
that festivity festive mode
and latent function would be which is
not obvious but which is the underlying
assumption of the festival
so yeah
and dysfunction so what happens we could
say that religion basically
uh
contributes to the social
like social consensus like solidarity it
strengthen
community bonding but what happens
during the middle ages in the christian
world particularly in europe
there is a bitter struggle bitter
conflict between the protestant and
catholic ritual
and robert k martin the noted
sociologist
identifies
this aspect as dysfunction
means there are certain aspect within
functionalist perspective
within functionalist paradigm that means
there are certain aspect within the
society which basically challenges the
stability of the society the part the
thing which
challenges the stability of the society
is called dysfunction
so
you could see latent and manifest
function and dysfunction these three
terms are basically taken from robert k
martin
he's one of the most important theories
in the functionalist paradigm
it's important to note that
functionalist paradigm was predominant
till 1960s globally dominated
particularly american particularly in
american sociology but what happened we
could see in the 1960s we could see the
global uprising be it vietnam war global
civil rights movements in america black
rights movement feminist right movements
all this uprising and riot challenges
the
social stability so broadly we could say
that late fixtures is the period of the
the the
period of the declining of the
functionalist perspective within the
social science because of certain
social events
happens in the global 60s across the
world
in the american context we saw the civil
rights movement black movements
in vietnam war
like in south asia also like the bengali
nationalist movement noxial body
movement mao is uprising
so many things happen global 60s it's
called like across the world 60s is
basically very terminal period
so this sort of social forces
challenges the
status quo of the like functionalist
perspectives so broadly decline after
1960s it lost its preeminence
so yeah
and next
one is basically
we could say complete perspective
while
functionalist perspective gives the
importance to the like
functioning of the society stability of
the society conflict perspective always
look for certain sort of like
certain sort of discontent in the
society
person karl marx is one of the
is the most important contributor of
this
paradigm
of this perspective
conflict perspective sees
a social world in continual struggle
conflict parts always say continuous
struggle inequality in the society
always there are competing interest
group like competing groups
in the societies which
they fight with each other for dominance
whatever it is
so complete perspective basically is the
critic of functionalist paradigm
it gains it preeminence in the late 60s
though
karl marx
articulated his theoretical concern in
the late 19th century and early 20th
century but it gained importance in the
social science discourse in late 60s due
to certain socio-political events
like yeah
conflict perspective assume that social
behavior is best understood in terms of
tension between groups our power
so we could say that like there are
certain feminist perspective in the
sociology which always looks for like
which always problematizes male
dominance
there is a expression called male stream
not mainstream male history is ministry
male male
so
we could say we could say feminism is
basically a form of conflict theory
which concentrate on gender inequality
so yeah
corporate perspectives so karl marx is
basically the the central figure in this
discourse
so
in the contemporary world basically like
so many things happen
and
it's it's it's important to note that
people who who adheres to the conflict
perspective
may not be always marxist
for instance feminists
feminism
is not strictly marxist
they might not always speak
their interest
not in terms of like class basis but in
terms of gender basis
so
though feminism is a form of conflict
theory which concentrate on gender
inequality
but it to certain extent it departs from
dominant concrete perspectives
designed by
marxist
school but
they have certain similarities they
broadly belong to the same theoretical
perspective that is conflict
perspectives
because
they question
the assumption the dominant assumption
of the society that is male dominant
and conflict perspectives always see
continual struggle in the society
okay so that's for the concrete
perspective
and
finally you could come to the like
symbolic interactionism symbolic
while functionalist and
conflict perspectives take into account
broader social structure
symbolic interactionism
centers around
micro sociological phenomenon its
micro sociological phenomenon so there
is a broad two division between micro
sociological perspective and macro
sociological perspective micro
sociological perspective is basically
symbolic interactionism and
sociological perspective basically
there are two
complete and functionalist
so
symbolic interactionism basically takes
into account
everyday forms of social behaviors
that ranges from
like our like everyday meeting
on the street to the larger
social process
so workers
interacting on the job encounters in
public places like bus stops and parks
behaviors in a small group all this
aspect of micro sociology catch the
attention of interactionist
this symbolic interactionism basically
emerged from emerges from a concern with
language and meaning
thirdly human beings are built as living
in a world of meaningful object it
sounds like waverian obviously they draw
inspiration from basically two
cardinal figures
that is max weber and george sarbot mean
we will find it we'll go into the detail
of the theory of george server made in
the socialization section
so human beings are built as living in a
world of meaningful objects
those objects may include material
things action
other people relationship even symbols
there are two sorts of symbol barber
symbol non-verbal symbols suppose
weaving
or selecting
saluting is a kind of certain sort of
like respect in every society
what happens symbolic interactionism is
basically takes takes into account my
crew even
i would give one instance of symbolic
interactionism like applying unions
social symbolic interactionism
discourse that is when you call into any
customer care
the moment they receive the call the way
they treat you in phone it's so like i
could say so impressive
similar things happens with like a
stewardess in the plane airplane
that smile
so this smile when the customer care
receives your call the way they
entertains you the way they behave with
you
like eat all these things gesture the
meaningful action all these gestures the
smile of the stevens in the slide you
could see the picture of the steroids in
the
airplane so the smile of the steroids
and the behavior of the customer care
officials
all these things come into the domain of
symbolic directionism
that they perform through certain
gestures
through certain symbols symbol can be
both equally verbal and non-verbal
this is for like theoretical
perspectives in the sociology it's you
should remember we should remember that
whenever you explain anything in the
sociological discourse be it economy
polity
sexuality gender
religion
education environment
everything must be understood following
these three perspective
functionalist
conflict and symbolic interactionism
when you'd be studying religion we would
try to explain religion applying this
tree perspective
that is like
functionalist and
conflict
and and
symbolic interactionism perspective
this is for today thank you all
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