Sociological Perspective, Or Imagination

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.Define the sociological perspective (or imagination), cite its components, and explain how they were defined by Wright Mills.. One can think of sociological perspective as our own personal choice and how the society plays a role in shaping our individual lives. Sociological perspective or imagination focuses not on individuals but their group, or society, and attempts to explain human social structures, including cultural and governmental institutions and forms of activity and interpersonal relations using social facts or social forces. Sociological Imagination is the ability to connect seemingly impersonal and remote historical forces to the most basic incidents of an individual’s life. It suggests that people look at their own personal …show more content…

Describe the differences between them and give an example of each. Folkways are norms that stem from and organize casual interaction, and that emerge out of repetition and routines. An example would be raising one 's hand to take a turn speaking in a group. Mores are stricter in folkways, as they determine what is considered moral and ethical behavior. They structure the difference between right and wrong. An example would be if a young adult from a strict religious family moves in with her boyfriend, her family, friends, and congregation are likely to view her behavior as amoral. A taboo is a very strong negative norm; it is a strict prohibition of behavior that society holds so strongly that violating it results in extreme disgust or expulsion from the group or society. For example, Muslim cultures, eating pork is taboo because the pig is considered unclean. 3. List the ten major social institutions and briefly explain the assumptions that functionalist and conflict theorists have about social institutions. Pick three social institutions and explain the basic needs that each fulfills in …show more content…

As per Durkheim, society is an organism, and just like within an organism, each component plays a necessary part, but none can function alone, and one experiences a crisis or fails, other parts must adept to fill the void in some way. Within functionalist theory, the different parts of society are primarily composed of social institutions, each of which is designed to fill different needs, and each of which has particular consequences for the form and shape of society. The parts all depend on each other. The core institutions defined by sociology and which are important to understand for this theory include: family, government, economy, media, education, religion, race and ethnicity. According to functionalism, an institution only exists because it serves a vital role in the functioning of society. If it no longer serves a role, an institution will die away. When new needs evolve or emerge, new institutions will be created to meet them. Conflict theory states that tensions and conflicts arise when resources, status, and power are unevenly distributed between groups in society, and that these conflicts become the engine for social change. The basic argument made by conflict theorists is that class-based conflict is an inherent and fundamental part of society. These theorists thus argue that racial and ethnic conflict is tied to class conflict and that in order

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