Theoretical Perspectives: Conflict Theory And Structural Functionalism

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Recommended: Application of symbolic interaction in sociology

Cristina Frazier
SOC-102
September 13, 2015
Timothy Larkin
Theoretical Perspectives There are many ways in which an individual is able to view the world and the three sociological perspectives, conflict theory, structural functionalism, and symbolic interactionism, represent some of these ways. These theories are an important part of sociology and help individuals put the world into their own perspectives and then draw conclusions about how society works as a whole. Once a person is able to do this, they are able to make sense of their interactions and the interactions of others, due to the reasons set forth by their sociological perspectives (Claerbaut, 2015, “Theoretical Perspectives of Sociology”). It is important then, to understand …show more content…

The reasoning behind this decision is based on experiences that I have had in my society as well as events that I have witnessed in society as a whole as well as worldwide society. To expand, when I interact with people I do not find myself strictly competing with them or strictly adhering to a set relationship or role concerning how I interact which are the main ideas of conflict theory and structural functionalism (Claerbaut, 2015, para. 8-9, 17). I would more describe my interactions as being on an individual and situational basis, which is the key idea behind symbolic interactionism (Claerbaut, 2015, para. 25). For example, in my own life, I have seen people change their interactions on an individual basis when family must resolve conflict to work together, as is what happened when my brother and I would fight and then have to do something for our parents. In this way, people change from conflict to harmony in their relationships constantly, not always conflicting and not always keeping to the same relational structure, and in this way, violate crucial aspects of other theories. In worldwide society, we can see this change in relationship play out and know that changes from conflict to harmony in relationships are not just unique to brothers and sisters. To illustrate, I would point to the relationship between the …show more content…

For me, I chose symbolic interaction to define society because of the experiences that I have had in society, but others might see experiences and the world differently. In all, society functions with people and those people determine how it develops, either individually, in groups, or in search of power (Claerbaut, 2015, “Theoretical Perspectives of Sociology”).
Works Cited
Claerbaut, D. (2015). Theoretical Perspectives of Sociology. In Grand Canyon University (Ed.) Our social world: An introduction to sociology. Available from http://lc.gcumedia.com/soc102/our-social-world-an-introduction-to-sociology/v1.1/
Jackson, D. (2015, July, 14) Obama hails nuclear deal with Iran as a landmark. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/07/14/obama-praises-nuclear-deal-iran/30121643/
Kucinich, D. (2012, October, 2) Iraq: Ten Years, a Million Lives and Trillions of Dollars Later. Huffington Post. Retrieved from

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