Sociological Perspectives and Theories

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Sociological Perspectives and Theories

Sociologists try to explain how society orders itself but there are

many different theories for this, which often conflict with one

another. Some of these classic theories include Marxism,

Functionalism, and Interactionism. There are also more modern or

contemporary theories such as Feminism. Each sociological perspective

has different beliefs.

Marxists are concerned with the distribution of economic power and

wealth. They believe that society is in conflict between two classes.

Those classes are the Bourgeoisie; who own the means of production,

i.e. land and the Proletariat; who sell labour to these owners for

wages. The Proletariat are being exploited in order for the

Bourgeoisie to gain economic and cultural power over them; Marxists

believe this leads to antagonism, arguments and conflict between the

two classes.

An example of this could be in a factory. The manager owns the

factory, which is a means of production, so he is a Bourgeoisie

whereas the factory workers are the Proletariat because they work for

the manager in exchange for wages.

Functionalists argue that society is organised much like the Human

Body. Everything must function correctly in order for society to work

as a whole, just like every organ in the body must function correctly

in order for the body to work as a whole.

They believe that social institutions such as Police, NHS, Church,

Schools, etc ensure that certain prerequisites are met and they must

all work together to produce a healthy society. Those prerequisites

are that people need to learn how to be part of society

(socialisation), people need t...

... middle of paper ...

... a particular group to see how they interact

with each other and what they do on a normal basis. For example,

someone may observe a classroom, an encounter between doctor and

patient, or the way people use public parks. Some observers actually

participate in the group which they are observing, which depending on

the situation, can either enhance or hinder the study.

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Bibliography

BTEC National Care – Heinemann (M.Walsh, B.Stretch, N.Moonie,

D.Hearne, E.Miller and D.Webb)

Class Handouts

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¨ http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/DSS/Cooley/LKGLSSLF.HTML

¨ http://migreens.org/amberwaves/2001summ/feminism.htm

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