DESCRIPTION OF INTERACTIVE
SCHOOL OF THOUGHT: Structural Functionalism
If you would prefer to watch or listen to a video that explains Structural Functionalism, watch this Functionalism video.
Structural Functionalists think that society (and the world) is made up of different and interconnected parts or groups. All of the parts are all important and interact with each other. Every group has a specific purpose and plays a role in helping to keep society stable and running smoothly – or, in a state of equilibrium. Essentially, the different groups or social institutions interact to keep society in harmony and balance, and to meet everyone’s needs.
Let’s use an analogy of a car to illustrate the interconnectedness of the parts or, social institutions in society (and why it’s important to have equilibrium (definition:a state of balance). When you look at a car, you might initially notice the outside or the body of the car. This is totally correct since the body of the car is the container that holds everything together! But, without the motor or the engine, the car would not move. Without wheels, the car couldn’t be driven, etc. So, a car - like society - is a collection of very important parts that work together to create movement and progress in a balanced (or harmonious) way. So, structural functionalists view social institutions as very important because they all serve a purpose in keeping society running smoothly.
Social Facts are general features that we see in all societies throughout the world, such as: laws, customs, morals, and beliefs. They have existed for a long time and they will always continue to exist well into the future. This means that social facts don’t rely on any one group to exist. They will be around forever and they contribute towards making society a stable place to live.
SCHOOL OF THOUGHT: Conflict Theory
If you would prefer to watch or listen to a video that explains Conflict Theory, watch the Conflict Theory video.
Conflict Theorists believe that society is based on power, relationships, and competition. Conflict theory suggests that power is not equally spread out between all of the different groups in society. For example, people with a lot of money and power have the ability to make many decisions that affect all people (e.g., law or policy makers). Conflict theorists believe that there is a lot of inequality and competition in society, and that many people are not treated the same as others. That is, everyone’s voice is not heard in society - just those of the groups that have the power, and they promote their own values and interests and dominate society. Conflict theory also suggests that groups in society compete for the social and economic resources that are available. The term socio-economic status is very relevant in this theory. People with a lot of status make important decisions that affect those with lower statuses. So, unlike functionalists, conflict theorists do not think that society exists in harmony and balance at all.
SCHOOL OF THOUGHT: Symbolic Interactionism
If you would prefer to watch or listen to a video that explains Symbolic Interactionism, watch the Symbolic Interactionism video.
Symbolic Interactionists focus on how people ‘fit-in’ within society, and how they behave when they are around other people. Rather that studying society as a whole (or the macro-level), symbolic interactionism studies individual people within society (or, the micro-level). Symbolic Interactionists believe that society is socially constructed, which means that people create meaning by placing importance or symbols on different things. Instead of thinking about the facts of a situation, people’s behaviour will reflect the meaning that they give to it, or what is meaningful about the situation. This way of thinking explains behaviour that is seen in groups throughout society, as well. For example, it is a well-known fact that using illegal drugs has many different health risks. But some people may see friends using them and then the meaning they give to this behaviour (‘it’s cool’) is different than the facts of the situation (drugs are incredibly harmful).
Humans develop a sense of self by the reaction that they get from other people (As a side note - imagine how ‘likes’ on social media accounts affect the definition of someone’s ‘self’ - either positively or negatively!) As they encounter new situations and meet new people, the idea of the ‘self’ changes.
SCHOOL OF THOUGHT: Marginalized Voices and Social Theory
If you would prefer to watch or listen to a video that explains Feminist Theory, watch or listen to the Feminist Theory, Society and Culture video.
Do you remember the importance of critical literacy that you learned about in Unit 1? Critical literacy is the idea that you need to actively analyse the text you read for bias, perspective, and social justice. You may or may not have realized it at this point, but a lot of the theories and Schools of Thought you are learning about were written by, or proposed by, white men from Western countries. So, this raises some important questions: do these men’s voices represent everyone else’s? Whose voice(s) is/are missing? Are those other perspectives ethnocentric (recall learning about ethnocentrism in Unit 1)? Other Schools of Thought that are considered to be contemporary or current offer perspectives that provide some answers to these big questions.
Structural Functionalism, Conflict Theory, and Symbolic Interactionism have been around for many, many years. Contemporary sociologists often think that the older Schools of Thought don’t reflect important and controversial issues that affect a lot of people in society, such as: sexism, racism, genderism, ethnocentrism, etc.
Contemporary Schools of Thought include contributions by women (commonly referred to as the Feminist Perspective), and visible minorities, amongst other groups. They offer important details about how people are treated because of different variables (e.g., gender, sex, race, ethnicity), how they they interact with society, and how society interacts with them. Similar to Conflict Theory, voices that are heard from these contemporary theories challenge the way society treats particular groups of people, and they bring awareness to inequalities and injustices (lack of fairness) in society and the world. They also imply that these marginalized (ROLLOVER DEFINITION: groups that have been treated as insignificant or not-important) groups have been (and are still) dominated by traditional views (i.e., the values and beliefs of the dominant group).