SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY
COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF THEORY?
• Something Abstract• Something Philosophical• Something Complicated• Something Irrelevant• Something Obsolete• Something Very Boring
Interestingly we are very use to “THEORIES” in our daily lives and continuously
ConstructingRe-constructingDe-Constructing “THEORIES” on daily basis. “THEORIES” are the integral part of our lives.
WHAT THEORY ACTUALLY IS?
AN EXPLANATION• Conscious • Systematic• Organized• Rational• Logical
A PREDICTION• Based on Experience• Based on Facts• Based on Data• Based on Observation
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY
A SET OF “INTERRELATED IDEAS” THAT
ALLOW FOR THE “SYSTEMATIZATION OF
KNOWLEDGE” OF THE “SOCIAL WORLD”
RANGE OF SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES
•MACRO THEORIESOperates on societal level•MIDRANGE THEORIESDeal general aspects of social behavior•MICRO THEORIESDeal specific aspects of social behavior
THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE
CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE
INTERACTION PERSPECTIVE
POST MODERN PERSPECTIVE
FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE
FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE
Society is a complex system of different partsParts are interrelated and interdependentThere is stability and equilibrium between
different partsThere is consensus of the main valuesChange is generally disruptive and gradualMacro theory
KEY THINKERS
• August Comte (1798-1857)The Founding Father, Positivism• Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)The Social Darwinist• Émile Durkheim (1858-1917)Division of labor, Suicide
CONFLICT PERSPECTIVEIn every society there is struggle for
resources and powerSome groups prosper at the expense of
othersConflict is universalInequality is widespreadChange is inevitable, often beneficial and can
be violentMacro theory
KEY THINKERSKarl Marx (1818-1883)Social class, Dialectical materialismC. Wright Mills (1916-1962)Power elite, Sociological imaginationRalf Dahrendorf ( 1929- ) Class conflict
INTERACTION PERSPECTIVESociety is the product of interactions of
individual and small groupsInteraction is facilitated through shared
symbols, gestures and nonverbal communications
Humans are social animals and require interaction
The reality is constructed through interactionMacro Theory
KEY THINKERS
• George Herbert Mead (1880-1949)“I” & “me”, role taking, significant other• Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929)Looking Glass Self•Erving Goffman (1922-1982)Dramaturgical approach
POST MODERN PERSPECTIVE
All worldviews are mediated by languageThe dominant language of society is the
language of the rich and powerfulAll knowledge is socially constructedArt, literature, architecture, politics and
society are beyond reasonThere is no one TruthMacro theory
KEY THINKERSMichel Foucault (1926-1984)Social construction of knowledge,
deconstruction
FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE
Women are very important part of society
Women are historically subordinate to men
Sexism is the ultimate tool to oppress women
Structural changes needed for gender equality
Macro theory
FEMINIST PERSPECTIVELiberal Feminism
Marxist Feminism
Radical Feminism
Socialist Feminism
Postmodern Feminism
KEY THINKERSDorothy E. Smith
Sandra Harding
Patricia Hill Collins
Joan Jacob Brumberg
GOOD LUCK