Sociology Theory and Method Revision Cards

Functionalists:

• A macro sociolgists approach,soceity is seen as socail system consiting of parts functioning as one
• Functionalsit see society as a living organims or mechanism. change within one part will have effects on other parts
• Functionalsit be;live in norms and values of society and collective consnsus or shared values and norms behind people together.
• soceity parts such as family,education,religion and media all strive to reinforce social norms and values

Evaualtions

(+) Suggest a link between socail instiutions purpose

(-) places to much emphasis on hamony and fails to take into account competing power intrests e.g. class system (marixists)

(+) it helps us to understand socail rituals such as religion (consensus collective)

(-) They percivee all change as evoultionary why it may be result of something else (class)

Femminists:

• gender relations aree based on power and economic ineqaulties
• gender roles are social constuctured (priamry and secondary socailisation)
• preivosly socailiolgy was malestream and ignored women in its theories

types of femminism: Liberal:foucs on inequalities within education,family and work sphere. in focus on equal oppurtunities marxist: focus on ineqauites of women that arixse within cpatilism. they focus on dual labour theory and domesitc labor debates. Radical:emphaiss on patrchical system (male rule) and sexual politics on womena nd chidlren.Domestic violence is seen as a manifestation of partirachy.Some radical femminsts prompt the idea of female single sex couples as a speration from males all together. Black: focus on gender ineqaulties as form of racism postmodern: challenges the aerlier assumptions around gender identity as it sees indviduals benefiting from a range of female and male idnetities.

(+)

Examples of socail policies:

The Children Act 1989: adressed bad parenting e.g. neglect and abuse, links New Right- regulatory + control

Free School meals, adressed poor nutrituion

Zero tolerance,adressed loss of community, linked to New Right

use of relgfious symbols in public, adresed tolerantion, linked to Liberals

Social policy:attempts by the goverment and other social organistion e.g. school to adresss socail problems e.g. teenage pregnancy

sociological problems: problems adressed by sociologists to expalin certain aspects of soceity e.g.advertising is part of significant Captilist soceity.

Interactionalsits: It is concerned with asking

· How do we construct our reality? (looking glass self)

· How are meanings and understandings negotiated by social actors? (self fufilling phrophecies)