Bianca Botha
Assignment #1
In our society, there are three major sociological perspectives on which we focus on; functionalism, conflict theory and interactionism. These theories give us different perspectives as to how we view society. It offers ideas as to how we function together and separately as a society. First, functionalism, this being the idea that society is a system that is made up of many smaller aspects that interconnect in order to maintain overall harmony and stability. An easy way to understand functionalism is to compare it to us, human beings. Each part of our bodies are linked to all the other parts, in a sense, and each individual organ serves a very important function-similar to the different kinds of social institutions that our society is made up of-that combines to create a bigger picture (Functionalism: The Basics, 2005, Sociology.org.uk). The social elements that make up our society can be seen as either functional or dysfunctional; functional if they contribute to social …show more content…
In contrast to functionalism, contrast theory suggests that society is composed of different groups that compete for power and resources as separates. Karl Marx, a sociologist during the Industrial Revolution, suggests that social order is maintained by domination, with the bourgeoisie at the top and the proletariat at the bottom through a capitalist economy (Macionis, 2014).
Third, interactionism, which suggests that society, is the creation of the social interaction of millions of people every day. Interactionism focuses on society on a micro-level, in other words, our daily actions and interactions create what we define to be a society, being a close-up focus on social matters. Our society is an on going process in which we interact in limitless settings using symbolic communication. The reality we experience is adjustable and changing (Macionis,
Assignment #1
In our society, there are three major sociological perspectives on which we focus on; functionalism, conflict theory and interactionism. These theories give us different perspectives as to how we view society. It offers ideas as to how we function together and separately as a society. First, functionalism, this being the idea that society is a system that is made up of many smaller aspects that interconnect in order to maintain overall harmony and stability. An easy way to understand functionalism is to compare it to us, human beings. Each part of our bodies are linked to all the other parts, in a sense, and each individual organ serves a very important function-similar to the different kinds of social institutions that our society is made up of-that combines to create a bigger picture (Functionalism: The Basics, 2005, Sociology.org.uk). The social elements that make up our society can be seen as either functional or dysfunctional; functional if they contribute to social …show more content…
In contrast to functionalism, contrast theory suggests that society is composed of different groups that compete for power and resources as separates. Karl Marx, a sociologist during the Industrial Revolution, suggests that social order is maintained by domination, with the bourgeoisie at the top and the proletariat at the bottom through a capitalist economy (Macionis, 2014).
Third, interactionism, which suggests that society, is the creation of the social interaction of millions of people every day. Interactionism focuses on society on a micro-level, in other words, our daily actions and interactions create what we define to be a society, being a close-up focus on social matters. Our society is an on going process in which we interact in limitless settings using symbolic communication. The reality we experience is adjustable and changing (Macionis,