Max Horkheimer

2.5 Theoretical and conceptual framework Social Exchange Theory is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology. Social exchange theory derives from several distinct lines of theoretical work in the social sciences, including social behaviorism, utilitarianism, and functionalism (Turner 1986). Exchange theory uses the concepts of rewards and costs. This refers to the benefits that a person can receive through interpersonal exchange in their social relationships. Rewards are defined as…

The optimists in the context of migration were mainly influenced by the neo-classical, developmental and modernization paradigms which are associated with functional perspectives in society (De Haas, 2010: 231). The emergence of literature on migration in the 1880’s was ground-breaking to the discourse of population movement at a global level. Ravenstein’s publications (1885; 1889) where his famous ‘laws of migration’ were illustrated are still considered as the mainstay, foundation, and genesis…

Introduction Max Weber, born on April 21, 1864, was a German social scientist and the founder of modern sociological thought. Having a father who was an active lawyer in political life influenced him to attend Heidelberg University and to major in law, history, economics, as well as philosophy. After later continuing his studies at the Universities of Berlin and Göttingen, he managed to pass his bar examination in 1866 and he decided to practice law for a short period of time. In 1889, he…

There exist various theories and beliefs that attempt to explain and elaborate various phenomena in the society. There are numerous things that influence and affect an individual lifestyle, behaviors, and relationship with other people and the environment. Sociology is one of the common fields that have been used by scholars to provide an insight of human social relationship and institutions. Sociology has enabled individually to have a better understanding of a various aspect of human social…

based on our experiences and interactions with others. To completely understand the concept of “social construction of reality” we must first understand what knowledge and reality are. The term sociology of knowledge was originated by philosopher Max Sheler in the 1920’s. The general philosophical agreement…

Loneliness is an ailment that affects every living creature, as animals have this instinct of mating which is one way of socializing. Many people go through such an odyssey in the early stage of their life in order to please society, in order to please their peers, and end up realizing how much time was wasted worrying about not being lonely. The fact that loneliness is such a universal idea and feeling makes many wonder as to why this fear has not been overcome. Loneliness is a feeling or…

In this chapter Fortier focuses on three theories (theoretical approaches): Materialist, which is widely in time, and Postmodernism, Post colonialism, which are more narrow timing). He says that materialism believes that the world around us makes our ideas and thoughts and explains that, the basic task of materialist theory is to understand the relation between language, literature and art, on the one hand, and society, history and the material world, on the other (p. 153). He claims that…

Social constructionism is a term applied to theories that emphasize the socially created nature of social life. Of course, in one sense sociologists would argue this, so the term can easily become meaningless. Moreover, the importance to social constructionism is traced back at least to the works of William Isaac Thomas and the Chicago sociologists, furthermore the phenomenological sociologists and philosopher such as Alfred Schutz. Such approaches highlight the idea that term society is…

In “The Significance of the Frontier In American History” by Frederick Jackson Turner, written in 1893 he expounds strongly the importance of the frontier. In his thesis, he outlines that the frontier shaped and molded men into the embodiments of “Americanism”. These were people in a new world that Turner referred to as Americans that receive great traits all due to the encounter of the frontier. This statement made by Turner has been supported by several historians and to this day still holds…

Katia Gonzalez SOC 302 S. Johnston November 21, 2016 Weber’s Theory Max Weber was a German sociologist and philosopher, who was known to be one amongst the three founding fathers of Sociology. Weber’s main focus was not to understand what we do but instead why we do them. “Verstehen” was German for understanding, which refers to comprehending the reasons someone has for their actions but also understanding their point of view, in other words, putting oneself in the shoes of another individual…