Part 1 - 1-5 - theory and methods

Durkheim and functionalism

Durkheim and functionalism

• said it was important to measure and research social facts which he sees as objective truths based on law, money and language

• he argues that these social facts are measurable things that are free from bias and subjectivity

Durkehiem’ scientific measurement of society

measuring objective truths would lead to a scientific measurement of society 

• functionalism is a structural consensus approach in which social institutions shape the process of socialisation which then leads to value consensus which is social solidarity and social cohesion 

• all social phenomena performs positive functions for society 

• Social facts include such things as beliefs, moral codes and basic norms and values which are passed from one generation to the next.

Parsons and systems

Directly influenced by Durkeheim

Systems are like organisms, such as the human body, both self regulating but also inter-dependent. The human body works collectively as institutions in society (family education, media) works collectively also. Organic analogy is a system.

needs

• institutions have needs that must be fulfilled so they can benefit society

  • e.g education relies on parental consent and NEEDS pupils to be adequately socialised during primary socialisation so they can fulfil their FUNCTION of teaching pupils specialist skills for the workplace and providing secondary socialisation

Social order

A state of stability and consensus rather than a state of chaos and upheaval which could lead to anomie

central value system : shared set of norms and values and beliefs, moral codes and shared goals. the application of value consensus

Value consensus

• its an agreement upon the shared values, beliefs and moral codes in society 

• the theory of central value system 

for value consensus you need :

• socialisation

• social integration : belonging to a society or a community

• social control

Parsons - functional prerequisites GAIL model

basic requirements that must be met if society is to survive , they must be fulfilled using

• adaptations

  • society will meet its members needs through the economic sub system such as the minimum wage increasing during an economic crisis , pensions and triple lock system etc

• Goal attainment

  • society has set goals and has allocated resources to achieve these goals and that happens through the political sub system e.g individuals try to achieve high places in society and the political sub section reacts by making education and healthcare free

• Integration

  • different pats of society working together to achieve their goals e.g religion providing a large network of support.

• Latency

  • the processes in society that are maintained over a long period of time so that society runs smoothly during periods of social change . e.g education moving online during Covid which maintained society’s N+Vs

Durkheim’s view on social change and social evolution

• compares trad society to the amoeba cell which is a single cell organism that is self reliant

• trad pre industrial communites made the family responsible for everything and due to this society was judged on ascribed status

• currently, society is more complex as different institutions work together to perform their functions

• changes in one institution will therefore affect others

Parsons structural differentiation

• Society’s institutions have become more specialised and developed specific functional roles to meet a specific need 

• education allows specifically for social mobility and family is solely responsible for primary socialisation, religion teaches morals and ethics 

• Particularistic standards- differing levels of judgement based on socialisation practices 

• universalistic standards- everyone is judged the same way 

A03 analysis of structural differentiation

structural differentiation has had an impact of religion due to the rise of secularisation as its functions has been delegated to other institutions thereby undermining its importance in individuals lives 

for example the family now teaches family norms and values, education is now the provision of knowledge and provides a sense of social solidarity and community, healthcare

Eval of parsons

• secularisation is not occurring in all cultures which therefore makes this an ethnocentric view as seen through the rise of Islam 

• exaggerates the specialised aspects of the institutions as they instead overlap each other as seen through faith schools

Merton

• criticised elements of Parsons work : 

1. Indispensability : all institutions are necessary for society to function adequately. no empirical evidence to support 

2. Functional unity : all institutions directly influence all other institutions. Merton then argues that functional unity doesn't always apply E.g the change of age in education system did not affect religious attendance in places of worship 

3. Parsons assumes that everything is intended, However Merton argues that we have both 

• manifest functions- intended actions:

• latent functions- unintended consequences

PM critic of functionalism

• functionalism is outdated due to the current diverse/ fragmented nature of society 

• functionalism is a metanarrative that attempts to explain society as a whole but fails in doing so as it fails to recognise individual differences and the complex nature of society

A03 for functionalism

• dennis wong

  • argues that functionalism is deterministic as it assumes that people have no free will or agency. individuals will blindly follow due to socialisation and value consensus

• Craib

  • Even though there are flaws to parsons theory, he is one of the theorists that has provided an explanation for society as a whole. provides conclusions that many theorists would not attempt

Functionalism and the new right

• share functionalism belief in : socialisation, social order and social stability 

• NR argues that society is failing due to the development of the underclass

Lumpenproleteriat and petty bourgeoise

Lumpenproleteriat

• lowest social group as they are fundamentally unable to gain class consciousness 

• slows down the revolution as thy act as a deterrent as proleteriat believe they could be worse and their situation could be worse 

• it does not support capitalist production 

Petty bourgoeise

• m/c with the lowest social stats but they have the same political and economic ideology as the bourgeoise such as the voting interests of the bourgoeise

• they are small business owners and shopkeepers and whilst they have the same interests and values as the bourgeoise they dont realise they are exploited

• this stops a revolution as the revolution would hinder their belief of them attaiing bourgoise status

• the liability of the small business failing prevents the revolution as the small business is working for them and they would not want to jepardise this

Marx’s societies

Ancient society

• slaves who were owned by pharaohs and emperors

Feudal society

• monarchs and lords who exploited serfs who worked on their land as they were tied to the land

capitalist society

• lords and nobles transitioned into bourgeoise

• the slaves then became slaves to wage labour as a resuult of industrilisation

materialist theory of history

• base is known as the economic level of society where all the capital of society exists. bourgeoisie able to profit from base economically, the bourgeoise shapes the superstructure from the profit gained from the base . the proletariat cannot influence the superstructure as they only learn bourgeois norms and values 

• cyclical nature as it maintains the status quo 

• one way causality as everything starts at the base and the base shapes the ideology 

A02: safe haven- zaretsky : this ideology helps maintain the base as it prevents the proletariat from revolting against the bourgeois and go back to work for the bourgeoisie

Devine

social class in contemporary society

• argues that w/c have changed as many have become more affluent which saw a new ‘afluent worker’ who was able to purchase things like holidays and nive cars whilst also maintaining their trad values such as voting for socialist parties due to their disgust by vast amounts of wealth in society as it was seen to be unfair

• criticises marx  as they when w/c became more affluent they maintained their traditional values and did not accept bourgeois ideology and also says he is simplistic due to the complexity of the different classes in society 

Harvey

Discusses the deindustrialization of the economy demonstrating the need for global marxism due to exploitation on a global scale , argues for a move away from trad marxism as things like the media and globalisation has sped up exploitation

also argue that in politics there is a sense of image politics which create an illusion of choice. there are now more dilemmas than class which undermines marx as it demonstrates the extent to which social issues is built upon class disparities

Eval of marxism

• weber : class is not the only division in society. splits class into status and party, the variety of divisions undermines marx’s basic division ,

  • also argues that w/c shoul dbe split into skilled and unskilled workes and bourgeoise should be split into office workers , white collar and petty bourgeoise

• feminsit argue that women are more likely to be exploited at woek

• marx though that m/c would become a bigger w/c but in China, the middle class is growing and globalistaiton has

• recognises the importance of the conomu and the economic base being able to dictate what happens in wider society ]

Althusser- scientific/ structuralist

believes that societies exist on three levels: the economic (production in order to satisfy needs), the political (organisations) and the ideological (the way people see themselves and the world). The later two are not mere reflections of the economic level (as Marx believed – economic determinism) but they have ‘relative autonomy’ although still having an effect on the economy. 

also identifies two kinds of state apparatus used to help maintain the position of the capitalist class: 

• ‘Ideological state apparatus’ – education and the mass media 

• Repressive state apparatus’ – the army and police

critices marx’s superstructure/ economic base model. one way causality of exploitation is too simplistic and is therefore more complicated

Ian craibs three storey analysis

• all levels are interlinked and all influence each other. therefore there is a 2 way causality which directly contradicts marx’s one way causality 

• the political and ideological levels equally cause exploitation in society. 

• these two levels also have relative autonomy and can work independently from the economic level 

eval of althusser

Overcomes Marxists failings in saying that the superstructure can affect the economic base and the economic base can impact on our superstructure. 

Craib- Althusser provides a more sophisticated concept of social structure but whilst Althusser believed he was analysing society scientifically, ironically, he has heavily influenced postmodernism who reject the idea that you can research society scientifically. 

It claims to get rid of economic determinism, it just replaces it with a more complex determinism.

Frankfurt school

Developed on Althusser’s ideas and criticised Marx for ignoring three main areas:

Instrumental Reason:

the idea that the w/c work for instrumental reasons and often are working to achieve a means to an end, sometimes working hard, is not for capitalism but for rational reasons e.g. providing for the family. Rationale implies that it is a choice to work rather than just being exploited by capitalism

Mass Culture:

 Marx understates the impact the mass media have on maintaining capitalism.

Oppression of personality:

 Capitalism takes advantage of how many members of the w/c see work as a key part of their identity and therefore, work hard because they want to work hard 

Gramsci- Humanistic

 also highlighted the importance of ideology in ensuring the maintenance of capitalism. Gramsci’s notion of hegemony (intellectual and moral leadership), argues that the capitalist class exercise hegemony because their ideas and values are dominant. As a result they are able to persuade others to consent to their rule.

• meant that he was leaning towards a more social action approach to society with a greater emphasis on people’s ideas, meanings and actions bringing about revolutionary change

eval of gramsci

• Paul Willis- Learning to Labour, the participants saw through the myth of meritocracy and maintained their position, proving that they had dual consciousness 

• Overplays the role of ideas and consciousness and understates the role of coersion and consent as he places it below in the hierarchy e.g. Public Order Bill, 2011 London Riots 

key ideas of gramsci

Coercion and Consent 

The ruling class maintain their power through laws, police, and army.

AO2-Control over CJS 

Duel Consciousness -  An acute awareness of their exploitation. W/C need to unite behind a new hegemony to enforce social change.

AO2- revolution 

Organic intellectuals - Special individuals who give a voice to those that need it or inspire a social action

AO2- MLK 

A02 for gramsci

• In 1979 Nicaguan Revolution: the 1979 Sandinista National Liberal Front ovethrew the Samozaan Dynasty.

• The Group aligned their Catholic view with Marxism to form a new hegemony

• Founded by university students across the country

foudnation of social action theory

 argue that people’s behavior and life-chances are not determined by their social background. Instead, they emphasize the role of the active individual and interactions between people in shaping personal identity and in turn the wider society. In order to understand human action we need to uncover the individual’s own motives for acting.

Weber

argued that understanding individual motives is cruial to understanding changes to the social structure

the level of cause: societal institutions directly shape and form human behavior

the level of meaning - subjective meanings to which individuals react independently to society’s structures and attach meanings to our actions

social action- refers to an act which takes into account the actions and reactions of individuals

rational social action

Actions carried out to achieve a certain goal

an individual does something to achieve a result and the action may not be the most desirable option but it is necessary for the goal at the end

e.g paying staff minimum wage to increase profit, hiring new employees to help expand the business

value social action

action where there is inherent value in the action and the result itslef cant be measured as there is no way of calculating the result , the actiuon is carried out for the sake of its own goal

e.g praying to gain a place in heaven

traditional social action

carrying out an action because its the way it has always been done as there is no goal to be achieve

e.g marriage

affirmitive social action

actions that cant be controlled ot there is little control over as its based on emotion and affection

e.g falling in love

eval of weber positive

• He is profound as he was first to highlight the free will humans have in society 

• Structures in society don’t have as much power as first suggested by structuralists.

• Strong contribution to sociology as he was first to discuss the need and research into empathetic understanding in sociology

eval of weber negative

• Schutz- Little explanations for shared reactions and shared feelings and meanings 

• It is very hard to truly understand the thoughts and feelings of others 

• Weber’s typology is very difficult to apply and it is unworkable as there are only 4 social action groups.

• Some actions fit into multiple typologies e.g. having children, Christmas, Marriage

• Malinowski- The Trobriand Islanders engaged in a gift giving ceremony called- Kula. Giving gifts to neighbouring tribes thus, it was both traditional and instrumental 

Mead - symbolic interactionism

• symbolic interactionism sees society as built up by interactions between people which takes place on the basis of meanings held by individuals. this theory is interested to see how people act and react to a stimulus in society and explore how meaning is attached to those symbols

• behavior is not fixed and humans respond to the world by giving meanings to things thus we inhabit a world of meanings by attaching symbols to the world.

1. stimulus- the original symbol that evokes a particular reaction

2. interpretive phase- how we interpret the symbol can change depending on the individual and the context e.g. two finger= swearing or peace

3. response- response dependent on interpretation

Mead - the ‘I’ and the ‘Me’

• The ‘I’ is the individual and is self-opinion and is shaped by the ‘me’. The choices we make

• the ‘me’ is the socialized aspect of the individuals based on interactions

• the relationship between the two is that the ‘me’ keeps the ‘i’ in check and controls it.

• The ‘I’ bends the rules 

• ‘Me’ and ‘I’ make up the individual

E.g. a boy wearing a dress 

• The ‘me’ restricts the boy from wearing a dress.

• The wants and desires of the ‘I’ are restricted by the ‘me’
  

Cooley

the looking glass self

• Actions and reactions are reflected in how others view ourselves 

• E.g. Parents see you as an ‘angel’, girlfriend sees you as strong, brother sees you as weak and ex- girlfriend sees you as evil

• The decisions each individual makes are based around how other people in society view them

• Dynamics and interactions are based on reactions to others 

• E.g. an individual may perceive themselves as the opposite of what others view them as creating a new self identity whereby they adopt the the outside perception of themselves

• E.g. having lots tattoos or an RBF

Blumer

• suggests that we develop the notion of ourself in childhood and playing games

• individuals give meaning to objects, events and situations based on their experiences and interpretations and it is through the process of interacting with others that individuals negotiate and construct shared meanings

• emphasises that human interaction is an ongoing process of interpretation and social reality therefore is a dynamic and continuously negotiated product of human interaction

• argued that reality is not an objective fact but rather a subjective cosntruction based on how individuals interpret and define their experiences

• each person has their own perspective and these perspectives are continually shaped and modified through social interaction

Blummer 3 stages of interaction

meaning

• the meaning an individual gives to an action or symbol

language

• language allows the individual to negotiate the meaning of the action through speech.

thought

• thought is modified in reaction to the meaning and language provided. this requires a different person’s point of view

Goffman

Dramaturgical Analogy

Society is like a stage with people acting out performances. We are all ‘actors’, acting out ‘scripts’, using ‘props’, resting ‘backstage’ between ‘performances’.

in rooms and private places he argues that we are preparing for our next role. he directly contradicts meade

Key ideas of Goffman

Impression management: People are constantly engaged in managing the impressions they give to others by putting on performances to convince others of the identities they wish to assert. This involves studying our ‘audience’ to see how they respond.

Roles: Unlike Functionalists Goffman argues that there is a ‘role distance’ from who we are on stage and off stage – our roles are loosely scripted by society & we have freedom in how we play them e.g. teachers being strict/ or easy going.

• complete free will with how we perform roles even though they are forced upon us

positive eval of symbolic interactionism

• small scale individual interactions are explained and explains how humans can create meanings 

• recognises individual motives and overcomes determinism which overcomes structuralist weaknesses 

• provides insight into the consequences of interaction e.g labelling 

• interpretivist research methods provides verstehen which add validity and depth to the study as a whole 

negative eval of symbolic interactionism

• underplays group behaviour and reactions and is a psychological explanation 

• ignores wider social constraints and social structures as it ignores power inequalities in society as seen through marxism and feminism 

• does not explain the initial comprehension of the symbols 

• postmodernists would argue that its another metanarrative