Theory (capital T) is the core concept of explaining how the social world works, not just a casual guess.
Common public notion: theory = an unproven proposition or guess; can be seen as something barely defensible.
Scientific notion (in sociology): a unified and systematic body of knowledge that explains how X relates to Y, i.e. the relationship between variables. A typical formulation can be captured as a functional relationship between variables:
Y = f(X)
In social science, theories are partial and pluralistic: there is no single grand theory that explains everything; multiple frameworks compete and complement each other.
Theory is a tool for pattern recognition and coherent explanation, not just a collection of isolated facts.
Theories provide logics, assumptions, and concepts that help evaluate, compare, and critique social explanations.
Theories are built on (and rely on) prior knowledge and the collective work of other scholars; they are cumulative and socially constructed.
Everyday life already involves theory (implicit expectations about how the world works), e.g., predicting bus arrivals or social interactions; sociology makes these implicit theories explicit and subject to critique.
Distinction: theory vs. concept
Concepts are building blocks of theory; they are ideas or labels used to describe phenomena (e.g., class, gender).
Concepts help define what we are talking about and provide heuristics or mental shortcuts to grasp reality.
If different scholars define a concept differently (e.g., status as socially constructed vs. biologically derived), the resulting theory will diverge.
Theoretical frameworks (or paradigms) are coherent packages of concepts, assumptions, and logics that organize how we understand social life.
It is legitimate and necessary for theories to have assumptions; these frameworks allow scientists to build, compare, and criticize explanations.
Theory vs. data: theory helps weave facts into patterns and patterns into explanations; otherwise, we risk spinning out a list of disconnected facts.
Sociological Imagination (Mills) and the Everyday
The sociological imagination connects personal troubles with public issues and historical structures.
Personal decisions (e.g., what to wear) are not purely private acts; they are shaped by social structures, culture, norms, and institutions.
Dressing yourself this morning as a sociological question reveals how culture, gender roles, class, consumer media, geography, weather, availability of laundry, and mood influence choices.
Factors shaping dressing choices (illustrative list from lecture):
Culture and norms; roles and statuses; gender expectations.
Media and consumer culture (Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat) and fashion industry influence.
Geography and weather; climate-related clothing norms.
Economic factors and class; what is affordable or deemed appropriate for a given social setting.
Color theory and fashion aesthetics; what looks coherent within a cultural world.
Personal factors: emotions, mood, energy levels, or how one feels that day.
Household routines (laundry), chores, or personal responsibility.
Sociological imagination emphasizes that decisions are not purely autonomous; they are shaped by collective life and social structures.
The metaphor of the body (functionalism) and other frameworks helps explain how social order might be maintained or challenged.
Mills argues that the main task of sociology is to illuminate the connection between biography and history, and to see private troubles as public issues.
The point is not to deny agency but to show how agency operates within, and is shaped by, social structures and cultural scripts.
The Sociological Imagination in Practice
Everyday life as a site to practice theory (e.g., getting dressed, commuting, education, work, media consumption).
Patterns, not isolated acts: sociology seeks patterned explanations rather than one-off observations.
Relevance to policy and social life: understanding patterns helps critique and improve social institutions and policies.
Why Sociology Emphasizes Patterns, Not Just Individual Acts
Social life is patterned; theory helps identify, describe, and test patterns.
Without theory, social science risks producing disconnected facts rather than explanations of how and why those facts co-occur.
Social science theory supports the creation of coherent, testable explanations based on evidence.
It also enables critical appraisal and comparison across different explanations (e.g., comparing conflict vs. functionalist accounts of inequality).
The concept of reactivity (Espeland & Mitchell Sauter): people alter behavior when they know they are being observed or measured; theory must account for this dynamic feedback between research and social life.
The Role and Value of Theory in Social Science
Theory enables naming and conceptualizing social forces (e.g., power, inequality) so they can be analyzed and addressed.
Theories offer interpretive schemas, guiding how we view processes, institutions, and social change.
Theory acts as a cumulative intellectual space where ideas are built, tested, revised, and extended through collaboration.
Theoretical work helps abstract from the concrete to identify broader processes (e.g., class, race, gender, colonialism) that structure social life.
Theoretical frameworks provide shared ground for researchers to criticize, compare, and refine explanations.
The aim is to move from concrete cases to generalized understandings of social processes, while recognizing contextual limits.
Core Concepts and the Relationship Between Theory and Practice
Theories are not simply “big ideas” but are grounded in evidence and aimed at explaining observable patterns.
The concept of “frames” or “lenses” helps researchers approach the same phenomenon from multiple angles (e.g., symbolic interactionism vs. conflict theory vs. functionalism).
Concept formation is central to social science; precise definitions ensure researchers are talking about the same thing when comparing theories.
Concepts as heuristics help researchers simplify complex reality to identify core features and relations.
The boundary between theory and practice involves applying theoretical insights to real-world problems (law, policy, education, inequality, etc.).
The Traditional Theoretical Perspectives (Frameworks)
There are four traditional theoretical perspectives that anchor much of undergraduate sociology, with postmodern and decolonial variants added in later discussion:
Functionalism
Conflict Theory
Symbolic Interactionism
Feminist Theory
Postmodern Theory (and related critiques)
Decolonial/Decolonizing Theory (and Indigenous theory and theology) – discussed as a current and important thread
Functionalism
Core idea: society as a system with interconnected parts that work together to maintain stability and cohesion.
View of social structures: based on shared values and norms; social order arises from functional interdependence of social institutions.
Central metaphor: the body. Different parts (organs) have functions; equilibrium represents social stability; dysfunction leads to disequilibrium.
Key concepts: social structures, stability, cohesion, equilibrium, manifest vs. latent functions (implicit in functionalist analyses).
Strengths: helps explain how institutions contribute to social stability and continuity.
Critiques: risks viewing society as overly mechanical; can obscure inequality and power dynamics; may justify status quo and overlook conflict and change.
Typical questions: What functions does a social practice serve? How does an institution contribute to social order?
Important caveat: “order for whom?”—whose interests are served by social cohesion.
Conflict Theory
Core idea: society is organized around inequality and power; social order is a result of domination by powerful groups.
Focus: macro structures, class, race, gender, capitalism, and power relations; how resources and opportunities are distributed unequally.
Key figures: Karl Marx (class conflict, capital accumulation, bourgeoisie vs. proletariat); Max Weber (power, status, and the Protestant work ethic); W. E. B. Du Bois (racial inequality, race as a social construct and driving force of social life).
Central concepts: power, domination, exploitation, class struggle, ideology.
Weber’s contribution: capitalism cannot be understood by class alone; status (prestige) and culture (religious ideas) also shape economic life.
Du Bois’s contribution: race and racism as central to social relations; concepts like double consciousness.
Strengths: highlights inequality, power, and structural causes of social change; informs critique and liberation-oriented projects.
Critiques: can overlook micro-level interactions and individual agency; may underemphasize culture or everyday interaction in some variants.
Symbolic Interactionism
Core idea: macro structures are built from everyday interactions; meaning is created through social interaction.
Focus: micro-level processes; how people interpret and respond to social cues; how self and social reality are constructed in interaction.
Key concepts: symbols, meanings, roles, norms, civil inattention, social construction of reality.
Strengths: rich account of everyday life and identity formation; highly attentive to language, symbols, and interaction.
Critiques: can overlook macro-level power and structural constraints; may underplay systemic factors like class, capitalism, or state power.
Feminist Theory
Core idea: gendered power relations shape social life; critique of androcentrism and gender-based inequalities.
Focus: intersectionality, patriarchy, gendered division of labor, representation, and body politics.
Variants include liberal, radical, socialist/Marxist, and postmodern feminist perspectives, each with different emphases on structure, agency, and culture.
Strengths: foregrounds gender and power, integrates experiences of marginalized groups, highlights everyday inequalities.
Critiques: can risk essentializing gender or neglecting other axes of oppression; needs to be integrated with other theories for a fuller view.
Postmodern Theory (and related critical approaches)
Core idea: questions the possibility of universal grand narratives; emphasizes discourse, power/knowledge, and plurality of truths.
Highlights how knowledge is contextual, contingent, and produced within power relations.
Often engages with deconstructive approaches and critiques of objectivity.
Decolonial/Decolonizing Theory (Indigenous and colonial contexts)
Emphasizes knowledge produced outside and against colonial and settler frameworks; centers indigenous perspectives and epistemologies.
Seeks to dismantle colonial power/knowledge structures and to valorize indigenous ways of knowing.
Intersects with critical race theory, gender, and other axes of oppression to analyze how colonial histories shape present social life.
The Practice of Theory: How to Think with and Across Frameworks
Theory as lenses: put on different lenses (functionalism, conflict, symbolic interactionism, feminism) to illuminate the same social scene from different angles.
The same classroom or social setting can look very different depending on the lens used:
Symbolic interactionism: focus on micro-interactions, meaning-making, role-taking, and everyday symbols.
Conflict theory: focus on who is excluded or advantaged, power dynamics, and structural inequalities.
Functionalism: focus on stability, cohesion, and how institutions contribute to the functioning of social systems.
Theory as a tool for criticism: allows explicit articulation of assumptions, enables comparisons, and clarifies what a theory can or cannot explain.
Theories are not absolute truths; they are ways of understanding and explaining social life, often with trade-offs and partial coverage.
Social science is a collective enterprise: built on prior work, shared concepts, and ongoing dialogue among theorists.
The reactivity issue reminds us that social research itself can alter the very phenomena studied; theory and research design must account for that dynamic.
The Relationship Between Theory and Change
Theories can guide practical intervention and social policy by explaining how and why inequalities arise and persist.
Marx’s theory of class struggle contributed to movements for unions, social reforms, and in some contexts, revolutionary change.
Weber’s inclusion of status and culture shows that economic life is inseparable from religious beliefs, cultural norms, and prestige hierarchies.
Du Bois’s analysis of race and racism laid groundwork for critical race theory and ongoing anti-racist scholarship and activism.
The utility of theory lies in generating explanations that can inform action while remaining open to critique and revision.
Key Takeaways for Your Studies
Theory is a systematic attempt to explain relationships between variables; it is not a single absolute truth but a set of useful, testable propositions.
The sociological imagination helps connect personal experiences to larger social and historical forces; it is a tool for understanding how everyday actions are socially shaped.
Concepts are essential building blocks of theory; clarity about definitions enables effective analysis and communication.
The major traditional frameworks (functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, feminism) each offer distinct ways to interpret social life; they can be used in combination to gain a fuller understanding.
Be aware of the ethical and political implications of theory and research, including power dynamics, inequality, and the potential for social change.
Theory evolves: it is adaptive to changing social contexts and is enriched by including decolonial, indigenous, and critical perspectives that challenge dominant narratives.
Quick Reference: Key Terms and Figures (in context)
Sociological imagination: Mills. Connects personal troubles to public issues; biography to history.
Personal troubles vs. public issues: Individuals’ problems vs. structural forces.
Concepts vs. Theory: Concepts (building blocks) → Theory (systematic explanation).
Functionalism: body metaphor; stability and cohesion; equilibrium/disequilibrium; critique: may justify inequality.
Conflict theory: power, domination, inequality; Marx (class struggle); Weber (status, Protestant work ethic); Du Bois (race).
Reactivity (Espeland & Sauter): the effect of being observed on behavior.
Durkheim, Marx, Weber, Du Bois: foundational figures shaping major frameworks.
Concept formation (Mundane Mure / Tepperman): specify and define key terms for coherent analysis.
Terminology and Notation (LaTeX-friendly references)
General theory relationship: Y = f(X)
Conceptual clarity example: "status is socially constructed" vs. "status is biologically derived"; different definitions lead to different theoretical implications.
Biography-history linkage: Mills’ framing of personal troubles ↔ public issues.
Power and inequality: central in conflict theory and in Weber/Marx analyses.
Cultural and gender scripts shaping behavior: part of the sociological imagination and feminist theory considerations.