Sociological Perspectives and Theories Essay - 2033 Words

Sociological Perspectives and Theories Sociologists try to explain how society orders itself but there are many different theories for this, which often conflict with one another. Some of these classic theories include Marxism, Functionalism, and Interactionism. There are also more modern or contemporary theories such as Feminism. Each sociological perspective has different beliefs. Marxists are concerned with the distribution of economic power and wealth. They believe that society is in conflict between two classes. Those classes are the Bourgeoisie; who own the means of production, i.e. land and the Proletariat; who sell labour to these owners for wages. The Proletariat are being†¦show more content†¦College help teach people so they can gain desired qualifications which will allow them to go out and work in society. Without people being taught professions society would break down because there would be nobody to do certain jobs. Another classic view is Interactionism. We can liken Interactionism to a play; everyone must play their respective roles in order to create a successful performance – in society everyone must do their jobs in order to create a successful society. This approach is much like the functionalism viewpoint. It argues that action is meaningful to those involved and that they interpret the meaning. They also argue that how others see us affects the way we act and how we see ourselves because our actions are based on self-concept. This is otherwise known as ‘The Looking Glass Self’ a phrase that was coined by Charles Cooley (1864-1929) and his theory backs up the ideas of Interactionism. ‘In a very large and interesting class of cases the social reference takes the form of a somewhat definite imagination of how ones self--that is any idea he appropriates--appears in a particular mind, and the kind of self-feeling one has is determined by the attitude toward this attributed to that other mind. A social self of this sort might be called the reflected or looking glass self: Each to each aShow MoreRelatedSociological Perspectives On Education Theory And Practice Essay1351 Words   |  6 PagesSOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES AND THEIR APPLICABILITY IN EDUCATION THEORY AND PRACTICE Presented by: NDUNG’U M. JOSEPH 2016/ED/33284 To MRS. R. GITONGA APRIL 2016 1.1 Overview The word theory merely refers to a particular kind of explanation. Leedy and Ormrod (2005) point out: â€Å"A theory is an organized body of concepts and principles intended to explain a particular phenomenon†. Thus, theories explain â€Å"How† and â€Å"Why† something operates as it does (Johnson Christensen, 2007). As statedRead MoreSociological Perspectives On Social And Social Theory2521 Words   |  11 Pagesbehave according to these observations (Bussey and Bandura, 1999). 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