Three Theoretical Paradigms Structural Functionalism Society is viewed as composed of various parts each with a function that when fulfilled contributes to societys equilibrium Conflict Theory ID: 604979
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "How is getting dressed in the morning a ..." is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1Slide2
How is getting dressed in the morning a social activity?Slide3
Three Theoretical Paradigms
Structural Functionalism
Society is viewed as composed of various parts, each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society’s equilibrium
Conflict Theory
Society is viewed as composed of groups that are competing for resources
Symbolic Interactionism
Society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one anotherSlide4
Harold
GarfinkelSlide5
Talcott Parsons
Functionalist!Slide6
“
Parsonian Functionalism”
Major theoretical perspective in mid-20
th
century
Attempts to explain how societies maintain stability and orderFocuses on roles of social institutions, and how they maintain social stabilityPeople have internalized rules and norms, that’s why we see orderly behaviorIf behaviors exist, they are there because they serve a function maintaining orderSlide7
“Top-Down”Slide8
When a scientist looks through a “top-down” lens, she sees:
Objective, pre-existing social forces
(such as norms)
Cause/produce
An orderly societySlide9
Any sociological
theory
used to explain social phenomena
is a
top-down approach to sociology. Slide10
Harold
Garfinkel
h
ad some problems
w
ith top-downapproaches.Slide11
Garfinkel
Said:
Functionalism assumes that only people with the correct theoretical lenses can make sense of society
Ordinary people
do see the world as orderly; as a
sensical placeFunctionalists like Parsons were ignoring all the work that ordinary people do every day to make sense of the worldSlide12
Garfinkel
Said:
Everyone has procedures they use to make sense of the world, and
PEOPLE ACHIEVE THE ORDER OF THE SOCIAL WORLD!Slide13
This is a
“bottom-up” approach
to sociology.Slide14
When a scientist looks through a “top-down” lens, she sees:
Objective, pre-existing social forces
(such as norms)
Cause/produce
An orderly societySlide15
People’s sense-making activities and procedures
Produce/achieve
The appearance of an orderly society
(and the very reality/objectivity of the social world)Slide16
THE WORK
IS THE ORDER!Slide17
So while top-down
sociological approaches ask:
Why
is the social world the way it is?
What are the social forces at work?Slide18
The bottom-up
sociological approach asks:
How
do we achieve a social world that seems objective
and pre-existing?Slide19
These are fundamentally different questions, seeking different answers.
Both, top-down and bottom-up, are valid and useful approaches to sociology.Slide20
WE DOSlide21Slide22Slide23
Ethnomethodology
Ethno = members
Methodology = methods
Members’ methods for achieving social orderSlide24
“Knowledge
kept
private
is powerless,
and experience unshared
is nothing."-- Amelia HillSlide25
Story Time!Slide26Slide27Slide28Slide29Slide30
Here’s another example:Slide31
Gender
In a top-down approach, a sociologist might ask: “
Why
don’t males cry as often as females?”
Gender roles (males are taught not to show emotions)
AffectBehavior (males don’t cry as often as females)Slide32
Gender
In a bottom-up approach, an
ethnomethodologist
might ask:
How is the reality of gendered behavior produced?
The reality of “gendered behavior”Produce/achievePeople’s sense-making activities/procedures (what we do)Slide33
¿Preguntas?