Sociological imagination and functionalism
Sociological imagination and functionalismChapter 1 & functionalism basics
What is sociology?
SociologyThe systematic study of behavior within the social context
AndTo explain behavior, stressing the social context of daily living.
Sociological imaginationC. Wright Mills (1959)...the vivid awareness of the relationship between private experience and the wider society (Mills, 1959). The sociological imagination enables us to grasp the connection between history and biography.What does this mean?
Sociological imagination cont.The relationship between personal troubles and societal structureExamplesUnemploymentEducation
Origins of sociology
Functionalism basicsOrganismic analogyAnalogous to living organismsAll parts of society have purpose through:Goal attainmentAdaptationIntegration
Functionalism cont.Society places structural constraintsThink crime and devianceSocial orderSocietal values
Emile durkheimFather of functionalismSuicide RatesSocial solidarityCollective conscience
Talcott ParsonsTried to generate a single grand theory Built upon Durkheimian ides
An education system
A political system.... And so on
The systems and the society are held together because everyone shares the same valuesThere is a shared culture
Robert MertonStressed importance of empirical workKeep assumptions to a minimumConsidered middle-rangeGrand theory too abstractMacro sociologyManifestLatentDysfunction