SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY

COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF THEORY?

• Something Abstract• Something Philosophical• Something Complicated• Something Irrelevant• Something Obsolete• Something Very Boring

Interestingly we are very use to “THEORIES” in our daily lives and continuously

ConstructingRe-constructingDe-Constructing “THEORIES” on daily basis. “THEORIES” are the integral part of our lives.

WHAT THEORY ACTUALLY IS?

AN EXPLANATION• Conscious • Systematic• Organized• Rational• Logical

A PREDICTION• Based on Experience• Based on Facts• Based on Data• Based on Observation

SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY

A SET OF “INTERRELATED IDEAS” THAT

ALLOW FOR THE “SYSTEMATIZATION OF

KNOWLEDGE” OF THE “SOCIAL WORLD”

RANGE OF SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES

•MACRO THEORIESOperates on societal level•MIDRANGE THEORIESDeal general aspects of social behavior•MICRO THEORIESDeal specific aspects of social behavior

THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE

CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE

INTERACTION PERSPECTIVE

POST MODERN PERSPECTIVE

FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE

FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE

Society is a complex system of different partsParts are interrelated and interdependentThere is stability and equilibrium between

different partsThere is consensus of the main valuesChange is generally disruptive and gradualMacro theory

KEY THINKERS

• August Comte (1798-1857)The Founding Father, Positivism• Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)The Social Darwinist• Émile Durkheim (1858-1917)Division of labor, Suicide

CONFLICT PERSPECTIVEIn every society there is struggle for

resources and powerSome groups prosper at the expense of

othersConflict is universalInequality is widespreadChange is inevitable, often beneficial and can

be violentMacro theory

KEY THINKERSKarl Marx (1818-1883)Social class, Dialectical materialismC. Wright Mills (1916-1962)Power elite, Sociological imaginationRalf Dahrendorf ( 1929- ) Class conflict

INTERACTION PERSPECTIVESociety is the product of interactions of

individual and small groupsInteraction is facilitated through shared

symbols, gestures and nonverbal communications

Humans are social animals and require interaction

The reality is constructed through interactionMacro Theory

KEY THINKERS

• George Herbert Mead (1880-1949)“I” & “me”, role taking, significant other• Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929)Looking Glass Self•Erving Goffman (1922-1982)Dramaturgical approach

POST MODERN PERSPECTIVE

All worldviews are mediated by languageThe dominant language of society is the

language of the rich and powerfulAll knowledge is socially constructedArt, literature, architecture, politics and

society are beyond reasonThere is no one TruthMacro theory

KEY THINKERSMichel Foucault (1926-1984)Social construction of knowledge,

deconstruction

FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE

Women are very important part of society

Women are historically subordinate to men

Sexism is the ultimate tool to oppress women

Structural changes needed for gender equality

Macro theory

FEMINIST PERSPECTIVELiberal Feminism

Marxist Feminism

Radical Feminism

Socialist Feminism

Postmodern Feminism

KEY THINKERSDorothy E. Smith

Sandra Harding

Patricia Hill Collins

Joan Jacob Brumberg

GOOD LUCK