Class notes

Lecture Week 2 Chapter 1

Sociological perspective
● A special point of view of sociology that sees general patterns in the behaviour of particular
people
○ General and Patterns are keywords to pay attention too
Theory: A statement of how and why facts are related
● Templates consider all different ways to social issues
Theoretical approach: the basic image of society that guides thinking and research

3 theoretical approaches
● Structural Functionalism
● Social conflict (feminist theory, race conflict)
● Symbolic interactionalism




Structural Functional Theory
● Look at how everything works and how everything fits together
● Social structure
○ Refers to any relatively stable patterns of social behaviour
● Social function
○ Consequence of social pattern for the operation of society as a whole
■ Manifest function, latent function and dysfunction
■ Macro

, GOOD FOR FUNCTIONALIST THEORY ANALYSIS


Conflict Theory
● Looks at the inequality competitions and conflicts between groups
● Race, sex, class, and age are linked to social inequality
● Dominant group vs minority group
● Macro