Sociological theories Social processes and structures Key Sociologists Sociological theories Social processes and structures Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) Lived: in France, during a period of radical social change (industrialisation) Functionalism Value consensus: people agree on what is important in society Social processes Definition: how humans are affected by their interactions with others Human body: society has different parts eg education, family, like the human body Primary socialisation: social learning that happens in the family Secondary socialisation: social learning that happens outside the family Functionalism: laid foundations of functionalism Social order: necessary for society to work well Division of labour: roles in society divided into specialised jobs, interdependent on each other Social control: process in which people are persuaded to conform to rules of society Consensus theory: because they see society as being based on agreement and stability Crime: a natural an unavoidable part of society Social structures Definition: these are invisible structures that exist in society, such as social stratification, ethnicity and gender Marxism Class conflict: the bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat in an unequal capitalist society Suicide: his most famous study was into the causes of suicide using a scientific approach Ruling class ideology: beliefs and ideas of bourgeoisie imposed on working class Social class: a type of social stratification based on income Karl Marx (1818- 83) Lived: in Germany/ England. Left-wing politics made him unpopular with governments Communism: Marx believed workers would need to rebel to achieve change to create communist society Discrimination: an action based on prejudice and sterotypes eg racial or gender discrimination Marxism: focused on how goods are produced in capitalist society, ideas = Marxism Class conflict: focused on exploitation of workers in capitalist society Conflict theory: based on the idea there is a conflict between social classes Gender Socially constructed ideas about what is masculine and feminine Communism: believed the creation of a classless society was solution to inequality Feminism Patriarchy: male domination of society ie men have more power in society Culture The beliefs, norms and values of a particular society Impact of ideas: Russia, Eastern Europe, China and others have been inspired by his ideas Types of feminism: radical (extreme), liberal (less extreme) Norm Expected pattern of behaviour in a particular society Max Weber (1864 – 1920) Lived: in Germany, was a lawyer, professor, solider and founder of political party Inequality: 13.9% gender pay gap, 70% see laundry as female job, 22% MPs female Social stratification The way in which a society is divided hierarchically on the basis of various factors Conflict theory: conflict between genders Objective approach: encouraged value-free approach in sociology Interactionism Individuals: focuses on individual interactions, not overall structure of society. Based on Mead. Ethnicity A shared cultural identity based on language, history and traditionans Protestant work ethic: linked Protestantism to development of capitalism in the West Labelling: when a person is labelled as being a certain way, they can be treated differently and become like that label Social construct Ideas constructed, or made, by society Power: status people have depends on authority. 3 types: traditional, charismatic, legal