1. Sociological theories Social processes and structures
Key Sociologists
Sociological theories
Social processes and structures
Emile Durkheim ( )
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 ( )
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