Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology – 531
Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology – 531
I. Sociological Thinking
A. The sociological imagination and the promise of sociology
B. Reductionism and non-reductionism: Sociological versus biological (and physiological, genetic, chemical, etc.). psychological, ‘natural’ and supernatural explanations of social institution and social change
C. Significance of perspective and theory
D. Sociology of knowledge: Basis principles and protocol
E. History of early sociology: Political, economic, religious and intellectual contexts
F. Classical sociology:
a. Comte’s method of social inquiry and the idea of human progress
b. Mars: Overall doctrine and dynamics of social change
c. Spencer and growth, structure and differentiation
d. Durkheim: General approach, individual and society, and religion
e. Weber: Types of authority, and Protestantism and the rise of capitalism
f. Cooley, the ‘looking-glass self’ and the nature and history of human groups
II. Structural-Functional Perspective
A. Historical context
B. Key arguments
- Whole part and systemic interrelationships
- Consensus, stability, order, versus, conflict, instability, and change
- Functional prerequisites or imperatives
- Functional unity, universality and indispensability and Merton’s reformulation
- Manifest and latent function and dysfunction
- Protocol of functional analysis
C. Variants, societal (Durkhiem), Individualistic (Malinowski), Structural (Radcliffe-Brown), Social systemic (Parsons)
D. Critique
E. Application to: (a) Stratification, (b) Deviance (c) Religion