Essay Example on Theoretical Perspectives There are many methods used to examine Society

Assignment 1 Theoretical Perspectives There are many methods used to examine society they are considered to be contemporary theoretical perspectives The most widely accepted perspectives are the functionalist conflict symbolic interactionism and postmodernist The functionalist perspective is the assumption that society is a fixed and well ordered system This system can be categorized by the societal consensus where most members of the society have a common moral standard Kendall D E 2017 A society is able to survive and remain stable by having some sort of social structures and institutions like a government education systems religion and families Without one of these the society will become chaos and not function properly Kendall D E 2017 Conflict perspective states that society is maintained by the continuous competition for limited resources Kendall D E 2017 The forms of these conflicts may be through negotiation politics or even a family discussing financial problems Today however believers of the conflict perspective believe social life is also a competition for power in groups The perspective stating that society is the based on the interactions between individuals and groups is known at symbolic interactionist Kendall D E 2017 Theorists studying the interaction between two or more individuals and study how symbolic communication plays a role in it Some examples of symbolic communication may include a ring which symbolizes love and marriage but it can also be in the form of facial gestures tone of one s voice or even posture Kendall D E 2017 Postmodernist is a perspective that rejects all of the theories mentioned above 

They are concerned that this rapid industrialization and technology tend to have a harmful effect on people because they have been shown to result in uncertainty and chaos Kendall D E 2017 One effect that this modern world has had on people is a lot of individual freedom more so than social institutions which may lead many people into higher levels of depression loneliness and fear Kendall D E 2017 An upcoming perspective that has become very popular is feminism The movement is focused on ending women's oppression that a man is overpowering to a woman in all aspects Mikkola Mari 2017 Society is changing as women are no longer designated housewives but can be doctors and CEO s just as men can The perspective that I find to be the most interesting is symbolic interactionist I find this one to be the most interesting personally because it is interesting to see how even though one may not speak the same language as another a smile is universal and is considered a friendly symbolic gesture Or how even thousands of years ago our ancestors used similar symbols as we do today in society for the same reasons Taylor Cannon Assignment 1 Sociologist I believe that Emile Durkheim could be considered one of the most influential sociologists of the 20th century He along with Max Weber and Karl Marx were the main founders of sociology Durkheim was a French sociologist during the end of the nineteenth century leading into the early twentieth that believed that people are a product of their social environment Carls P n d He basically stated that behavior cannot be understood completely based off an individual's physical or biological traits Carls P n d Durkheim is considered to be the producer of the functionalist perspective in sociology 

Cole Nicki Lisa Ph D 2017 April 3 The functionalist perspective as stated before is the assumption that society is a fixed and well ordered system that can maintain stability He was not interested in the way society was held together but focused on the beliefs perspective behaviors and values that made people feel as though they were a part of a group and what caused them to maintain that is their common interest Cole Nicki Lisa Ph D 2017 April 3 Durkheim s work was all about culture and he deeply contributed to how sociologists study culture today His work is also useful today because of his concept of anomie which refers to how societal change can cause one to feel disconnected from the society through change in norms which can cause both psychic and material chaos Cole Nicki Lisa Ph D 2017 April 3 This greatly attributes to helping us understand society today and to continue maintaining its order References Kendall D E 2017 Sociology in our times Australia Wadsworth Mikkola Mari 2017 Feminist Perspectives on Sex and Gender The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Winter 2017 Edition Edward N Zalta ed Retrieved from https plato stanford edu entries feminism gender Carls P n d Émile Durkheim Retrieved January 19 2018 from http www iep utm edu durkheim Cole Nicki Lisa Ph D 2017 April 3 How Emile Durkheim Made His Mark on Sociology Retrieved from https www thoughtco com emile durkheim relevance to sociology today 3026482