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Four Sociological Perspectives

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According to Kendall (2012), sociology is “the systematic study of human society and social interaction.” (p.5). It is the study of societies with emphasis on modern and complex societies. Sociology is also the study of the development and structure of the human society. It is concerned with group activities such as how people interact with each other and their behavior during the interaction. Sociology includes four major sociological perspectives: functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, and post-modernism. All of these theories in sociology equip us with different perspectives with which to view the social world. Each of the four major theoretical perspectives offer a range of explanations about the human behavior and social …show more content…
The conflict perspective tries to show that society creates conflict to the gender and class inequalities that are present in everyday life. Conflict can take the form of negotiations, politics, family arguments and disputes about financial matters. This particular theoretical perspective is based on the works of Georg Simmel, Karl Marx, and Max Weber. The three sociologists focus on the inevitability of conflicts between social groups. Supporters of the conflict perspective view social life as an unceasing power struggle among social groups. The conflict perspective is about those in power wanting to stay in power and those not in powers wanting to gain power. Throughout history, there have been many battles waged in the desire to gain power such as the proletariat, bourgeoisie, working class, and upper class (Kendall, …show more content…
It is based on the works of George Herbert Mead and Herbert Blumer. Symbolic interactionism tends to view things by paying full attention to the micro level. According to Kendall (2012), symbolic interactionist perspectives is where society is the sum of the interactions of individuals and groups” (p.19) People uses the symbolic interactionist perspective focus on the process of interaction and the part that symbols play in giving meaning to human conversation. According to Kendall (2012), a symbol is “anything that meaningfully represents something else. Examples of symbols include signs, gestures, written language, and shared values” (p.20). Basically, this particular perspective centers on the relationship between interactions and symbols. Symbols are very essential in this perspective because the use of symbols helps people assign meanings to people and things. For people to be able to understand human behavior , people have to be able to know the meaning of a certain behavior for a person. Through interactions with others, meaning is created in the interactions we have with one another in sharing our interpretations of

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