ASSIGNMENT ONE DUE DATE: 28TH January, 2015 QUESTION: Discuss the three Main Perspectives in Sociology and indicate their usefulness in Contemporary society? The nature of this essay is to discuss the three main perspectives in sociology and indicate their usefulness in contemporary society. The essay will first start with the definition of the term sociology and the term perspective. Later the essay will identify the three main sociological
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the usefulness of functionalist approaches to our understanding of families and households (20) This essay will evaluating the usefulness of functionalist approaches such as the families four functions, the distribution of conjugal roles and the symmetrical family, and how these ideas contribute to our understanding of families and households today. The argument of which the family is an essential building block that reflects the wider needs of society is that of the functionalist approach. Murdoch
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- Murdock Murdock Functionalist; family is universal institution that performs 4 major functions: * Stable Satisfaction of the Sex Drive - prevents social disruption caused by sexual 'free-for-all'. * Reproduction of Next Generation - means society able to continue. * Socialisation of the Young - spreading society's norms and values. * Meeting Member's Economic Needs - providing food, shelter, etc. Criticisms of Murdock * Marxists - reject consensus view; argue that Murdock
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Structural-Functional Theory The functionalist perspective sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. This makes it a broad focus on the social structures that shape society as a whole. Also it looks at both social structure and social functions. A structural functionalist view of gender inequality applies the division of labor to view predefined gender roles as complementary: women take care of the home while men provide for the family. Thus
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Introduction We all have our own views on what we believe to be family, whether it be the traditional mother, father and children form or the contrasting; two parents of the same sex and adopted children, we all probably would agree that a family consists of people that love each other and adults that rear and prepare children ready for adult life within society. As members of society we have our own individual views as to what constitutes as family, so do sociologists. In this report I will assess
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Compare and contrast the Functionalist and Marxist perspective to our understanding of society The Functionalist perspective to our society is that we are controlled by society by aspects of our society such as media, religion, education and government to name a few. Auguste Comte developed a theory known as the organic analogy which explained that each part of society played a vital role in making the body of society work coherently, for example the education system may represent the brain as
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is a theory that views society as a whole. Functionalists believe that society is based on a value consensus – a set of shared norms and values – into which society socialises its members. This enables individuals to cooperate harmoniously to meet society’s needs and achieve shared goals. Functionalists regard society as a system with symbiotic parts, in that each part depends on each other to function efficiently. For such reasons they use an organic analogy to explain society. For example, just
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In this essay I will assess the functionalist views of the role on education. Functionalists agree that education in the form of institutions, such as schools, is the best way to pass on the skills required in society. They argue that school provides secondary socialisation which is when a child is influenced by the surroundings when they are not with their family. The term 'meritocracy' means that the highest social positions are given to the most able people. This provides equal opportunities and
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strengths and weaknesses of the functionalist approach to society. A Functionalism is a macro, structuralist theory. This means they see human behaviour being shaped as an influence of social forces. It is also seen consensus theory, as functionalists’ argue that, individuals are socialised into a shared value to ensure conformity and social order. However, this functionalists approach is criticised by action theorists, as they argue that individuals create society through their interactions. Unlike
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“The main function of education is to maintain a value consensus in society” According to Item “A” functionalists believe that a Value Consensus is essential for the well-being of society. A Value Consensus is an agreement among society’s members about what social values (such as getting qualifications, learning job skills, etc.) are important. Item “A” also stats that functionalists believe that school is vital because it socialises (this is known as secondary socialisation, this is where children
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