...Evaluate the Functionalist contribution to our understanding of society. (33) Functionalism is one of the earliest sociological theories; it was a development from the first sociological theories developed by Auguste Comte in the early part of the 19thC. Comte developed sociology as ‘the Queen of the Sciences’ in order to use a scientific approach to understanding society. In addition to this scientific approach, he believed that society had a structure and each element of the structure played a particular role in the functioning of society. Emile Durkheim developed these ideas into a sociological perspective which we now call Functionalism. This perspective continued to be modified and developed until the middle of the 20thC when other perspectives gained importance. Functionalists believe that society is a social system made up of interrelated parts, which have specific functions to perform. Durkheim’s organic analogy suggests that society is like a living organism, just like the human body it is made up of organs which have specific functions to perform to keep the body alive, so society has institutions which have specific functions to perform which keep society in a state of equilibrium. Functionalism is therefore a Structuralist theory, examining the structures or institutions of society to see how they work to benefit society. Durkheim believed that society existed external to the individual and controlled the actions of individuals through social integration...
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...Assess the contribution of functionalism to an understanding of society Functionalism is a macro, structural theory. It focuses on the needs of the social system as a whole and how these needs shape all the main features of society. It is a consensus theory being as it sees society as based on a basic consensus or agreement among its members about values, goals and rules. However because of this understanding of the functionalist theory I believe it has a generally weak contribution to the understanding of society. Because it is a macro theory it doesn’t look at the small groups or individuals in society and thus can miss very important factors. Also because it is a consensus theory it doesn’t look at the inequalities that Marxists look at, such as exploitation and the conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariats. It can be argued that functionalist only look at the bright side of society and doesn’t focuses on the bigger problems and issues it faces. Functionalists describe society as an organic analogy. Parsons also argues that social order is achieved through the existence of a shared culture or a central value system. He believes that cultures provide a framework that allows individuals to cooperate by laying down rules about how they should behave and what others may expect of them. Social order is only possible if members of society agree on these norms and values. The function of the value consensus is therefore to make social order possible, it does...
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...Feminism is a structuralist theory. There are several versions of feminism but common theme throughout them all is that they argue that society is patriarchal, i.e. society is male dominated and all institutions serve and maintain male dominance. Feminists do however disagree on the extent of patriarchy in society and what need to happen to create gender equality. Liberal feminism is a march of progress theory as it sees a trend towards improvement and believes all humans should be equal. Oakley, as a key sociologist, distinguishes between sex and gender; sex refers to biological differences whereas gender refers to the culturally constructed differences between the roles and identities assigned to men and women. Liberal feminists argue there has been a move towards greater gender equality and that a gradual reform is necessary through changing laws and cultural changes away from gender stereotypes. They also believe that the ideas about gender are culturally constructed and transmitted through socialisation. For example, the mother is supposed to look after the children rather than go to work. Oakley criticises Parson’s assumption of gender roles being based on biological differences by arguing that men and women are equally capable of performing both roles within society yet this is prevented by the traditional gender roles. Liberal feminists make a fair point by stating that gender roles are not ingrained as they show to an extent that roles are not determined. However Liberal...
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...Assess the contribution of feminist perspectives to our understanding of society. (33 marks) Feminism is a set of ideologies used to advance the cause of women’s equality and to end the sexist theory and practice of social oppression. It is a structuralist theory which is made up of several versions, but they all argue that society is patriarchal. The types of feminism I will be reviewing are liberal feminism, radical feminism, marxist feminism, and difference feminism. Aside from all agreeing that society is patriarchal, these versions of feminism disagree on two levels; the extent of patriarchy in society and also what needs to be done to create gender equality. Firstly, liberal feminism. Liberal feminists believe all humans should be treated equally; however they believe that women aren’t treated equally to men in society. Liberal feminists suggest that to create greater gender equality laws that are unfavourable to women need to be changed in order to present women with greater opportunities. Oakley distinguishes between sex and gender, referring to sex as the biological differences between males and females such as their reproductive role, whereas she refers to gender as culturally constructed differences between masculine and feminine roles and identities assigned to males and females. Liberal feminists therefore disagree with the functionalist Parsons who believed that males and females perform the roles they are biologically suited to do, contrarily believing...
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...0 8 Assess the contribution of Marxism to our understanding of society. (33 marks) http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/AQA-SCLY4-QP-JUN13.PDF Marxism is a conflict theory which was developed by Karl Marx. It is a structural approach to society, meaning that it looks at the large-scale societal structure in order to see how society functions and operates. They believe that structure is categorized into two kinds of structure; the infrastructure and the superstructure. The superstructure is the culture, institutions, political power structures, roles, rituals, and norms that influence how we behave in society. The infrastructure means the basic systems and structures that a country or an organization needs in order to work properly. Marxism is useful to our understanding of society as it shows us how society is based on capitalism which caused the division of two opposed classes. Marx believed that in society we have two main classes; the bourgeoisie or the ruling class and the proletariat or the working class. The bourgeoisie are the owners of the means of production (factories e.g.). Marx argues that the bourgeoisie’s ownership of the means of production also gives them ideological and political power that they to exploit the proletariat. The proletariat are the working class in capitalist society. They own no means of production and are wage slaves who are forced to sell their labour power to the bourgeoisie in order for them to survive. The bourgeoisie construct the relations...
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...Assess the contribution of Marxism to our understanding of society (33 marks) - June'13 A popular group of sociologists , who have conducted various amounts of research in regard to society, are Marxists, who believe that power in society is largely stemmed from wealth, which has created a capitalist society (a society in which people are employed for wages, and businesses are set up with the aim of making profit). In capitalism the working-class employees (proletarian) are exploited by the bourgeoisie (the ruling-class), because they were not paid the full value of their work since the bourgeoisie kept surplus value. According to Marxism, family developed so that men were able to feel certain of the paternity of their children. Engels (Marxist) believes that marriage would allow men to control women's sexuality and minimise the chances of women having an affair. This is supported by Murdock (Functionalist) who believes there are 4 functions to the family, one being the sexual function, which states that family prevents disruption to society by limiting sexuality to monogamous relationships, therefore preventing any conflict that may arise from sexual desire. This suggests that Marxists believe that society created the idea of family in order for men to feel confident they are passing down their property to their biological offspring. In addition, Marxist Feminists believe that society is controlled by men and the ruling-class; and that family encourages the working-class...
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...The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was created on november 2, 1936. The CBC was originally proposed as an national broadcasting corporation that would be publicly oriented. Unfortunately the proposition made in 1928 never followed through until 1936 due to the Great Depression and the stock market crash in 1929. When it was created it took the initiative of broadcasting to all of established Canada. As you can see they were a large corporation, that also had many contributions to Canadian, society, politics, and culture. The CBC helped to innovate and implement technology in Canadian society during this time. They helped to advance the creation of the television and its role in Canadian lives. They helped advance wavelength technology in...
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...Assess the contribution of Social Action Theories to our understanding of society today? There are some many structural theories put across in today’s society which can be interpreted in many different levels. Structural theories such as Functionalism and Marxism have more of a positivist approach to how they see societies values as they are macro level which means they view society as a real physical thing out there which initially shapes our ideas and behaviour, and they also put the meaning across how to understand people’s behaviour we must first properly understand the social structure that shapes it to what it is today. Moreover, unlike structural theories which are put across, action theories also bring to the understanding as they are micro level which can be seen as a voluntaristic approach which focuses on the actions and sometimes interactions of individuals as having free will and personal choice. Weber also argues the point how our actions are not determined by society as structural theories specify how we possess agency and so therefore we can shape society through our choices, meanings and actions put forward. Overall the main critical four actions theories which evaluate our understanding in terms of society today, is Weber’s social action, ethnomethodology, phenomenology and symbolic interactionism. However all these actions specifically differ in how far they see structural explanations of behavior in the everyday surroundings. Firstly, the main famous...
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...Assess the contribution of feminist perspectives to our understanding of society (33 marks) Feminists see society as patriarchal. They seek to describe, explain and change the position of women within society. The first ‘wave’ of feminism appeared in the late 19th century with the suffragette’s campaign for the right for women to vote. Even though all feminists oppose women’s subordination, there are disagreements on its causes and how to overcome it. Liberal or reformist feminists believe that traditional prejudices and stereotypes about gender differences are a barrier to equality. They believe all human beings should have equal rights. Since both men and women are human beings, both should have the same opportunities. Liberal Feminists argue that laws and policies against sex discrimination in employment and education can secure equal opportunities for women. Campaigning for changes in law can bring about change and we can bring about change through a cultural shift within society. They reject the idea that biological differences make women less competent or rational than men or that men are biologically less emotional or nurturing than women. To bring about change we must shift society’s socialisation patterns. For example society must seek to promote appropriate role models in education and the family by doing this we will benefit from a cultural shift and gender equality will become the norm. Liberal Feminists believe that changes in socialisation and culture are gradually...
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...Asses the contribution of postmodernism to sociologists understanding of crime and deviance in todays society. Some sociologists believe that we now live in a post-modern society that has a distinct set of characteristics in comparison to modern society; Postmodernists reject the views of the modernist theorists as they claim that they are metanarratives (big stories). They believe that sociology needs to develop new theories so we can fully understand postmodern society, as society is constantly changing it is marked with uncertainty and therefore society is split into a variety of groups. This essay will discuss the changes that have taken place in postmodern society and how this impacts upon our understanding of crime and deviance. Postmodernity has brought changes from modernity these changes include independence and choice. There is less focus on science, postmodernists reject scientific research methods in their research therefore postmodernists are criticised for being subjective. Lyotard argues that society is expanding due to the economic and scientific growth, knowledge is no longer a tool of the authorities, and we now have choice and freedom to believe what we want. Whereas Baudrillard argued that we are isolated and knowledge is filtered through businesses such as the media. We pursue the images attached to products; we now live in hyper-realities in which appearances are everything. This has lead to ‘death of the social’ which is a breakdown in social solidarity;...
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...Leonardo Da Vinci made contributions to the study of science, medicine and art. In his relentless pursuit to understand how our world works, he was one of the world's greatest inventors, thinkers, scientists, artists and writers. A true Renaissance man, Leonardo Da Vinci was a leading voice for reason, logic and science in a world dominated by superstition. Leonardo’s parents were the Florentine notary and landlord Ser Pedro and Caterina, a young peasant woman who soon after Leonardo's birth married a local artesan. Although an illegitimate child, Leonardo was raised in his father's household, as Ser Pedro did not have other children until 1476, in his fourth marriage. Showing artistic promise, Leonardo became an apprentice to the artist Andrea del Verrocchio at the age of 15. Five years later he was accepted into the painter's guild of Florence but continued to work in Verrocchio's workshop for another five years. “Flying machines, parachutes, submarines, underwater rebreathing devices, self floatation/ocean rescue devices, swimming fins, pumping mechanisms, water turbines, dredging systems, steam calorimeters, water-well drill, swing bridges, canals, levelling/surveying instruments, cranes, pulley systems, street-lighting systems, convection roasting spit, mechanical saw, treadle-operated lathe, compasses, contact lenses, and military weapons. “These are all inventions that were created by Leonardo Da Vinci's genius creates inventions that are far ahead of their time. In...
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...subordination. There are different types of feminism and the types I will be evaluating in this essay are Liberal, Radical, Marxist and Difference/poststructuralist feminist. Feminists criticise mainstream sociology for being ‘malestream’. By contrast, feminists examine society from the viewpoint of women, they see their work as part of the struggle against women’s subordination. However, although all feminists oppose women’s subordination, there are disagreements among feminist’s theories about its causes and how to overcome them. Liberal feminist are concerned with the human and civil rights and freedoms of the individual, they believe that all human beings should have equal rights. In liberal feminism, the concept of society changing itself to adapt to women does not occur. Liberal feminists insist that all that is needed to change the status of women is to change existing laws that are unfavourable for women and that will open up more opportunities for women to prove themselves as equal to the opposite sex. Oakley (1972) distinguishes between sex and gender. She claims sex differences are seen as fixed and gender differences vary between cultures and over time. Therefore what is considered a proper role for women in one society or at one time may be disapproved of or forbidden in another. Sexist attitudes and stereotypical beliefs about gender are culturally constructed and transmitted through socialisation, meaning in order to achieve gender equality, liberal feminists must change...
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...Feminists study society today through the viewpoint of oppressed women who are seen to be subordinated by men. Their main aim is to liberate women from men, patriarchal society and the socially constructed stereotypes of women. In order to do so, there are different strands of Feminism, which are, Liberal, the least extreme or violent, Marxist, who link in capitalism to Feminism and Radical Feminists, the most extreme. These groups seek to bring about equality through different means and on different levels of severity. In addition to these, there are smaller and more modern groups of Feminism which are Dual Systems Feminists, who are similar to Marxist Feminists and Poststructuralists who believe other Feminists disregard differences between women. Liberal Feminists are concerned with the human civil rights, therefore they seek legal reforms and changes in attitudes and socialisation to bring about gender equality, which does not require a violent revolution. They are the closest Feminist theory to a consensus view on today’s society even though it focuses on the conflicts between men and women. Liberal Feminists reject the idea that biological differences make women less competent or rational than men or vice versa. They distinguish between sex and gender; whereby sex refers to the biological differences such as their reproductive role and physical differences and gender refers to culturally constructed differences between ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ roles. As gender is culturally...
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...Charities are outmoded institutions that have no contribution to make to modern society. What is needed are social enterprises. Discuss. Introduction In this essay I will start by looking at definitions of both “Charities” and “Social Enterprises” before going on to look at a short history of the development of the voluntary sector in the UK. I will then move on to examine the arguments suggesting that charities have become outmoded and the perceived benefits of social enterprises as an alternative approach. In the final section I attempt to critically assess these arguments and to draw some conclusions. Some definitions Charities are essentially organisations established to provide some form of public good, with most of their funding being generated through donations from individuals, companies or government departments. In the UK a charity must be registered with the Charity Commission and the purposes of the charity must meet the “public benefit requirement”. Its purposes will be defined in its governing document or constitution, and ALL of its purposes must be exclusively charitable. This is the main distinction between charities and social enterprises. This latter term is used to describe a wide range of organisations which are run as businesses (and often constituted as companies rather than charities) but don’t exist purely to make money for their stakeholders. Instead they have other goals such as to benefit the community, the environment or any other social interest...
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...‘Assess the contribution of subcultural theories in explaining ‘subcultural crime and deviance’ in society today’ (21 marks – January 2011 examination) The theories of subcultural sociologists are based on the idea of subcultures, which are made up of a group of people who share the same norms and values as one another. These norms and values are of contrast to those of mainstream society. The individuals within these groups have rejected these mainstream views due to a variety of problems such as material deprivation, which many blame on the main society for not fulfilling their needs. Cohen believed that crime was a result of status frustration; this was the result of an extensive study on lower working class boys, who he noted blamed wider society for their lack of success in attaining the same successes as those in mainstream society. This meant that they deviated into collective crime as a means of attaining higher status within a subculture. Cohen’s ideas are very similar to that of Merton’s however he suggested that rather than taking part in individual crime they rather turn to the values of a delinquent subculture. By joining these subcultures he also noted that they tend to turn to crime, this is due to the high subcultural value placed upon acts such as vandalism and stealing. Cohen’s theory is positive due to the explanation of non-utilitarian crimes, which other theories have failed to explain; Cohen views crime as an attempt to gain respect or status. There...
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