Sociology and The Perspectives

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Lawrence Stephens
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1 Remember, Remember the material that we covered in the lesson yesterday. Mind map all of your thoughts. Be prepared to share your ideas with the class.

2 Question Box

3 Sociology and The Perspectives The perspectives that you covered in the last lesson are involved in lots of different areas of sociology. Education Culture and Identity Media Crime and Deviance The perspectives also influence the view points of sociologists who complete research. Sociological research can be used to help inform and implement social policy. Social policy - refers to the packages of plans and actions adopted by national and local government of various voluntary agencies to solve social problems or achieve other goals that are seen as important. Depending on someone s sociological perspective they will have different views on the role of sociology in social policy.

4 Your Task You have been provided with some headings, which will form the top (columns) and side (rows) of a table. You have also been given lots of information about the different perspectives views on sociology and social policy. Based on the knowledge that you gained yesterday, as a group you have to decide where this information goes! There will be a prize for the winning group!

The Activity Each group has been provided with a different topical event or scenario. https://www.theguardian.

5 The Activity Each group has been provided with a different topical event or scenario. Your task is to explain why this event or scenario has happened according to each of the sociological perspectives. You will have approximately 15 minutes to complete this. Each group will then feedback to the rest of the class. Make sure that you use the handouts and dictionaries provided to help you out!

6 Question Box

Homework There are a number of parts to this homework. 1) Produce a set of notes on the different sociological perspectives to solidify your understanding of them.

7 Homework There are a number of parts to this homework. 1) Produce a set of notes on the different sociological perspectives to solidify your understanding of them. 2) Identify an event or situation that has happened over summer holidays which has been reported in the media. Just as you did in this second transition lesson, your task is to explain why this event or scenario has happened according to each of the four sociological perspectives. 3) Create a poster to display the different perspectives explanations of the event that you have chosen. You have been provided with a CRIB sheet for this and the information will also be on the school website.

September! You need to bring: Lined Paper Pens Highlighters A4 Ringbinder with dividers Diary Start as you mean to go on! The course text : 19.

8 September! You need to bring: Lined Paper Pens Highlighters A4 Ringbinder with dividers Diary Start as you mean to go on! The course text : (RRP 25) via ParentPay If purchased it is yours to keep and you can write all over it 10 deposit will be required if it is not purchased Any problems with purchasing please speak to Miss Gilhespy or Mrs Eaton

9 Feedback Think about the two introductory lessons that you have had in Sociology. Answer the questions on the handout provided. Be honest in your opinions, but provide constructive feedback.

10 Feminist Perspective

11 Marxist Perspective

12 Functionalist Perspective

13 Postmodernist Perspective

14 How do they view society?

15 What do they see as the role of sociology?

16 What effect do they believe sociology should have on social policy?

17 What are the criticisms of this perspective?

18 See society as based on conflict but unlike Marxists this conflict is based on gender not class. They see society based on patriarchy (male dominated) benefiting men at women s expense.

19 They see the role of sociology as investigating and challenging the states perpetuation of women s subordination through their social policies. E.g. the state bases its policies on the nuclear family so offers benefits to married couples & not cohabiting ones thus creating a selffulfilling policy by encouraging the nuclear family & making it difficult for other kinds of family.

20 They see sociology as a means of changing society through social policy. For example: They see their research as having an impact in education, they have seen changes in the images of females in teaching material it is now more positive. Also teacher training now ensures they are sensitive to gender bias & encourages them to be inclusive. Also the creation of women s refuges for women escaping domestic violence. Feminist movement has also had an impact on policy on equality Sex Discrimination Act & the Equal Pay Act.

21 Marxists & radical feminists reject the view that these changes in law can liberate women. They both argue that society needs more farreaching changes that the existing state cannot deliver.

22 See society as divided by a fundamental conflict of interest in which the ruling capitalist class exploit the labour of the working class. The state represents the ruling class & its social policies serve the interests of capitalism, not society as a whole.

23 To criticise capitalist social policy & reveal the exploitation that underpins capitalism & the way the ruling class uses social policies to mask this exploitation & prevent a revolution through minor concessions.

24 They believe that there should be a detachment and reduced involved of sociology in social policy. They see that reports like the Black report are easily buried by capitalism. They will not carry out such recommendations as they put profits before human need and find that often sociological research hinders the removal of class barriers.

25 Their view is impractical & unrealistic. Social democrats criticise them for rejecting the idea that sociological research can bring about change in a capitalist system arguing that poverty research has had some positive impact on policy.

26 Society is based on value consensus which is free from conflict.

27 Early Functionalists (Comte & Durkheim) viewed sociology as a science. They believed that through scientific research they could discover both the problems & solutions to society s problems. So sociology s role is to provide the state with objective scientific information that they can use to base their policies on. E.g. Durkheim s research led to him proposing an education system based on merit & the abolition of inherited wealth, he argued that this would lead to a more cohesive society.

28 They saw the state as serving the interests of society as a whole. They would produce social policies that were for the good of all. So the policies help society run more smoothly & efficiently. E.g. Educational policies that promote equal opportunity. Functionalists take a cautious approach, they tend to look at one issue at a time, and this is called piecemeal social engineering.

29 Marxists criticise this piecemeal approach, they argue that issues in wider society need to be tackled before specific issues can be addressed. E.g. Before you can produce an educational policy aimed at equalising opportunity for children from different classes, you need to tackle the bigger problem of inequality in society & bring about a change in the basic structure of society first.

30 Society is thought to be changing so rapidly and constantly that it is marked by chaos, uncertainty and risk. They suggest that society and social structures have ceased to exist and have been replaced by a mass of individuals making individual choices within a fragmented society.

31 To provide interpretations of the world, rather than universal truths. Bauman and May argue that sociology provides a commentary on social life and to contribute to social understanding and tolerance by enabling people to understand more about themselves and others and the social context of their personal lives and those of others.

32 Some postmodernists would claim that sociologists are in no position to make social policy recommendations. This is because they argue that it is not possible to objectively identify the truth and therefore all sociological knowledge is uncertain. They thus claim that there is no valid basis for sociological policy intervention. This has led Bauman to claim that in postmodern times sociologists should merely take the role of interpreters and cannot, and should not, be seen as legislators, as they did in modernist times.

33 Some argue that we are not in a postmodernist stage. Other perspectives argue that metanarratives are still relevant in today s society with some suggesting that Marxism has never been more relevant than in currently is. Society and social structures still exist, as do institutions, suggesting that Postmodernist ideas are irrelevant.

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