Why sociological theories

Theories vary in scope depending on the scale of the issues that they are meant to explain. Macro-level theories relate to large-scale issues and large groups of people, while micro-level theories look at very specific relationships between individuals or small groups. Grand theories attempt to explain large-scale relationships and answer fundamental questions such as why societies form and why they change.

Sociological theory is constantly evolving and should never be considered complete. Classic sociological theories are still considered important and current, but new sociological theories build upon the work of their predecessors and add to them Calhoun In sociology, a few theories provide broad perspectives that help explain many different aspects of social life, and these are called paradigms.

Paradigms are philosophical and theoretical frameworks used within a discipline to formulate theories, generalizations, and the experiments performed in support of them.

Three paradigms have come to dominate sociological thinking, because they provide useful explanations: structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Watch the following video for an overview of each of the sociological paradigms. First, the video introduces major sociological theories in general terms, then gives an overview of structural-functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism.

Yet other researchers explore how international markets and the outsourcing of labor impact social inequalities. Conflict theory looks at society as a competition for limited resources.

This perspective is a macro-level approach most identified with the writings of German philosopher and sociologist Karl Marx — , who saw society as being made up of two classes, the bourgeoisie capitalist and the proletariat workers , who must compete for social, material, and political resources such as food and housing, employment, education, and leisure time.

Social institutions like government, education, and religion reflect this competition in their inherent inequalities and help maintain the unequal social structure. The bourgeoisie owns and controls the means of production, which leads to exploitation due to the profit motive. In this arrangement, proletarians have only their labor to sell, and do not own or control capital.

These are just some of the structural constrains that prevent workers from joining together in what Marx called class consciousness , or a common group identity as exploited proletarians and potential revolutionaries. Ida B. Wells articulated the conflict perspective when she theorized a connection between an increase in lynching and an increase in black socio-economic mobility in the United States from the late s into the midth century.

She also examined competition within the feminist movement as women fought for the right to vote, yet the presumably egalitarian mainstream suffragist movements were headed by white women who excluded black women from suffrage. DuBois also examined race in the U.

Race conflict paradigms will be examined later in the course in the module devoted to race and ethnicity. DuBois is a classic sociologist who, after earning a Ph. The Philadelphia Negro is considered one of the first examples of scientifically framed and conducted sociology research. He entered the national stage with an article written for The Atlantic in in which he described double consciousness. One feels his two-ness, — an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.

The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, — this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He does not wish to Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa; he does not with to bleach his Negro blood in a flood of white Americanism, for he believes—foolishly, perhaps, but fervently—that Negro blood has yet a message for the world.

He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without losing the opportunity of self-development.

Wright Mills, who coined the term sociological imagination , also used conflict theory to examine systems of power and the ways in which government, military, and corporations forming a power elite in the United States in the s. Bernie Sanders raised these issues in the U. Just as structural functionalism was criticized for focusing too much on the stability of societies, conflict theory has been criticized because it tends to focus on conflict to the exclusion of recognizing stability.

Many social structures are extremely stable or have gradually progressed over time rather than changing abruptly, as conflict theory would suggest. Figure 5. Over the years, feminist demands have changed. First-wave feminists fought for basic citizenship rights, such as the right to vote, while third wave feminists are concerned with more complex social movements, like post-structuralism.

Feminist theory was developed to fill a void in Marxism and neo-Marxism that examined class, but not gender as a distinct category. Feminist theory examines gender and gender inequality and also points out the male-centric aspects of conflict theory. It focuses on analyzing the limitations faced by women when they claim the right to equality with men. Additionally, feminist scholars examine the gendered nature of human interactions, which makes it a microsociological as opposed to a macrosociological theory.

Feminist scholars study a range of topics, including sexual orientation, race, economic status, and nationality. However, at the core of feminist sociology is the idea that, in most societies, women have been systematically oppressed, and that men have been historically dominant. From the early work of women sociologists like Harriet Martineau, feminist sociology has focused on the power relationships and inequalities between women and men.

How can the conditions of inequality faced by women be addressed? Feminist theory has been criticized for its early focus on the lived experiences of white, educated women—which represent just a small subset within American society.

Intersectional theory examines multiple, overlapping identities that include black, Latina, Asian, gay, trans, working class, poor, single parent, working, stay-at-home, immigrant, and undocumented women, among others. This synthesis of analytical categories takes into consideration the various lived experiences of a more diverse range of women.

To take a contemporary example, the MeToo movement began when white actress Ashley Judd came forward in and claimed that film producer Harvey Weinstein invited her to his hotel room, greeted her in a bathrobe, and asked her to massage him or watch him shower. Many other wealthy, white, powerful woman came forward and said or tweeted MeToo. Within one year, the MeToo movement had become intersectional, stretching across industries, racial and ethnic backgrounds, age, sexual orientation, and gender identities.

Communication—the exchange of meaning through language and symbols—is believed to be the way in which people make sense of their social worlds. Figure 6. In symbolic interactionism, people actively shape their social world.

This image shows janitorial workers on strike in Santa Monica, California. A symbolic interactionist would be interest in the interactions between these protestors and the messages they communicate. Social scientists who apply symbolic-interactionist thinking look for patterns of interaction between individuals.

Their studies often involve observation of one-on-one interactions. For example, while a conflict theorist studying a political protest might focus on class difference, a symbolic interactionist would be more interested in how individuals in the protesting group interact, as well as the signs and symbols protesters use to communicate their message and to negotiate and thus develop shared meanings.

The focus on the importance of interaction in building a society led sociologists like Erving Goffman — to develop a technique called dramaturgical analysis.

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