Everyday Life Socilogy
SO4036 Contemporary sociological theory: Everyday life sociology
Everyday life sociology is a school of thought which believes that, we must study the everyday interactions and situations which people experience.We must do this in order to understand the ways in which we as “actors” are shaped by society and the social norms, which we both create and adhere to. Many different theories underpin micro sociology and it in turn enables these theories to interconnect and add relevance to each other.
Micro sociology was born out of an opposition to the ideas and ways in which macro sociologists went about studying society and human beings. They felt that macro sociologist’s portrayed actors as being too constrained by social norms and that they failed to grasp the complexity of everyday interactions. Everyday life sociologists felt that they must study peoplein a “natural context” in order to build a foundation in which all understanding of society could be based.
George Mead is the founder of symbolic interactionism. He believed that people are moulded by their interactions with others. But also the environment in which people interact is shaped by theseinteractions. He saw humans as an organism, having a “self“. By this Mead meant that the human being is an object to himself. The self is a mechanism of self-interaction with which to meet the world, one which is used in forming and guiding how we act when interacting with others in society.
Symbolic interaction involves interpreting the meaning of the actions or remarks by others. It is a formative process, much more than simply a forum for interaction. It requires each person to constantly reassess the meaning behind others actions, which in turn requires us to change our own perceptions and intentions throughout the interaction. The social structure in which people interact does not exist independently outside these interactions, but are instead constructed through interaction, creating social norms which
Everyday life sociology is a school of thought which believes that, we must study the everyday interactions and situations which people experience.We must do this in order to understand the ways in which we as “actors” are shaped by society and the social norms, which we both create and adhere to. Many different theories underpin micro sociology and it in turn enables these theories to interconnect and add relevance to each other.
Micro sociology was born out of an opposition to the ideas and ways in which macro sociologists went about studying society and human beings. They felt that macro sociologist’s portrayed actors as being too constrained by social norms and that they failed to grasp the complexity of everyday interactions. Everyday life sociologists felt that they must study peoplein a “natural context” in order to build a foundation in which all understanding of society could be based.
George Mead is the founder of symbolic interactionism. He believed that people are moulded by their interactions with others. But also the environment in which people interact is shaped by theseinteractions. He saw humans as an organism, having a “self“. By this Mead meant that the human being is an object to himself. The self is a mechanism of self-interaction with which to meet the world, one which is used in forming and guiding how we act when interacting with others in society.
Symbolic interaction involves interpreting the meaning of the actions or remarks by others. It is a formative process, much more than simply a forum for interaction. It requires each person to constantly reassess the meaning behind others actions, which in turn requires us to change our own perceptions and intentions throughout the interaction. The social structure in which people interact does not exist independently outside these interactions, but are instead constructed through interaction, creating social norms which
References: Scheff, T.J. (1990) Microsociology; Discourse and emotion, University of Chicago Press Allen, K. (2011) Contemporary social and sociological theory, London: Sage (2nd edition). Bloomer, H. (1986) Symbolic interactionism; Perspective and method, University of California Press Sidnell, J. (2010) Conversation Analysis; an Introduction, Blackwell Publishing Highmore, B. (2002) The everyday life reader, London: Routledge.50-57