behavior that violates the standard of conduct or expectations of a group or society (Wickham 1991: 85). Though it may be sometimes positive‚ it is mostly considered in a negative view. The functionalist‚ interactionist and conflict perspectives seek to explain the concept of deviance. According to the functionalists‚ deviance is a common part of human existence with both negative and positive consequences for social stability and thus helps define the limits of proper behavior. Emile Durkheim (1895/1964)
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Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Functionalist Role of Schools in Contemporary Society In looking at the role that schools play in society‚ it is important to first understand what the meaning of a school is. Most people would define a school a s an institution where people go to gain knowledge and to do exams but from a scholarly sociologist point of view‚ a school is an institution where people not only go to get knowledge but also learn how to co-habit with one another in society as one (Anderson 2009)
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A Comparison of Marxist and Functionalist Views on Society There is a division between functionalists and Marxists over the functions of the society. Marxism was founded by Karl Marx. Marx saw society as divided into two major parts‚ the economic base otherwise known as the infrastructure and the super-structure. Functionalists see society as a set of parts which work together to form a whole. Functionalism is also called a consensus theory. Marxism and functionalism are similar
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Perspective is described as “a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.”. Pursuit may be defined as the action of following and pursuing someone‚ thus pursuing knowledge would be the action or the process in which we follow and find new knowledge. When obtaining new knowledge‚ we need to base what we learn on personal knowledge‚ which serves a single individual‚ their beliefs‚ their perspectives‚ such as feeling regarding personal information‚ or shared knowledge
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Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the functionalist view on society. Functionalism is a consensus perspective‚ whereby society is based on shared values and norms into which members are socialised. For functionalists‚ society is seen as a system of social institutions such as the economy‚ religion and the family all of which perform socialisation functions. A strength of the functionalist theory is that it a macro level structural theory which uses an organic analogy- using the body as
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Times Many people over the years have tried to explain why there is crime in our society. Functionalists focus on the source of deviance in the nature of society rather than biological and psychological explanations. Every functionalist agrees that social control mechanisms e.g. the police are necessary to keep deviance in check and therefore protecting social order. A main contributor to the functionalist theory of crime is Durkheim. He believed that society is based on a value consensus and that
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BSc (Hons) Sociology SH 346 (Specialisation: Gender Studies) (Under Review) 1. Objectives The programme aims at providing students with a sound knowledge of Sociology and Gender Studies. The programme is designed to promote analytical skills in the study of human behaviour‚ gender analysis‚ social institutions and social change. The scheme of study offers adequate background for a number of professions requiring social and gender analysis in a changing society‚ both in the public and
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thinking in the sociology of the family for many years. Functionalists are interested in how the functions for the greater good of society and how it contributes to the maintenance of social order. (Moore‚ 2008). Functionalism defines the family as having its part or function within society. Functionalists suggest that if a social institution is apparent then it must have a role or function. The family is looked at in terms of its functions
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Positivism is the structural perspective of seeing society as a whole. Positivists stress greater importance on society rather than solely focussing on the individual within as society influences individual human behaviour. This has resulted in a variation of different social structures e.g. family‚ education system and religion. Positivists believe the collection of data should be collected objectively and categorised. Data should be expressed in numerical form‚ e.g. percentages‚ statistics
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ANALYSIS OF THE THREE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES This paper discusses three approaches that can be taken when studying Sociology. There are many subjects to be studied and discussed in the field of Sociology‚ and the approach chosen to study a particular subject is called a perspective. There are three different perspectives‚ and they are functionalist‚ conflict‚ and interactionist perspectives. This paper compares and contrasts these different perspectives with one another. Through Analysis
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