Sociological Perspective PDF

Sociological Perspectives
Fatima Khan 03224954474

Social Change
 Comte
 Marx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPYTndFFTko

Comte and Social
Change: The Law of
three stages

Karl Marx:
Stages of History

Max Weber
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICppFQ6Tabw
 Explains how societies move from agrarian to industrial
societies
 Modernisation
Industrialisation
Urbanisation
Rationalisation: bureaucracies
 Social action based on charisma
 Modernisation in Europe because of Protestantism
 Social change because of politics, demographics, belief
systems
 Conflict source of change but not only economics

Emile Durkheim
 Consensus perspective
 Society is an entity: sense of belonging
 Relationships between social institutions key to
understanding society
 Value consensus: skin and body, VC and society
 Mechanical solidarity and traditional societies
 Organic solidarity and modern societies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9W0GQvONK
c
Activity page 5

 Evolutionary social change
Traditional society Modern Society

No Division of labour High Division of Labour
No Specialisation Specialisation
Repressive Restitutive
Mechanical Organic

Criticisms of the
Functionalist view of
Social Order (Durkheim)
 Error of Reification
 High division of labour in
some early societies
 Ignore Conflict and
Revolutions (Marx)
 Determinism
 Population growth a result
of social change
 Repressive laws in modern
societies

Sociology as a Science
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIwyNIdgJBE
 Identifying a problem, collecting data and offering an explanation about it
Two main qualities
 Reliability: replicable
 Validity: if data actually describes what it claims to measure e.g. crime stats

Procedural Rules for Studying Sociology
as a Science
 Hypothesis: Statement that can be systematically tested
 Hypothetico-deductive method
1. Start with a hypothesis
2. Solved through a systematic analysis of data
3. Should not be disproven when tested against all available evidence
Why do you think this method gives the outcomes more legitimacy?

Positivism
 Positive and desirable to study sociology like one studies the natural world
 Knowledge created by the testing of hypothesis
 Why is testing so important?
 Value-freedom
factual opinion
objective guesswork
Evidence based Untested assumptions
testable faith

Interpretivism
 Anti-positivism
 Different people, different understandings
 Harris: human beings governed by larger forces.
But are individuals really that powerless?

 Individuals have consciousness
What is consciousness?
 Positivism explains behaviour without interaction
 Empathy
 Change affects animate and inanimate objects in different ways
 Role of the other
 Deeper meanings
 Social context and settings
 Qualitative research: Less reliable but more valid

Post Modernism
 People study the world through narratives
 Religion/Nationalities/ Science
 Metanarratives not true or false within their own self only to the extent of
believe
 Critiques interpretivists: create rather than reveal
 Cannot study people without changing behavior
 Versions of truth
 Science doesn’t improve life

Role of Values in Society
 Sociology based on fact
 Value neutrality
 Adjust your research design to ensure that values only minimally intrude
What influences the things a sociologist wants to study?

What influences the things a sociologist wants to study?
 Personal choice and interests
 Access
 Funding
What can get influenced?
 Choice of method
 Topic choice
 Data analysis
How to get over it?
Acknowledgement

Uses of Sociological knowledge
 Grand theories talked about the nature of Social Change
 Focus has shifted to social issues
1. Feminism
2. Gender
3. Poverty
4. Education
5. Health
6. Globalisation
Lead to policy making

 Use of sociological knowledge has evolved
 How?
 Why do you think studying Sociology is a good idea?

Sociology and Social Policy
 Sociology encompasses public debates and social issues
 Influences policy to eradicate social issues
 Poverty in the UK by Peter Townsend
 Comparative studies between societies can help improve policies

Sociological Problems and Social
Problems
 Social Problems: issues which can create conflict within society
 Sociological problem: any social phenomena that requires an explanation
 Element of subjectivity
 Social problems only problems if powerful groups believe so.(Relativity)
 Media develops our view of which problems are important e.g. hype, TLP,
Mods and Rockers
 Marginalised sectors

 Categories of Sociological Problems
1. Fundamental issues
2. Issues that demand an explanation
What is the role of the sociologist in this?

Social Policy
 Principles under which government directs resources to meet the needs of
the people e.g. education policy, health policy
 The risk of over-identification
 Only look at sociology as a problem based narrative based on
administration

Human Behaviour and Cultural
Diversity
 How different are humans?
 How much does culture influence human behaviour?
 Cultural universals

Cultural diversity
1. Cross cultural
2. Intra-cultural
Cross Cultural diversity

 Different norms in different societies
 Political organisation
 Societal norms
 Religious norms

Assignment 1
 The study of society is

influenced by values this is
one reason why sociology
can never be a science.
Explain and assess this view.
11 Marks

Intra-cultural diversity
Class
1. Education
2. Social class
Age
1. Behaviours differ between ages
2. Teens have a different lifestyle than older people
3. How aged people are viewed in different societies?

Gender
Different opportunities for different genders
Different ways of social interaction
Educational attainment
Wages
Ethnicity
What is ethnic diversity?
Differences between ethnic community cultures
Immigration and it’s effects

Religion
 Belief systems influence religious ceremonies
 Dual Function of religion
1. Individual
2. Social
The latent and manifest functions of religion
The levels of global diversity:

1. Differences between religions
2. Differences within a religion
3. Differences within sects
 Religious identity defines an ethnic group

 Differences of identity within similar ethnic groups
Global Culture
 What has happened to cultures because of Globalisation?
 Pick and mix culture
Expression of global culture

 Information technology
 Convergence within cultural groups: language, wearing the same
clothes, eating the same kind of food
 Cultural similarities which transcend borders

Sklair, Global Cultural Development
1. Localised Globalism
2. Globalised Localism
3. Disneyisation of culture: homogenisation
of cultures and ideas
Plumb and Lechner: power of global

companies
McDonaldisation of Culture by Ritzer

Social Order, Social Control and Social
Change
Macrosociology
1. Functionalism: Consensus is the principle which takes society forward.
Institutional relationships and functions
2. Marxism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbTt_ySTjaY

Structural Functionalism
 Developed through the work of Durkheim and Comte
 Positivism and social structures
 Popular up till the 1970s, replaced by the New Right and Neo-functionalism
Key Assumptions
1. Macro
2. Organic Approach
3. Social order is kept through value consensus
4. Conflict doesn’t exist because of meritocracy
5. Evolutionary social change

Organic Analogy
 Society is like the human body

 Will a human body work properly if you remove a vital organ? Society is
similar
 Each institution a certain job e.g. families socialise, education teaches skills

Socialisation
 The process through which norms and

values of a culture are internalised
 Primary and secondary socialisation links
the individual to society
 External constraint
 Regulation and integration
 Value Consensus

Meritocracy
 Modern society based on achievement
hence consensus
 Social order remains because there is
meritocracy

Basis of social order is in the value
consensus/shared value system
Institutional interdependence and institutional

arrangements create social order
Individuals are made to fit into existing patterns of

behaviour
The Nature Family, Education and Religion all exert existing

of Social social control
Order Parsons and Murdock insist that to survive each

society MUST have a broad value consensus
Retain cultural order because behaviour is

monitored

Talcott Parsons
 Individual can’t be ignored has to fit in

Functional Pre-requisites
1. Adaptation: set an environment here people are encouraged to meet these
goals
2. Goal Attainment:Provide people with goals to achieve e.g. obtain a degree
3. Integration: There needs to be sense of belonging so that the goal is
achieved
4. Latency: develop social control mechanisms so that conflicts are resolved
within institutions
 The society acts like an invisible hand exerting pressure e.g. pressure to work,
study etc
 Shapes behaviour
 Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith

Gouldner: functionalists ignore how much people
are forced to act according to societal norms
Lockwoot: conflicts of interest between social

groups are ignored which cause social change
Wrong and the oversocialised man:
Criticisms of humans are not computers

Functionalist
theory Dehumanisation of the individual
Overburdened by social prescriptions

Freud
1. Id: subconscious reality
2. Ego: Conscious reality and instincts
3. Superego: values internalised by society
The person with the strictest superego will be one who is most prone to
psychological diseases
 Error of Reification
 Tautology: everything in society is functional hence they try to prove it
 Durkheim: crime is functional but not a high level of crime
 Rapid social change can't happen: VC and Functional
interdependence

 Evolutionary Social change is explained only in term of institutional
change. Industrialisation and education
 Only beneficial aspects of institutions and society are explored
 Radical feminism
 Marxism

Karl Marx 1818 - 1883
Mid- Late Nineteenth Century Britain
• Unrest and protest – Chartrism
• Long hours, low pay
• Periodic unemployment
• No Welfare State
• No universal right to vote

• France undergoing a series of
Revolutions

Marx’s Beliefs
 All social relationships are based on the production of basic means of

living e.g. food, shelter, clothing
 Social organisation in societies takes care of
1. Goods produced by the population
2. Distribution of goods
3. Exchange of goods
 Human co-operation based on the production of these means of living
 Production process involves
1. Forces of production: land, RM, capital. knowledge
2. Relations of production: individual/social relationships that need to be
entered to become part of the production process (social classes)
3. Means of production: things that can legally owned e.g. land, RM

 Different dominant means of production during times
in society
 Legal ownership of means of production defines your
place in society
Two great Capitalist classes

1. Bourgeoisie
2. Proletariat

Conflict Approach
 All societies involve conflict

 All conflict based on economics
 Wealth created by working class but benefitted by the elite
 ‘Co-operation’ benefits only the elite class

Ideology and Power
 Relationship based on conflict of interest

 Bourgeoisie makes the proletariat believe that the system is
based on freedom and fairness
 B uses the power they have over economics to control the
way people perceive the social world
 Consensus manufactured by primary and secondary
socialisation
 Two types of social relationships
1. Economic: base of society
2. Ideological: superstructure of the society

Basic Assumptions
 Institutions are significant objects of study

 Importance of socialisation
 Structures are important but don’t believe in organic analogy, people
can overthrow order
 VC is not basis of social order, VC is a means of manipulation
 Conflict is inevitable
 Power is central to Marxism, 3 types
1. Economic
2. Political
3. Ideological: how people interpret the social world
 Economic power post important
 Ruling class simply shifts other types of power to suits its interests

Principles of Marxism
 Conflict of interest
 Social class is used to explain how societies change: Elite
vs Working
 Marxist aims
1. Expose the contradictions of capitalism
2. Establish a future communist society
5 major epochs of history

1. Primitive communism: early human history, shared means
of production
2. Ancient epoch: Slave society, slaves the MoP owned by
aristocrats
3. Feudal society: Land most important MoP
4. Capitalism: Technology allows new type of exploitation,
new types of freedoms
Fatima Khan 03224954474 5. Communist society: end of history, resolution of conflict
 Hegemony: lead through consent
Althusser
1. RSA
2. ISA
 Dependency theory: modern rendition of capitalism
 Gunderfrank: Developing world keeps developing and
underdeveloped stays the same
1. Trade
2. Foreign Aid
3. FDI
 Individuals are not important to Marxist analysis till they
discover class consciousness and then revolutionary
consciousness
 Alienation: degradation of the workers, far removed from
the fruit of their labour
 Bonds of society weaken because of alienation
 Economically determinist: overly focused on
economic relationships, overlook other conflict e.g.
Criticisms of Radical feminists, religious conflict etc
Marxist  Individual interpretations are not given much credit

 Ignores the status of women because it focuses only
Theory on work relationships
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNdwXYvQ_F8

Feminist Theory
First Wave Feminism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l
W1sfaWcwdM
e.g. Mary Wollstonecraft (1792); 1848

Seneca Falls Convention (USA); rise
of women’s suffrage movements
(UK and USA)
 ‘first wave’ feminism 1880s -1920s

e.g. associated with ‘equal rights’ –
struggle for vote – legislative
changes but
addressed other issues too

Second wave feminism
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R1v
SZqjO3I
 Second wave’ feminism 1960s-1970s:
- grass-roots activism
- women’s liberation movement – radical?
consciousness raising groups
- ‘personal is political’
- ‘sisterhood’

Feminist critique of
‘malestream sociology’
 Sociology has a history of conducting research on men
e.g. use male only samples – findings derived from studies are
unquestioningly generalised and assumed to be equally relevant to women –
men taken as norm?
 issues and experiences of concern to women were at best neglected and at

worst considered sociologically irrelevant
e.g. domestic violence and labour
 if women incorporated into studies - tended to be quite simply

misrepresented and/or represented in a stereotypical manner
 sex and gender tended to be naively and uncritically tagged on and stirred
into research designs – little (if any) appreciation that the theoretical
frameworks themselves were part of the problem
Third Wave Feminism
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRTaoIytvAg
 Intermingled identities
 Workplace sexual harassment
 Embracing the feminine

Feminist theoretical perspectives
(e.g. Tong 1990; Evans 1995; Jackson & Jones 1998 Zalewski 2000; Abbott et al 2005)
 attempt to explain women’s subordination in society – different

perspectives - ask different questions and come to different
conclusions: e.g.
liberal feminism
radical feminism
marxist feminism
postmodern feminism
black and post-colonial feminism

Liberal feminism
 equal rights and opportunities – challenge long held beliefs
and ideas about women’s (in)abilities
e.g. Wollstonecraft (1792) – ‘the feathered race’
 humanism; emancipation; meritocracy
 sameness – ability to reason
 are human values equated with male values?
 reform - simply add women – perpetuate malestream bias?
 explain women’s inequality?

Critiques
1. Accused of ignoring feminine traits
2. Majority of violence occurs in the private sphere why focus on only public
3. White middle class centric
4. Abbot et al claim that it fails to challenge aspects of malestream sociology
5. Focuses too much on laws which don’t really work not all laws can make
change happen

Radical feminism
 ‘feminism in its “purest” form’ (Abbott et al 2005: 33)
 woman-centred and celebrates the differences between women and men
 patriarchy is central - ‘structural domination’ – ‘universal sisterhood’
 ‘the personal is political’ – e.g. family; domestic violence; body politics
 Biology is used to dominate females
 Patriarchy replaced by matriarchy

Critiques
1. Their key concept of patriarchy is ahistorical and does not give an adequate
story of origin to account for female oppression, and also tends to assume that
there is a universal form of oppression that women experience regardless of
ethnicity or class and
2. The focus on negative relationships with men has led some to see radical
feminism as a ‘complaining, whining and negative creed’ whose analysis does
not chime with the experiences that many women have in their relationships with
partners or male friends.
3. separatist – women only organisations and critique of heterosexuality
4. rediscover and promote knowledge from the experience and standpoint of

women
5. oversimplified understanding of patriarchy?
6. claims to a universal and homogenous sisterhood – problematic?

Marxist/materialist feminisms
 particularly influential during 1960s-70s
 explain women’s subordinated status in (capitalist) society
 Exploitation in the labour market

Marxist/materialist feminisms
- e.g. institution of the nuclear family – property

and inheritance (Engels) – flawed thesis?
 ‘women’s work’ in public sphere devalued and

poorly paid – ‘reserve army of labour’ – why
women?
- domestic work – not regarded as real work -

‘domestic labour debates’

Marxist feminism
 serve interests of capitalism and men?
 what about non-capitalist societies?
 capitalism and/or patriarchy debates – disputes over the

location and explanation of women’s subordination?
e.g. dual systems theory – e.g. Walby – shift from private to

public patriarchy?
exclusion/segregation
convergence/polarisation
- but what about other factors and inequalities –

e.g. globalisation and ethnicity?
Critiques
 Critique of universalism – not all women the same

 Critique of communist societies
 Critique of materialism – are we determined by social
structure or are meanings and experiences important?

Postmodern feminism
contest and resist categorisation – what

‘woman’ ought to be - the point is to
deconstruct all attempts to fix identity – this
in itself is a political act
focus on differences between women not

commonalities
but what are the political implications for

feminism if no basis for a collective identity?
Black and post-colonialist feminisms
 critical of ‘white elitism’ – prioritises and
represents the experiences of white, middle
class, heterosexual, affluent Western women
 diversity of women’s experiences – e.g. family
 how does gender intersect with other factors?

e.g. class, ethnicity, disability
 should gender be given primacy over other

aspects – hierarchy of oppression?
Interactionism – key general ideas
 Interactionists stress the importance of ‘meanings’
 ‘meanings’ are the ways in which people interpret the
behaviours of others
 ‘meanings’ develop and are negotiated during interactions
with others as a people get a feeling for the intentions of
others
 All humans develop a ‘self concept’ – an image of
themselves through their interactions with others
 ‘Self concepts’ are very susceptible to labels from others
 Ones self concept very often becomes very similar to how
others view you – self fulfilling prophecy

3 broad strands
• Interactionism is a broad description of sociological

approaches which emphasise the importance of micro
sociology
• There are 3 broad types
1. Social action Theory – ‘moderate’ – both micro and macro
are important in understanding society . E.g. Weber
2. Symbolic Interactionism – micro is much more important
than macro e.g. Blumer and Mead
3. Phenomenology/Ethnomethodology – e.g. Atkinson – only
the micro is important – macro is an illusion

Social Action Theory
Starts from the premise that if you really want to understand
people and society you start with the individuals themselves
and work up – seeks to establish meanings through studying
interactions.
Weber – ‘sociology is the science which attempts the
interpretive understanding of social action to arrive at causal
explanations’
Looks for ‘verstehen’ or deep understanding of motives and
therefore favours qualitative methods.
Sociologists must try and see the world ‘through the eyes’ of
social actors themselves

Symbolic Interactionism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ux2E6uhEVk0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z0XS-QLDWM&t=49s
 A special sort of social action theory associated with the
University of Chicago and academics such as Mead and
Blumer.
 Symbolic interactionism emphasises than individuals are
active rather than passive receptors of culture, socialisation or
capitalism. People CHOOSE their actions and their reactions.
 A person’s identity and self concept is created by their
interactions with others
 SI invented ‘labelling theory’ which has been very important
in modern sociological research

The Symbol
 People and objects are classified through interactions into symbols

and given a name ‘tree’ ‘car’ ‘terrorist’ ‘hero’ ‘chair’ ‘villain’ ‘gay’
‘deviant’ etc.
 The names given to symbols are not neutral – they imply a variety of
meanings and therefore responses from different people

The Self
 People can respond to symbols and

others only when they have a clear sense
of self i.e. who they are and where they
fit in the scheme of things – this is learnt in
childhood through play
 One’s self concept is very susceptible to
the opinions of others

The Interaction
 Is where symbols and different ‘selfs’ come together in interactions

 It is through interaction that meaning is created.
 People aware of themselves and others and negotiate meanings,
norms and values which are temporary and subject to renegotiation
and change

Phenomenology
 Reality ONLY exists in meanings negotiated through interactions

 Macro sociological theory is an illusion
 The job of the sociologist is to discover meanings and nothing more
 Phenomenology rejects completely ‘scientific’ sociology and
‘objectivity’, ‘social facts’ and ‘structures’
 There are no causes to be uncovered only meanings to be understood
 E.G. Atkinson ‘Discovering Suicide’ – research involved the study of how
coroners categorised deaths as suicide i.e. What ‘meanings’ were used
to classify suicide. No attempt to discuss causes, or analyse rates or
compare patterns
 Thomas Theorem

Modernist & post-modernist theories
Structuralist & social action theories are modernist theories. They mainly aim to explain the
major changes that occurred in UK society in the 18th-19th centuries;
1. Industrialisation- the capitalist system emerged with the introduction of the factory
system of production in the 18th century. The theories of functionalism & Marxism are
concerned with the effects of this industrialisation especially the social class inequalities
in wealth & power which resulted from it.
2. Urbanisation- the huge population movement from rural to urban areas & the decline
in community accompanying it.
3. Centralised government- the bureaucratic state that takes a great deal of
responsibility for both the economy & the welfare of its citizens gradually developed
between the 18th-20th centuries.
4. Rational thinking- science & reason began to replace tradition, religion & superstition
as a result of industrialisation.
Modernist theories such as interactionism, functionalism, Marxism, feminism compete with
each other to explain why the modern industrial world developed the way it did.

Post-
modernism
 In the past 20 years or so,
some sociologists have
identified trends &
developments which they
claim show that industrial
modernity is fragmenting or
dissolving. They argue that
industrial modernity is being
replaced by a postmodern
world in which many
sociological ideas &
concepts are becoming
irrelevant.
 https://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=PotnyAxuO2Q

Characteristics of
modernity
 Work- the nature of work & the economy has
dramatically changed in the last 30 years. Work is no
longer dominated by mass production, with 1000s
working in factories or down mines. Work in the UK in the
21st century is mainly located within the service and
quaternary sectors.
 Culture- as UK society has grown wealthier, the media &
other cultural industries such as film, advertising & music
have become increasingly central to how people
organise their lives & construct their identities. In
particular the mass media is seen as responsible for
encouraging conspicuous consumption- showing off
status, identity & lifestyle through the consumption of high
status goods such as brands. The mass media is also
responsible for making people aware of & more
accepting of the diverse set of choices available to
people today to construct their identity. For example the
choices of sexuality and choice of clothing compared to
30 years ago.

Characteristics of modernity
 Globalisation- global culture has become more accessible because

of digital TV & the web & is seen by some as undermining the
importance of national & local cultures. Peoples identities in a global
postmodern world are now increasingly shaped by a greater range
of global tastes and symbols. Brands dominate the global
landscape.
 Knowledge- in the postmodern world people no longer have any
faith in absolute truths. Postmodernists argue that people have
become sceptical & even cynical about the power of science &
politics to change the world. Consequently postmodernists insist that
truth is both unattainable & irrelevant in the postmodern world.
Instead, postmodernism stresses the relativity of knowledge, ideas &
lifestyle today. This means that all ideas contain an element of truth.

Postmodernism-
Taylor
Taylor- the characteristics of
postmodern society mean that;
 The key social relationships that
used to underpin modern societies-
class, family & gender are no longer
relevant.
 Sociologists can no longer claim to
produce expert knowledge about
society as there are no ‘right’
answers anymore- all points of view
have relevance.
 Sociologists can no longer make
judgements or claim that the know
what is best for society. Sociology is
just one set of ideas competing with
others.

Postmodernism-
chaos
 Postmodernism stresses the chaos
& uncertainty in society & argues
that the social structures in
society are breaking down.
Postmodernists claim that it is
now nonsense to talk about the
institution of the family as people
now live in such wide ranging
personal relationships such as
gay & lesbian couples,
cohabiting partners, divorce,
remarriage and step families.
Postmodernists say that any
notion of the family as an
institution is absurd.

Postmodernism, metanarratives-Lyotard
(1984)
 Lyotard- postmodernism expresses ‘an incredulity towards

metanarratives’ & argued that people no longer believe in
the ‘myth of truth’. As society is now changing so constantly
& rapidly, societies can no longer be understood through
the application of general theories or metanarratives (big
theories such as Marxism & functionalism which seek to
explain society as a whole) according to postmodernists as
society has become fragmented into so many groups,
interests & lifestyles that are constantly changing that
society is essentially chaotic. There has been a loss of faith
in the superiority of rational thought & science & the idea of
progress. All knowledge is now considered equally valid.

Postmodernism and
choice
 Postmodernists believe that there are few of the
social constraints on people that structuralist
approaches identify & society & social structures
cease to exist- there is only a mass of individuals
making individual choices about their lifestyles. In
postmodern societies, the emphasis on
individuals as consumers, making their own
choices. People can now form their own
identities- how they see & define themselves &
how others see & define them- and they can be
whoever they want to be. Postmodern society
involves a media saturated consumer culture in
which individuals are free to pick and choose
from a limitless range of constantly changing
consumer goods which are available from
around the world.

 Baudrillard- postmodern era is ‘media saturated-
dominated by media imagery. Mass media used to
reflect some basic reality but media now dominates
Postmodernism & distorts the way we see the world. The media
presents a ‘simulacra’ images that appear to reflect
media events in the real world but have no basis in reality &
saturated which are viewed simultaneously around the globe.
For example the reality of a missile hitting its target is
society- not shown to a viewer, but is a simulacrum of the real
event. Media has eliminated the blood, suffering &
Baudrillard the corpses of war & the news presents a sanitised
(2001) view of conflict. Consequently wars become media-
constructed spectacles which have such an air of
unreality that we are unable to distinguish between
them from Hollywood movies or video games.

Postmodernism  Baudrillard- this distorted view of the world ‘hyper-
media reality’. The view is actually created & defined by the
viewer & the image becomes more real than reality
saturated as it tries to make viewers feel like they are
experiencing an event. Some celebrities for example
society- are just famous as they have been in the media such
Baudrillard as those from Big Brother, TOWIE or Made in Chelsea.
(2001)

Media saturated
society- Giddens (2006)
 Giddens- much of our world has
become a kind of make-believe
universe in which we are responding to
media images rather than people or
places. This is shown by people writing to
TV soap characters imaging they are
real. For example when Deirdre Barlow
was sent to prison for a crime she did not
commit in 1998 there was a campaign
to release her even though the
character does not really exist!

Pick ‘n’ mix identities
 Baudrillard(2001)- postmodernism involves the

consumption of media created desire & pressures
to consume. Individual identity is no longer
formed predominantly on factors such as class,
ethnicity and gender but by information, images
& signs such as designer labels gained from the
media. In a globalised popular culture, the mass
media present to us a massive choice of lifestyles,
images & identities from around the world.
 Bradley(1996)new identities are created by
globalisation, bringing new cultures together.
People can pick and choose their identities.
 Bauman(1996) life in postmodern society if like a
shopping mall where people can pick and
choose the identities they want. There is a
globalised consumer market.

Highlights some important social changes, especially in the
areas of media, culture & identity.
Emphasizes that the construction of identity has become

more fluid & complex & cannot be reduced simply to as a
response to social structural factors.
Strengths of
postmodernism Provides insight into the most contemporary social changes
such as growing risk & uncertainty, globalisation & the power
of the media
In challenging sociological metanarratives, postmodernism

has encouraged sociologists to reflect more on some of their
assumptions, how they set their research & the meaning of
some contemporary social changes.

 Giddens- doesn’t dispute the fact that changes in society that
postmodernism has identified have occurred such as
globalisation, the declining power of nation states, the growing
diversity of identities, social movements, cultures and lifestyles.
we live in a ‘runaway’ world marked by new risks & uncertainties
& that neither people nor institutions can no loner take for
granted ways of doing things. However Giddens says that these
Criticisms of changes have not brought us into a new era of postmodernism,
rather late modernity or high modernity. Late modernity is
postmodernism characterised by social reflexity. The knowledge that we gain
from society can affect the way we act in it (v similar to
-Giddens interpretivists). In late modernity reflexity grows in importance as
the speed of social change & growing uncertainty means that
social institutions are constantly having to reflect on what they
do & how they do things & people are thinking about how they
live their lives. In late modernity reflexity for individuals focuses
on personal freedom & fulfilment as people establish goals
(‘their life project’) social reflexity means that people &
institutions can act to change & improve the world.

 Beck- there is a new phase of modernity ‘reflexive
modernity’ in which there are high levels of uncertainty
& risk in what he calls the ‘risk society’. These risks occur
in rapidly changing everyday life in social institutions
such as the family, as displayed in aspects such as rising
divorce rates & the rising diversity of personal
relationships. They can also be seen in failings or abuse
of scientific & technological progress in modernity such
Criticisms of as environmental pollution, climate change, nuclear
accidents, GM crops & antibiotic resistant superbugs.
postmodernism- These risks are different from the natural disasters &
plagues of the past as they were beyond human
Beck (1992) control. However although Beck recognizes the risks of
science he realises that it also has the capacity to make
things better & this is a feature of modernity. Beck shares
the idea of reflexivity with Giddens & suggests that we
are living in a period of reflexive modernity as people &
institution's need to think & reflect more about the risks
today, work out how to resolve problems & change
society.

 Harvey- many of the changes claimed by
Criticisms of postmodernists to be evidence of postmodernity can
be explained by modernist theories such as Marxism.
postmodernism- Changes such as globalisation, rapid cultural
change, the growth of consumerism & the
Harvey- individualisation of identity reflect capitalism opening
Marxism (1990) up new markets & new sources of profits in a global
economy.

 Postmodernism is all criticism. As it sees no knowledge
or vision as better than any others, it lacks any values,
vision of society or progress. Postmodernism lacks any
idea of progress & improvement & in a world with
widespread poverty, inequality & injustice,
postmodernism is in effect ignoring widespread social
Criticisms of problems.
postmodernism  Postmodernism overemphasises the influence of the

mass media & tends to assume that people are
passive & easily fooled & manipulated by the media.
People are perfectly able to make judgements
about what is real & what is not & most are aware
that the media do not always show a realistic view of
the world.

Postmodernism exaggerates the scale of social change saying
that cultural distinctions are blurred & that there is a global
culture. Cultural tastes are still strongly influenced by class,
gender & ethnicity & national cultures & identities are still strong.
Postmodernism is too voluntaristic. It assumes that all individuals

are free to act as they wish & can create, choose & change
identities at will. However social structural factors still exert major
Criticisms of influences . People are still constrained by economic factors
which influence their consumption. Class, gender & ethnicity
postmodernism are still defining characteristics in contemporary societies.
Postmodernism is itself a metanarrative & if metanarratives &

absolute truths are dismissed by postmodernists then it has in
effect dismissed itself as having anything to say that is any more
valid than anything else.

 Ollocks- postmodernism is simply an exhausting
intellectual game using obscure ideas &
complicated & flowery language to disguise what
are in effect, nonsensical ideas, with one critic
dismissing postmodernist writing as ‘verbose stretches
of important sounding but ultimately meaningless
rhetorical gymnastics’.
Criticisms of  This was shown by the social text affair in 1996. Alan
postmodernism- Sokul, a physicist & critic of postmodernism wrote an
article that appeared to be about interpreting
Ollocks (2008) physics & mathematics in terms of postmodernist
theory. It was in fact nonsense, & an experimental
hoax designed to test whether a postmodern journal
would publish any nonsensical article with elaborate
words that flattered the editors political views. Social
text a postmodernism journal published the article as
a serious work which consequently triggered an
academic scandal.

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Sociological Perspectives

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Traditional society Modern Society

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Cross Cultural diversity

Fatima Khan 03224954474

 The study of society is

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

The levels of global diversity:

 Religious identity defines an ethnic group

Expression of global culture

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Plumb and Lechner: power of global

McDonaldisation of Culture by Ritzer

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

 Society is like the human body

Fatima Khan 03224954474

 The process through which norms and

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Institutional interdependence and institutional

Individuals are made to fit into existing patterns of

The Nature Family, Education and Religion all exert existing

Order Parsons and Murdock insist that to survive each

Retain cultural order because behaviour is

Fatima Khan 03224954474

 Individual can’t be ignored has to fit in

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Lockwoot: conflicts of interest between social

Wrong and the oversocialised man:

Criticisms of humans are not computers

Overburdened by social prescriptions

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Fatima Khan 03224954474

Mid- Late Nineteenth Century Britain

• Unrest and protest – Chartrism

• Long hours, low pay