Structural Functionalism

Solidarity
- society is made up of people, institutions, etc. (connections)

> Mechanical Solidarity

- members has common value and beliefs (artificial/man made- something that is
imposed/dictated)
- ex: Medieval Society - Roman Catholic
> Organic Solidarity
- we have our own roles and realize the need to fill all roles for society to function
- we need each other for us to make/society works

Deviance
- deviating from your role in society
According to Durkheim…
> Functions of Deviance
- Affirmation of Cultural Norms and values (reinforces social norms/values)
- Clarification of right and wrong
- Unification of others in society
- Promoting social change

A structural-functionalist understanding of deviance (by Durkheim and Parsons):

- Weakness - analyzes society (descriptive) but does not provide how to improve/progress
Conflict Theory in Marxism
G.W.F. Hegel
Thesis vs. Antithesis = Synthesis vs. thesis = synthesis….
(two conflicting ideas creating an idea and continues <- how society progresses)

Marxism (for marx, we live in a material world)

- Conflict theory: based on material wealth/ power/control
- People are identified by what they have/they dont, their jobs(what they make)
- You are what you do
- Those who has power can dictate/control those who doesn't
- those who are in power has the power to control production of wealth/products

Material Architecture of Society:

> Superstructure (everything not directly to do with production, ideology) (you can control
superstructure with money)
- Those who own the mean of productions
> Ruling class (bourgeoises or capitalist, those who have)

> Base (Means of production, relations of production) (controlled by bourgeoisie/ most

powerful/influential)
- Factories, land, machines, raw materials
> The Masses (proletariat)

- Conflict between those who has power and those who don’t
- Lower class have no control yet affects them
- but the higher class has influence to it, those in power are able to shape our beliefs
(changing perspective, ex: political campaigns)

Alienation
According to Marx…
- Alienation from the act of working
- Alienation from the products of working
- your value is nothing more than the work you do, your only as valuable as the things
you make
- were detached from our work/ product we make, it loses its meaning
- Alienation from other workers
- actual bonds are pushed aside because of competition, for power
- Alienation from your human potential
- we cannot pursue what we want because of restrictions (poverty etc.)
- instead of taking part in life, we are limited and pulled down by systems

5 stages of Communism
According to Marx…
1. Pre-feudalism (starting point)
 2. Feudalism
3. Capitalism (we are stuck here because we are not allowed to dictate what make)
4. Socialism
5. Communism (end goal)

Symbolic Interactionism
- Society is made up of symbols
- We give meaning to symbols
- affects and change social, cultural practices
- Identify and characterize symbols and their meaning
-

> Micro - level analysis

- the meaning of our symbols are subject to change
- Makes and define yourself and life
- Each person has their own idea, feelings and thoughts on the symbols of society

> 3 Assumptions of Symbolic Interaction

1. Human actions depend on the meaning of the object
- how people act towards a symbol is able to highlight their perception, beliefs,
meaning to a symbol
- Meanings could be different per person

2. We give meaning to things based on the social interactions & experiences

- We get our meaning to interactions
> this is where stereotypes, prejudices happen
- We see object, interact and build our own meaning to them
- Symbols mean something because we interact with them

3. The meaning of symbols are not permanent & can change over time
-

Psychoanalysis
(Came from sigmund freud)
- ID - we want something, we want to get it, desire -> fulfillment, primal instincts of the
brain, all desires are based off on survival and reproduction
- He believed that life was built around tension and pleasure trying to find a balance
- the mind wants something -> affects behavior/thoughts
Psychosexual
> Frustration or Overindulgence
> Fixation

Fixation - (either when you're frustrated or overindulgence, you subconsciously do them

(mannerisms))

Psychosexual Stages
1. Oral - Mouth; sucking, swallowing etc
2. Anal - Anus; withholding or expelling feces
3. Phallic - Penis or Clitoris; masturbation
4. Latent - little or no sexual motivation
5. Genital - penis or vagina; sexual intercourse

Critical Evaluation
- Freud’s theory is good at explaining but not at predicting behavior
- Freud’s theory is unfalsifiable - it can neither be proved true or refuted