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Theory
The Framework of Sociology
Sociological
Perspectives
• The three “perspectives” of Sociology
• Alienation as an example of theory
Sociological
Perspectives
• The “story” of Sociology tends to be placed in boxes.
• While sociologists are associated with certain
perspectives, they are more complex that your text
suggests.
• To make it easy to understand, Sociology is divided
into “perspectives.”
Sociological
Perspectives
• Conflict
– Society changes as a result of struggles of various groups
against each other as a result of inequality.
• Interactionist
– The world is socially constructed - meaning that we interpret
the world around us and act based on those interpretations.
• Functionalist
– The elements of society are understood by their role
(function) in maintaining society.
Conflict Perspective
• Recognizes inequality between groups.
• To understand history and society, we
must understand how people use power
to their advantage.
• Does NOT assume conflict is inevitable.
Conflict Perspective
• The Conflict Perspective studies conflicts and
inequalities between groups.
– Ethnic Conflict
– Media
• The Conflict Perspective also suggests
changes.
– Informs public policy decisions.
– Studies and participates in social movements.
Interactionist Perspective
• Interactionists focus on the “social
construction” of the world around us.
• They focus on the meaning that people
attach to actions and institutions.
• They also may look at how that meaning is
manipulated by people in power (notice the
link to conflict theory).
Interactionist Perspective
• The Interactionist Perspective attempts to
understand the meanings people associate
with their social actions and the social
institutions around them.
– What meaning do people attach issues?
• Ethnic Conflict
• Media
Functionalist Perspective
• Assumes the natural state is order or
equilibrium.
• Attempts to understand the role of various
social institutions and practices to maintain
that order.
• Institutions and practices that disturb the
order are considered deviant.
– But even deviance plays a role in society!
Functionalist Perspective
• People who follow the Functionalist
Perspective attempt to demonstrate how
different social institutions provide a function
for society.
– How do social institutions provide order or become
disordered?
• Ethnic Conflict
• Media
Sociological
Perspectives
• Conflict (Marx)
– Society changes as a result of struggles of various groups
against each other as a result of inequality.
• Interactionist (Weber)
– The world is socially constructed - meaning that we interpret
the world around us and act based on those interpretations.
• Functionalist (Durkheim)
– The elements of society are understood by their role
(function) in maintaining society.
Alienation
Theory as an application to your
experiences at work.
Your Job
• What do you like about your job?
– What do think are the positive elements of
a good job?
• What do you hate about your job?
– What are the worst things about a bad job?
Human Nature?
• Because of how we evolved, people
really desire to be creative and produce
something (usually with their hands) in a
social context.
Alienation
• According to Karl Marx, there are 4
forms of alienation.
– Product
– Process
– Others
– Species Being
• These forms of alienation take away our
“human nature.”
Alienation from Product
• Estrangement from the things we make
– The things we make do not belong to us.
– As the worker produces, they are debilitated.
• Estrangement from nature
– Workers do not engage environment directly.
– Products take on a life of their own.
Alienation from Product
• Alienation
– ?
– Perhaps, we have no
connection to the product
we produce, so we don’t
recognize we should in
our typical jobs!
• “Now that’s the best
quarter pounder I ever
made!”
• Less Alienated
– Something I like
– Meaningful (product)
– Difference in the
world
– Accomplish
Something
– Work outside
Alienation from Process
• The mental aspect is stripped from labor.
– People do not have control over their work.
• People do not meet their needs directly.
– Work is a means to earn wages.
– Wages are used to buy the things we need.
Alienation from Process
– Boring
• Dead End, Needs to be
different, Tedious,
Mindless, Meaningless
tasks, Nothing to do
– Bad Management
• No Respect, Push you
to work hard, No
support, Bosses engage
in politics, Do not work
Micromanage, Rigid
rules, Unjust policies,
Opinions do not matter
– Low Wages
• No Benefits
– Long Hours
• Understaffed
– Not enough hours
• Part time
– No Advancement
– Interferes with other parts
of life
– No free time
– Being deployed away
from home
Less Alienation from
Process
– Job is interesting
•
•
•
•
Variation - different
Mentally challenging
Learn new skills
Choices
– Good Management
•
•
•
•
•
Respect
Do not expect too much
Help
Fair
Acknowledge work
– Wages
• Bonuses
– Benefits
• Insurance/Health
Care
– Flexible Work hours
• Good Work hours
– Possibility for
Advancement
Alienation from Others
• Relations between people become relations
between people and objects.
– No longer meet our needs through people we
know.
• People treat each other as workers, not as
fellow people.
Alienation from Others
• Alienation
– Bad Co-Workers
•
•
•
•
•
Work less/lazy
Complain
Conflict
Office politics
Discrimination
– Bad Customers
•
•
•
•
Make it difficult
Rude (Cell Phones)
Belittled
Don’t cooperate or
understand
• Less Alienated
– Get along with coworkers
• Fun
• Social
• Communication
– Get along with
people
– Work with people
Alienation from Species
Being
• What it means to be a social being is
lost in wage work.
– We lose our creative sense of self and do
not identify with our work, but “animal”
functions.
– The social nature of making things is taken
away since we usually do not know who
ends up with the things we make.
Alienation from Species
Being
• Alienation
– Don’t like Job
• Stress
• Unhappy
– Put on "fake smile"
– Rather be doing
other things
– Takes time out of the
day
• Less Alienated
– Job Satisfaction
• Keep busy
• Low stress
• Fun / feel good
– Something I want to do
– Meaningful (to
society/self)
– Keep healthy / physical
Animal Functions
• What do I value in my free time?
– Sex
– Sleep/Naps
– Eating
– Nothing - No Thinking
Species Being in Free
Time
• Product
– Outdoors / lake
• Process
–
–
–
–
–
Creative
Flexible
Stress Free
Relax
No pressure to get things
done
– No management
– No one yelling at you
– Am own boss
• Others
–
–
–
–
Family
Friends
Socialization
Party
• Species
–
–
–
–
–
Do what you want or like
Freedom
Independence
Fun
Athletic
Inequality Exercise
• Answer the worksheet on your own.
– Place your answers on the back of
worksheet.
• Find 2 to 3 people to discuss your
answers.
– Place your consensus answer on the back.