Sociological Perspective Essay

Submission refers to at least six sociological concepts covered in the lectures or textbook reading

If it wasn’t for Emile Durkheim, a lot of people today would not know which direction to take. As an example, parents teaches us morals and guidance from a higher power. If you were to grow up without any sense of direction, it makes things a little more difficult. In the functionalist theory, society is thought out to function like organs in the body. They help out each other to maintain and reproduce. But instead of the bodily function, the school and community helps each other out for social functions to survive. Everyone becomes dependent on each other. Manifest function is consequence that is intended. A school is to help students increase development of necessary skills for future use. A latent function is often unintended; if the student graduates the school and doesn’t understand how to apply any skills they’ve learned in school. A latent dysfunction is if students come to school to be disruptive and affect the learning process of other

The Functionalist theory emphasizes the contributions (functions) that all parts of society (e.g., social institutions) make within society. This theory has contributed to sociology by providing a view “which emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain stability.” (Schafer 2013, pg13)

Sociological imagination is the study of society on a micro or macro scale. The term was first used by an American sociologist C. wright mills (1916-1962). This unique quality of thinking allows a person or a group to think or feel about society in general around us or in relation to a larger group to emphasize the connection between personal and structural (group) issues or trends. In other words, a sociologist tries to understand why things are the way they are.

Sociologist Robert Merton (1957) divides human functions into two types. They are manifest functions and latent functions. Manifest functions are intended and the obvious consequences of activities. Latent functions are the unintended, sometimes unrecognized, consequences of actions. The manifest function of going to church is to worship as part of a religious community, but its latent function may be to meet people.

Sociological imagination is the way in which individuals realize the connection between their own experience of reality and the experiences of society as a whole. This realization allows people to make sense of the world around them. When one applies sociological imagination, they are stripping their own personal experiences from their thoughts to analyze the social world around them. It allows one to understand different perspectives of the world without the narrow lens of personal experience and bias. This is extremely important in modern society. For instance, in politics, it is very important to hold back personal beliefs when it comes to law-making. A politician who refrains from applying her own moral beliefs to her political agenda in attempt to create a better society is practicing the use of sociological imagination. She removes her own personal views of the world in order to see society’s views as a whole, and acts accordingly. In other words, sociological imagination is “taking the role of the other” to gain a wider understanding of a perspective other than one’s own.

In this essay I’ll be talking about Sociological Imagination and the concepts following it and more especially the importance of it. Sociological Imagination is one of the core concepts of Sociology whereas Sociology is all about studying people within the society and what they do. Sociological imagination is all about using one’s mind to see how people are affected by tangible and intangible things around them. Sociological imagination is affected by social forces which are forces that influence people to act in a certain way that is different from before.

A key part of engaging in sociology is to adopt a sociological viewpoint or 'think sociologically'. Etymologically, sociology is the 'study of society' but this doesn't differentiate sociology from other forms of social study. Hence, many begin to describe thinking sociologically by what it is not - it is not thinking politically, thinking anthropologically, thinking historically or thinking psychologically, for example (Berger 1966: 11-36; Reiss 1968: 2-3). Others try to determine the nature of sociological thinking by detailing practical phenomena which can be thought about such as social systems and their subsystems, social institutions and social structure, and social aggregates, relationships, groups and organisations (Reiss 1968: 1),

Sociological imagination is merely the connection between a person and the society. Every person is connected to and influenced by society to a different extent. Some people are completely absorbed in society and feel obligated to keep up with the trends, or else they feel like an outlier. On the other hand, some people do not keep up with the trends of society because they could care less about others opinions. Sociological imagination can be used to show the relationship between both those types of people and the society, and it can be used to explain how people view society from their point of view. When people look at societies from an outsider’s point of view, “rather than only from the perspective of personal experiences and cultural biases” (Schaefer 4), they are able to notice the things that shape and mold their character. The outsider perspective also provides them with a better understanding of themselves by understanding the relationship between them and society.

Sociological perspective is according to the lecture viewing the world through a sociological lens. In doing this, allows us to see the general in the like how society shapes general patterns of behavior and/or to see the shape in the familiar like how people behave how it is not just individual choice. An example of using sociological perspective would be how society influenced me to go to college and not just college what made me pick Louisiana tech. the first influence that most people would not think as society is my parents. I say my parents because my parents have always told me to be better than them which to them that meant going to college and finishing. Even with me being the youngest of four and my parents

The sociological imagination is the practice of being able to “think ourselves away” from the familiar routines of our daily lives in order to look at them with fresh, critical eyes. It is a different way to look at the things and look outside from the box”. To understand one’s own self, we must understand the relationship between a self and the society. This concept was created by C. Wright Mills. He also stated that the sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society that is its task and it promises.

Sociology is a part of everyday life. People experience sociological changes when they get married, get a new job, or get discriminated against. All of these things can alter a person’s perspective on a group of people or even the world. Since the beginning of this class, I have personally endured several sociological changes in my life. I recently started a new job. I’m meeting new and wonderful people and I no longer dread having to go to work. I have also begun setting plans for my wedding to the one girl who I know will make everyday better than the one before. But, perhaps the one instance that has affected me the most and the deepest was when my parents got a divorce.

Sociological theory creates ways to understand the social world by having different theories to explain understand social life. It aids to make sense of this social world. It draws together a wide range of perspectives to help provide the fullest picture. (Macionis & Plummer p.36) It shows that one theory can explain something that another cannot. My aim is to answer this question with reference to both functionalism and conflict theory. This will be done by comparing and contrasting both theories in relation to their perspectives on both suicide and gender discrimination as social issues relevant to this day and age. Functionalism and conflict perspectives are both macro theories. This means that they focus on the big picture, for

The paper should be typed, double-spaced, 11-point font, 1” margins. Both the write-up and your typed journal should be saved as ONE document with page numbers. Remember to include a citation for any resources referenced, in proper APA format, and make sure your name is on your paper.

The sociological inquiry is the methodical analysis of the inspirations and behaviour of individuals within a group. It is the study of the social world as a whole and focusing on how elements such as the family, religion, school, community and government effect it. Sociological inquires most standard goal is to simply obtain a more clear understanding of the observable social world that we live in. In this essay I will be looking into the sociological theories of Marx, Weber and Durkheim, and recognising if their approaches are still relevant today.