Sociological imagination and functionalism

Sociological imagination and functionalismChapter 1 & functionalism basics

What is sociology?

SociologyThe systematic study of behavior within the social context

AndTo explain behavior, stressing the social context of daily living.

Sociological imaginationC. Wright Mills (1959)...the vivid awareness of the relationship between private experience and the wider society (Mills, 1959). The sociological imagination enables us to grasp the connection between history and biography.What does this mean?

Sociological imagination cont.The relationship between personal troubles and societal structureExamplesUnemploymentEducation

Origins of sociology

Functionalism basicsOrganismic analogyAnalogous to living organismsAll parts of society have purpose through:Goal attainmentAdaptationIntegration

Functionalism cont.Society places structural constraintsThink crime and devianceSocial orderSocietal values

Emile durkheimFather of functionalismSuicide RatesSocial solidarityCollective conscience

Talcott ParsonsTried to generate a single grand theory Built upon Durkheimian ides

An education system

A political system.... And so on

The systems and the society are held together because everyone shares the same valuesThere is a shared culture

Robert MertonStressed importance of empirical workKeep assumptions to a minimumConsidered middle-rangeGrand theory too abstractMacro sociologyManifestLatentDysfunction