Society!2

Society!

By:

Jamion K. Knight

What y

y

is society?

Social structure ² organized ² organized patterns, arrangements and interactions between groups who comprise various social institutions. Social institutions ² e.g ² e.g religion, the economy, politics, education, and health

Religion

Education

Family

What y

y

y

y

do the Functionalists believ believe? e?

Functionalist

views social structure as working in such a way to ensure peace and stability.

Structures and interactions make certain that the collective will of members is satisfied. Undesirable behaviors are discouraged through social structures such as laws, norms, rules, roles, values and sanctions. Socialization

What

is Marxism

What y

y

do the the Marxists believ believe? e?

Marxist sociologists also understand society in terms of its social structure but do not hold the harmonious views. They say that the structures in capitalist societies are enabling for the wealthy and coercive for poorer groups. Gross inequalities occur and they do not have the power to change societal arrangements.

Religion y

y

- Functionalism

Sociologist Emile Durkheim believ be lieved ed that social life is impossible without social shared values. In their absence, there would be no social order, social control, social solidarity or cooperation.

y

In short, shor t, there would be no society. society.

y

Religion

y

reinforces reinforces the collective conscience.

Integration of society is strengthened through worship

Religion y

y

- Marxism Marxism

´Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.µ (Karl Marx) To Marx, religion is an illusion which eases the pain produced by exploitation and oppression. It is a series of myths that justify and legitimate the subordination of the subject class and the domination and privilege of the ruling class.

y

y

Promises romises

Some religions make make a virtue of the suffering produced by oppression.

y

Religion

y

Religion

y

a paradise parad ise of eternal bliss

can offer hope of supernatural intervention to solve the problems on earth. justifies social order

By making unsatisfactory lives bearable, religion tends to discourage people to change their situation

Education y

y

- Functionalism

Functionalist

view view of education tends to focus on the positive positive contributions educations makes makes to the the maintenance of the social system. ´Society can only survive if there exist among its members a sufficient degree of  homogeneity; education perpetuates and reinforces this homogeneity by fixing in the child from the beginning the essential similarities which a collective life demands.µ (Durkheim, (Durkhe im, 1961)

y

School provides a context where skills can be learned.

y

Discipline

y

Education

teachers skills necessary for their future occupations. This function is particularly important in an industrial society with its increasingly complex and specialized division of labour.

y

Value of achievement

y

Evaluation valuation

of of students students ² future future roles roles

Education y

y

y

- Marxism Marxism

Capitalists system requires hard working, obedient and highly motivated workforce which is too divided and fragmented to challenge the authority of management. Accept Acceptan ance ce of hiera hierarch rchyy. Teache eachers rs give give instructions and students accept without question. Students motivated by external rewards

Family y

y

y

- Functionalism

Murdoch Murdoch (1949) argued that families perform four basis functions: sexual, reproductive, economic and educational. edu cational. Parsons

(1959) says that family provides primary socialization and secondary socializations ´Families are factoriesµ which produce human personalities.

Family

- Marxism Marxism

y

Reproduction

y

Exploitation