Today we talked about the three perspectives of sociology and how they relate to sports.
I like to think about the three perspectives as three different ways of having a sociological imagination. Three specific ways of having a sociological imagination are the three founding perspectives of sociology. These three perspectives were the beginning of sociology. All three of them were a reaction to the extraordinary changes of the industrial revolution taking place in Europe in the 1800s. The founder of each of these theories is considered one of the founding fathers of sociology. Here are the ways that we applied each theory to the tv show:
What are the groups and what functions do they serve? Are there negative influences from any of the groups (dysfunctions)? This is functional theory. It was developed by Emile Durkheim.
Who has power? How or why do they have power? How do they use it? This is conflict theory. It was first developed by Karl Marx.
What are the important symbols? Note that the symbols might be an object, but also might be an idea, an event or something else. How do people act based on the symbols they find important? This is symbolic interactionism. I like to connect symbolic interactionism to Max Weber.
Can you relate any of these theories to your own life? How can the things you do be interpreted through one of these theories? For example why do you wear what you wear or why are you going to college or why do you stress yourself out to get "good" grades?
