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Sociological Theory Of The Family

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Sociology is defined as the scientific study of human life, social groups, whole societies and the human world as such. (Giddens & Sutton, 2013) Sociology covers a vast and diverse range of topics which include social institutions such as religion, education or family. Sociology uses different theories/perspectives to understand and explain the social world. Sociological perspectives include: functionalism, Marxism, feminism, symbolic interaction and post-modernism. A theory is a set of ideas which claim to explain how society or aspects of society work. Highlighting interesting aspects of social situations by drawing out their general features. A social institution is a complex integrated set of norms organized around the preservation of a …show more content…

He argued that there were just two basic needs for the family these are, primary socialization and personality stabilization. (Fulcher & Scott, 2011) Primary socialization during the early years of childhood was a key element within the family to develop the human personality. (Giddens, 2013) Parson’s suggested that families are “factories” which produce human personalities. (Haralambos & Holbourn, 2008, p463) Teaching children shared norms and values of society, to the point where they become a part of him or her. Parson’s stated that the nuclear family was suited to the industrial society. There were specialised roles, with one adult working, being the ‘breadwinner’ – this was usually the man. Whilst the second – usually the woman, caring for the children and home. (Giddens & Sutton, …show more content…

Social solidarity means social order. Through education, children learn shared values and beliefs, whilst feeling part of the community, developing a sense of national identity. (Fulcher & Scott, 2011) Durkheim argued that schools should enforce rules, with punishments to follow if the rules are broken. This taught children self-discipline, understanding the importance of morals, and recognise that misconduct leads to a damaged society. (Haralambos & Holburn, 2008) Durkheim suggested: ‘It is by respecting the school rules that the child learns to respect rules in general, that he develops the habit of self-control and restraint simply because he should control and restrain himself. It is a first initiation into the austerity of duty. Serious life has now begun.’ (Durkheim, 1961, first published 1925) Functionalists view education as an institution that serves the needs of industrial society with a division of labour. Durkheim believed education is also important to teach the skills needed for specialized roles in the industrial society. (Giddens & Sutton,

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As far as ethos goes, Elshtain shares her own experiences and personal involvement in the "family debate". She briefly describes some of the challenges present within the traditional family, and makes sure to highlight that she has been in the front lines of this topic for nearly two decades, which enables her to present as someone with firsthand knowledge and commitment to the topic. She establishes credibility and expertise that sets the tone for the rest of her argument, this personal touch also works to engage the reader and create a sense of authenticity in the argument. Elshtain opened her article by invoking the authority of

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Society is influenced by everything. Whether it be the place people live, crime and law, family structure, famous people, social stratification and the biggest problem race. The movie A Time To Kill is a perfect example of all of these things. All of these items shape people and shape how they will live their lives. Sociology is the development, structure, and functioning of human society.

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Sociology is the study of the development, structure and functioning society. Sociology is all around us, it 's what we say, what we do, what we watch on TV, and what we see in our everyday lives. Sociology is a broad term, because there are many different words that associate with Sociology including family, relationships, media, gender, and crime. While sociology is all around us, a common place where we might witness ideas that come from sociology is right at home on our televisions. A popular show that displays a perfect example of sociology right now is Keeping up with the Kardashians.

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50 years ago a married couple with children was known as a ‘normal’ family and the perfect ‘nuclear’ type. However, times have since changed to the family which means that there are more different types of family today than ever before. We now have a variety of different types of family for example changes to marriage, partnerships, children and families resulting in the nuclear family in decline as there is now greater variety for example single parent, same sex etc. (Goffs School Sociology, 2017) Functionalist Murdock defined the family to been a universal structure, where there would be opposite sex parents in a legally recognisable relationship for example marriage with their children, this is recognised as been the ideal for functionalist

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Introduction Great thinkers, including Plato and Aristotle opened the doors to studying society; they based their thoughts on creating an “ideal society”. The science of Sociology was later developed in the early 19th century by Auguste Comte, who coined the word “Sociology”. He began to study society, using “critical thinking”. Comte believed that only by really understanding society could we begin to change it.

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a. Sociology is the study of the social relationships that affect the humans as well as institutions. It involves many fields of study that include crime, religion, family, race, culture and society among others. It is the primary purpose of sociology to provide linkage to all of these different subjects to help in understanding how humans behave (Smith, 2016). b. Sociological enquiry is the careful analysis of the motivational factors as well as the behavior of a certain individual within a particular group of people. The primary objective of sociological inquiry is to reveal an understanding of the social world that is readily observable.

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In many societies and depending on their cultures, men and women are seen equally and may share the same roles in the household or even a stay at home father and the mother being the breadwinner. In modern family, Phil and Claire share the responsibilities with both working and both looking after the kids. The gay couple, Mitchell and Cameron who has an adopted daughter, together they learn what roles they should take on but not being gender specific when raising their daughter and the dynamics in the household. In many families today, dual earning families increased and not just the male who goes to work but females as well and follow their dreams like furthering their careers. “In the 21st century within households two pay-checks have become essential for most families to maintain even a modest standard of living in order to provide” (Walsh, 2012:11).

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Through the socialisation of children, the family reproduces both labour power and a false ideology which keeps the capitalists system going. ‘Families thus support the concentration of wealth and reproduce the class structure in each succeeding generation (Macionis and Plummer 2002:440). Engles indicated that families turn women into the sexual and economic property of men. Woman perform unpaid work in the home that would otherwise cost a lot to those who benefit from it. Conflict theorists have seen the family as a social arrangement benefiting men more than women, allowing men to maintain a position of power.

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Marriage is an important institution in a society and although there have been changes in the trend of marriage pattern, it is still very clear that marriage still matters. Marriage exists and its main aim is to bring two people together to form a union, where a man and a woman leave their families and join together to become one where they often start their own family. Sociologists are mostly interested in the relationship between marriage and family as they form the key structures in a society. The key interest on the correlation between marriage and family is because marriages are historically regarded as the institutions that create a family while families are on the other hand the very basic unit upon which our societies are founded on.

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Sociology somehow can also be define as the study of development, structure, and functioning of human society. Sociology requires more than of common sense to make sense in a society. Sociology aims to provide objective knowledge of a social phenomenon in order to cope with social issues in a society. Sociology, therefore, offers insights into these issues in order to reveal the questions of humanity, also the changes and transition that humans goes through. As a sociologist, Andre Beteille have said, social science is primarily being conduct upon certain legal guidelines, the research technique and how the data is collected.

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According to the Dictionary, Sociology is defined as the study of the development, structure, and functioning of human society. This means that people are willing to study social problems throughout the world and the society that they live in. In my life, I deal with my social class, Gender, Race, Religion, and the time I was born. Because of who I am, I definitely have been a part of a different upbringing and lifestyle that many sociologist may find interesting.

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Sociology is the scientific study of human social relationships and interactions. Sociology 's subject matter is diverse. Subject matter for sociology ranges from the micro level of an individual and interaction to the macro level of systems and the social structure. At the society level, sociology examines and explains matters like crime and law, poverty and wealth, prejudice and discrimination, schools and education, business firms, urban community, and social movements. We can see these subject matters crystal clear as sociology ranges from crime to religion, from the family to the state, from the divisions of race and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture and from social stability to radical change in whole societies.

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