Category: Functionalism
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Dear England…. Football and the Collective Consciousness
Gareth Southgate used the sociological term ‘collective consciousness’ in his pre-Euro tournament letter to the nation, referring to the fact that he reminds the England team that they are creating collective memories and representing the entire nation every time they play a match. And now that England have reached the final, whether or not ‘we’…
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Public Opinion on Labour’s Policies – Far from Value Consensus?
Some recent opinion polls really seem to suggest that the British population have very different political views, suggesting there really is no such thing as value consensus around key issues, as key Functionalist thinkers suggested many decades ago. According to The Week (30 November 2019) the following rather large differences in opinion have emerged from…
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The Functionalist Perspective on Religion: Summary Revision Notes
According to Functionalism, religion acts as a conservative force by reinforcing social norms and promoting social solidarity. This post is A summary of the key ideas of the main Functionalist theorists of religion: Durkheim, Parsons and Malinowski.
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Talcott Parsons’ Perspective on Religion
A summary of Talcott Parson’s functionalist perspective on religion
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Malinowski’s Perspective on Religion
A summary of Bonislow Mainowski’s perspective on religion.
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Emile Durkheim’s Perspective on Religion
A summary of Emile Durkheim’s Perspective on Religion, covering his concepts of sacred and profane among other things….
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Sociological Perspectives on the Royal Wedding
Just a few thoughts on how you might apply Functionalism and Marxism to the Royal Wedding! Functionalists might interpret the wedding as one of those symbolic events which brings people together – enhancing a sense of national identity, and possibly social solidarity. You certainly get this impression from Sky News’ Live Stream which is already in full…
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Evaluate the Functionalist Perspective on the Role of Education in Society (30)
Redirect!
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What is the difference between Functionalism and Marxism
Functionalists have a very general analysis of the role of education in society, simply looking at how it contributes to the maintenance of social order, whereas Marxists analyse the role of education by focusing on how it performs different functions for different social classes. As I see it, Marxists offer a ‘deeper layer’ of analysis…
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Taclott Parsons’ Perspective on Education
Writing in the 1950s Parsons argued that modern education systems performed two main functions – role allocation and providing value consensus through meritocracy.