...The Sociological Imagination according to C. Wright Mills is states that the sociological imagination is a quality of mind that allows us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two in society. (Mills, 1959, pg 6). He also explains the links between personal issues and public issues by helping to identify a personal issue and identifying it in the social structure. One tragic public issue that is very common in society today is ‘Domestic Violence’. For many years domestic violence in the family has been a private issue and was never spoken about in society. By using the three sensibilities that make up the sociological imagination which are the historical, cultural and critical sensibilities, society can begin to understand the radical changes in how society thinks we as individuals ‘should’ behave towards one another especially in the family unit according to societies expectations and social norms. The issue of domestic violence within families was evident in earlier societies. Using the historical sensibility we can see how society used to live and see how we have society has transformed our ideologies of this horrific public issue of domestic violence. From the earliest record, most societies gave the father or the patriarch of the family the right to use physical force against the women and children that he was in control of. This was evident in the reign of Romulus back in 753BC. Abbott (1852, p. 242) states that: The power of the father over his...
Words: 1169 - Pages: 5
...REVIEW 1. The Sociological approach: a. is not scientific b. suggests that relations we have with other people create opportunities for us to think and act c. suggests that relations we have with other people set limits on our thoughts and actions d. leaves the study of personal issues to psychologists e. b and c * EXPLANATION: Although sociology contains both objective and subjective elements it is a science. Sociologists observe reality in a systematic and controlled manner and evaluate the validity of their ideas based on observations. Objectivity plays the role of a reality check while subjectivity makes us set our priorities for research. The sociological approach to improving human welfare is based on the idea that the relations we have with other people create opportunities for us to think and act but also set limits on our thoughts and actions. Accordingly, we can better understand that what we are and what we can become by studying the social relations that help shape us. FOR EXAMPLE: even the most personal issues can be studied using a sociological approach Suicide could have been seen as an anti-social act caused by psychological distress but Durkheim studied it from a sociological perspective correlating it to “social solidarity”, how frequently people interact with others and share their beliefs, values and morals. Social forces then determine the likelihood to commit suicide. Sociologists use the sociological approach to identify: ...
Words: 3238 - Pages: 13
...Assess the relationship between sociology and social policy In order to understand the role of sociology in relation to social policy, it is important to firstly distinguish between social problems and sociological problems. According to Peter Worsley, a social problem is some piece of social behaviour that causes public friction and private misery and calls for collective action to solve it. According to Worsley, a sociological problem is “any pattern of relationships that calls for explanation.” In other words, it is any piece of behaviour that we wish to make sense of. However even when sociologists conduct research into social problems, there’s no guarantee that policy makers will study their findings, or that any solutions they propose will find their way into social policies. Many factors may affect whether or not sociological research succeeds in influencing policy. Some of these include electoral popularity, interest groups, globalisation and cost. Different sociological perspectives hold different views of the nature of the state and their social policy it produces. As a result, each perspective tends to take a different view of the role of sociology in relation to social policy. Early positivists such as Comte and Durkheim took the view that sociology was a science and would discover both the cause of social problems and scientifically based solutions to them. As such, their approach was part of the Enlightenment project to use science ad reason to improve society...
Words: 1091 - Pages: 5
...The Affects of Abuse and Neglect Later in Life Word Count: 2,036 Literature Review The purpose of this study is to determine if child abuse and neglect affect social status, grade point averages (GPA), or psychological imbalances of individuals later in life. This study is important to address to the public of the long-term affects of abuse and neglect in relation to such topics. The subjects surveyed are college-aged students ranging from ages 18 to 25. This survey is based on abuse or neglect from the subject’s parents or guardians at any point from birth to age 16 or 18. The cut off age group is dependant upon how old the subject was once they moved out of the household. This study defines abuse as any form of intense ongoing verbal battery, unnecessary physical harm, or illegal sexual encounters directed to the subject via the parent or guardian. “The official federal definition of child abuse, state in the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974, states, ‘…the physical or mental injury, sexual abuse, negligent treatment, or maltreatment of a child under the age of eighteen by a person who is responsible for the child’s welfare under circumstances which would indicate that the child’s health or welfare is harmed or threatened thereby’” (Gelles 1985). This study defines neglect as any form of lack of physical, cognitive, or affective care and support for the subject via parent or guardian. Physical care and support is based on the behavioral...
Words: 2329 - Pages: 10
...include: the division of domestic labour; the impact of paid work; the decision making and the control of the family finances; the “triple shift”; and domestic violence. All of these points have arguments supporting and opposing the question in hand and different sociological perspectives will have very different views on all of these matters. Feminists, for example, will most likely agree with the question and will try to prove that the British family is a patriarchal institute, whereas functionalists would argue that the members of the family all of separate roles and purposes in order to fulfil society’s needs, therefore being more likely to oppose the feminist view. Domestic labour is work performed in the home, e.g. cooking, cleaning, and childcare. Some functionalists, such as Parsons, view that traditional division of labour in a family reflects the biological differences men and women. He also believes that everybody benefits from this as society's needs are met due to the roles being complimentary of each other; the male’s traditional roles of being the “breadwinners” and the women's “expressive” role help everyone involved in the family and society. The “march of progress” view claims that the conjugal roles in the family are gradually improving and are becoming more equal and symmetrical. Willmott and Young have also argued that due to the fact that the number of women workers has risen significantly, men are more likely to help with the domestic duties; this has been...
Words: 1691 - Pages: 7
...Domestic violence is a recognized worldwide problem that drastically affects the well-being of both the victims and abusers. Coker (2016) defines domestic violence as the violent abuse by one person against another at home. This form of abuse can entail intensive abuse of a spouse or partner or violence meted against children or elderly. Domestic violence takes several forms that range from physical, verbal, reproductive, and religious to sexual abuse among others. Given that social workers interact with people of different walks of life while executing their duties, chances of meeting victims of domestic violence are high (S. & Ilango, 2013; Littman & Paluck, 2015). Due to the prevalence of cases of domestic violence in society, it is emphatically...
Words: 1700 - Pages: 7
...be used as they are more reliable results than qualitative methods such as unstructured interviews. Another theoretical issue is representativeness which refers to how much of the characteristics you are looking for is represented by the people being studied. For example if a sociologist is researching single parent homes, you will not interview nuclear families, because they are not representing the variables they are looking for. Similarly if someone is investigating delinquency, they will not conduct their research in a place that is very well developed or a place that has a lot of wealthy people living there, because it would not be representative of the phenomena they wish to study. The last theoretical issue is methological perspective which is a choice...
Words: 834 - Pages: 4
...in which you can achieve top band and incorporate this into your plan. June 2015 Examine the impact of government policies and laws on family life. [24 marks] From the mark scheme: Concepts and issues such as the following may appear: patriarchy; familism; surveillance; ideological control; gender regimes; marital breakdown; family structure; family diversity; welfare dependency; underclass; reserve army of labour Policies/laws on abortion; divorce; contraception; reproductive technology; marriage; adoption; pensions; benefits; taxes; education; childcare; child protection; sexuality; immigration may be discussed Analysis and evaluation may be developed, for instance by comparing the impact of different policies/laws or by discussing perspectives on social policy and the family (eg New Right, feminist, functionalist etc) From the examiner’s report: The most successful answers were able to identify relevant policies...
Words: 7021 - Pages: 29
... January 2012 Item 2A Sociologists analyse the domestic division of labour in many different ways. Parsons describes the division of labour in the traditional nuclear family in terms of an expressive role and an instrumental role. However, this traditional arrangement may have changed as families have changed, and many feminists use the term ‘dual burden’ to describe the woman’s role in the family today. Item 2B Government policies and laws include tax and benefit policies as well as legislation such as relating to divorce and marriage. Sociologists have different views on the impact of these policies and laws on families. For example, feminists argue that social policies assume that the ideal family is a patriarchal nuclear family, and that government policies and laws therefore favour this sort of family. On the other hand, the New Right argue that the benefit system undermines traditional nuclear families by actively encouraging lone parents. 0 6 Explain what is meant by the ‘dual burden’ (Item 2A). (2 marks) 0 7 Explain the difference between the expressive role and the instrumental role (Item 2A). (4 marks) 0 8 Suggest three ways in which the differences between children and adults are becoming less clear in society today. (6 marks) 0 9 Examine the reasons for, and the effects of, changes in family size over the past 100 years or so. (24 marks) 1 0 Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess sociological views of the impact of government policies and laws...
Words: 5042 - Pages: 21
...Social Problems in Societies Kamore Eric Essaybux Social Problems in Societies In the world today, the well-being of the society is undermined by problems that arise from differences in opinions regarding cultural practices, religion, political issues and other health concerns. Social issues are therefore regarded to as inevitable and various societies around the world experience them (Mulroy and Austin, 2004). Problems such as poverty, unemployment, drug abuse, discrimination, homelessness, violence, crime and environmental degradation occur when people come together in a social setting. Here, the most troubling social problems are addressed in a sociological perspective and how they affect the society in whole. Poverty is a state of having insufficient money to buy the most necessary things in life; it is a social problem when a significant portion of a population lives below the poverty line. According to (Michael, 2006), by individual behavioral characteristics and choices, social and political forces can cause poverty. Also, dysfunctional markets and economic underdevelopment can result in poverty. People who cannot get proper means of employment may opt to engage in illegal and destructive ways such as theft or burglary. Moreover, poverty is a primary cause of hunger and malnutrition which is responsible for a broad range of health issues such as diseases and increased...
Words: 725 - Pages: 3
...a free for all. Murdock saw education as an important function for the family. The family socialises children into society’s values and norms. The final function that Murdock identified was the economic one. The family provides for its members’ basic needs such as food and shelter. There are other sociologists who have criticised Murdock’s views of the family. He sees the family as only nuclear when there are many other types of family structures such as extended, lone parent, gay, reconstituted that are not included. His view that a nuclear family is the best set up for raising children means that he is saying there are right and wrong families and ways of bringing up children. He also ignores the dark side of the family which is domestic, violence and sexual abuse. Another...
Words: 1208 - Pages: 5
...Introduction We all have our own views on what we believe to be family, whether it be the traditional mother, father and children form or the contrasting; two parents of the same sex and adopted children, we all probably would agree that a family consists of people that love each other and adults that rear and prepare children ready for adult life within society. As members of society we have our own individual views as to what constitutes as family, so do sociologists. In this report I will assess the functionalist's sociological theories of the family and introduce other perspectives on the family and show how they differ from the Functionalist perspective, I will concentrate on the conflicting theories of Feminists, Marxists and Postmodernists. Functionalist Perspective Functionalism theory suggests that there is a specific pattern of family organisation corresponding to different types of society. Therefore suggesting there is a particular family form that best suits the conditions of industrial society. Functionalist's believe that the nuclear family replaced the extended families because of industrialisation. Parson claim's the nuclear family is crucial in relation to the socialisation of the young and stabilisation of adult personalities. G P Murdock says: “The family is a social group characterised by common residence, economic co-operation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship...
Words: 1186 - Pages: 5
...Sociological Perspectives In this assignment I will explore the sociological perspectives. In sociology there are 7 perspectives. Sociology is “The study of human social behaviour, especially the study of the origins, organization, institutions, and development of human society.” (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 2011). The seven perspectives of sociology are functionalism, Marxism, feminism, interactionism, postmodernism, new right and collectivism. Definitions “Functionalism interprets each part of society in terms of how it contributes to the stability of the whole society. Society is more than the sum of its parts; rather, each part of society is functional for the stability of the whole society” (Crossman, 2015). “Marxism is a political, social, and economic philosophy derived from the work of the 19th-century historians Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It views human history as a struggle between social classes and asserts that capitalism is inherently exploitative.” (Chegg.com, 2015) “Feminism is a complex set of political ideologies used by the women’s movement to advance the cause of women’s equality and to end the sexist theory and practice of social oppression. (Crossman, 2015) “The interactionist perspective is one of the major theoretical perspectives within sociology. It focuses on the concrete details of what goes on among individuals in everyday life. Interactionists study how we use and interpret symbols not only to communicate...
Words: 905 - Pages: 4
...them. Gloria has isolated herself from her family, and refuses to call the police, to maintain this relationship with Leo. This theory fits Gloria considering she is more concerned with the possibility of her husband being deported, rather than her own health and safety. Research shows that one of the impacts of prolonged exposure to domestic violence is a decrease in cognitive ability. The brain stem to the frontal cortex is often negatively impacted. Also, studies have found factors correlated with domestic violence were associated with mental health problems, academic failure, economic deficits, and anti-social behavior. (Corvo, Dutton & Chen, 2008) Sociocultural The sociological imagination is used to describe the relationship between the individual and society. This awareness allows us to understand the connection between our personal lives and the forces that influence us. It is important to note, that the goal of this lens it to view outside cultures from an objective perspective, rather than an ethnocentric or culturally biased viewpoint. (Mills,1959, as cited in Rodgers, 2016, p. 106) Hector Sanchez, Gloria Sanchez-Culturalism Perspective Social workers must understand a client’s culture to effectively work with a client. This includes recognizing how values, beliefs, philosophies, experience, and social structures change from one society to another. (Rogers, 2016) Hector prides himself in being the main provider for the family. He will not allow his wife to accept...
Words: 769 - Pages: 4
...can be seen sleeping in a variety of places such as city subways, terminals, stations, and the underground world of transportation. In the winter, the homeless may be sleeping on top of grates for the warm steam; fires may be burning from cylinders on street corners, under bridges, or in alley ways for warmth. In the summer, buses, subway cars, malls, and fountains are but a slight relief for those homeless until an authority figure moves the person(s) on. In small suburban areas, most of the homeless are hidden and out of view. The United States faces many social problems; however, homelessness is a major dilemma. To understanding the issue of homelessness from a sociologist point of view, different lenses need to be used. The sociological perspectives of functionalism, conflict structuralists, and symbolic interactionism, provide the best angles to assess homelessness in the United States as well as analyzing the efforts to resolve the homeless dilemma the nation faces. There are approximately two million homeless men, women, and children, and the numbers are increasing. For the second consecutive year, homeless families are on the rise (AHAR, 2009). Causes of this dilemma are vast and include hardships from loss of employment, illness, lack of affordable housing, poverty, and the current economy. The number of homeless is constantly changing. Researchers use different methodologies in an attempt to count homeless people accurately. Point-in-time counts people on any particular...
Words: 2914 - Pages: 12
