SOCI 2520 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Symbolic Interactionism, Labeling Theory
26 Nov 2016
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Nonpositivist claims emphasize interpretation as the source of understanding, suggesting that moral codes emerge from a process of interpretation rather than from any type of absolute morality. Interpretive theories explain something that might be unique and unrepeatable. They claim that the o(cid:374)ly (cid:862)reality(cid:863) is that (cid:449)hi(cid:272)h e(cid:373)erges through re(cid:272)ipro(cid:272)al, i(cid:374)tersu(cid:271)je(cid:272)ti(cid:448)e u(cid:374)dersta(cid:374)di(cid:374)g between people: they focus on the meanings that emerge from interactions between people who are engaged in symbolic dialogue. Critical theories have a self-reflective value-orienting foundation, that is, an underlying interest in emancipation and working toward social justice: their focus is on the power relations that underlie the creation of social rules. Symbolic interactionism, or interactionism, is the foundation for the range of interpretive theories used to study deviance. From a symbolic interactionist perspective, society is created by social interaction, which occurs via communications through symbols. Various processes contribute to the meanings and understandings each of us creates: one process is that of role taking.
