SOC 202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Visual Entertainment, Social Conflict, Social Inequality
2 Mar 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Merton (1910-2003) enhanced the functionalist perspective by noting that there are 3 different types of functions that any structure can produce: Manifest function: intended and easily recognized (think chair being used to sit on) Latent function: unintended (now think chair being used to stand on to get something) Latent dysfunction: unintended and produce socially negative consequences (if so(cid:373)eo(cid:374)e did(cid:374)"t like their essa(cid:455) (cid:373)ark a(cid:374)d thre(cid:449) a (cid:272)hair across the room) Views society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change. Society is structured in ways to benefit a few at the expense of the majority. Factors such as ethnicity, race, sex, class, and age are linked to socially inequality. Social conflict perspective realizes that social inequality is real and exists in our day to day lives Think how a male can easily walk home at 3am while a female doing the same might be harassed or (cid:271)othered .
