SOCIOL 3AC Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Symbolic Interactionism, Marxism
Document Summary
Marx- all about money, class, capitalism, economics (theory: marxism) Society is all about conflict, class divisions and power. Power- the capability of individuals or groups to make their own concerts or interests count, even in the face of resistance. Power, ideology, and conflict are always closed connected. Eventual revolution (revolution was a necessary event) The importance of studying language in order to analyze the social world. Language allows individuals to become self-conscious beings. Symbolic thought frees us from being limited by our experiences. Example: mastering an understanding of what a tree is. The word tree is a symbol by which we represent/think of the object. Once we master this we can think of a tree even if we can"t see one. Humans live in a richly symbolic universe (everything has meaning) To study the function of a social activity is to analyze the contribution that activity makes to society as a whole.
