Essay: Sociological Perspective from C. Wright Mills

Chapter Discussion Questions #1
1. The sociological perspective, as a way of thinking about the world, includes the sociological imagination from C. Wright Mills, the beginner’s mind from Bernard McGrane, and the idea of culture shock from anthropology. What do all three of these concepts have in common?
Sociological perspective from the book’s definition means a way of looking at the
world through a sociological lens. By that they mean allowing one’s self to have an open mind that is willing to accept new ideas. Sociological imagination is a quality of the mind that allows us to understand the relationship between our individual circumstances and larger social forces, just because something happens a certain way in our lives it does not mean that it happens every single time to every single person. Beginner’s mind is approaching the world without preconceptions in order to see things in a new way. Having a beginner’s mind simply means that one must have little to no expectations and instead of thinking of things a certain way, to take it as they see it. Culture shock is a sense of disorientation that occurs when you enter a radically new social or cultural environment. All three concepts have something to do with having an open mind. As a group, we tend to view major topics the same way. We were taught to think of these things a certain way, all three concepts tell us to change or view things with no expectations.
2. Classical sociological theory arose in the nineteenth century, in the aftermath of the American and French Revolutions and during the Industrial Revolution. Explain how the theories of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber all reflect a concern for the consequences of modern life.
Karl Marx’s conflict theory is mainly about the struggle of power and money
between social classes (the bourgeoisie and the proletariat). His life experiences had a lot
to do with how he viewed society. He was said to have led an economically-fragile life.
He believes that the bourgeoisie will outrun the proletariat and the conflict would then
end. Emile Durkheim conducted a study on different groups and concluded that an
individual’s solidarity to their society is a major key in suicide. Much like Marx’s theory,
Weber says that societies consist of a hierarchical system where the higher class
dominates while the lower class has to subordinate. All of these theories still hold true up
to date to some extent. There still is a conflict between social classes, the poor seems to
be working much harder and does the dirty work but gets paid the least. Durkheim’s
theory basically states that the society is a unified whole that functions because of the
contributions of its separate structures which does still hold true until today. Within this
unity the majority of the people share the same interests and values which allows us to
have a better understanding of societies as a whole. Weber’s theory is also still valid
because power in today’s society is still based on social status.
3. Sociologists often have to decide if they are going to adopt a microsociological or a macrosociological approach in any given project. Explain how these perspectives differ, paying special attention to the different assumptions about how society works that are contained within each perspective.
Microsociology is said to be the level of analysis that studies face-to-face and
small-group interactions in order to understand how they affect the larger patterns and
institutions of society. Macrosociology is the level of analysis that studies large-scale
structures in order to determine how they affect the lives of groups and individuals. An
example given in the book on microsociology is used to conduct a study on power and
domination in male-female relationships. The data conducted as well as the results in
these everyday interactions explain the trends that we see in our society as a whole. An
example given for macrosociology would be the glass ceiling that females experience in
male-dominated occupations while males in female-dominated occupations are able to
climb up the field quickly through the use of a glass escalator. In this example we see
how society is shaped due to the large-scale features that are prominent in society. Both
microsociology and macrosociology work together in a continuum.
4. Compare and contrast conflict theory with structural functionalism. Pay special attention to the way that each theory treats the origin of social change.
Conflict theory is said to be generated by the competition among different class groups for scarce resources and the source of all social change, according to Karl Marx. Structural functionalism on the other hand is a paradigm based on the assumption that society is a unified whole that functions because of the contributions of its separate structures. Both theories are similar in a sense that they both agree that there is an imbalance in how money and power is distributed in society. These theories are also seen from a macrosociology perspective. Basically in conflict theory people think that the inequality that divides the people in a society is what causes social change and imbalance. Structural functionalism basically states that this unequal distribution of money and power is what keeps balance and order in society. Advocates of the conflict theory deem social change to be an inevitable consequence of competition while structural functionalism does not really seem to acknowledge the fact that social change and inequality is present.