Soc 420: Sociological Theory

1
Soc 420 Sociological Theory

• Symbolic Interactionism

2
Intellectual Influences

• Weber
• Simmel
• Mead Father of S.I.
• Reaction against structural determinism
• behavioral psychology
• structural functionalism

3
Socio-historical Context

• Chicago in early 1900s
• Progressive era
• muckrakers
• Park and urban ecology
• G. H. Mead's social psychology
• The Sixties
• youth rebellion
• attacks on major institutions

4
Perspective Liberal

• Human seen as creative active "I"
• meaning seeker
• sociable
• Society viewed as negotiated order
• not iron cage
• we can change the world

5
Model Interactive Emergent Self
other
me
negotiation
self
I
6
Society Negotiated Order

• Process oriented
• Indeterminate
• dynamic

other
role
negotiation
negotiation
self
performance
7
Strains of S.I.

• Mead Mind, Self, and Society
• Blumer joint action
• Goffman dramaturgical and frame
• Structural
• Kuhn
• Stryker