by John Amy | Mar 19, 2014 | Marxist Theories
The Frankfurt School was a group of German neo-Marxists who focused on the domination of the masses through culture. They claimed that contemporary capitalist societies are ‘mass societies’ and that traditional working-class culture has been replaced by a false,...
by John Amy | Mar 19, 2014 | Marxist Theories
Find the article ‘Reality TV: the Big Brother phenomenon’ by Colin Sparks in International Socialism, April 2007 at www.isj.org.uk Read the introduction and the sections entitled ‘Really real?’; ‘Critical responses’ and ‘In conclusion’. Now answer the following...
by John Amy | Mar 19, 2014 | Marxist Theories
A ‘class in itself’ is where a group (e.g. workers) share the same economic position; a ‘class for itself’ is where they recognise their shared interests as a class, i.e. they become class conscious. Both are macro theories focusing on the structure of society; both...
by John Amy | Mar 19, 2014 | Functionalist Theories
A. Identifying norms operating in a situation As a group, agree on a particular everyday situation to be analysed. For example, you could choose to look at behaviour in the classroom, on a bus, in a restaurant, and so on. Now, on your own, write down all the norms of...
by John Amy | Mar 19, 2014 | Functionalist Theories
Read the section about Merton’s distinction between ‘manifest’ and ‘latent’ functions on page 223. Which of the following situations or actions are examples of manifest functions and which are latent functions? Church-going gives people an opportunity to worship God....
by John Amy | Mar 19, 2014 | Functionalist Theories
For this exercise you should copy out and complete each of the following statements of strengths and weaknesses. You will find a list of words at the end that you should use to fill in the gaps shown. Strengths This approach shows how a part of society can work at two...