Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 12

Sociology - Essay Example ution, or a new release of iProduct, sociology looks at things through sociological imagination or sociological consciousness in an attempt to decode how these events or social forces influence the society. Berger offers sociological consciousness as one of the best descriptions of sociological imagination (author, p. 4). He explains that the sociological consciousness engages us in the meanings and patterns to make sense of what is really going on in our society. Sociology has three broad perspectives: functionalist, conflict and symbolic interaction. Each of these perspectives looks at different aspects when it comes to understanding the society. Each of them focuses on certain social dynamics. While the functionalist and conflict perspective view things in a broader angle, the symbolic interaction view things in a more intimate level. The functionalist perspective views society as a system of interrelated and interdependent parts (author, p.30). It likens the society to our body, wherein one part is interrelated and interdependent with another part. One part of the body cannot be separated from another, or else the entire body will cease functioning properly. The society is made of such that allow it to function properly. Examples of these are its members, the school, culture, the government, and other institutions. Although the conflict perspective does not reject the functionalist perspective that the society is a system of interrelated parts, it focuses more on the separation of these parts, or organizations that make up the society. The symbolic interaction perspective, on the other hand, aims to understand the interrelationships of these parts, and how each one is be ing interpreted differently by each system, or organization. With these focuses alone, we can see that the three perspectives are focused on the different aspects of the society, therefore interpreting each social issue or event in a unique ways. Based on how the three perspectives view the