topic based on each question

We will review the three major sociological paradigms, keeping in mind that there are differences in perspective, but each share the following common themes:What is the nature of the individual – how does the individual act in the context of society?What is the basis for social order – what holds society together?What are the circumstances or conditions under which societies change?From the standpoint of Structural functionalism, Social Conflict, and Symbolic Interactionism the following are the assumptions about self and society, and the key focus and questions: Page 19 of your text.Structural Functionalism:  Society is a system of interdependent, interrelated parts, like an organism, with groups and institutions contributing to the stability and the equilibrium of the whole social system. The key focus and questions; Macrosociology: What keeps society operating smoothly? What functions do different societal institutions and phenomena serve for society as a whole?Social Conflict: Society consists of conflicting interest, but only some groups have the power and resources to realize their interests. Some groups benefit from the social order at the expense of others. The key focus and questions; Macrosociology: What are the sources of conflict in society? Who benefits and who loses from the existing social order? How can inequalities be overcome?Symbolic Interactionism: The self is a social creation; social interaction occurs by means of symbols such as words, gestures, and adornments; shared meanings are important to successful social interaction. The key focus and questions; Microsociology: How do individuals experience themselves, one another, and society as a whole? How do they interpret the meanings of particular social interactions?Question One:  2 typed pagesBriefly describe the major components of each sociological theory and apply to a specific social issue. For example, how would each theoretical perspective analyze one of the following; class inequality, widespread immigration, gender norms, or an example of your choice? Chapter three of your text:Culture and Mass Media; Culture consists of values, norms and beliefs, and it is to be understood as containing both material and nonmaterial components. Material culture is tangible, and it represents the products of human creation. Nonmaterial culture is ideational and therefore based on the ideas that people institutionalize in the form of political and economic systems, religious beliefs, and any aspect of culture that stems from thought put into action. Language is central to culture and is a particular kind of symbolic system. Symbols are cultural representations of social realities. Understanding and action emerge from language. In the field of sociology we study culture as both tangible form and idea.  We include here the following:  culture, class and language, class and inequality with specific reference to the concept of cultural capital, and language and social integration. This last point is associated most clearly with immigration, and social integration as in the idea of America as a melting pot, salad bowl, or an assortment of subcultures independent of a dominant culture narrative. Question two: 2 typed pagesHow does culture shape our collective identity? Make sure to include a discussion of the dominant culture – what is it?  Also discuss the subcultures that have shaped your identity.Chapter four of your text:Symbolic Interactionism derives from the work of George Herbert Mead and his colleagues at the University of Chicago during the 1920’s and 30’s.  The key idea for those who work in this analytical framework is how human beings interpret and give meaning to objects, activities and people in ways that other species do not. We are both subject and object, and have the capacity to see ourselves from the standpoint of others. We are born as a blank slate and it is through experiences with other people that we develop a social self. Review Mead’s stages of development, and Cooley’s concept of the looking glass self to understand the central ideas of this theoretical perspective. Question three: 2 typed pages.  Assumption and QuestionAssumption:  We are born as a blank slate with the capacity to become a social self. The social self emerges through social experiences that begin at birth.Question: Can technology (screens with images and musical sounds) introduced during infancy, negatively influence the emerging self of the newborn/young child. For your consideration, think about whether or not technology can become a distraction for the child, and if so, does it interfere with the stages of development postulated by Mead, and other contemporary Symbolic Interactionists?