Three Major Theoretical Perspectives

The major theoretical perspectives; functionalist, conflict, and interactionist perspectives are the three most popular viewpoints used among sociologists. Functionalists regard that the many different sectors of a community makes a society progressive because each part plays some type of role that contributes to the society as a whole. But what happens if one group or part does not aid a society and has very little worth? German sociologist, Niklas Luhmann, claims that eventually it will disappear from society because that part will not be passed down to the next upcoming generation. Many colleges for example, have a diverse group of people which makes up the school’s society. There is the school’s administration, sports teams, theatre clubs, scholarship student groups, etc. Some students play no major role at a
The conflict perspective views society as a constant struggle between the groups of society like social classes (lower vs. upper class) over things such as politics, money, or other resources. Around the 1900s, the functionalist perspective was the most favored idea among sociologists. As time goes by and more social injustices prevail throughout society, the conflict perspective is becoming more attractive and prominent. In colleges, especially larger universities, there are always groups of students protesting the raise of tuition, supporting political parties, and organizing other demonstrations. A familiar and common conflict among the student body is the “Greek Life” (sororities and fraternities) versus students who are not part of that lifestyle. Students who take part of the “Greek Life” dispute that their sororities or fraternities offer life-long friendships, emotional support, or opportunities. But the rest of the student body, argues that “Greek Life” is a major source of bullying, hazing, and have an unfair upper-hand in the college’s