Weber & social action
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symbolic interactionalism
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Social Action is a micro perspective. It is concerned with the interactions between people and more importantly the meanings attached to these interactions.
For a Social Action theorist it is these interactions that shape society and the only to understand society is to understand these interactions. Max Weber put it like this "Sociology is a science concerning itself with the interpretive understanding of social action and thereby with a causal explanation of it's course and consequences" Weber gave us the term Vertehen the idea that to understand something we must "put ourselves in the shoes of the person whose behaviour we are explaining". A very different view from his predominantly macro deterministic contemporaries.
Aktuelles versthene = direct observational understanding e.g. seeing someone is angry from their facial expression. Erklarendes vertshen = explanatory understanding e.g. knowing WHY the person is angry |
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George Mead, through SI, gave us the idea that culture is the result of social interpretation. More specifically the exchange of meanings and interpretations.
Our 'understanding' is developed through the building of our 'self'. This self is developed in two stages: PLAY: (5-6yrs) children take on different roles, pretend to be someone else - a significant other GAME: Not just an individual's viewpoint but also their group. Children learn how best to present themselves in that group. This development of self leads to the ability to Role Play - the idea that "in order for interaction to proceed each person involved must interpret the meanings and intentions of others" Herbert Blumer (1962) discussed the 3 premises of SI
1. Human being act on the basis of meanings that they to objects and events, rather than simply reacting to external stimuli such as social forces, or internal stimuli such as organic drives. Symbolic Interactionalism rejects societal and biological determinism 2. Meanings arise from the process of interaction, rather than simply being present at the outset and shaping future action. To some degree, meanings are created, modified, developed and changes with interaction situations rather than being fixed and pre-formed. In the process of interaction actors do not slavishly follow pre-set norms or mechanically act out established roles. 3. Meanings are the result of interpretive procedures employed by actors with interaction contexts. By taking the role of the other, actors interpret the meanings and intentions of others. By means of "mechanism and self-interaction", individuals modify or change their definition of the situation, rehearse alternative courses of action and consider their possible consequences. Thus the meanings that guide action arise in the context of interaction via a series of complex interpretive procedures. |
Labelling
Meaning
understanding
small scale
interactions
Sociology of personal life
In paper two you will need to explore "personal
life". This includes the significance of individual choice in
personal relationships and the significance of relationships beyond the
traditional family structures. The meanings individual social actors attach to thier own interactions, their family identity or their relationships is of paramount importance to understanding thier social reality.