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Sociological analysis of the family

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sugarplum On April 09, 2011




West Chester, Pennsylvania
#1New Post! Apr 09, 2011 @ 23:52:18
Hi, I'm writing a paper for my sociology class, and I need some help. The assignment requires that we show two photos of our family and give a sociological analysis of them...and we need to use a theory to apply to our paper. I have chosen structural functionalism to explain my family/photos, but i don't really know where to begin and how to incorporate "the story the picture tells" into this analysis. Any advice? I guess the main idea i want to get across is that people take photos that depict an ideal type of family/friends, and that the family is the most important social institution (or function) to the overall structure of society contributing to the overall function of society. So these idealized photos are examples of how the family serves as some sort of motivation to maintain social order???
x_KimKim_x On April 12, 2011

Deleted
Banned



, United Kingdom
#2New Post! Apr 09, 2011 @ 23:56:19
Many families are a mixture of alcoholics, selfish bastards, boring people, fascists, communists and closet child rapists - they can't show that in pics.

The ideal family is a very 19th century thing, based on religious morality and ironically (but not surprisingly) supported by relevant orthodox Darwinian Psychology. It is total artificial nonsense. There is no reason for you to get on with members of your family than there is for you to get on with any other 'friends'. Family is just like having your friends chosen for you, so is potentially worse.
Electric_Banana On February 05, 2024




, New Zealand
#3New Post! Apr 10, 2011 @ 00:32:21
Your environment influences what you become later in life.

Your family is the environment you are exposed to the most and the base catalyst for your future personality.

But a picture of them isn't going to tell anything unless there is something obviously peculiar to the point of being comically obnoxious.

I used to get lots of assignments like this where the teacher had writer's cramp and couldn't come up with a better practice other than something really dry and didn't make any sense.
Electric_Banana On February 05, 2024




, New Zealand
#4New Post! Apr 10, 2011 @ 00:36:53
Actually, this whole exercise sounds like it was conceived during Pot Logic.
vekta On November 18, 2013




,
#5New Post! Apr 10, 2011 @ 01:22:48
This exercise and others like it are used to help develop your understand and application of any given concept or an accumulative bunch of concepts.

In order to apply your theory you may need to use some symbolism to apply the theory to the photos you choose.That is purely for the "story telling" aspect of your assignment to help smoothly integrate the theory into your analyses. An outline will help here or at least a broken down synopsis of the theory in question.

This article from the University of Missouri may help. It breaks it down into smaller sections.
Structural Functionalism
alk1975 On August 11, 2016




Jackson, Missouri
#6New Post! Apr 10, 2011 @ 01:47:58
Well, formal photos won't show much of value as they are typically arranged and posed by the photographer and don't reflect much of the values of the family, but vacation photos, birthday party photos, and other candids do show noticeable things. Who sits by whom? How close are individuals, do they appear to be interacting at all, or just came together to pose. Do they touch each other? Are they comfortable with the touching? Who is included in the family, just the household members? Extended family? People who aren't even related by blood? What kinds of activities are the family engaged in? Family focused birthday party or commercial mostly non-family party? Educational vacation? Camping? Beach? All of these things can tell you something about how the family interacts with each other and what they value.
Electric_Banana On February 05, 2024




, New Zealand
#7New Post! Apr 10, 2011 @ 02:08:54
@vekta Said

This exercise and others like it are used to help develop your understand and application of any given concept or an accumulative bunch of concepts.

In order to apply your theory you may need to use some symbolism to apply the theory to the photos you choose.That is purely for the "story telling" aspect of your assignment to help smoothly integrate the theory into your analyses. An outline will help here or at least a broken down synopsis of the theory in question.

This article from the University of Missouri may help. It breaks it down into smaller sections.
Structural Functionalism



"Structural functionalism concentrates on the positive and negative functions of social structures. Societal functionalism is a particular type of structural functionalism that aims to explain the role of social structures and institutions in society, the relationship between these structures, and the manner in which these structures constrain the actions of individuals. According to structural functionalists, individuals have little to no control over the ways in which particular structures operate. Indeed, structural functionalists understand individuals in terms of social positions. For example, when the structural functionalists Kingsley Davis and Wilbur Moore discuss social stratification, they do not refer to individuals, but to the positions these individuals occupy. It is not individuals who are ranked, but positions that are ranked according to the degree to which they contribute to the survival of society. High-ranking positions offer high rewards that make them worth an individual’s time and effort to occupy. The structural functionalist account of stratification has been criticized on the grounds that there must be other ways to motivate individuals to occupy particular positions and perform certain tasks without such a disparate system of rewards."

I can't wait until the generation rolls around where everyone graduates as doctors and there is absolutely no one left to work in the factories.
Electric_Banana On February 05, 2024




, New Zealand
#8New Post! Apr 10, 2011 @ 02:14:51
Also, that whole thing is very wordy but the whole thing looks to be over-articulating the obvious to lure the student into responding to a theory that has already explained itself.

"Here's a picture of dad. Dad is missing fingers on his right hand. Dad lost his fingers in a factory accident. We are wearing cheap clothes because dad's factory job can't afford better.

Here's a picture of dad's friend, because he works in factory, he was never introduced to quality people so dad's friend introduced him to crack.

Here's a picture of dad smoking crack."
vekta On November 18, 2013




,
#9New Post! Apr 10, 2011 @ 02:52:07
@Electric_Banana Said

Also, that whole thing is very wordy but the whole thing looks to be
"Here's a picture of dad. Dad is missing fingers on his right hand. Dad lost his fingers in a factory accident. We are wearing cheap clothes because dad's factory job can't afford better.

Here's a picture of dad's friend, because he works in factory, he was never introduced to quality people so dad's friend introduced him to crack.

Here's a picture of dad smoking crack."


There is way more to what OP's assignment is asking to do than this.The quoted section above can be apart of what the OP writes in the paper but that's a tiny part of a much bigger picture. (pun not intended) If the OP does write something like that it has to be explained applying the theory and how such-and-such came to be from a sociological perspective. It's not that simple but doesn't have to be outrageously hard either.

It may seem pointless and overly complicated but it's just an exercise to stimulate point of view and to cultivate understand of a theory and it's application.
Electric_Banana On February 05, 2024




, New Zealand
#10New Post! Apr 10, 2011 @ 04:26:00
I think it's all continued on from hundreds of years ago where poor family traits and psychological conditioning was passed on and on to the generations we see today.

But it wasn't those ancestors faults, even more back then, than it is now, a small portion of those past societies horded wealth and left the rest in an s***ty and poverty stricken environment.

Either way you have troubled parents, not only to inherit their problem genes from, but also tripping you up by their lack of managing themselves around you properly.

This results in lack of attention at school which results in the student not being able to afford a proper college education where in they can acquire a quality skill that will pay enough to finally place their bloodline in better standing.

Also for some kids, they may be able to escape the snowballing affect by tuning into their intellect early in life but I think those kids would've had to have prior experience and training on how to do so.

But that starts to fall into reincarnation and metaphysics and a big fat F in social science.
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