A Functionalist Perspective On Prison Sociology Essay

A Functionalist Perspective On Prison Sociology Essay Choose a social institution (i.e. family, education, religion, prison, economy, mass media) and explain it using the three major sociological perspectives: Functionalist Perspective Conflict Perspective Interactionist Perspective Sociological Perspectives 3 Abstract The social institution that I chose is prison; I chose the prison system because I wanted to see how prisoners are seen by society and why according to these three major perspectives. Functionalist Perspective – Functionalists such as Charles Darwin and Emile Durkheim view society as a system of highly interrelated structures or parts that operate harmoniously. (Tischler, pg. 21) The functionalist, interactionists they more so are subjective to the aspects of social life, instead of the objective structural aspects of social systems. The interactionists, is shifted away from stable norms and values, and toward continually readjusting the social process. Conflict theorists, on the other hand, such as Karl Marx and David Hume, view society as constantly changing in response to social inequality and social conflict. (Tischler, pg. 21) Sociological Perspectives 4 Crime-Functionalist Theory Functionalists believe that crime and deviance are inevitable and necessary for a society. Crime shows other member of the society what is right and wrong. Social consensus decides how right and wrong is determined. Crime can lead to social change, say the functionalists, because the existence of crime proves to the people in society that the government does not overly control the citizens. Crime can also help the economy of a society by creating jobs for law enforcement officers, psychiatrists, probation officers and the like. Even in the functionalist society, too much crime can be bad for the group, causing it to lose the standard harmony and eventually causing the society to collapse. (www.criminology.fsu.edu) Crime-Conflict Theory How conflict theorists see crime, and the laws governing them, are products of a struggle for power and control. According to the conflict theorist, a select few powerful individuals and groups make the laws, and those laws are enforced to outlaw any behavior that threatens their interests. The poor and powerless are much more likely to be arrested and convicted for serious crimes such as rape and murder, than the more powerful and wealthy. The crime rate among the poor is very high because of a lack of opportunities that were meant to improve the economical status and living conditions. The poor also lack education, skills, and a strong support system that is necessary for individuals to become productive, valued members of society (www.unc.edu).) Sociological Perspectives 5 Symbolic Interactionist Theory Sociology has another theory that could also explain race relations according to dominant and subordinate groups like whites and blacks in America is the Symbolic Interactionist theory. This theory focuses on how we â€Å"learn conceptions and meanings of racial and ethnic distinctions through interactions with others and how meanings, labels, and definitions affect racial and ethnic groups† (Mooney 176). One example the author uses is simply the difference in terms that use the word white and black and the difference in the connotations of these terms. For example, typically words that contain the word black are negative, such as blacklist, blackball, and black sheep. Studies clearly still demonstrate that whites are seen as more intelligent, harder working and more self-supporting than blacks. This labeling helps lead to the very thoughts we have about minorities, which in turn helps perpetuate their subordinate place in society.