Sociology

Write a short essay of 5 pages based on learnings from the course. Essay is used to assess students’ communication skills. So I will upload the scedule for the course so you can have a general ideas about the course and I will upload you a sample. and I need the essay with ASA format and I will upload a file about that. Family Life Family is a social institution that is the foundation of society. Family life is important for our society because it is the beginning of our social life. Our families teach us values, morals, and social norms. Family is an important aspect of our society, but not every family is functionally healthy. Structural-functional theory and social-conflict theory both observe the concept of family life and how it is beneficial and harmful to our society. Structural-functional theory and social-conflict theory analyze family using two opposing perspectives. Although both theories make important arguments over why or why not family is important for our society, each theory has its flaws. Structural-functional theory considers family the “backbone of society”. This theory believes that family is a vital part of our society because of the tasks that they perform. One of the main reasons structural-functional theory emphasizes the importance of the foundation of family is socialization. Socialization refers to the lifelong process of learning and developing from infancy to old age. Family is an important contributor to socialization for a child because it is the beginning of the socialization process. Socialization lasts an entire lifetime and shapes who we are as a member of our society. It is what shapes our personalities, social lives, morals, and values. Structural-functional theory argues that family is an important aspect of socialization because family prepares children for their real world experience. Parents help develop a child’s values throughout their early development and teach them what is wrong and right. Not only children learn new ideas from their own parents, adults can also learn important life lessons from their children as well. For example, a child might teach the parent the importance of family togetherness and how to love someone more than they love themselves. Brother and sisterly love can also play an important role in the development of a child’s personality. Sibling relationships are often the first friendships we develop as young children. They are the beginning of our social relationships and allow us to create a bond with another person. A family relationship is also a lifetime bond that shapes who we are and what we do for the rest of our lives. Family life plays a significant role throughout our entire lifespan. They influence how we act, what we do, and who we become in life. Structural-functional theory also emphasizes the importance of family in regards to social placement. In our society it is important for there to be social order. That means that there needs to be organization amongst social groups. Parents pass on their personality and physical traits to their children and those children pass on their traits to their children. This allows us to divide individuals into ethnic, cultural, religious, and social groups. It is also human nature for an individual to marry someone who is similar to them. According to the structural-functional theory, family plays a vital role in regulating sexual activity. It is important for our society to have some form of sexual structure in order to maintain kinship and property rights. Being sexually involved with close and extended family members is seen as a taboo in our society because it confuses family order. Marrying within our own families can lead to genetic mutations and social isolation. It is also important for individuals to marry outside their families so we become closer to other members of our society. Reproduction between non family members allows for our society to feel more unified. Lastly, structural-functional theory accentuates the important of material and emotional security that family creates. Family is very important for emotional, mental, and physical support. Growing up, family protects us from the evils of the outside world. For example, if an individual were to go through a nasty divorce, the family structure is usually the first place they might turn to for help. A family can help financially until the divorce is settled and provide a temporary home until they are able to find their own place. A family can also provide emotional support and the comfort of knowing that somebody loves them. Family provides us with the comfort of a safe environment that helps us during times of disparity and depression. Life is full of hard times and obstacles. Families support us when we are in need of help. They help us remain happy, healthy, and successful individuals. Although structural-functional theory provides an abundance of positive reasons why family is important for our society, there are some flaws that it refuses to identify. Structural-functional theory forgets to realize that government and other institutions can also meet some of the same social needs that family can offer. Another important flaw of structural-functional theory is that they fail to realize how diverse U.S families are and how the family unit is constantly changing. Finally, structural-functional theory ignores the negative aspects of family life that many individuals in our society have experienced. Examples would include family violence, patriarchy, incest, divorce, and emotional abuse. There are many dysfunctional families in our society that cannot provide the support that an individual needs. In fact, some families may not have any positive influence over a person’s socialization because of its dysfunctional structure. Social placement may also have a negative impact on our society because it contributes to stereotypes, bias, and racism. Like the structural-function theory, the social-conflict theory considers family to be a central component to our way of life. However, social-conflict theory focuses on how family structure contributes to social inequality in our society. Social-conflict theory argues that family life negatively impacts the way of society functions. Essentially, the concept of family life is responsible for racial, financial, and gender inequality that is abundant in our world. One major factor of family life that contributes to social inequality is passing down property and inheritance from one generation to another. When a family passes down their wealth to their children, they are giving the child an advantage over other members of the society who were not born into that privilege. Children who are born into poverty are not given the same opportunities in the world as the rich children are. That means that the children who are born into poverty have a much lower chance of becoming successful in their lives because they will not receive the same education, job skills, and financial security that a rich child will receive. Children born into rich lifestyles are given far more opportunities because of the social and financial positions of their parents. This creates a continuous cycle of inequality amongst members of society. Social-conflict theory analyzes how family life promotes the idea of patriarchy. Patriarchy is a form of social organization in which the father is the head of the household. Feminists argue that the idea of patriarchy in a family unit contributes to gender inequality and promotes sexual discrimination. Throughout history, the family unit has always been organized in a patriarchal system. This means that for years women have been oppressed and viewed as the inferior gender. Fathers were always considered to be the leaders of the household and the sons would be their heirs. Women were often viewed as property that men could give away and own. For example, men always keep the family name, while women are given the last name of their husband to be. A century ago, women were considered the primary care givers for the children and responsible for all the household chores. Women are expected to comply with certain gender roles that have been created through the patriarchal system. Today women still bear a majority of the responsibilities of the household chores and childcare. This kind of discrimination can bring women down and contribute to sexual stereotypes that still exist today. Social-conflict theory argues that family life promotes patriarchy which is socially damaging for women’s rights. Finally, social-conflict theory argues that family life supports racial and ethnic inequality which can be damaging to our society. Since structural-functional theorists argue that family life promotes the idea of social placement, this can lead to individuals marrying only those who are similar to them. This can cause racial and ethnic categories to persist over many generations which will lead to segregated families. This will then prevent families from experiencing other ethnicities, races, religions, and social classes. Endogamous marriages will promote inequality amongst our society because individuals will only be comfortable with what they know and have grown up with. Individuals will not be able to experience the different varieties of people that live in our nation. The negative aspect of social-conflict analysis of family life is that they focus too much on how family structure can lead to social inequality and are not considering the benefits that family life can have on social stratification. Social-conflict theory fails to understand how beneficial the family unit is to the healthy function of our society. It focuses on the negative aspects of family life and fails to acknowledge that families can provide emotional and financial support to family members. Government and social institutions cannot provide the same amount of social support that a family can. Family is a huge factor in social stratification throughout an individual’s entire lifespan. The structural-functional theory and social-conflict theory both present solid arguments that support and oppose the idea of family life. Structural-functional theory and social-conflict theory support opposing sides of the important of family life, but agree that family is central to our way of life. Social-conflict theory focuses on the way family life negatively affects our society and contributes to social inequality. Structural-functional theory focuses on the positive effects that family has on the way our society functions. Although both sides have flaws to their analysis of family life, they both provide powerful arguments that support their perspectives.