SOCI 1F90 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Critical Race Theory, Positive Political Theory, Social Order
6 Oct 2016
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What does it do: explanation of a social phenomenon. Theories go beyond the what (description) but also explains the how and why. Conflict theories, socialization theories, functionalism as a social theory. Darwin"s evolutionary theory, about how and why animals changed over time to best fit their environment. Description (what) plus explanation (how, why: common sense: everyday theorizing. Making sense of experiences around you (ie. why people are in a bad mood: formal theory: systematic, coherent explanation based on rigorous social aberration (research) Common sense vs formal theory: every social phenomenon needs explaining, nothing is self-evident. Ask questions like why is the 2011 census . economic report shows that canadian women with the same level of experience and job make less than men do. Needs to be explained, also not self evident: systematic searching for actual causes of phenomenon, huge body of sociological theory, dating from the 19th century. Different schools of thought (eg. marxism, feminism, functionalism, critical race theory)
