"The framework that sees society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability."
Analyzes the underlying structural factors, such as economic, political, and cultural conditions, which contribute to the emergence and growth of social movements.
Historical context: Understanding the political, economic, and social context of the time period during which the social movement emerged.
Structural inequalities: Recognizing the structural inequalities in society that the movement seeks to address, such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation.
Collective identity: Examining the shared beliefs, values, and goals that unite members of the movement.
Mobilizing structures: Analyzing the mechanisms and organizations that enable the movement to mobilize resources and coordinate action.
Resource mobilization: Understanding how movements acquire and use resources such as financial, human, and material resources to sustain their activities over time.
Political opportunity structures: Understanding how the legal, institutional, and cultural environment affects the ability of the movement to achieve its goals.
Frames and framing processes: Exploring how social movements shape public opinion and influence policy by developing persuasive narratives or "frames" that influence how people think about issues.
Repression and resistance: Examining the ways in which state and non-state actors attempt to suppress social movements and how movements respond to resistance.
Transnational movements: Exploring the global networks and connections that shape social movements, and how these movements evolve and interact across national borders.
Media and communication: Understanding the role of media and communication in shaping public opinion and in mobilizing resources and support for social movements.
Resource mobilization: The availability of resources such as money, time, and manpower greatly affects the success of social movements.
Political Opportunities: The political climate and opportunities provided by the government can influence the success of a social movement.
Repressive and Co-optive State Actions: Government repression or co-optation can either inflame or smother a social movement.
Ideological and Value Conflicts: Different ideological values and conflicting opinions can create divisive issues and jumpstart social movements.
Structural Strain: Social, economic, or political changes that cause tensions in society could ignite a social movement.
Cultural Factors: Societal norms, beliefs, and attitudes can either encourage or inhibit social movement formation.
Social Networks and Communication: Social movements benefit from the dissemination of information with the help of social networks and communication platforms.
Globalization: International forces such as global economies, environmental issues, and social media could contribute to the formation and spread of social movements.
Media and Public Opinion: The influence of media and public opinion can either empower or stifle social movements.
Leadership and Charisma: The leadership and charisma of key individuals can instigate or bolster social movements.
"It looks at society through a macro-level orientation, which is a broad focus on the social structures that shape society as a whole."
"It believes that society has evolved like organisms."
"It looks at both social structure and social functions."
"Functionalism addresses society as a whole in terms of the function of its constituent elements; namely norms, customs, traditions, and institutions."
"A common analogy presents these parts of society as 'organs' that work toward the proper functioning of the 'body' as a whole."
"Herbert Spencer popularized this analogy."
"It implies that society functions as a stable, cohesive system and each feature, custom, or practice has an effect on its functioning."
"For Talcott Parsons, 'structural-functionalism' came to describe a particular stage in the methodological development of social science, rather than a specific school of thought."
"It provides a framework for building theory and understanding how society functions."
"It emphasizes 'the effort to impute, as rigorously as possible, to each feature, custom, or practice, its effect on the functioning of a supposedly stable, cohesive system'."
"It views them as working together to promote solidarity and stability."
"Social structures shape society as a whole according to the macro-level orientation of structural functionalism."
"Norms, customs, traditions, and institutions are considered constituent elements of society in structural functionalism."
"A macro-level orientation which looks at the social structures that shape society as a whole."
"It sees society as having evolved like organisms."
"It addresses society as a whole by analyzing the function of its constituent elements."
"It sees them as working together to promote solidarity and stability."
"It presents society as a body with different 'organs' that contribute to its overall functioning."
"It analyzes both the social structure and social functions of society."