Anti-intellectualism is a social problem, not just a social issue, because it has a direct and immediate bearing on the lives of individuals and because it has a long-term deleterious effect on social, economic, and political progress. Without information, the people have no power. If the tools of critical thought are not taught to children, an entire generation lacks access to power. In fact, critical inquiry, science, and intellectual debate are necessary to prevent tyranny and oppression. Especially in the current social and political climate in America, anti-intellectualism can become disastrous. Without fail, Trump's cabinet appointments and executive orders have reflected the trend towards anti-intellectualism: appointments of people who deny science and who disavow the power of public education. The anti-immigrant sentiment is not at all based on fact, for fact would show how integral immigrants are to American social, political, and economic life. Rather, the anti-immigrant sentiment is based on anti-intellectualism: on replacing fact with fear. For this assignment, I want to explore anti-intellectualism by showing how three sociological theories: conflict theory, functionalism, and symbolic interactionism, explain the social problem.
Conflict theory is rooted in
Although conflict theory traditionally focuses on class conflict, the sociological theory can be applied to any social issue in which there is a conflict between those who possess power, status, or resources, and those who desire more power, status, or resources. Anti-intellectualism is occasionally, but not always, an attempt by subordinate or low status persons to regain power by showing disdain for the power of knowledge, science, and critical thinking. Viewed in light of conflict theory, it may be possible to show how anti-intellectualism is an offensive defense in response to some groups' lack of access to the cultural capital needed to succeed in a competitive information-driven economy. However, not all anti-intellectualism is a backlash against elitism in academia and it would be oversimplifying the issue to focus only on this application of conflict theory. Conflict theory can, for example, also show how anti-intellectualism is a trend used to keep low-status groups from attaining power. Anti-intellectualism is a worldview that systematically discredits knowledge, critical thought, and information. People who come to believe that knowledge, critical thought, and information are tools of an imaginary elite can be easily swayed and influenced by nefarious groups like those who propelled Trump to power. According to conflict theory, information and critical thought should be viewed as a type of capital.
Unlike conflict theory, consensus perspective shows how people actively seek a preservation of the status quo. Consensus perspective is related to functionalism, because both show how…
Conflict Theory & Social Control Theory: A Comparison Both conflict theory and social control theory have their similarities and differences. It is important to discuss and address those issues because both theories have been used as a way to talk about the occurrence of crime in contemporary American society. To that end, the effects of positive and negative reinforcement on crime must be considered in both theoretical frameworks. Examples of the
This is where social distance comes in; the survey referenced by Parrillo (3-4) shows that non-ethnic Caucasian college student do not sense a social distance from each other, but when it comes to other Europeans, to African-Americans, Latinos -- and especially Muslims -- there is a gap in acceptance that falls into the category as social distance (4). While colleges are supposed to be a microcosm of the greater society,
One party may take power away from the other. One party may lose power. This interaction or exchange leads either to equilibrium between the wielders of power, or to disequilibrium and imbalance. One can take Coleman to be saying that power is an element of exchange (or retraction) within the field of conflict. It is like the goal struggled for between two opponents on a sports pitch. It includes
Conflict Theory The sociological theory known as Conflict Theory is characterized as one of deviance. In simple terms, it is the idea that "Life is characterized by conflict rather than consensus" (Hamlin, 2004). It is, perhaps some would argue, the state of the world today, both globally, and locally -- at least in the collective imagination of the "oppressed" masses. In truth, there is much in support of the idea that the
Inequality of Socioeconomics with Regards to Access to Health Care This topic was selected because I am pursuing a degree in health care administration/nursing and I want to show how inequality of access to health care is determined by one’s socioeconomic status. In other words, the research shows that if one has a low socioeconomic status, access to quality care will be less likely than if one has a higher socioeconomic
Sociology Functionalism, conflict theory, and interactionism all pertain to the institution of the family. These are three interrelated approaches that can and should be used together to provide a more accurate view of the family from a sociological viewpoint. Functionalism is a systems perspective, one that views social institutions like the family as being interconnected with other elements of the system like social norms, social class status, and gender identity. Using
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