Functionalism & Durkheim
I. A key
premise: a society’s survival is the product of the more or less smooth
coordination of part-to-part and part-to-whole
A . so, by
extension, everything in society CAN be understood as existing in order to serve
some essential purpose contributing to that society’s ultimate survival
B.
Started with Emile Durkheim
1.
Even
negative phenomena such as crime and deviance are functional for society
C.
How can deviance serve a positive function?
D.
Durkheim: deviance is universal: hence, functional:
serves three main functions
1. Clarifies moral boundaries
and affirms norms
a.
violation invokes collective response
2. Promotes social unity
a. by way of punishment: rituals
eliciting shared moral identity
3. Promotes social change
a. dissent about offenses may lead
to a change in norms
b. important innovators are always
marginalized at the start
