Explanation of Social Movements Using Sociological Theories
Explanation of Social Movements Using Sociological Theories
Riots
A riot is a type of collective action that refers to a relative and spontaneous emergence of violence by a considerably large group of people. There are various types of riots, which can be identified according to the goals and motivation of those taking part in the riots. Popular typologies distinguish between celebration riots and protest riots. The celebration riots are those that express delight or joy over an outcome or an event, such as celebrating the championship of a football team, which becomes uncontrollable (Deulen, 2011). On the other hand, protest riots are those that express discontent concerning an economic, cultural, social or political issue. As such, whereas celebration riots are apolitical decidedly in nature, protest riots are political fundamentally.
Another typology defines four types of riots including, issueless, reveals, symbolic and purposive. Purposive riots originate from dissatisfactions concerning certain issues and are intended to attain specific objectives about those issues. Examples of purposive riots are the colonial riots during the colonial period around the world. Symbolic riots are those that show general discontent, but do not aim to attain a given objective (Deulen, 2011). Most of the riots by the whites in the early 20th century are examples of symbolic riots.
Revelous riots are similar to the celebration riots while issueless riots are those that have no apparent purpose or basis. For instance, general violence and looting that occasionally occurs during citywide electricity outage are examples of issueless riots. Understanding the type of people who participate in riots is very important. When there is an occurrence of riots in the society, many people have a conception that the rioters are violent individuals from the society who represent the societal dregs (Deulen, 2011). However, riots do not only represent the societal dregs, as is the conception but also represent the protests against fundamental issues in the society such as poverty and insecurity.
Patterns of Social Behavior
The patterns of social behavior encompass various units of human behavior in the society. These units of behavior have significant influences on the behavior of individuals in the society. These units of behavior include tropisms, instincts, reflexes and random movements. There is an original integration of the complex patterns of social behavior and the units of acquired behavior in the society (Macionis, 2004). Tropisms refer to the movement or orientation of the body with respect to certain occurrences in the external environment.
In the case of riots, individuals react to the outburst of violence or disruptions by shouting or running ways for safety. Impulses and random movement are also other patterns of social behavior. This pattern is not purposive, functional or adaptive but influences the development of habits. For instance, individuals develop habits in the course of a riot. As such, one finds that in many occasions, individuals develop recurrent attitudes and behavior in case of a riot through activities like looting.
Stratification of the Society
The society is stratified in various ways. The society is stratified in such a way that it ranks different categories of individuals in a distinct hierarchy in terms f social status, wealth, powers, and race. The society is stratified through three ways. These ways include symbolic interaction, social conflict, and structural functionalism (Macionis, 2004).
Symbolic interaction or symbolic interactionism analyzes the society by evaluating the subjective meanings that individuals impose on behaviors, events and objects in the society. These subjective meanings have primacy because the general conception is that individuals portray various behavior bases on their beliefs and not on the objective truth (Macionis, 2004). As such, human interaction constructs the society socially. People interpret various occurrences in the society in their ways. As such, there is development of differing opinions concerning the occurrences in the society. This variance in opinions and interpretation leads to the formation of stratified societies.
Symbolic interaction defines the fundamental aspects of social identities and experiences such as gender and race. Both gender and race are social constructs in the society that function basing on what is believed to be true concerning individuals in the society. As such, the society uses the socially constructed ideas and meanings of gender and race to choose who to interact with and how to do so.
Second, the society is stratified through structural functionalism. This theory suggests that the society has different individuals with jobs on various levels. As such, the society should highly motivate and compensate the individuals with the most difficult jobs in the society. For instance, anyone can perform tasks such as cleaning the toilet and mowing grass. On the other hand, not everyone in the society can be a doctor (Macionis, 2004). Therefore, because of structural functionalism, there is a rift between these two types of individuals with such jobs, hence stratifying the society.
Third, the society is stratified through social conflict. That is; the society has the bourgeoisie and the proletariat who have an elaborate conflict by virtue of their position. The division of the society between the two groups, the owner, and the worker, through social conflict stratifies the society.
Perpetuation of Inequality in the Society
Inequality is perpetuated in the society through various forms. First, social stratification plays an important role in perpetuating inequality especially gender and racial inequality because of the formation of distinct hierarchies. Formation of stereotypes also perpetuates inequality in the society. The formation of public stereotypes in societal policies institutionalizes bias and establishes the inequality in the society. Cultural values, norms and beliefs of individuals in the society also perpetuate inequality in the society. The values, norms, and beliefs influence the perspective of certain individuals in the society towards others. Thus, there is development of contemptuous attitudes towards various groups of individuals in the society leading to inequality.
Process of Social Change and its Impact on the Individual and Society
The concept of social change refers to the transformations that take place in human interrelations and interactions. The society acts as a web of numerous social relationships. Therefore, social change refers to changes in the social relationship systems in the society. These social systems include social organizations, interactions, and processes. The process of social change encompasses three distinct steps of discovery, invention, and diffusion. There are minor steps under this process including connection, communication, cooperation and creation (Weinstein & Weinstein, 2010).
The process of social change has significant impacts on an individual and the society. On an individual, the process of social change enlightens the individual and changes the perception of the individual concerning various factors in the society (Weinstein & Weinstein, 2010). To the society, the process of social change fosters interrelationship and interaction, which in turn enhances societal development because individuals have developed new concepts, perceptions and mindsets concerning the society.
References
Deulen, D. C. (2011). The riots. Athens: University of Georgia Press.
Macionis, J. J. (2004). Society: The basics. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Weinstein, J. A., & Weinstein, J. A. (2010). Social change. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
