Sociology Now, Census Update

membership in those groups. For example, the globalization of the media industries

allows books, magazines, movies, television programs, and music from almost every

country to be consumed all over the world. A macrolevel analysis of globalization

might point to ways global information exchange promotes interconnection and

mutual understanding. A microlevel, multiculturalist analysis might point out, how-

ever, that the flow of information is mostly one way, from the West and particularly

the United States into other countries, dominating other cultures, reinforcing global

economic inequalities, and promoting a homogeneous, Westernized global society

(Figure 1.1). Or a multiculturalist might argue that global media, particularly the Inter-

net, are playing a role in reinvigorating local cultures and identities by promoting mix-

ing and fusion and by allowing a diversity of voices—including “alternative” and

“radical” ones—to be heard (Williams, 2003).

Globalization and Multiculturalism: Interrelated Forces.Today the world often seems

to alternate between feeling like a centrifuge, in which everything at the center is

28 CHAPTER 1WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?

TABLE 1.2

Major Sociological Theories, 1950–2000

THEORY

LEVEL OF

ANALYSIS

ORDER: WHAT

HOLDS SOCIETY

TOGETHER?

INDIVIDUAL TO

SOCIETY CHANGE

DIRECTION OF

CHANGE

Structural-

functionalism

Macro Society is a

stable system of

interrelated

elements—

shared values,

institutions—

and there is

general

agreement

(consensus)

about how

society should

work.

Individuals are

integrated into

society by

socialization.

Incomplete

integration

leads to

deviance.

Change is

progressive.

Positive

Society is

evolving to

more and more

equality.

Conflict

theory

Macro Society is a

dynamic tension

between unequal

groups marked

by an unequal

distribution of

rewards and

goods.

Individuals

belong to

different

groups that

compete for

resources.

Groups

mobilize to

get greater

goods.

Short term:

conflict

Longer term:

greater equality

Symbolic

interactionism

Micro Society is a set

of processes

among indivi-

duals and

groups, using

symbolic forms

(language,

gestures,

performance) to

create identity

and meaning.

Individuals

connect to

others

symbolically.

Tension

between

institutions

and

individual

identity.

No direction

specified