Sociological Traditions

Collins's text sets forth four intellectual traditions that make up the discipline of sociology: the conflict tradition, which looks at processes whereby disruption or revolution might have the effect of re-forming, reinstitutionalizing, or otherwise reconstituting society; the rational/utilitarian tradition, which looks at social structure as a process of rational calculus, with self-interested individual participants or groups engaging competitively with others and arriving by way of such engagement (for good or ill) at the form that a society takes; Durkheimian tradition, which considers the mechanisms by which social rituals (whether rational or irrational) taking place in face-to-face groups produce social solidarity; and the microinteractionist tradition, which in a variety of elaborations "con

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the experience of those with whom ex-felons come in contact in "civilian life" (Liker, 1982, p. 281), such as co-workers, prospective employers, and the economic community more generally. Along the same lines, the content of structural relationships between ex-felons and others undoubtedly informs the ex-felons' ability to derive respectability and other "extraeconomic" benefits from even marginal employment. As Liker puts it: "if ex-felons are primarily concerned with shedding their criminal identities, a job may be particularly important as a place to meet 'straight' people" (Liker, 1982, p. 281). According to Durkheim, the larger consciousness of social ritual informs and in part determines the development of individuals within it; crime is one example of deviation, just as post-criminal activity would be an example of an attempt to redefine social loyalties or realign what Collins cites as "collective representations" (Collins, 1982, p. 191). This does not mean that society itself is necessarily static, for the changing shape of society might influence the ability of a given ex-felon to realign or redefine himself. In this regard, Liker refers to the relatively poorer prospects for employment in Georgia than in Texas and th
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Approximate Word count = 2425
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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