Perspectives of Marriage as a Social Institution

Ideally, the institution of marriage is used to regulate heterosexual behavior and the resulting procreation, ensuring a stable family structure in which children will be reared, educated and socialized (Dulle, 2004). The partners in marriage are expected to engage in exclusive sexual relations, most likely resulting in children, and with their paternity presumed to be that of the husband. Children learn their place in the world from the family who raised them and learn about the world and how to interact with it. The institution of marriage is supposed to encourage parents to remain committed to each other and to their children as they grow, encouraging a stable venue for the education and socialization of the children.

Functionalism is the oldest and most dominant theoretical perspective on sociology, and its main proponents were Emile Durkhe

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ch were made to keep the status quo rather than to seek justice), and so the workers were exploited at every level and kept in their place by their lack of control over any aspect of society. These conditions, Marx felt, led to inherent conflict and instability in society. The symbolic interactionist perspective began with Max Weber, and was followed up by George H. Mead and Herbert Blumer (Symbolic, 2004). Symbolic interactionists focus on the subjective aspects of social life, looking at individuals rather than objective, macro-structural aspects. They base their theoretical perspective on an image of individuals rather than an image of society, believing individuals are pragmatic actors, continually readjusting their behavior to the actions of others. They believe that humans rehearse alternative courses of action before taking action. This is possible, they believe, because humans can think about, and react to themselves as symbolic objects. They believe that society consists of organized and patterned interactions between individuals. They shift attention away from stable norms and values to an ever-changing, continually readjusting social process. Symbolic interactionists view humans as actors on a stage, taking on
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Judicial Court, Blumer Symbolic, Merton Functionalism, Marx Conflict, Retrieved Jan, Introduction Marriage, retrieved jan, Spalding Loconte, jan 24 2005, retrieved jan 24, jan 24, 24 2005, Discussion Functionalism, Theories/Symbolichtml Viahos, institution marriage, References Conflict, 2004 retrieved, same-sex couples, 2004 retrieved jan, social class, constitutional amendment, norms values, symbolic interactionists, 24 2005 http//webgrinnelledu/courses/soc/s00/soc111-01/intro, spalding loconte 2003,
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Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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