Social theory

High school (ages 12+)
People & Society

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/social-theory

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How big is Social theory?Social structure, social change, power, inequality, culture, identity, globalization
2. What is the foundational thinkers?Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, Georg Simmel
3. What is the major theoretical paradigms?Functionalism, Conflict Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, Feminist Theory, Postmodernism
4. Who were some early thinkers in social theory?Auguste Comte, Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim, and Max Weber were early thinkers who studied society and helped give it a name, sociology.
5. How does conflict theory explain society?Conflict theory, from Marx, says society is like a playground where different groups compete for power and resources, showing class struggles.

Sociological Imagination: The ability to connect personal experiences with larger social forces and historical contexts.
Anomie: A state of normlessness where social rules and values have broken down.
Social Facts: External social forces that shape individual behavior, as described by Durkheim.