Social Theories
One goal of social theory is to illuminate connections between our individual experience and social processes.
In the spirit of multi-perspectival theorizing, use three different sociological theorists to illuminate potential connections between your experiences seeking a college degree and the larger social processes that have been unfolding around you (in the past and/or the present).
What social processes would each theorist highlight? Be sure to pay attention to what the theorist would have to say about social influences unfolding at the micro- and macro-level.
Choose one theorist from each of the three groups listed below and present how she or he would tend to view social influences affecting and affected by your pursuit of a college degree. Some questions that might be relevant to your thinking about this are:
What social forces shape the content of my studies?
How do the academic institutions fit within larger social and political forces operating in society?
How might what studied affect psychological processes and/or relationships with others?
Who benefits from the the way higher education is organized? Who is hurt by this organization?
