Functionalism-society as a system of highly interrelated structures or parts that function or

operate together harmoniously.

Conflict Theory-society constantly changing in response to social inequality and social conflict.

Interactionist Perspective- how individuals make sense of or interpret the social world in which
they participate.

Going with conflict theory would be your best bet. You know the whole racist thing and
FEMA...

Sociological perspectives, theories, or paradigms, complex theoretical and methodological

frameworks used to analyze and explain an object of social study.

Theory is informed by epistemological discussions as to the most reliable and valid methods to
use in the conduct of social science. Perspectives also relate to core assumptions regarding the
ontological nature of the social world. Theory is thus informed by historical debates over
positivism and antipositivism, debates over the primacy of structure and agency, as well as
debates relating to other fundamental key concepts in the social sciences and humanities in
general (e.g. materialism, idealism, determinism, dialecticism, modernity, globalization,
postmodernity, and so on).

General theories

Also see: Social theory

Some of the major general sociological theories (and their variants) include:

• Conflict theory: focuses on the ability of some groups to dominate others, or resistance to
such domination.
• Critical theory: aims to critique and change society, not simply to document and
understand it.
• Ethnomethodology: examines how people make sense out of social life in the process of
living it, as if each were a researcher engaged in enquiry.
• Feminist theory: focuses on how gender inequality has shaped social life.
• Functionalism: focuses on how elements of society need to work together to have a fully
functioning whole.
• Interpretive sociology: This theoretical perspective, based on the work of Max Weber,
proposes that social, economic and historical research can never be fully empirical or
descriptive as one must always approach it with a conceptual apparatus.
• Network theory: A structural approach to sociology, most closely associated with the
work of Harrison White, that views norms and behaviors as embedded in chains of social
relations.
• Social phenomenology: The social phenomenology of Alfred Schütz influenced the
development of the social constructionism and ethnomethodology.
 • Positivism: Social positivists believe that social processes should be studied in terms of
cause and effect using 'the' scientific method.
o Also: Sociological positivism
• Postcolonial theory
• Rational choice theory: models social behavior as the interaction of utility maximizing
individuals.
• Social constructionism: is a sociological theory of knowledge that considers how social
phenomena develop in particular social contexts.
• Structural functionalism: also known as a social systems paradigm, addresses the
functions that various elements of the social system perform in regard to the entire
system.
• Symbolic interactionism: examines how shared meanings and social patterns are
developed in the course of social interactions.
o Dramaturgical perspective - a specialized symbolic interactionism paradigm
developed by Erving Goffman, seeing life as a performance

[edit] Criminology

Main article: Criminology

• Differential association theory

• Labeling theory
• Rational choice theory (criminology)
• Social disorganization theory
• Social learning theory
• Strain theory (sociology)
• Subcultural theory

Social movements

Main article: Social movements

Sociologists have developed various theories about social movements [Kendall, 2005].
Chronologically (by approximate date of origin) they include:

• Collective behavior/collective action theories (1950s)

• Relative deprivation theory (1960s)
• Value-added theory (1960s)
• Resource mobilization/Political process theory (1970s)
• Frame analysis theory (1970s)
• New social movement theory (1980s)
• New cultural theory (1990s) -- James Jasper, Jeff Goodwin et al.

Sociology of science and technology

Main article: Sociology of science

Sociologists have been active in developing theories about the nature of science and technology:

• "Institutional" sociology of science (Robert K. Merton) (1960s)

• Sociology of scientific knowledge (1970s)
o Social construction of technology (1980s) - variant of SSK focusing on
technology studies.
• Actor-network theory (1980s)
• Normalization Process Theory (2000s)