DSJSW Week Two, Post Two (Synthesis & Connection)

    When working to understand how to improve social work and make it more diverse, culturally competent and social justice-oriented, it is important to understand the theoretical frameworks and concepts that connect them all together. By doing so, it is possible to understand the social and political forces that shape inequality, and. how social work can play a part in both feeding and dismantling this system. 

    A theory is a set of interrelated assumptions meant to explain how or why something happens, or to predict if and when something will happen. The two limitations of a theory is that it is, by definition, not perfect, and that it can be proved wrong. However, even with these limitations in place, theories can be a crucial part of social work, by providing perspectives  inform planning, and update previous information or understanding regarding human behavior. Theory is also an extremely important part of social justice work, as it helps to identify social justice goals and illuminate why injustice remains. They help to engage with or reduce unjust consequences throughout society, as well as analyze types, levels, and sources of power in practice. 

    One of the most important theories to understand when looking through a social lens is the structural functionalism theory. It was created by Auguste Comte who was a French philosopher during the 19th century who drew connections between the functioning interconnected social body of society to the biological functions of living organisms. It was further expanded by Durkheim, Talcott and Burton, who were French sociologists in the 20th century, and emphasized the importance of social consensus and maintaining social balance. Thus, that means that some aspects of social life are dysfunctional because they threaten to disrupt social stability. 

   The theory can be further broken down into structural role theory, which believes that each person in society has been ascribed a social status based on things outside of their control, such as gender, race, and national origin. Each social status has rigid expectations, and each group of people is ascribed different privileges and opportunities. 

    The theory was critiqued heavily in the 1960's due to its inability to explain the positive social change that came about through protest and conflict, and was further critiqued by feminist scholars who saw it as a way to uphold the patriarchy. The theory is problematic because it enforces the idea that struggles for equality were inherently dysfunctional and bad for society.