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fandomhigh2006-04-05 11:00 pm
the-ascended.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2006-04-05 11:00 pm
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Anthropology, 6th Period
"Okay, the fuctions of social groups and institutions," Daniel began, offering coffee to his students, before sitting down with his own cup.
"In studying any society, we can observe various social groups and institutions, each with its specific functions. It doesn't matter whether the institutions are related to business, religion, the legal system, or families. They all have functions. For instance, the primary function of a legal system is likely to be the maintenance of the social order in society. he functions of different institutions may overlap and are likely to be interrelated in complex ways.
However, complicating our understanding of them is the fact that any institution is likely to have multiple functions, some of which are more obvious than others. In trying to discover and understand them, it is useful to think of some of the functions as being manifest and others latent. Manifest functions are those that are obvious and easily discovered even by strangers. In contrast, latent functions are those that are less apparent and more difficult to uncover. If you ask people what the functions of their institutions are, most will describe the manifest ones. They may not have even thought of the latent ones. However, to get a full understanding of a society and its culture, it is essential to comprehend the latent functions as well. In order to discover them, it is often necessary to observe their effects because people are often unaware of them.
Let's take, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, for example. It's manifest function is to make it easier and quicker to get from one side to the other. Prior to its construction in the 1930's, people had to take a ferry.
Any idea what some of the latent functions could be?"
"In studying any society, we can observe various social groups and institutions, each with its specific functions. It doesn't matter whether the institutions are related to business, religion, the legal system, or families. They all have functions. For instance, the primary function of a legal system is likely to be the maintenance of the social order in society. he functions of different institutions may overlap and are likely to be interrelated in complex ways.
However, complicating our understanding of them is the fact that any institution is likely to have multiple functions, some of which are more obvious than others. In trying to discover and understand them, it is useful to think of some of the functions as being manifest and others latent. Manifest functions are those that are obvious and easily discovered even by strangers. In contrast, latent functions are those that are less apparent and more difficult to uncover. If you ask people what the functions of their institutions are, most will describe the manifest ones. They may not have even thought of the latent ones. However, to get a full understanding of a society and its culture, it is essential to comprehend the latent functions as well. In order to discover them, it is often necessary to observe their effects because people are often unaware of them.
Let's take, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, for example. It's manifest function is to make it easier and quicker to get from one side to the other. Prior to its construction in the 1930's, people had to take a ferry.
Any idea what some of the latent functions could be?"