I chose Merton’s article, “Manifest and Latent Functions” this article isn’t the easiest to fully comprehend, but I was able to interpret it to the best of my abilities.
The main concept Merton discusses in his article is Functions and how they are interpreted in the social sphere. To understand functions as Merton describes them we first must understand they are performed by social processes, cultural patterns, and belief systems found in a society (75). The main idea of functions are to create a structure of unity within a group. Merton explains,
“the total structure of a society together with the totality of social usages in which that structure appears and on which it depends for its continued existence” (79). This passage may sound a bit confusing but I understood it as for example, a cultural/ethnic enclave that is limited resources but is dependant on the resources that are available.
My family owns a small business to which it is a service in the community. My parents own a small Mexican store in a densely populated Mexican community. I can relate my personal life to Merton’s passage because this community does not have other Mexican specialty stores within short vicinity, however; only my family’s store is around. There fore, the community depends on my family’s services for their shopping connivances. The functionalism behind my family’s business is that the community feels comfortable shopping there because they are familiar with the needs of the community and there is a more familiar atmosphere than at a large supermarket. The continued existence part of Merton’s idea of functions also resonates with my family’s business. It has been in business for 19 years now and all because of the loyalty of the community. Also, many customers now travel from the outskirts of the town because we are known for our quality service and products.
The second term Merton adds importance to is functional unity. Merton states, “One cannot assume full integration of all societies but that this empirical question of fact in which we should be prepared to find a range of degrees of integration” (90). I interpreted Merton’s statement in the positions that many Latinos today might feel over generalized when taking about their ethinicty. For example, many people over generalize them as all “Mexican.” Although it is common that many Latinos live in close communities they also have their defined boundaries. For example Albany park and Humboldt park. Albany park is mainly composed of Ecuadorians and Peruvians where in Humboldt park it is composed of Puerto Ricans. In the eye of a non- Hispanic/ Latino he or she would categorize these groups all together. However, that is not the case. The postulate of the functional unity explains that functional unity can be a generalized analysis. So therefore, many assume that if you speak Spanish that makes you Mexican.
My analysis of culture in the terms of functions and functional unity is to express that there can be confusion with identifying groups but because functions exist it creates a structure within societies for unity to cohabit within these groups.
The main concept Merton discusses in his article is Functions and how they are interpreted in the social sphere. To understand functions as Merton describes them we first must understand they are performed by social processes, cultural patterns, and belief systems found in a society (75). The main idea of functions are to create a structure of unity within a group. Merton explains,
“the total structure of a society together with the totality of social usages in which that structure appears and on which it depends for its continued existence” (79). This passage may sound a bit confusing but I understood it as for example, a cultural/ethnic enclave that is limited resources but is dependant on the resources that are available.
My family owns a small business to which it is a service in the community. My parents own a small Mexican store in a densely populated Mexican community. I can relate my personal life to Merton’s passage because this community does not have other Mexican specialty stores within short vicinity, however; only my family’s store is around. There fore, the community depends on my family’s services for their shopping connivances. The functionalism behind my family’s business is that the community feels comfortable shopping there because they are familiar with the needs of the community and there is a more familiar atmosphere than at a large supermarket. The continued existence part of Merton’s idea of functions also resonates with my family’s business. It has been in business for 19 years now and all because of the loyalty of the community. Also, many customers now travel from the outskirts of the town because we are known for our quality service and products.
The second term Merton adds importance to is functional unity. Merton states, “One cannot assume full integration of all societies but that this empirical question of fact in which we should be prepared to find a range of degrees of integration” (90). I interpreted Merton’s statement in the positions that many Latinos today might feel over generalized when taking about their ethinicty. For example, many people over generalize them as all “Mexican.” Although it is common that many Latinos live in close communities they also have their defined boundaries. For example Albany park and Humboldt park. Albany park is mainly composed of Ecuadorians and Peruvians where in Humboldt park it is composed of Puerto Ricans. In the eye of a non- Hispanic/ Latino he or she would categorize these groups all together. However, that is not the case. The postulate of the functional unity explains that functional unity can be a generalized analysis. So therefore, many assume that if you speak Spanish that makes you Mexican.
My analysis of culture in the terms of functions and functional unity is to express that there can be confusion with identifying groups but because functions exist it creates a structure within societies for unity to cohabit within these groups.