Sociology Presentation: Analyzing Canadian Politics through Sociology

This presentation analyzes a CBC news article concerning the Canadian government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically focusing on the Foreign Affairs Minister's recommendations for Canadians abroad. The presentation defines the sociological concept of Functionalism, which emphasizes the importance of norms, values, and social order in maintaining societal stability. The analysis section connects the article to Functionalism, arguing that the government's actions, such as advising citizens to return home, align with the functionalist perspective by prioritizing the safety and well-being of the population and preserving social order. The presentation highlights how sociological theories can be applied to understand and interpret current events in Canadian politics.

Running Head: Sociology
Sociology

Sociology
Summarize newspaper article about an issue in Canadian politics
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is the largest news broadcaster in Canada
which posted an article on 14th of March, 2020, that clarifies the political stands of the
Canadian government regarding the issue that has received a broad and current interest of the
entire world population: COVID - 19. The Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister François-
Philippe Champagne recommended herein, that owing to the outbreak of the COVID- 19
pandemic, the Canadians who are travelling abroad or are currently in foreign states should
return to Canada before the commercial transportation services are suspended (CBC News.
2020).
Figure 1: The tweet of François-Philippe Champagne
(Source: CBC News. 2020)
The Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister tweeted this warning a day after Global Affairs,
Canada, commented on a similar statement. Herein, this warning appears that the Canadian
Government is of the view that in the near future, if the outbreak of the concerned virus is not
handled in a proper way, then Canada would be entirely isolated from the rest of the world.
Furthermore, the federal government of Canada even advised the Canadian habitants to avoid
all sorts of international travelling and also confirmed that the same would limit the area
within which the inbound flights would be allowed to land.
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Sociology
Defining a course concept
As per the opinion of Germov, (2019), this may be said that there exist many theories of
social perspectives out of which the most popular and widely accepted are three basic
sociological perspectives, namely, Functionalism, Feminism and Postmodernism. Each
perspective provides a different and new angle to look into the various issues of any given
nation.
Functionalism
This theory of sociological perspectives proposes norms and values as the most imminent
objective wherein socialisation and value consensus along with the positive functions of
institutions in a cumulative manner delivers the betterment of the society. Functionalism
upholds the view that via norms and values the typical, normal and expected patterns of
behaviour that are associated with social roles may be protected and nurtured towards a better
future (Ormerod, 2019).
Feminism
Feminism refers to a society within which there exists an unequal distribution of power and
opportunity wherein the typical embedded moto is to suppress the gender inequality and
thereafter strive to make a better future.
Postmodernism
The concerned concept refers to the style and concepts of the late 20th century in
architecture, arts, criticism, social and political aspects. This represents an exit from
modernism and may be characterised more as a period of self-conscious facilitation of earlier
style as per convenience.
Analysis
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Sociology
As per the course of the study, this may be said that the selected political issue that the
concerned newspaper article of CBC news has published proposes a better solution against
the outbreak of the COVID - 19 pandemic. This herein, can be said that the proposed solution
or the embedded indication that can be obtained from the end of the Canadian Government
cumulates with that of the Functionalism. Functionalism states a view that norms and values
within a society is required to be held at the top most priority and as per the tweet of the
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, the Canadians who are abroad are recalled before any
further injunction on the commercial flights are imposed so that the entire citizens can be
protected. Thus, owing to the concerned theory of sociology, the newspaper article can be
better understood.
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Sociology
References
CBC News. (2020). Canadian travellers should return home while they still can, Champagne
recommends | Retrieved 16 March 2020, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-
travellers-abroad-should-return-home-champagne-says-1.5498252
Germov, J. (2019). Theorising health: major theoretical perspectives in health sociology. In
Second opinion: An introduction to health sociology (pp. 24-42). Oxford University Press,
USA.
Ormerod, R. (2019). The history and ideas of sociological functionalism: Talcott Parsons,
modern sociological theory, and the relevance for OR. Journal of the Operational Research
Society, 1-27.
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