Question

Many african americans feel the flag for the confederate states of america, "the stars and bars," is a sign of racial hatred. state rights advocates view the same flag as being "heritage, not hatred." such a difference of opinion over the exact same material object is an illustration of which sociological perspective?

Answer 1

It is an illustration of "Symbolic interactionism".

Symbolic interactionism is a school of thought that clarifies social conduct in terms of how individuals cooperate with each other by means of images; in this view, social structures are best comprehended in terms of such individual collaborations. For instance, one may translate a handshake as either an amicable welcome or cool goodbye, contingent upon setting. Some of the time symbols change; long hair in guys once symbolized resistance and now it does not.