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Advice
My advice for this course is centered around keeping an open mindset. It is described early on in the course that making familiar things strange can be an uncomfortable yet comforting experience at the same time. I think it is important to not let the discomfort of different perspectives occlude you from all the things there are to learn and contemplate. To this end, it is important to read the chapters! Although by looking at the page numbers it seems quite long, the time flew by for me as I read. The content was always keeping my interest and presenting new ideas. Set aside enough time to be able to appreciate the material. This really comes in handy when you are contemplating the discussion material for that week. The reading in conjunction with Dr. J’s lectures really rounded out the class for me. Not only did she focus on terms from the reading that may be difficult to get a grasp on, she supplemented with videos and concepts that complemented what we were learning. Take the time to utilize the materials that are there and I’m positive there will be something for you to relate to. One thing that I wish I would have done is to take better notes throughout the course. Taking notes on the key terms and concepts seems unnecessary because the class is online, but it would have really helped me be organized for this final project and throughout the course. I am happy to say that I have learned a lot and I believe you will too! Word Count [262]
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In my reflection on this course, I think back to my introduction post. In that post I said how I was excited to learn more about the ways that society works and I believe that is what I accomplished. There were several units that I was able to either identify with personally or that had an impact on my way of thinking. The gender module, specifically the film “Killing us Softly 4” really opened my perspective when it came to women in advertising. I always knew that advertising shaped my view of beauty and what a woman should be and act like, but I did not know to what extent. The clarification of all the different ways women are objectified saddened me but also made me more vigilant in guarding my mind against the subtle messages they produce. Another topic that found interest in was the topic of deviance. It really does take a “sociological imagination” to separate look at “normal” behaviors and see how they are constructed by society. I had not considered the fact that entering a new environment requires a level of socialization so that our behaviors match what is expected of us. We are continually adapting our behavior to our environment and the people that we are with. Another thing that resonated with me personally was the study done between middle class parents versus lower class parents and how they structure the free time of their children. It made me think about my upbringing and how I grew up with elements of both.
Word Count [257]
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Two Memphis sanitation workers were killed due to malfunctioning equipment in 1968 which prompted a strike for the right to safe working environments and more appropriate wages. This strike was a relatively small event in the fight for equality that has spanned centuries. They even protested with the statement, “I am a man” that echoed a rally cry from more than 100 years ago. Jonathan Christiansen expounded on what characterises social movements in his essay “Four Stages of Social Movements”. The first stage, emergence, is a general discontent of individuals who have not yet done anything about it. The second stage, coalescence, is characterized by “mass behavior” that takes the social movement a step further. This strike could be considered a part of this stage because the workers banded together in a more organized way with a clear goal in opposition of a clear opponent. Obviously this instance was not the only action taken on behalf of the Civil Rights Movement, but it is a concrete example of the rallying that took place. The third stage is bureaucratization where a clear strategy is formulated by trained staff in order to meet the movement’s goals. The last stage is termed as decline (Christiansen, 2009, p.2-3). Decline can occur in 5 ways: repression, co-optation, success, failure or establishment with mainstream (Christiansen, 2009, p.4). These stages were created as a way to help sociologists organize social movements and analyze the similarities and differences and how these affect society (Christiansen, 2009, p.5).
Word Count [251]
Christiansen, J. (2009). Four stages of social movements. EBSCO Research Starters, 1-7.
“I am a man.” - On February 12, 1968, Memphis sanitation workers, the majority of whom were Black, went on strike demanding recognition for their union, better wages, and safer working conditions after two trash handlers were killed by a malfunctioning garbage truck. The strike gained national attention and dragged on into March. Striking workers carried copies of a poster declaring “I AM A MAN,” a statement that recalled a question abolitionists posed more than 100 years earlier, “Am I not a man and a brother?”
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This protester is confronting the prejudiced attitudes of many who judge based on outward appearances. The irony of his poster is hard to miss: people are scared of him being on their flight when his profession as software engineer is to ensure the safety of the flight. The assumption that someone will act a certain way based off of their skin color or clothes is blatant racist thinking. Racism is a way of thinking, whether conscious or subconscious, and it manifests itself in different ways. Racism is present when people are grouped together based on their “bloodlines and/or physical types; that these bloodlines or physical traits are linked to distinct cultures, behaviors, personalities, and intellectual abilities; and that certain groups are superior to others” (Conley, 2015, p. 324). This man was judged on most all of these things. The attitude of superiority comes with the assumption that the behaviors associated with him are that of terrorism, which is clearly negative. The term racialization could also be applied to this scenario: “the formation of a new racial identity by drowning ideological boundaries of difference around a formerly unnoticed group of people” (Conley, 2015, p.334). This has happened to anyone resembling the image of a Muslim extremist when there are several ethnicities and religious groups that could fit in that description. As a result of racialization, many peaceful citizens have been harassed and made to live in fear as a result. A whole group of people should not be characterized based off of the actions of a few.
Word Count [258]
Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York, NY, United States: W. W. Norton & Company.
Seen at the March For Science 🙌🏽
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The Olympics is something the whole world looks forward to. It is a worldwide event that showcases stories of the unlikely achieving greatness through hard work and dedication. The rules of the sport determine the winner and it doesn't matter what country you come from or what language you speak. While that is true, there still exists inequality in what should be a place of equal opportunity. The two swimmers depicted above show two different levels of achievement. One shows a silver medal and the other a gold medal with the breaking of a world record. And which one receives greater media coverage, the Michael Phelps with the silver medal. This is a great example of why feminism is needed to raise consciousness concerning equality. At its core, feminism is the belief that “women and men should be accorded equal opportunities and respect...they tend to be less interested in erasing the differences between men and women than in uncovering the power stakes…” and that includes media coverage (Conley, 2015, p.277). In this case a main factor is respect. The purpose of awarding medals to those with the best achievements is to show respect for their hard work and to set them apart. This article disrespects the achievement of Katie Ledecky by not featuring her higher level of accomplishment. The sad fact is that many still view men as the athletes deserving recognition and women as being subpar. Even though we have made great strides in quality for women in the past century, this article simply reveals the need for continued awareness and societal change.
Word Count [266]
Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York, NY, United States: W. W. Norton & Company.
Coverage of the 2016 Olympic swimmers:
Headline: “Michael Phelps ties for silver in 100m Butterfly.”
Further down in the same article: “Katie Ledecky broke the world record in the 800 freestyle.”
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This meme about “right-sizing” a company isn’t in reference to any one company in particular, probably because it is occurring in so many of them. In general, as companies grow and technology expands, less employees are needed to produce the same amount of product (or much more). Not only can they make their product more efficiently, it also is less expensive. The American economy is seeing a greater shift towards this phenomenon. George Ritzer explained this in his work “The McDonaldization of Society”. He used the term rationalization to expose this societal trend. “A society characterized by rationality is one which emphasizes efficiency, predictability, calculability, substitution of nonhuman for human technology and control over uncertainty” (Ritzer, 1993, p.372). If one doesn’t look carefully, it is easy to get caught up in the advantages rationality seems to offer; however, it is important to step back and consider some consequences. For instance, cutting back on human workers by introducing technology eliminates the need for skilled workers. Generally when people take the most pride in their work it is due to the amount of hard work that was put in. When you take away this element of satisfaction in one’s own accomplishments, a certain quality of life is lost (Ritzer,1993, p.377). This meme exposes the attitudes of companies who are at the heart of this problem. Instead of treating their workers with dignity and telling them the facts, they resort to impersonal euphemisms that show disregard to the livelihoods of their employees.
Word Count [252]
Ritzer, G. (1993). The McDonaldization of society: An investigation into the changing character of contemporary social life. Newbury Park, Calif: Pine Forge Press.
“We are right-sizing the company.”
Can’t you just say you’re gonna lay off some employees?
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This satirical video depicts a popular new story about a passenger on a United flight who was forcibly removed from the flight due to overbooking. When the airline realized they did not have enough room for crew members along with the passengers already boarded, they dragged a man against his will off of the plane. Not only did this passenger purchase his seat, he also stated that he was a doctor who needed to get to his patients the next day. Many have been affected by the overbooking of flights by airlines, hopefully in not such a physically destructive way. Unfortunately, this can be one of the downfalls of the bourgeois society in which we live in today. A bourgeois society is a society of commerce in which the maxim action of profit is the primary business incentive, in other words, capitalism. Capitalism has greatly contributed to the success of America as a country but sometimes the drive for profit hurts rather than benefits its citizens. This is connected to the concept of equality of opportunity which was used in the 1960s to advocate for the removal of Jim Crow laws and the rights of African Americans (Conley, 2015, p.236). This single, publicized occurrence shed light on the widespread issue of overbooking and the awareness has already resulted in airlines changing their policies. The unfortunate reality is that it takes the shock factor of an occurrence like this to get the attention of companies. Hopefully there will continue to be changes made to avoid something like this happening again.
Word Count [260]
Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York, NY, United States: W. W. Norton & Company.
instagram
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This graph presenting religious restrictions in various countries is very interesting from a sociological standpoint. To see the various ways different countries regulate religion speaks to how a society functions. There are several different angles one could view the subject by, and one of them is considering the concept of deviance. Restrictions are imposed for violations of accepted conduct and clearly when it comes to the standards for religious practice, it varies across the world. The graph not only includes governmental restrictions but also social hostility, which is in and of itself a kind of restriction. The social hostility could be considered a type of informal deviance in that the behavior expected is often unspoken and there are no formal or written rules to guide punishment. The governmental restriction would be considered a kind of formal deviance because when individuals deviate from the standard they are punished according to established rules (Conley, 2015, p.187). Despite the differences between social hostility and government restriction, one doesn't necessarily have to be worse than the other. In some countries deviance from the family religion is seen as great betrayal and the deviant family member is completely ostracised. The individual may not have to serve time in prison, but they could be considered in a worse position with much emotional and psychological distress as a result. Fortunately, America was established due to the desire for religious freedom and that foundational value continues today. However, just because there is no obvious governmental persecution doesn’t mean social hostility has been erased.
Word Count [256]
Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York, NY, United States: W. W. Norton & Company
Restrictions against religious groups in the world’s 25 most populous countries — where more than 5 billion of the globe’s roughly 7.5 billion people live — vary greatly, from some of the lowest in the world (Brazil and Japan) to among the very highest (Russia and Egypt). Read more.
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Socialization into the Profession of Nursing
Ever since the age of 13 I have dreamed of becoming a nurse. I’m not quite sure what exactly I expected it would actually be like, but I am sure that it is much different than I imagined. Nursing is a world, or should I say a society, of its own. It has its own standards of practice, values and ethics that must be learned. As a student nurse, I am currently in the process of being socialized into these values and practices that define the profession of nursing. In a broad sense, socialization is the process through which individuals internalize the values, beliefs and norms of a society and learn to function as its members (Conley, 2015, p.115). In order to be a functioning member of the nursing society, there are several things we as students are taught. One of the foremost values is integrity. Nurses must be accountable for the actions they take and that requires honesty in shift report, documentation and communication with patient families and other members of the healthcare team. In order to internalize this value integrity must be integrated from day one and any sign of dishonesty is not tolerated. Another nursing value is human dignity. This value speaks to the humanity of every person and their right to receive medical care no matter their actions or beliefs. It is the responsibility of the nurse to lay aside any prejudice or stereotype and treat every patient with outstanding care. Nursing instructors carefully review each student to make sure they are measuring up to the values needed to be a nurse.
Word Count [267]
Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York, NY, United States: W. W. Norton & Company
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Culture
Currently there is a trend that has emerged called “promposal”. This is a fairly new trend, considering I am only 5 years removed from my “prom days” and I don’t remember my peers participating in this. Essentially the promposal is a downgraded form of the popular, elaborate marriage proposal many men used to ask their girlfriend to marry them. Instead of simply approaching each other in the hallway, high school students are now inventing creative and personal ways to as their date to prom. In sociological terms, this trend is a manifestation in a way of American culture. Culture can be defined as the sum of the social categories and concepts we recognize in addition to our beliefs, behaviors and practices (Conley, 2015, p.75). There are aspects of culture that are ever changing, now greatly in part as a result of the internet and social media. The the trend of “promposals” couldn’t have occurred, or might have at a much slower rate, without social media. In this way the promposal could be considered both nonmaterial culture and material culture. Nonmaterial culture includes values beliefs, behaviors and social. Norms while material culture is constructed and physical. Promposals are becoming a social norm due to the physical technology possessed by high school students. In addition to promposals, there are also occasionally elaborate acceptance gestures. As mention in the article, acceptance might take the form of throwing a bag of frozen peas at the promposer’s house and including a message that reads, “I got so excited you asked, I pead on your porch”. This trend is just one example of the ever-changing quality of culture.
Word Count [273]
Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York, NY, United States: W. W. Norton & Company.
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This study examines the social consequences that not having health insurance poses for individuals and their families. In order to conduct research, there are ethical guidelines that must be followed and in the field of sociology those guidelines are established by the American Sociological Association. As professors of sociology, the researchers, Tara McKay and Stefan Timmermans must follow 3 core principles of research: do no harm, informed consent and voluntary participation. Do no harm is the principle of nonmaleficence that protects research participants from harm that is physical, emotional or psychological. In the research of people who do not have health insurance, these professors must be careful to evaluate their methods by this standard. In addition, their participants must consent with all of the information on the table. These participants have a right to know that their relationship and attitudes towards society are being studied. Any sort of deception needed to achieve results should be very carefully considered and deemed necessary to the endeavor. The last principle is voluntary participation. After being made aware of what will be included in the research, individuals have the right to choose whether or not they will participate. They also have the right to remove themselves from the study whenever they like (Conley, 2015, p.66-67). By following these guidelines, the researchers were able to learn more about how governmental policies affect the social life of community members. The findings showed that with increasing rates of individuals possessing health insurance there is also increased social cohesion whereas previously there had been a distinction of 34 percent as compared to communities of people who had healthcare.
Word Count [271]
Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York, NY, United States: W. W. Norton & Company.
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By definition, a social institution is a complex group of interdependent positions that together perform a social role and reproduce themselves over time (Conley, 2015, p.13). The government is one of those institutions and it manifests itself in society in countless ways. Everyone experiences the various roles of government in different ways throughout their lives. Everyone, of course must comply with general requirements of obtaining a driver’s license in order to drive and paying taxes. However, there are other manifestations of government that many might never experience, such as the criminal justice system or the regulation of up and coming, life-saving or life-preserving drugs. This meme is a product of frustration at the regulations our government imposes and its lack of capability to address an ethical societal problem. Clearly there is a flaw in the system that would allow the leader of a company to impact the health and of so many patients. Making change to societal institutions is a lengthy process that begins with awareness. Awareness is essentially equipping people with a sociological imagination. The sociological imagination is the ability to see connections between our personal experiences and the larger forces of history (Conley, 2015, p.5). If this issue does not affect someone personally, tapping into their sociological imagination would show them how society is interconnected and if it affects society, eventually it will affect them too. In making change to the larger forces of history, we are making changes positive changes to others’ future experiences.
Word Count [271]
Conley, D. (2015). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist. New York, NY, United States: W. W. Norton & Company.
The Nightly Show, September 24, 2015
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Introduction
This blog was created to highlight sociological content that can be found in today’s media and connect it with basic sociological principles. Being exposed to the underlying framework in which sociologists view the world can have a drastic impact on one’s perspective. Seeing things from a different light can open possibilities that did not seem to be there before. Sociology is not only relevant to the complex issues people encounter on a daily basis, but also the things that seem mundane and just plain normal. Having an educated opinion is a vital component to catalysts of social change. When you combine this opinion with passion and resources, issues that seem complex can be deconstructed and the process of arriving at a solution can begin. Keeping an open mind and a sense of curiosity as you read the posts to follow, could cause you to be surprised at how much you will learn and how it might inspire you to get involved.
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