CULTURE

 

 

This week in sociology we learned about different cultures. We learned about culture shock, ethnocentrism, and culture relativity. Culture shock is basically when you are shocked at how different cultures do things. Ethnocentrism is when you base things and judge things based off of your own culture because you think it's the best way to do something. Culture relativity is trying to relate to that culture and understand that other cultures have different ways of doing things. I found it really interesting when we read the article during class about the Danish woman leaving her baby outside while eating at a restaurant. People were outraged and the police took the baby away from her. She, however, was confused because to her this was OK to do in her culture. Different places do different things. I for one thought it was strange that she left her baby outside considering it could've gotten kidnapped but I guess that's just my ethnocentrism kicking in. If those who were around her were more sociological mindful they would've accepted the fact that to her it is ok to leave a baby outside and understood that different cultures act differenty. I now know that I need to be more sociologically mindful around those with different cultures instead of being judgy and thinking that the way we do things here isn't always the way you do things somewhere else.

SOCIOLOGICAL MINDFULNESS IN A BRONX TALE

SOCIOLOGICAL MINDFULNESS IS TO BE ABLE TO LEARN HOW THE WORLD AROUND US ACTS AND TO APPRECIATE PEOPLE WITHOUT JUDGEMENT. IN THE MOVIE A BRONX TALE CALOGERO OR "C" AS SOME PEOPLE WOULD CALL HIM WAS ABLE TO PICK UP ON THIS CONCEPT. DURING THE TIME PERIOD OF THIS MOVIE IT WAS DURING THE 1950'S, 1960'S WHERE SEGREGATION WAS STILL PROMINENT. IN C'S NEIGHBORHOOD ALL HIS "FRIENDS" WERE VERY AGAINST THE AFRICAN AMERICAN PEOPLE AND WERE ALWAYS THROWING OUT THE N WORD AND TRYING TO FIGHT AND BEAT THEM UP, AND EVENTUALLY TRIED TO KILL THEM. C WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO DIDNT SEE THEM AS THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN BUT FOR WHO THEY REALLY ARE AS PEOPLE, HE WAS ABLE TO GET TO KNOW JANE WITHOUT ANY JUDGEMENT AND IN THE END THEY END UP TOGETHER. C WAS VERY SOCIOLOGICALLY MINDFUL BECAUSE HE WAS ABLE TO APPRECIATE THE UNIQUE QUALITIES IN JANE WHERE AS HIS FRIENDS COULD NOT. NOT ONLY WAS C SOCIOLOGICALLY MINDFUL BUT SONNY ALSO HELPED C BECOME THAT WAY. HE WAS THE ONE WHO TOLD C TO DO WHAT HE WANTS IN ORDER TO BE HAPPY AND IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT COLOR SKIN YOU HAVE AS LONG AS YOU MAKE EACH OTHER HAPPY.

STEREOTYPES VS. CATEGORIES

 

 

This week in sociology we read an article, "Should We Generalize". This article talked about stereotyes and categories. It is in our nature to generalize things, whether it's people, animals, or even just objects. We put certain things into certain subgroups in order to help us. The only problem is that the way we categorize things can be hurtful to those around us. The article talks about how we if we were to say the word fish we would just put that in a category of ALL fish whether it's salmon or tuna, it doesn't matter but that is how we categorize things. But in our society today the way we categorize can we hurtful. Let's say you see a kid with one leg you would probably categorize that as oh that sucks he probably can't do much, but though his perspective it can be a great opportunity in which he teaches himself things that others cannot do. We just put all those people together in one big category thinking that because of their disability they can't do much. In my opinion categories are groups that help us put things together in order to help ourselves where as stereotypes are a negative connotation towards people because that is how society has made us see things. For example, if you were to see an African American you would think oh they're really good at sports because that is how our society has made us see things. As we talked about this in class it really made me become aware of the generalizations and cateogories I was putting people into. When I was at dinner the other night with my friends we saw this man who had this huge rash looking thing all over his face and they started to laugh, I thought to myself wow this could be a good thing for him, maybe this hasn't affected his life and maybe it has made him a stronger human being. 

CONFLICT THEORY

This week in sociology we learned about the conflict theory. This was created by Karl Marx. He studied how different classes have controlled society throughout history. This can also be connected to what we did this week, and that was watching Freaks and Geeks. This show was about the separation of groups and how people react to how each group acts, or what they do. There were the freaks, which were the "druggies" or the burn outs as some would call, where as then there were the geeks which were the nerds. While watching this show I realized that the idea of the conflict theory came into play. The freaks acted as if they had control over the geeks, they would pick on them and act as if they were better then them, when in reality they are not. Also the idea of social construction of reality which basically means a society of people created from experience had a role to play in this show. People are aware of the different groups and we learn to accept that it's normal. We believe it is normal for older kids to feel like they have more power over the younger kids, or that the "freaks" are able to pick on the "geeks", we have grown up seeing this is movies and in reality that those become our experiences and we actually believe that it is ok to act that way. I think after watching that show I have become more sociologically mindful to those around me and I have begun to see things in a different way and realize that THINKING you have a certain power over others is not ok.