Alright, I'm going to go to a cafe in New York City and leave my baby in the stroller on the street. Not.
Why wouldn't I do this? Hellllooooooo?! It's super dangerous! In America, we are taught that if you like something you always take good care of it- for us, that means always making sure it's safe and out of harms way. We see leaving a baby on the street unsupervised as hazardous. However to some other cultures, it's perfectly safe and acceptable. In fact, a Danish woman visited New York and left her baby on the street as she ate lunch in a cafe. To the woman, she saw no danger- In Holland, it was custom to do this! However, when she did it on the streets of New York, her baby was taken away and put into custody. i feel that if Americans, or all people in general, had more of a sociological imagination, they would have been more accepting of this. Yeah, okay, maybe they would've still taken the baby into custody, but they would have been more understanding as to why the woman left her baby outside. Unfortunately, because not all people are educated in sociology, they don't think this way, and I think this is why culture is still a barrier between all different types of people.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
A Bronx Tale
In the movie, A Bronx Tale, I think it was interesting to see how over time which people influenced Calogero the most.
At first, I think his master status / group is his family's. He rides the bus with his dad daily, idolizes baseball- something that brings him and his dad together, and enjoys spending time at home.Calogero was proud of his father and how hard he worked day in and day out. However, over time, his master status switches to Sonny's gang. He changes his name, that has been passed down from generations, Calegero, to just "C"- a nickname that Sonny came up for him. Instead of going to baseball games with his dad, he went to the racetrack with Sonny.
In his neighborhood, the only way to have respect of the people was to be tough. You had to dress a certain way, walk the walk, and talk the talk. I found it to be kind of a let down that C let all of those influences influence him, considering the fact that his dad had such integrity and never fell under the fear or influence Sonny possessed.
At first, I think his master status / group is his family's. He rides the bus with his dad daily, idolizes baseball- something that brings him and his dad together, and enjoys spending time at home.Calogero was proud of his father and how hard he worked day in and day out. However, over time, his master status switches to Sonny's gang. He changes his name, that has been passed down from generations, Calegero, to just "C"- a nickname that Sonny came up for him. Instead of going to baseball games with his dad, he went to the racetrack with Sonny.
In his neighborhood, the only way to have respect of the people was to be tough. You had to dress a certain way, walk the walk, and talk the talk. I found it to be kind of a let down that C let all of those influences influence him, considering the fact that his dad had such integrity and never fell under the fear or influence Sonny possessed.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
The message
The excerpt from Gang Leader for a Day put a lot of different aspect about being a sociology in perspective.
For one, I thought it was interesting how in a way society tells us how to act around different types of people. Some are more obvious, others are more hidden. When Sudhir Venkatesh was attending U of C, people told him to stay away from the poverty neighborhoods that surrounded the school. This created a blind fear in the people that lived in the projects. Vice versa, the people that lived in the projects were afraid of the people that were not impoverished. Venkatesh's study was done in the 80's. During that same time, musical artists like, Grand Master Flash, were coming up with songs like "The Message." The whole time I was reading this excerpt, the lyrics kept popping in my head. The opening line is "it's like a jungle sometimes, it keeps me wonderin' how I keep from goin' under." This line itself could create a sense of fear into people that live in the projects of what life is for them.
Also I never realized how there are two different methods to studying people. If I had to preform a study, I think I would gather some quantitative information, but most of it would be qualitative. I would want to be an Ethnographer; I would want to go out in the world and experience different ways of life. I think talking to people, not as if they are data, will actually give you the answers you are looking for.
This sociology stuff is pushing me to the edge, I'm trying not to lose my head ahahaha :D
For one, I thought it was interesting how in a way society tells us how to act around different types of people. Some are more obvious, others are more hidden. When Sudhir Venkatesh was attending U of C, people told him to stay away from the poverty neighborhoods that surrounded the school. This created a blind fear in the people that lived in the projects. Vice versa, the people that lived in the projects were afraid of the people that were not impoverished. Venkatesh's study was done in the 80's. During that same time, musical artists like, Grand Master Flash, were coming up with songs like "The Message." The whole time I was reading this excerpt, the lyrics kept popping in my head. The opening line is "it's like a jungle sometimes, it keeps me wonderin' how I keep from goin' under." This line itself could create a sense of fear into people that live in the projects of what life is for them.
Also I never realized how there are two different methods to studying people. If I had to preform a study, I think I would gather some quantitative information, but most of it would be qualitative. I would want to be an Ethnographer; I would want to go out in the world and experience different ways of life. I think talking to people, not as if they are data, will actually give you the answers you are looking for.
This sociology stuff is pushing me to the edge, I'm trying not to lose my head ahahaha :D
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Social Construction of Reality
To spit or not to spit?-that is truly the question.
Everyday, without realizing it, we as a society have created a tacit list of things that are considered acceptable in certain situations.Social Construction reminds me of the saying "there is a time and place for everything."
A example of social construction of reality that deals with gender comes to mind quickly. For the school dance, Turnabout, it is okay for a girl to ask a guy to a dance. That is what you are supposed to do. However, if a girl asked a guy to Homecoming, a girl might feel awkward-but why? It's not like there is any rule that a guy has to ask a girl... it's just another tacit rule that we follow.
Everyday, without realizing it, we as a society have created a tacit list of things that are considered acceptable in certain situations.Social Construction reminds me of the saying "there is a time and place for everything."
A good example of Social Construction is spit...it's true! People find it okay to swap spit.(i.e kissing, or sharing a drink.) However when spit is by itself or someone spits on the ground or on someone, or dare I say it, drinks it, people are thoroughly grossed out.
But why are we pleased sometimes and grossed out at other times of spit? Spit is the same consistency in both situations-what's the difference? If we took out every judgement or experience we had with spit and we were "new minds" we wouldn't see a difference because there isn't one, but because we have had experiences in society with spit, we know when it is okay and when to grimace.
A example of social construction of reality that deals with gender comes to mind quickly. For the school dance, Turnabout, it is okay for a girl to ask a guy to a dance. That is what you are supposed to do. However, if a girl asked a guy to Homecoming, a girl might feel awkward-but why? It's not like there is any rule that a guy has to ask a girl... it's just another tacit rule that we follow.
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