Initially I interpreted Sociology 1125 to consist of material related to social values and conflicts and as the course progressed, my knowledge about social matters increased. Sociology is illustrated as the scientific study of human behavior. It describes us as social beings which are products of social interactions and patterns. Sociologists study these behaviours and interaction through the giraffe’s eye view in which society is looked at as a whole. They are able to clearly distinguish interactions within society. Society does not only consist of the physical aspect of humans but is much more complex. Thoughts, beliefs and values are the building blocks of society. Although we create society through our accumulation of religion, beliefs, thoughts and values, as a result we as the creators become submissive. Sociology is an extremely intricate subject since there are several perspectives that need to be taken into account.
Society was a result of people coming together and adjusting in the presence of one another with respects to each other’s beliefs. Social control strains our decisions making processes by influencing our thoughts. In this sociology course I gained a deeper understanding of the relationship between society and social status. There are a few stories that I heard about throughout this semester that will remain with me forever.
It was heart breaking to learn about a thirteen year old girl, Genie, who was confined in her room since eighteen months of age. Her father strapped the poor child to a car seat, refraining her from learning the essential functions of human behaviour. Due to the lack of socialization Genie (even after being hospitalized) only managed to learn a few words once saved from her abusive father. Genie could not form sentences or ask questions linguistically. Researchers said she had passed the critical stage in life and her brain has developed without learning language therefor isn’t used to it existing. Although nature plays a huge role biologically, nurture is very important for our social development. The brain is there when we are born but it is very important to socialize the mind for it to develop. This shows how lack of socialization can greatly affect our lives. I feel very passionately against the father’s decision to isolate his daughter in such a manner. After going into depth about this tragic story I was shocked at how great of role socialization plays in our lives and that even post therapy could not rehabilitate her. This made me realize that minor details within my life should not be taken for granted.
Throughout the semester my group and I worked on a project related to human equality, specifically regarding the homeless. This subject matter opened my eyes to the truths of society. I came to a realization that human rights are often taken for granted. Our topic explored public space and the regulations and restrictions placed upon it. Although public spaces are thought to be open to all, most restrict the presence of homeless people.
From this course I am taking with me an abundance of knowledge related to society and its components. I am now more familiar with the terminology related to sociology. I would recommend this course to anyone who is interested in learning how society functions on a daily basis. In general I enjoyed this course and would like to rate it a 8/10.
Race did not always exist and everyone was considered to be one until Frenchman Francois Bernier came along to classify “race”. He put it into 4 categories of Europeans, Far Easterners, Sub-Saharan African, and Lapps. Throughout the article they continue to explain the superiority of the White Europeans. Their symmetric face and high intelligence made them more intriguing. I personally think their thoughts were not well justified and are not certainly not true. I feel like this is very ethnocentric of someone to say. I believe that every race is equal and that no one’s race us more or less than the rest. This is not the way majority of the world looks at this today but this is sometimes still found in society.
In this article it states that the US offered $50 million for the heads of Saddam Hussein and his sons. This is very surprising but not at the same time. I am quite shocked at the extent the US president has gone to for revenge. This is money that the government could have put in use for causes like helping people in poverty, cancer research and financial aids. I think this is probably the worst way to solve this problem, there are more ways to obtain peace and this is absolutely not one of them. He is going against being Christian and is definitely not something Jesus would have done.
During this article it talks about the importance of forgiveness and the unnecessary “lust for retaliation“. It continues to talk about the attack on September 11th and how the president of the USA has no intensions to forgive and forget the situation. He is launching attacks against Iraq and these attacks continue to harm innocent people. If President Bush decided to forgive and forget there would be no reason to send troops to Iraq. Instead he seeks revenge, “a body for a body“. Even though President Bush claims to be Christian he goes against how Jesus would have handled this situation. Billions of dollars are spent on weapons and getting soldiers into Iraq and yet the outcome is the death of innocent families just because the president thinks of revenge as a better solution. I believe this is not the way to handle this situation and I know there are ways to handle these situation without revenge.
APPENDIX
“Negotiation, Not Retribution”
“Negotiation, Not Retribution” is an article written by Charles Quist-Adade that shows the different types of causes for death in the world that could have been prevented. He starts off the article by talking about the victims of the September 11th attacks and his sympathetic attitude towards the victims and their families. Although this event is very tragic he mentions that our attention should also be given to the innocent people who die in the world today. He continues on to talk about countries like USA being involved in the death of approximately three million people. Throughout the rest of the article it talks about things that are left undealt with. The profound differences between the rich and the poor are also discussed in the article. Nelson Mandela was labelled as a terrorist even though he is considered an idol by many including myself. I found that very surprising because I have never read anything on Nelson Mandela stating any kind of terrorist related actions.
Quote:
As we do so, we also we should pause for a moment and, at least, ponder over the souls of tens of thousands of innocent children, women, and peasants in the developing world. Countless numbers of them have perished and continue to die everyday not only due to the direct and indirect interventions by the US- led West , but also by the apathy, wastefulness and greed of people in the industrialized nations of the world. For example, arms manufactured in the America, Russia, Asians and Middle – Easterners, to kill and maim one another. I could site many concrete cases around the world, but for brevity, the Democratic republic of Congo alone since 1996 with the complicity of the western countries, notably the USA.
Paraphrase: Although the attack on september 11th was very tragic lets take a look at the concerns of the developing world today. Although these concerns may not be direct, they are indirect and are not being dealt with. There are arms made in America, Russia, Asians and Middle – Eastern that are being used to kill one another. Many people are being killed in places like Congo are also being effected by countries like this.
Reason: I selected this passage from the article because these points contain a powerful example of the general theme of the article. I know the events that occurred on September 11th were very tragic but aside form that more causes should be looked upon
| What Question did the text raise? | How did the text answer the question? | How did this answer match our own ideas and experiences? |
| What are the stereotypes of different sexual preferences? |
The textbook shows us that normal sexuality is known as heterosexuality and a lot of people are heteronormative. Homosexuality is when one choices to have a sexual partner of the same sex and bisexual is someone who chooses a partner of either sex. Homosexual and bisexual people are treated as minorities in society. During the 1940’s medical models developed a popular understanding and scientific theory about homosexuality. Homosexuality was looked upon as a behaviour that could be cured. In 1953 Alfred Kinsey suggested homosexuality as a part of normal human experiences. Homophobia, the fear or antipathy towards persons with non-heteronormative sexual orientations played a big role in violations of human rights. Although for the first 100 years homosexuality was illegal in Canada, Canada does no longer discriminate. US is more narrow minded since marriages aren’t legal in all states. Different cultures have different perspectives on same sex relations. Judith Butler says sexuality should be seen as things as one does rather than their identity.
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I think homosexual people should be treated equally amongst society. The debate between legalizing gay marriages should not even exist. As we are human and under the charter have the rights and freedom to have the views and opinions we choose, it should not be a debatable topic amongst government regarding legalization. I think that homosexuality’s views are greatly impacted by ones surroundings and environment. I also understand why some people have a compelling argument against homosexual people as they may be traditional but I also feel as if they need to gain more knowledge upon humanity and not stay narrow minded rather step out of the norms and see the world with a broader view.
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| What Question did the text raise? | How did the text answer the question? | How did this answer match our own ideas and experiences? |
| Despise the laws stating equality between all humans, are there still differences and gender stratifications present in today’s society?
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The text addresses that it is not biological differences but more social and cultural beliefs that cause gender stratifications. Although laws are present, statistics still seem to show gender inequality against women. Being in the twenty-first century we still see women’s struggle with regards to politics. Some examples of gender stratification against women in the past are that they were expected to maintain the home and take responsibility for child care. The immense amounts of responsibility of domestic work became an obstacle for women who wished to pursue a career. Women were not involved in professions of natural sciences, engineering, and maths therefore they continued to work in “traditionally female” occupations. The gender inequalities evolved after the 1960’s. Employment of women became much more common in society. Rates of women graduating college escaladed. Women began to take jobs which were previously thought to be male dominating. By the 1970’s the average age of women getting married increased. The presence of women increased in politics but women still continued to be discriminated against.
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Although it seems shocking, I agree with the textbooks presentation of gender stratification. I still believe that gender inequalities are present in today’s society which are greatly influenced by cultural beliefs. In my culture the ancestral norms were to allow more freedom for boys whereas the girls were expected to mature at a faster pace. For example, I still see signs of gender inequality within my own family. It’s a tendency in my family to push more responsibility on women.
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