Sociology Week 5

This week in sociology we discussed culture. We talked about ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, how language affects thoughts, and culture shock. Culture shock is when someone is really surprised at how a culture does something differently to theirs, we talked about how toilets are different in many countries. In some, it's simply just a hole in the floor and in order to "go" you have to squat down. It was interesting to me to hear this, because I've been exposed to it. That's how some of the toilets still are in India, where I visit often. However, I definitely experienced culture shock the first time I had encountered one when I was little. I remember how happy we were when my relatives all got Western Style toilets in their homes. It kind of bothers me now to think back on that, because it shows how we thought our way was superior to theirs (ethnocentrism).

The biggest culture shock I've experienced through my travels to India was last year, when we went to my relatives' house for dinner. Over there it's not uncommon at all to have maids coming to clean everything (mopping, dusting, etc.), do laundry, cook, and whatever else the family needs everyday. It's not really a luxury like it is here, it's seen as more of a necessity. So I was already used to that, but when I went to this relative's house, their "servant" (I don't like using that word, but that's what they use) was only 14 years old. I was 16. It was the weirdest feeling to have someone younger than me serving me my dinner. She went to school, then came to clean and serve at my relatives' house, then went home to her hut and studied and slept. This was major culture shock because over here in America someone that young would never be someone's maid/servant. Child labor like that is not okay here, and I definitely felt extremely uncomfortable and couldn't help but question the morals of my relatives- even though it isn't really a reflection on them at all because that's completely normal there. It reminded me of the article we read in class about that woman leaving her baby outside a restaurant in NYC while she ate. Over here we assume she has very bad morals, but it's okay to do that in her country.

Sociology Week 4

This week in sociology class we watched a movie called, A Bronx Tale. It is a true story about a boy named Cologero who grew up in the 50s in an Italian neighborhood in New York. Throughout his life, he belongs to many groups. His main groups are his family, Sonny, his friends, and Jane. When he was little, his master status was in his family, being a son. He rode the bus with his father often, and did what his father wanted him to when it came to lying to the cops about the killing he saw. However as he grew up and became a part of Sonny's group, which I consider to be just him and Sonny, that became more of his master status. The name change to 'C' was a major indicator of this. Everyone in town recognized him as 'C', including himself, except for his father. He gained benefits from this, such as free things and a lot of attention. Since everyone feared sunny, and he was "in" with Sonny, they respected him as well.

Similar to C, my master status has also changed as I've grown up. When I was younger it was simply being a daughter. I didn't have a solid group of friends or a boyfriend. My main role was my place in my family. I was most influenced by my parents, and my family was the group I gave most of my influence too. Although I still consider daughter as one of my master statuses, I think being a best friend has also become a master status. I have a few really close friends and they definitely have a huge influence on my life and vice versa. I think master statuses are always prone to changing because the groups we belong to are constantly changing as our lives change.

Sociology Week 3

This week in sociology we learned about the social construction of reality, how people are seen as the group they belong to, and the two main levels of sociology - macro and micro. Macro sociology is more of an umbrella term and refers to the bigger groups that people are a part of, like being an American. Micro sociology is how people within these groups interact with each other, interact with one another. For example, the dynamic of a classroom can be influenced simply by how a a teacher talks with their students - being formal and addressing people by last time will create a very different classroom feeling versus a teacher who constantly is swearing in front of the kids. To really demonstrate this, we did an activity called "Abandoned Ship". In this activity 16 people were given roles on a ship such as a pregnant woman and husband, an elderly couple, a Nobel Prize winning woman in literature, a medical student, and a few more. The group then had to interact with each other to decide which 7 people were going to be kicked off. How the group interacted with one another, like one person taking charge, or taking a majority rule vote, yelling and everyone talking at once, etc. was the micro sociology. That differed from class to class. However, the macro sociology was demonstrated because each class voted off basically the same people. The elderly couple was almost always kicked off, and the med student almost always stayed. This showed what we value as Americans. Age isn't seen as valuable as the practical knowledge of a medical student. In some other countries, like Japan, the elderly couple would most likely be the last to go. We all belong to the large group of Americans where we value youth, usefulness, and practical knowledge. I played the woman who won a Nobel Prize in literature and that's what I was seen as, I wasn't seen as just a woman, but I was labeled. And that label was not seen valuable as an American. We may have not realized it but our values were defined by us being Americans.

I can definitely see this in my own life. I'm Indian and I have been viewed a certain way because of that. Many people assume that I'm very smart and do really well in school because that's how Indians are viewed. Just today in my Economics class we found out our test grades were posted online. The kid next to me made some comment that I probably got 100 on the test. He didn't know my last test grade and barely knows me at all but he just assumed that I did really well. This isn't the first time that it's happened, where people have told me that I'm really smart in school without ever really having a conversation with me or seeing my grades. However, the people I interact with face to face know me better. They know the subjects that I am good at, but they also know I'm really bad at math and have never gotten an A in science!

Sociology Week 2

This week in class we learned about the three founding perspectives of sociology - functional analysis, conflict theory, and symbolic interaction. Watching an episode of the TV show, Freaks and Geeks, helped to demonstrate these perspectives in a way that we could understand. The show is about high school set in the 80s. For functional analysis, we talked about the different groups and how the people in the group affected - negatively or positively- through being in the group. The two main groups were the 'Freaks' and then the 'Geeks'. The freaks were made up of people who really didn't care about academics and did whatever they wanted, but having each other made them do things they wouldn't do otherwise- like even attending school. The geeks on the other hand, had each other for support against people who were bullying them. For conflict theory we talked about who has power in the school, why they have power, and how it is used. Jeff the teacher was able to use his power to make Lindsay serve refreshments at the dance as a punishment. And lastly we talked about important symbols and how they affected how the characters acted to represent symbolic interaction. Lindsay's army jacket gave her a care free, tough attitude an enabled her to talk to people in a certain way, and have them take her seriously.

In my life, I can definitely relate to conflict theory. Certain people have power over me in my life- such as my parents. My parents set the rules for me that I have to follow. For example, every Friday after school I have to clean up the mess in my room that has accumulated over the week, otherwise I'm not allowed out. My mom is the one who sets this rule and I follow it because she has power over me. She is the one who supports me financially. I'm living in her house that she pays for, eating the food that she provides, wearing the clothes that she's bought, etc. If I lived in a house of my own I would be able to go out whenever I wanted, regardless of whether or not the place was a mess. My older sister has just moved out and is on her own now. As long as she is paying her own rent, my mom can't exercise the same amount of power over her as she did a few years ago. However, when my sister was in college my mom still had a lot of say because she was the one paying tuition. As long as my parents are the one providing me with money, they have a good amount of power over my actions.