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.