Blog 12: Approaches to Social Change

One of the important topics covered this week was social change in society. Social change refers to changes in the core of a society's structure, culture, or social behavior over a period of time. There are two approaches which are used in order to cause social change. The first of these is reform, in which individuals attempt to cause change through legit, legal means. This can include demonstrations or protests in order to gain support for your ideas and cause potential change through voting, or whatever conventional means one's society has for changing the norm. The second is radical, where individuals provoke change through working outside the system in order to create major changes in society. This can include riots or revolutions which occur to change aspects of society into what the individuals want. While many individuals view social change caused through radical means as always being a negative, it's through this type that our country first came into being.

When our country was originally the thirteen colonies, there was always tension between them and Great Britain when it came to colonists feeling unfairly treated by the parliament. A common saying used to incite the American Revolution was "No taxation without representation". This referred to how the people felt that it was unfair of the government to tax the colonists without allowing for colonist representation in the British parliament. It was through protests focusing on this, as well as other issues that colonists had with the British government that first sparked the idea of revolution and gave it enough power to eventually cause major social change in the colonies. The revolutionary leaders were able to use the radical approach in order to defy the existing norms and cause some huge changes in society, including even creating a new government after getting rid of the old one. While this act could still be viewed as a negative by some, most would surely agree that this is a prime example of radical social change that was able to benefit our society as a whole.

     

 This is a painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which signified the official breaking away of the colonies from Great Britain.

Blog 11: Modernization Theory

One of the important topics covered this week was the concept of Globalization and Modernization Theory. Globalization is the processes that are occurring in our world that are gradually changing Nations from being more individual into one global entity.  This process has been increased exponentially with the popularity of the internet allowing countries to interact with little delay. This has caused ideas and technology to be spread quickly across the world to the point where countries that may be lacking basic bathroom facilities or clean water are still able to have a population with plenty of Iphones and other modern conveniences. This causes the concept known as Modernization theory, which states that modern/progressive values and technologies are being brought to countries that would be deemed underdeveloped. An example of this would be countries in Africa in which the citizens may have access to the internet, but lack food and shelter.

This may be both a positive and negative process for the area depending on the consequences. Modernization can be a positive in allowing underdeveloped nations access to better medical technology as well as enabling them to better communicate with the rest of the world using cell phones or computers. It can also be a negative though, as this process is viewed as irreversible and cultures will never be able to get back to what their society was like before Modernization hit. It can also create problems in distracting individuals with modern conveniences when they have much more important issues to deal with such as getting food for the day or other necessities. They may also be exposed to thoughts or connotations about their country that can produce a stigma towards their own country or other countries. An example of this would be the negative feelings many underdeveloped countries have towards the United States, due to what they have seen and heard of us through the media. Many believe us all to be obese and lazy, to the point where they may even being to hate our country based on their perceptions of what they have seen or heard of us.

                                          This is what many other countries view all Americans as.

Blog 10: Culture of Fear

One of the important topics we covered in class this week was the culture of fear which is prevalent in our country. This culture of fear is further spread and given strength due to the fact that many groups are able to make a profit off the fear of others. These groups are deemed "peddlers of fear" as they are able to gain attention and thrive off the fear of consumers. An example of these "peddlers of fear" would be the news media, as they are able to gain viewership through spreading stories about violence and making people afraid. They tend to focus on events such as mass shootings and murders, because even though these are rare events, the news media is able to make it seem as though they are more common. They make their viewers afraid of these things happening to them so that they keep watching, which is how these news media get their ratings and profits.

The news media isn't the only "peddler of fear" though, as politicians often spread their fair share of fear during their campaigns and speeches in order to get votes and money for their causes. This often causes the public perception of fear to increase, while the risk of these events happening to the everyday person has not increased. Politicians can work in tandem with the media so that both benefit off the spread of fear. Politicians generally use the fear tactics of their party in order to frighten people into voting for them in what they perceive as a vote in quelling this fear when in reality this is often not the case. An example of this would be senator Joe McCarthy capitalizing on the red scare in order to gain attention and political power during the 1950s. He was able to enhance people's pre-existing fears of hidden Communism in America in order to get many of his political enemies arrested and to become more famous.

This is a link to a famous broadcast done by famous journalist Edward R Morrow on the state that McCarthyism had brought our country to. It's also a statement on the culture of fear in general. The news media and politicians aren't really to blame for how popular this fear has become, as it's always the common people that allow it to gain momentum.

Blog 9: Rape Culture in Mass Media

An important topic that was covered this week was the spreading of Rape Culture in our society through the media. Specifically we looked at the lyrics and music video of the popular song "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke. While I have heard this song many times since it came out, I've never really paid attention to the lyrics. It sounds like I'm not the only one though, as there were several people in our class who also hadn't realized how terrible the lyrics truly are. I can also relate to the student who mentioned their camp kids sing this song without fully comprehending it, since my 9 year old sister does as well and she's the impressionable one that might get bad ideas about what relationships are meant to be like later in life. This is how prevalent rape culture has become in our society, as it's ingrained in our pop culture to the point where there isn't really much we can do to thwart its spread.

In this way, the media is able to influence our culture's beliefs and norms through women believing that sex is supposed to hurt and be forced, which is a horribly unhealthy way of thinking. This promotes inequality in showing that women are meant to be quiet and dominated, while men should be aggressive and in control of interactions with women, whether these be in a date setting or in the bedroom. Another effect of Rape Culture is when victim blaming occurs. Victim blaming is when a rape occurs and the victim of the sexual assault is the one who is blamed for the act. This can be due to what they were wearing or how they were acting, which Rape Culture says is their own fault for the transgression. This is certainly not an excuse for sexual assault, as contrary to what our society may suggest, it isn't the victim's fault. However, there's no easy fix for getting Rape Culture out of the media, as the controversy that it causes tends to also cause it to become more popular and talked about, further promoting it.

An important factor to notice is that in society's attempts to prevent rape, they always preach to young women about how to avoid getting raped. There is a curious lack of attempts made to educate young men about how not to become rapists.

Blog 8: Analyzing Socopoly

This week in class we ended up playing Socopoly, which was a variation on the popular game Monopoly which was used to show how certain groups in society have distinct advantages over others. In this regard, it showed how the different teams which represented different groups and classes had to struggle, with certain groups spending most of their game in jail, which they found preferable to being out losing tons of money in the game. In our game the groups were the privileged whites, Hispanics, single mother, and African American families. What was especially noticeable during our game was that the single mother and African American groups had little money and were often in prison due to how easily their roll of the dice would land them there. This is quite the metaphor for how in real life families in these situations often struggle to be able to stay "in the game" as well as often having problems with the law, in this case being symbolized by "going to jail".

This was a good depiction of how these individuals often start with less chance for success than the others, as was evidenced in Reading 25 in our textbook. In this reading, an experiment is conducted in which White, Latino, and Black participants went out and applied for jobs. The results found that white felons, who had previous criminal records had an easier time being offered a job than Latino and Black participants who didn't have a record. This was evident in the game in which the African American and Latino groups were at a significant disadvantage when compared to the White group. They had less opportunity to make money and obtain properties, as well as a greater chance to wind up in jail. This game did a fine job of showing what it's like to be in an unfair position in society. The groups that were the most disadvantaged also seemed to be getting the least enjoyment out of playing the game.  They were clearly at an unfair starting point compared to the better off groups, which is exactly how it often is for individuals in real life.

Blog 7: Sexism in Classroom

One of the readings from this past week that really stuck with me was "Missing in Interaction" in which the authors detail sexism in the classroom, much of which is accidental. While I have heard much of this before, I was surprised at how much the hidden curriculum shows children that their gender should dictate their behavior. Specifically, the greatest offense I saw here was the book "I'm Glad I'm a Boy! I'm Glad I'm a Girl!" which contained terrible stereotypes that I can see may have damaged children's perceptions of themselves during the time period in which it was widely used. Showing boys that they can earn whatever job they want, while showing girls that they will live in the shadows of men and always need their help, is truly degrading. In the classroom, these girls are taught to be inactive and focus on their physical attributes, while the boys are encouraged to be active and speak out in regards to their opinions.

It further complicates this issue that educators often don't realize that they're instilling these stereotypes into the children. The teachers in the reading didn't notice this until they were shown their own teaching methods through recordings. Many were shocked and appalled by their behavior, which positive attention and criticism directed toward male students, while the females settled into quiet obscurity. This gender divide in schools is something that was very prominent when I was in elementary school, but I never really gave it much thought other than just accepting it as the way things are. This is a major issue, although I'm not sure what a possible solution to this might be. We talked in class about how to potentially solve education problems in regards to lower class minority students, but not how to deal with the divide between genders during these school years.

Blog 5: Passing

One of the more integral parts of our class discussions this week was the issue of passing. Passing refers to an individual being able to be thought of as a member of a social group that they actually aren't. An example of this may be found in reading 49 in our book, in which the author details how even though she wouldn't really classify herself as being Indian, she was still viewed in this way by her white peers. When people ask her where she's from, they expect an exotic sounding name of an Indian state, rather than her reply that she's originally from Phoenix, Arizona. This is an example though, of passing that's unwanted, as the author would rather just be known as American, since America is her homeland. Passing that is wanted, on the other hand, would include blending in with a group that one isn't normally a part of for some gain. An example of this would be someone being invited to a Superbowl party even though they aren't a fan of football. They may quickly read over details from the season about the teams and pick one to support. When the party comes, they may then appear to be an avid football fan like the rest of the party, when in reality they are just successfully passing for one.

This is a clip of Peter attempting to pass as an Italian, but he is in fact failing. From his point of view, all he would need to pass is a mustache and to speak in "boops" and "beeps" in order to be perceived as being a part of this social group. Many times, attempts at passing may end up failing. Another example of this would be if in my previous Superbowl example, one of the party goers had been able to find out that the individual was trying to pass for a football fan. Along with their interest in football being found to be a charade they may also face social embarrassment and be remembered for this event for the foreseeable future.

Blog 4: Privilege

When tasked with writing a story about either oppression or privilege, I had a difficult time thinking of situations in which I felt oppressed. However, there was one particular experience in which I acknowledged my privilege that immediately came to mind. This occurred while my family and I were on a road trip down to Florida for my cousin's wedding. We were driving through Tennessee when we decided to stop at a restaurant for lunch. It was one of those small local restaurants that came across as similar to a Denny's but with better food. When we entered, I happened to notice that there was another family in front of us which happened to be African-American. We walked up to the waitress and asked when we could be seated, to which she replied "immediately". My father and I were very confused by this, but followed her to the section she had set aside for us, near the front of the restaurant. We ordered our food and were eagerly awaiting it when I glanced up and saw that the other family had finally been summoned and were following the waitress to their table. I watched her lead them past our section and towards the back of the restaurant, which was dimly lit and lacked the space that ours did. It was at this point that I noticed that they weren't the only African American family in that far back section, so I questioned my mom about why they were all sitting farther away from the rest of the people. She informed me that we were in a different part of the country now and that "things are different here." This was one of my most influential encounters with segregation, which I had been taught in school was over, but which I found alive and well in the South. My younger self couldn't comprehend why the separation existed, but looking back on it now, I see that its one of many remnants of a horrible system that our country had in place at one time. Along with being forced to wait longer for a table when several were readily available, the African-American family also had to be seated in a less desirable part of the restaurant due to the color of their skin. I can't believe that this behavior still exists and it's one of many reasons why I have no desire to visit the southern states again in my life.

While not explicitly stated, the rules of many years ago are still enforced by certain people today. Some individuals are still holding to the ideals that their parents and grandparents believed in, even though those ideals hold certain people to be better than others based on race.

Blog 3

A central theme of this week was the idea of Social Identity Theory. Social Identity Theory states that an individual's self-concept is based on the groups they are a member of. This can apply to social, political, or religious groups that an individual associates with and defines as being important in their lives. These individuals also evaluate themselves and their accomplishments based on the expectations of the group, instead of their own. This can be evidenced through groups such as the Westboro Baptist Church, in which the members define themselves based on their affiliation with the church. They evaluate themselves based on the success of the church, usually only engaging in pursuits that can help out the cause. They're a more unique case though, due to their self-concept being influenced solely through this one source, although some members do choose to leave the church. Most instances of Social Identity Theory involve people being involved in multiple groups, such as people defining themselves as "Republican" or "Jewish" if they consider these to be vital parts of who they are.

These symbols depict groups that individuals may form their self-concept around. The donkey represents the Democratic Party, of which many people are members. These members take pride in the accomplishments and anguish in the failures of the group they identify with. Many people identify this political affiliation as an integral part of who they are. Another group that many people (particularly in this country) consider themselves a part of is the Christian religion, of which the cross is the most well known symbol of. Many people within this group evaluate themselves based on the ten commandments, as well as following popular mantras such as "what would Jesus do?". They may define their lives around their faith in ways such as becoming nuns/ leaders of the church. Social Identity Theory seems to confirm these groups as creating meaning and purpose for many people's lives.

Blog 2

A central theme of this week was the inherent inequality present in our society with regards to Gender. Gender was defined in class as "the personal traits and social positions that members of a society attach to being a female or male". So basically, gender refers to how society defines what it means to be male or female, as well as what is expected of both. This leads to much inequality, particularly when it comes to how society treats females. In earlier days of our country, females were often confined to the home and had the responsibility of taking care of children while the men worked. While these older views are changing, there are still some who believe that women should focus on housework and avoid careers in politics, business, or even becoming doctors. An issue of confusion in society is when people aren't sure whether to classify someone as being of male or female gender. This makes people very uncomfortable and can cause problems in people being conflicted on how to interact with individuals that they can't classify.

I chose this clip as, while it is comical, it does show what happens when someone mistakes an individual for another gender. Peter believed that the woman berating his son was actually a man, so he felt secure in hitting another man as this seems to be generally accepted in their society. When he begins to realize his mistake, he becomes visibly nervous, as the people around are now judging Peter due to his failure to comply with society's rules about how one should treat a woman. While obviously making the situation more extreme, Peter's folly is one that many people face when they fail to decipher if someone identifies as a man or woman. This can make communication difficult, as well as being unsure about how to behave, similar to the "Pat" clip that we watched in class.

First post

8 AM class. Yikes