Final Blog #10

In Sociology Class this semester I felt it was very challenging.Sometimes Even hard to keep up and follow.But I made it through.And I found myself interested in a few topics.

One of the topics that interest me the most was Chapter's 8 Deviance.Deviance is actions or behaviors that go against our social norms.It was just interested to me what the norms was if every culture.

Another topic that interest me was

Standford's Prison Experiment.

The article "sense and Nonsense about surveys" and the "Standford Prison Experiment", i thought to me interesting.As though one is about experiments the other is about surveys.The difference between surveys and experiments is that:Experimentation produces either one or no outcome.Surveying gathers many opinions which can subsequently be analyzed and a general concensus determined.But I felt like both topics were similar being that surveys and experiments are both set out to find some type of information to the unknown.And is data that is always updated because its due to either change or stay the same.

The last experiement that interst me was "Killing Us Softly And The Manbox"What I've taken away from these readings and videos is that society has impacted women from adolescent stage in life.And that ads depict the wrong message to society about the ideal perfect woman that is put beneath a man and only use as an sexual object.Even,before our generation women were always put on the back burner.Men are always giving the spoon fed to them,and are always picked first without being thought about twiceSo,basically I guess its safe to say that this is a "Man's World".

In all even though the class was interested it open my mind to things I was so naive to about culture,society,and even just an individual.I would recommend this class to students.

Positive Functions of the Undeserving Poor: Uses of the Underclass in America

In the "People Like Us" video I Learned and it was stated,that its against the American principle to belong to a class.I learned that America is a nation of tribes.And tribes can be defined on what we do,how much we make,our goals and aspirations.Class is everywhere,but hard to see.And I believe that this can be proved because in Gans's article,"Positive Functions of the Undeserving Poor: Uses of the Underclass in America",it states that 

poor people involve themselves in activities which threaten their physical safety, for example street crime, or which deviate from important norms claimed to be “mainstream,” such as failing to work, bearing children in adolescence and out of wedlock, and being “dependent” on welfare. In times of high unemployment, illegal and even legal immigrants are added to this list for endangering the job opportunities of native-born Americans.

Now, this argument can be debated because in these activities any individual can involve themselves in.Doesnt matter what class there seen to be stated in.But it can be proven that lower class/poor people are mostly like the one to indulge in these activities.

Another statement that stood out from Ganas's article was "Like many other sociologists, however, I argue that the behavior patterns which concern the more fortunate classes are poverty- related, because they are, and have historically been, associated with poverty."

I agree with this statement.I feel like most of the people who are minorities are living in poverty.Which is history repeating itself back to slavery.I dislike to see homeless people on the streets,sleeping in alley ways,and falling into statistics theory by making themselves make up the percentage of poverty because they have to much pride or are to lazy.

Race and Class in the American

Cole stated that "The exploitation of inequality in criminal justice is driven by the need to balance two fundamental and competing interests: the protection of constitutional rights, and the protection of law-abiding citizens from crime. Virtually all constitutional protections in criminal justice have a cost: they make the identification and prosecution of suspected criminals more difficult. Without a constitutional requirement that police have probable cause and a warrant before they conduct searches".Cole's article can relate to Chapter 8's crime and punishment.Where it is stated that,

Laws are specific rules,recognized in a community and adopted officially by a governing body,that are enforceable by established processes. Crime exists in all societies. Communities have specialized agencies to handle potential and actual law breaking.The criminal justice system,which is designed to prevent crime and apprehend and punish those who commit crimes,is a powerful agent of social control.

To my understanding of What Cole stated is that being fair and equal is morally right when enforcing rules and laws.And to my understanding of crime and punishment in chapter 8 rules and laws are enforced to say what is legal and what is illegal? Not that this person has to be punish or not because of their class,race,gender,or social status .For example,Two people of different races committed the same crime.A punishment should be taken into action as a consequences not because of their races.

Another example is O.J Simpson's case.For me I don't care who you are as a celebrity.How much you make.Your social status shouldn't prove your innocent or guilty.

Killing Us Softly And The Manbox

It was stated in Charon's article "What does it mean to be human?", that "Psychologists may focus on the fact that humans are instinctive, that they are driven by their nonconscious personality, that they are conditioned like many other animals, or that, unlike other ani- mals, they act in the world according to the ideas and perceptions they learn. Most will maintain that human beings develop traits early in life out of an interplay of heredity and environment".I found that this relates to Chapter 6's,"Socialization through the life course".That although everyone progresses through various stages
Of life,those stages and what they mean can differ based on the historical period and culture in which a person lives,as well as on the person's gender,class,and other aspects of personal identity.

In the article "What does it mean to be human"?,it states that "In colonial days women were socialized to become the property of men. It was socialization not only by parents, neighbors, religion, and friends that accomplished this, but also by limited opportunities for women in the larger society, and this prohibition told women what they must become to be useful in society. "I think that this relates to tony porters video called the "Manbox".That being because women were treated as property of men since colonial days,and the "Manbox" explains that woman were just consider sexual objects to men and that women were just to be beneath men.Tony Porter stated that the Manbox is consider rules of what a man should be or do as a man.

In Kilbourne's ,"Killing Me Softly" ,She stated that ads were use as an powerful educational force.And that only 8% of an ad's message is received by the conscious mind,that the rest is reworked deep with in the recess of the brain.It was shocking to find out that every picture we see is worked on or enhanced on by technology.I learned that women of color are only beautiful,only if they approximate the white ideal.I couldn't believe how blind I've been not notice how in some ads African-American women were feature in exotic jungles or put in ads as animals or with animals.
What I have watched and read had open my eyes to many new things.
And it's so crazy to me that I want to be a print ad model.Even after reading these articles and watching these videos.I'm not discourage to not follow my dreams as a print ad model.But I will say that I feel that my journey to become this print ad model has been hard since I'm African American woman.


What I've taken away from these readings and videos is that society has impacted women from adolescent stage in life.And that ads depict the wrong message to society about the ideal perfect woman that is put beneath a man and only use as an sexual object.
Even,before our generation women were always put on the back burner.Men are always giving the spoon fed to them,and are always picked first without being thought about twiceSo,basically I guess its safe to say that this is a "Man's World".

Milgram's Experiement

1961 Stanley milgram conducted a experiment to see if law abiding citizens would give a stranger a lethal shock.In the original vote over 65% of the people went to 450 volts.

In 1970 the experiment was given again By Michael C.9 out 12 contributed shocks.

In the Milgram experiement,I was informed as quoted that " People believe science is a positive product.It produces beneficial findings and knowledge for society to work 

Scientist can't force you to do anything, but draws people in by making it essential to continue."

I find this quote to go hand in hand with what I read in chapter 5.Chapter 5 states that,"the amount of power that we have heavily influences what we can accomplish in life,whether at home,at work,or in our community".In this chapter I also learned that people with more resources typically have more power,and those with power can use it to obtain more resources".

Milgram's experiement can relate to legitimate power.Which is exercised by those who invoke a feeling of obligation.The participants felt that the scientist held some high authority that they mentally made a choice probably without fully understanding when he said,"It's require for you to finish the experiment".

I feel people deal with legitimate power everyday.We feel as though certain people have a higher standing in life so we  follow.Ex.teachers,bosses,parents,police,govt.At work I listen to my supervisors,boss and follow what they say in hopes that they're leading me to the right direction.Sometimes I feel when I'm having misunderstanding.I then use the power I have to let them know how I feel.And from there it can be positive or negative consequences.

The Meaning of Social Control

The  meaning of social control

Peter berger

When reading this article I had an understanding that Social control means , control of individual behavior by society, and that control of social institutions should be in the interest and welfare of the whole society. 

In the article "The meaning of social control", I found that there were different social controls that were ordered from the most important to least important.

1. physical violence,One main point that was stated in the article was that,"all men live in social situations in which,if all other means of coercion fail,violence may be officially and legally used against them.

2. Economy  control - threatens on livelihood or profit

3.opprobrium and ostracism- "shunning" example:Depending on what negative situation a person does the outcome is that him/her is not to be talk to by anyone and to be considered norm less.

4.circle of ones family & friends- circle that an individual normally has most important social ties.

The circle is what keeps a person mentally,emotionally,and spiritually sane.

 

Peter Beger's article "The meaning of social control"  stated that "No society can exist without social control" to back up this statement i found that in chapter 4 it relates to the article 

Because on chapter 4 it states that;

"Ethnomethodologists believe that social structure exists precisely because we are constantly creating it as we construct and reconstruct social order in our daily routines."

In chapter 4 "creating and changing social structure" I learned that 

We experience socisl structure as a unchanged pattern.Its our behavior that we live by everyday  that seem permanent,natural,and inevitable.

Chapter 4 also states that,social structure is rooted in the everyday activity of individuals in a society.Sociologists use two key concepts-status and role- to help understand what links people to one another and to the patterns that constitute social structure.

"The meaning of Social control" can relate to Organizational structure which refers to the rules and routines,both formal and informal,that shape daily activity  within organizations.

The Promise and Pitfalls of Going Into the Field

The Promise and Pitfalls of Going Into the Field

As stated in the article,"The Promise and Pitfalls of Going Into the Field",Ethnography, as we defined it when we edited
the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography,
includes observing social activities as an outsider,
observing while participating in the activities, and
conducting intensive interviews. Considered the
most accessible to readers of all the social scientific
methods, ethnography draws on the language and
perspective of everyday members of society, and is
often written like investigative journalism. A successful
ethnography captures readers’ fancies,
bringing them closer to the lives of others, and, like
a good movie or book, offers insight into people’s
ordinary worlds. Literally translated as a “portrait of
the people,” ethnography describes and analyzes the
beliefs, motivations, and rationales of a people in a
particular setting or subculture

I found that the article "The Promise and Pitfalls of Going into the field" relates to "Sociology's Common Ground:Culture,Structure,and Power in chapter 1.In "Common Ground Culture;It was said that "daily life tends to be ordered by various informal patterns of behavior,or social structures."Family structure",for example,even though there's no formal organizational by-laws that regulate the behavior of such groups.There are,however,legal standards,social norms,and common pratices that establish the "rules" of family life.So,both topics,explain the reason why people are acustom to what they do based on beliefs,settings,and way of life.