For me the emerging issues in sociology go hand in hand with the issues already discussed specifically poverty and racism in the United States. Sadly, the economy is not improving and with that we are maintaining high levels of unemployment along with more and more families seeking assistance for necessities like food, shelter, child-care expenses and the like. And while we have made leaps and bounds on the racism front, with the election of a mixed race president, there is still so much work to do.
Globally, it seems that everyone is at war and it appears that the United States has its hands in all of the conflicts. The lasting results of war are devastating to all parties involved. We can only hope for and promote world peace but as long as our nation continues to rely so heavily on crude oil and other imports we will stand in our own way.
If I had the time and the discipline I would love to further research the sociological impacts of corporations as I consider it an emerging issue. With more and more families being pushed out of the middle class while the top one percent continues to get richer with continuous record breaking profits, something just doesn't jive!
To live anywhere in the world today and be against equality because of race or color is like living in Alaska and being against snow. - William Faulkner
Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racism
Really, is this still an issue!?! Sadly, in the Inland Northwest it is. As recent as January of this year, hopeful members of a white supremacist group planted an explosive device on the route of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade in Spokane, Washington. Fortunately, Spokane's bomb squad was able to detonate the bomb before it hurt or killed any innocent bystanders.
For more information on this disturbing and potentially tragic event, check-out:
I absolutely adore living in North Idaho but I am very troubled by the reputation we have stemming from a once thriving population of group referred to as "Arian Nations". The community of Coeur d'Alene has made a huge effort to remedy this reputation, the "Arian Nation" compound no longer exists and community member and officials have all stood together on various occasions to communicate that actions of prejudice and hate will not be tolerated. Sadly, that is what has put us on the map. In fact, I have friends that won't even come and visit.
Prejudice, discrimination, and racism all have a negative implication and the terms are used loosely by many. Sociologists further define and distinguish between the terms to understand race and ethnic relations. In the text, prejudice is defined as the evaluation of a social group and the individuals within it based on conceptions about the social group held despite the facts that are disproving them. Simply put prejudice is an attitude and virtually no one is free of prejudice. Discrimination on the other hand, is a behavior and is defined as an overt negative and unequal treatment of the members of some social group solely because of their membership in that group. Then there is racism, which takes many forms and includes both attitudes and behaviors and is defined in the text as the perception and treatment of a racial or ethnic group, or member of that group. For me, this is an issue that should not take the time of a sociologists beautiful mind, its 2011 and I believe that prejudice, discrimination, and racism should purely be a thing of the past. Negative actions against racial and ethnic groups should under no circumstance be tolerated.
Please enjoy this anti-discrimination video:
The following is a useful resource for preventing and addressing prejudice:
"All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move." Arabian proverb
Social Class - A Necessary Evil
I would assume that a perfect world would be one where there are no clearly defined classes, where wealth and resources are distributed equally, and no one person or groups of persons are placed on a pedestal. Maybe so, but the reality is that is simply not the case. According to our text, observing and analyzing class is fundamental to sociological study and as a result it has been revealed that the greatest cause for the disparities in material success is the organization of society. Therefore, sociologists study the social structural origins of inequality.
I have a genuine interest in poverty in the United States. As a nutrition advisor for the University of Idaho Extension Nutrition Program, a program funded by the USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, I work with low-income families to teach them to stretch their food dollars while making more nutritious choices. In the three years I have been in this position I have been exposed to levels of poverty that I thought only existed in third world countries and in the movies. I have also had the opportunity to partake in various poverty simulations and trainings. This chapter further emphasized the real-life social disparities in the United States. Some alarming statistics from text that stood out for me include:
1 in 5 children in the United States lives in poverty
The rate of poverty in the United States has been increasing since 2000
31% of women who are head of household, live below the poverty line
1% of the U.S. population controls 33% of the total wealth in the nation
The bottom 20% of the U.S. population owes more than they own
It is argued that poverty in the United States is a result of the culture habits of the poor that are transmitted from generation to generation. However, according to the text sociologists theorize that poverty is caused by social structure conditions, including unemployment, gender inequality in the workplace, and the absence of support for childcare for working parents.
The video below is an excellent depiction of social class in the United States and the key terms associated with the subject:
Below is an interesting article defining the social classes in the United States:
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/924658
In general social class refers to the distinctions between groups and individuals which are different from one society to another society or even within a particular society.
Every group of people believes in particular ideas such as age, gender, education, religion, income, family origin that put an individual in a higher or a lower position in a society.
Social groups in higher classes always possess great deal of power that gives them opportunity to subordinate lower classes.
The concept of class in the United States:
Class in the United States refers more to personal income, educational attainment and occupational prestige for those of 25-year-old or older. Although there are many people in the United States who believe that American society has been divided into three groups of poor, middle class and rich, this society is more diverse culturally and economically. While some theorists believe that because of such diversity it is impossible to draw a distinctive lines between social classes in the United States, but there are some who think it will be helpful if we consider major classes to discuss about class matter and to understand it better.
The American society categorized into five major class systems:
The first one is upper class which defines as those with great deal of power who are prestigious and influential especially on the nation's institutions.
The second class system is upper middle class that refers to those who enjoy high job with comfortable personal income. Most of them have received post-secondary degrees and they belong to the white collar professions.
Lower middle class is the third system that refers to those with college education who usually suffer from the lack of job security. They don't receive proper income also.
The fourth system labeled as working class includes those individuals who belong to blue as well as white collar workers; most of them have not received college degrees (even there are many who have never attended colleges) and suffer from low personal income.
Those who are in lower class are marginalized and poor although they work day and night.
Since the majority of people in the United States know themselves as middle class, it would be helpful if we concentrate more on this particular system to understand the United States' social conditions.
Culture, educational attainment and income are three factors so influential on an individual to identify himself/herself as a member of middle class.
Different social groups in the United States' society feature their own sub-cultures including common beliefs and manners accepted by all the members. Sub- cultures can influence the way members look at the world and even the way they raise their children.
If an individual ascends or descends from one social class to the other one class members will change their class culture. As class culture changes individuals' attitude toward the world, it can be influential directly to the necessity of education in the eyes of the social classes' members and indirectly to the members' income.
In America to the extent people become more educated they can earn more money and they can be able to occupy more prestigious locations. Prestigious location is the other factor that besides higher education and comfortable income influences an individual to identify himself or herself as an upper middle class or upper class member.
So, where do you stand? Are you one of the few lucky ones controlling the wealth of the nation? Are you part of the shrinking middle class? Are you comfortable living paycheck to paycheck – and wouldn't have it any other way? Do the folks at the Department of Health and Welfare know you and your entire family by name? Play this fun interactive game to find out where exactly you stand!
"The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life."
— Jane Addams
WHY SOCIOLOGY?
According to our text, "Sociology, The Essentials (6th Edition)", sociology is the study of human behavior. Expanding on that definition, sociology is an in-depth look at history, other cultures and times, the interconnectedness of social life, and different frameworks of thought. For me, the issues addressed through the study of sociology are very thought-provoking! I would also contend that the study of sociology requires time, dedication, and an abstract way of thinking perhaps a bit beyond my capabilities.
A very well-known sociologist and author, C. Wright Mills (1916-1962), coined the term sociological imagination, (also the title of his popular book) to define the ability to identify and understand the methods and concepts of sociology for which yield powerful insights into the social processes shaping lives, experiences, problems and possibilities in the world. Sociology addresses the most challenging issues of our time. Sociologists understand social inequality, patterns of behavior, forces for social change and resistance, and the workings of social systems.
I truly admire the individuals who dedicate their lives to the study of sociology which requires a unique and respectable skillset including the ability think abstractly, formulate problems, ask appropriate questions, search for answers, analyze situations and data, organize material, write well, and make oral presentations that help others develop insight and make decisions. I was pleasantly surprised to find out the present day sociology majors include Michelle Obama, Robin Williams, and Regis Philbin, all uniquely successful.
For those with further questions on whom or why one should study sociology, I found the following to be insightful, from "Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective" by Peter L. Berger:
Why Study Sociology?
The sociologist . . . is someone concerned with understanding society in a disciplined way.
S/he will naturally be interested in the events that engage people's ultimate beliefs, their moments of tragedy and grandeur and ecstasy. But s/he will also be fascinated by the commonplace, the everyday.
What interests us is the curiosity that grips any sociologist in front of a closed door behind which there are human voices. If s/he is a good sociologist, s/he will want to open that door, to understand those voices. Behind each closed door s/he will anticipate some new facet of human life not yet perceived and understood.
The fascination of sociology lies in the fact that its perspective makes us see in a new light the very world in which we have lived all our lives.
[T]here is a deceptive simplicity and obviousness about some sociological investigations.
One reads them, nods at the familiar scene, remarks that one has heard all this before and don't people have better things to do than to waste their time on truisms--until one is suddenlybrought up against an insight that radically questions everything one had previously assumed about this familiar scene. This is the point at which one begins to sense the excitement of sociology.
It can be said that the first wisdom of sociology is this--things are not what they seem.
This too is a deceptively simple statement. It ceases to be simple after a while.
Social reality turns out to have many layers of meaning.
The discovery of each new layer changes the perception of the whole.
People who like to avoid shocking discoveries, who prefer to believe that society is just what they were taught in Sunday School, who like the safety of the rules and the maxims of what Alfred Schuetz has called the "world-taken-for-granted," should stay away from sociology.
People who feel no temptation before closed doors, who have no curiosity about human beings, who are content to admire scenery without wondering about the people who live in those houses on the other side of that river, should probably stay away from sociology. They will find it unpleasant or, at any rate, unrewarding.
People who are interested in human beings only if they can change, convert or reform them should also be warned, for they will find sociology much less useful than they hoped. And people whose interest is mainly in their own conceptual constructions will do just as well to turn to the study of little white mice.
Sociology will be satisfying, in the long run, only to those who can think of nothing more entrancing than to watch people and understand things human.
If your interest in sociology has peaked and you would like to know the careers available in the field the following link provided an extensive look at the possibilities:
For more information on sociology including the latest research topics, resources and current job openings check-out the American Sociological Association:
"Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will."
--Jawaharlal Nehru
THE BIG DEBATE
Nature vs. Nurture
The Nature vs. Nurture "debate" interests me. From a sociological perspective, what a person becomes results more from social experiences (nurture) while nature sets a certain stage for what is possible and therefore the social realities of our lives is far more important in shaping human experiences and who we become as individuals.
This makes me think of my brother, who I love dearly but you honestly could not find two more different people, neither right or wrong, just different. Remember, it takes all kinds to make the world go round. My brother and I came from the same set of parents, went to the same school, even had some of the same friends but most people wouldn't even know we were related. We dress totally different; have extremely different religious and political views, and even our interpretations of our childhood vary to some degree.
Why? The answer is clearly socialization agents, defined in our text as the people, or sources, or structures that pass on social expectations. THINK – the family, the media, peers, religion, sports, schools, etc. Each with varying in degree of influence they had on us as individuals.
The following article is an depth decription of the sociological perspective, further addressing the nature versus nurture debate, and defining the socialization agents:
