I connected to a lot through this course. There were a lot of videos and issues that honestly made me cry. This course made me take a step back from my life and look at things at the macro-level. Some things that I connected personally to the gender chapter, where we learned about women in the media. I always new women were dehumanized but I never paid attention to all the ads. It was heart-breaking. Sociology is relevant in my career because it made me think more about the gender gap. I’m starting a more professional job soon and it made me aware of the challenges I may face. I also was very touched by the race chapter and learning about the children’s march. It was a tear-jerker. Overall, this course was a very good experience. I have learned more about different perspectives and more about humanity. Good luck to future students!
This course at first can be very overwhelming. But it is easier than you think it is. I didn’t understand that until the fourth week. My advice for you would be to read ahead of time, maybe 5 pages a night or something like that. I would also advise to write down the highlighted words in the book and study them. I also recommend taking it one week at a time so it’s less stressful. I think doing the final project all together helped me because if I do it all at one time I won’t forget about it later. I also found that printing a lot of things out helped me understand more. I think in this course you also must watch a lot of additional videos on YouTube to grasp the concepts. What didn’t work for me is skimming through some of the text. You will miss a lot!
McDonald's has been systematically adding self-service ordering kiosks and table service to stores as it works to "build a better McDonald's."
McDonald’s is getting even more predictable! Next time you visit a McDonalds you might notice a big screen with a menu on it. That’s their new ordering kiosk! Imagine that, never again do you have to think about what kind of cashier will be behind that counter and what their attitude is going to be like! Pretty soon, there will be no more cashiers. According to the article McDonalds plans to add 1,000 do it yourself kiosks at stores every quarter. That is a lot of people out of jobs, which means the economy is going to suffer. According to CBS news, 1 in 8 Americans have worked at a McDonalds (Picchi, 2015.) Without McDonalds as a job option anymore, something must fill its place and it’s not going to be other fast-food chains, because they are following suit. Another article states that CaliBurger has a robot that flips burgers, Panera has kiosks and KFC in Shanghai has actual robots that take orders (Premack, 2018.)
This is an example of George Ritzer’s McDonaldization. This is a theory that explains how fast food restaurants have dominated people’s social lives (Jacobson, 2016.) One of the characteristics of McDonaldization is the replacement of humans with non-human technology (Jacobson, 2016.) This characteristic over recent years has massively grown, very fast. Society is getting less and less interactive with other people and too comfortable with no face to face interaction. This also plays into the characteristic of predictability, not too long from now people will be expecting more then just the burgers to taste the same, they’ll expect their will be no human interaction too.
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Whitten, S. (2018, June 04). McDonald's to add self-order kiosks to 1,000 stores each quarter. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/04/mcdonalds-to-add-self-order-kiosks-to-1000-stores-each-quarter.html
Picchi, A. (2015, July 17). 11 things about McDonald's that may surprise you. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/media/11-things-about-mcdonalds-that-may-surprise-you/
Premack, R. (2018, June 26). Robots are already working in fast-food restaurants - here's exactly what they're doing right now. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-kfc-panera-robot-employees-2018-6
Jacobson, S. (2016, October 24). The mcdonaldization of society. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=83&v=3qyRfTzVRoY
UPDATE: Please see a message from the author at the bottom of this article. Freedom fighters around the globe commemorate July 13 as the day that three Black women helped give birth to a movement. In the five short years since #Black LivesMatter arrived on the scene — thanks to the creative genius of Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometti — the push for Black liberation from state-inflicted violence has evolved into one of the most influential social movements of the post-civil rights era.
Enough was enough when in 2013, Trayvon Martin, a young black life was taken from the world by an off-duty cop. Thus, arose a human rights movement called Black Lives Matter. The movement has focused on police brutality towards black lives, but also brings awareness to the dehumanization of African Americans that has been ingrained in our society for so long (Roberts, 2018.) The movement has made major strides. For example, justice reports were released showing the police corruption in major cities like Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland and Ferguson (Roberts, 2018.) This movement has spread like a wild fire. One reason for this could be that Black Lives Matter has been the first movement to use social media as a, “mass media device,” (Roberts, 2018.) This method has reached a lot of people not only in the United States, but in the world.
This movement is an example of a revolutionary social movement. This type of social movement is defined as one that advocates a radical reorganization in society (Conley, 2017.) This movement is not limited at all because it affects everyone. Not only do Black Lives Matter want laws changed to help protect black lives, but they want to change people’s mindset’s as well. This movement is wide spread with several different organizations all over the country advocating for change.
As a white person I do not understand what African American people go through. I still will never be able to fully understand because I am not treated in the same way, I do not live with the same fears they do. It breaks my heart that anyone must go through that. But, because of the Black Lives Matter Movement my mindset has changed so much. This movement has not only opened many people’s eyes to white privilege and the discrimination many black people face, but to other cultures and religions as well. It has changed me and I hope that continues down generation to generation.
Word Count: 326
Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist (5th ed.).New York, NY: Norton & Company.
Roberts, F. (2018, July 13). How black lives matter changed the way americans fight for freedom. Retrieved from https://www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/race-and-criminal-justice/how-black-lives-matter-changed-way-americans-fight
Research suggests that African-American and Latino children with autism are diagnosed later in life because of healthcare provider bias and families' lack of access to care, among other reasons.
This article addresses the issue African Americans face when it comes to getting the quality healthcare they deserve. Sherry Alvarez was a very concerned mother when she took her nine-month-old baby to the pediatrician. Her son was not communicating with her, but the doctor brushed it off and told her to wait until his second birthday (Rentz, 2018.) By his second birthday, he still was not communicating so Alvarez was referred to a children’s hospital only to receive a twenty page report of where her son was at on the autism spectrum (Rentz, 2018.) This is just one example of how the medical industry over-looks minorities concerns. According to the article, African American children are five times more likely to be misdiagnosed with behavioral disorders before instead of autism (Rentz, 2018.) It discusses how minorities are much more likely to be diagnosed at a later age than white children, which puts minorities at a disadvantage when getting the proper therapy and treatments for autism (Rentz, 2018) Alvarez’s son is now in high school and can only communicate through technology, she says things could have been much different if her son was diagnosed earlier on (Rentz, 2018.)
This is just the tip of the ice berg though. Racism is deeply rooted in our society. I believe that this is an example of institutional racism. Institutional racism is institution and social dynamics that may seem race-neutral but are really disadvantages for minority groups (Conley, 2017.) The medical industry has long been racist to minorities. The reason I believe it to be institutional racism is because Alvarez was not taken seriously at her initial visit and was brushed off. If the doctor would have ran the normal testing for Alvarez’s concerns, her son may have been in a much better place today. According to the article, a lot of minorities are diagnosed with behavioral disorders instead of their actual mental illness (Rentz, 2018.)
Word Count: 320
Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist (5th ed.). New York, NY: Norton & Company.
Rentz, C. (2018, March 19). Black and latino children are often overlooked when it comes to autism. Retrieved April 21, 2019, from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/03/19/587249339/black-and-latino-children-are-often-overlooked-when-it-comes-to-autism
Stop telling your daughters to be careful all the time. Let them face their fears.
“Aren’t you scared?” is a question Caroline Paul, a fire fighter, hears all to often. In this article Paul recalls being asked this question more than any other, while her male co-workers were never asked this. She discusses the negative impact of teaching young girls to be fearful of so many things, and instead to encourage them to be brave and courageous. To stop thinking girls are more fragile and emotional than boys are. By encouraging young girls to be more adventurous, it helps them prepare for the future and to take more risks (Paul, 2016.) Paul also points out that fearing things is associated with the female gender and no one is surprised when a girl screams at an insect or for example, cries to get out of a speeding ticket (Paul, 2016.) As a woman, it makes me think back on how I was raised to look to men for protection and help instead of being taught like my male family members were. Today I am very indecisive and have a very big fear of the unknown. I think this way of thinking really impacted my life as I always like to take the safest route.
Gender roles are sets of behavioral norms assumed to be associated with masculinity or femininity (Conley, 2017.) When Paul was asked if she is scared it played into the assumption that women are weak and inferior when it comes to strenuous activities. I think this is not only damaging to females by making them seem weaker, but it also affects males. This puts more pressure on men to believe they must be protectors. This is related to the sex-role theory which is that men preform the big tasks such as making money and protecting the family, while women are meant for care-taking (Conley, 2017.) I think this because today a lot more women are going into more risky careers which is the exact opposite of this theory. I think a lot of people are still stuck in the mind-set of men having to be the lead role while women stay back and watch.
Word Count: 347
Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist (5th ed.). New York, NY: Norton & Company.
Paul, C. (2016, February 20). Why do we teach girls that it's cute to be scared? Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/21/opinion/sunday/why-do-we-teach-girls-that-its-cute-to-be-scared.html mtrref=www.facebook.com&gwh=B7E431F6D3F836CA4B5E64F17CC28F7F&gwt=pay&assetType=opinion
In the community of Bridgeport, Connecticut, the poor face many daily struggles. Surviving on food stamps, being able to travel safely, and not being able to save without having income taken away. These are issues that are not just found in Bridgeport, but the rest of America too. The part of this video that really had an impact on me was when a mother by the name of Mercedez Valasquo talks about her income. As a mother of three, she only gets so much financial assistance to feed her family. If she tries to save and support her family the government takes away half of her assistance, putting her in worse shape than she was before (Business, 2015.) Mercedez is a part of the poor class in America. The United states has a class system based on socioeconomic status, which is a person’s position in a stratified social order (Conley, 2017.) This system has three categories which are the upper class who are the economic elite, middle class who are paid significantly more than poverty line, and the poor which is anyone under poverty line (Conley, 2017.) The book, You May Ask Yourself, by Dalton Conley also talks about the two subsections of the poor. There is the working poor or those eligible for assistance, and the non-working poor which are those who are morally doubted to need assistance (Conley, 2017.)
Mercedez is apart of the working poor. This class of workers have a hard time getting out because they can’t save unless they want their financial assistance taken away from them, and if it does get taken away they are left right back where they started.
Word Count: 275
Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist (5th ed.). New York, NY: Norton & Company.
Business, C. (2015, June 22). Feeding a family on a food stamp budget. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=OXKkakwf6Vk
This is a very interesting and sad video about life after a cult. When she was 36 Claire Ashman left the second cult that she had been in. She discussed that when she was growing up, the first cult she was in had her very isolated. She didn’t watch or read anything from the outside world. She had no idea how different her life was. She recalls the humiliation as her mom enrolled her in a ballroom dancing class and then meeting people dressed in shorts and t-shirts, while she was in a floor length skirt and wrist length shirt (Ashman, 2016.) After she left the second cult she was in, she describes how she felt like an outcast, not even knowing how to use a computer. She moved to a new house in a new area and had to start her life over in a society she knew nothing about. For Ashman, there are very important things people can do to help others like her to re-socialize. Being non-judgmental, showing that you care and being patient with them (Ashman, 2016.)
First, I believe that Ashman was in a cult which is a total institution. A total institution is when someone is in a place that controls their day to day life and all activity occurs in the same place, under the same authority (Conley, 2017.) The cult Ashman grew up in was all she knew because it was all they allowed her to know. She wasn’t allowed to be friends with other people or stay up to date with society. Secondly, when she left she went through re-socialization, the process by someone’s values and beliefs are re-engineered through an intense social process (Conley, 2017.) Ashman was thrown into a world she didn’t understand, with people she didn’t know how to communicate with. She had to re-learn everything she was taught growing up and in her second cult.
WORD COUNT: 318
Ashman, C. (2016, September 02). Retrieved April 09, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8zo29Kw7zg
Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist (5th ed.). New York, NY: Norton & Company.
The rapid evolution of social media platforms has left their uses, and users, in a constant state of transition. In many research fields, analyzing data involving social media can be a daunting task—it is difficult to measure aspects of the internet when they change so quickly.
This study about social media narcissism and marketing used a qualitative research approach. A qualitative research approach attempts to collect information about society that can’t be readily converted into numerical form (Conley, 2017.) The goal of this study, according to lead researcher Chinintorn Nakhata, is to, “understand how millennial's use social media platforms in relation to their self-perception and understand how marketing and advertising play a role in the everyday use of these platforms.” (Staff, 2019.) Nakhata noticed that a lot of people only post their fancy dinners, themselves at parties or on vacation (Staff, 2019.) This is important research because it gives insight into how people’s egos are fed by the reactions of others (Staff, 2019.) Her and her team of researchers first started with a deductive approach, which is defined as an approach that starts with a theory and then is followed by a hypothesis, observations and data to confirm, deny or change the original theory (Conley, 2017.) Nakhata used the theory of self-preservation in relation to narcissism. This allowed her to form two categories. Snap-chat having a more realistic portrayal of one’s self and then Instagram which is more fantasy land filled with photo-shop and brand deals. They then conducted participant observation which is a qualitative research method that aims to understand the meanings people give their social actions by observing their behavior (Conley, 2017)
Through this research method they found that the more narcissistic traits a person has, the more they interact with social media and make themselves look like they best they can be, which boosts their ego more when they get good responses (Staff, 2019.) Marketing has become major in the social media world in recent years. People form bonds with the people they follow and if the influencer has it they want it too, most likely to achieve the fantasy life that the influencer doesn’t even have. Nakhata research concluded that if companies want to reach low narcissistic personalities they will have to push more realistic ways of living (Staff, 2019.)
Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist (5th ed.). New York, NY: Norton & Company.
Staff, S. X. (2019, April 08). A picture worth a thousand words-examining the research on selfie marketing. Retrieved from https://phys.org/news/2019-04-picture-worth-thousand-wordsexamining-selfie.html
We've invested so much in police departments as protectors that we have forgotten what it means to serve our communities, says Baltimore Police officer Lt. Colonel Melvin Russell. It's led to coldness and callousness, and it's dehumanized the police force. After taking over as district commander in one of Baltimore's toughest neighborhoods, Russell instituted a series of reforms aimed at winning back the trust of the community and lowering the violent crime rate. "Law enforcement is in a crisis," he says. "But it's not too late for all of us to build our cities and nation to make it great again."
Melvin Russell is a pastor and police officer in Baltimore, Maryland who can’t ignore the divide between the community and the police. In his ted talk he describes how both sides of the divide have a problem with assumptions. There is no denying that police officers have had a bad reputation because of racism and abusing their power. Russell decided enough is enough and turned authority over the people into a partnership with the community. The problem, according to Russell was that the police were shoving strategies down the community’s throats and expecting them to follow them (Russel, 2015.) He made it clear that because these areas were violent and poor that police treated them as if they didn’t have a say, assuming they would be no help. The opposite assumption is that police should take care of everything. For example, calling the police because a dog pooped on your side of the property line. We as a community have forgotten how to communicate with each other, putting massive amounts of pressure on police and getting mad when they act. In recent years the police have put the partnership in the community in a blind spot and focused on stereotypes which has caused uprisings and more violence between the two. Today even though police are supposed to be our protectors as soon as a cop car or the uniform shows up, a lot of people get scared. His goal is to destroy the divide by being a helping hand and listening to his community, which in return results in a united community (Russell, 2015.)
I think this is an example of symbolic interactions theory . Symbolic interaction-ism is defined as, “shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form basic motivations behind people’s actions.” (Conley, 2017, p.33) The reason I believe this is because people are not born believing that because someone is poor they shouldn’t have an input or having a certain occupation makes you superior to someone. This is all learned from the society we live in. Russell shows that the police have assumed they know what is best just because they wear the uniform even though they aren’t living in the same community. On the flip side the lack of listening from the community towards police has caused people to loose trust.
Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist (5th ed.). New York, NY: Norton & Company.
Russell, Melvin. I love being a police officer, but we need reform. TED, sept. 2015, www.ted.com/talks/melvin_russell_i_love_being_a_police_officer_but_we_need_reform?language=en.
This video is about how a young man got into drug dealing, he anonymously confesses the ups and downs of being a drug dealer. He is committing a crime, which is also known as formal deviance. I think this video is a very good example of strain theory. Strain theory is a theory that deviance occurs when individuals aren't given the same opportunities to achieve socially acceptable goals (Conley, 2017.) The person who is confessing was dealt a rough hand, stating in the beginning of the video that his mother wasn't around, and his father didn't want to know him (Three, 2017.) He got kicked out of a council house, which is a home for people with low income, and had to make a living somehow so he turned to drug dealing.
This reminded me of strain theory because the man in the video wasn't born into a life where he had any opportunities for a good education, a supportive family or guardians to teach him about life like most people in the world. I thought it was interesting as well that the man had brought up wanting to have a family, steady job and a nice house, but he said it could only be a dream for him (Three, 2017.) This reminded me of conformity and what society usual portrays as normal. The anonymous man could also be looked at as an innovator, that is a deviant who accepts socially acceptable goals but rejects the socially acceptable ways to get there (Conley, 2017.)conformity and what society usual portrays as the right norm.
Three, B. (2017, December 07). Confessions of a drug dealer. Retrieved March 02, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmJqzXndlqs
Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist (5th ed.). New York, NY: Norton & Company.
Sajit, A. (2017, January 31). Gender roles [Digital image]. Retrieved February 23, 2019, from https://medium.com/@EunoiaPune/nature-of-natural-gender-roles-3799aecdcd2e
I think this video of Jeffree Star really portrays consumerism in America. Consumerism is the ongoing purchases of material possessions, often associated with the belief that happiness will follow (Conley, 2017.) Conspicuous consumption is a type of consumerism in which people buy luxury items to increase their social status (Merriam Webster.) In the video with Jeffree Star, “Gucci Haul,” he is showing off many items that he had purchased from the Gucci Store. In fact, I have been subscribed to Jeffree for some time and his entire style mostly consists of Gucci and some other top luxury brands. Jeffree even states that when he was very young and making a little bit of money from the social media networking site called Myspace, he was saving and collecting Prada, Chanel and Louis Vuitton hand bags, (Star, 2016.) In my opinion, this is conspicuous consumption. The reason I believe this is because from a very early age Jeffree had decided that designer items were very important to buy. Today he shows off many different luxury items and flaunts his social status. He often talks about how hard he worked for this role.
I think consumer culture drives our society because people are always competing to be the best, whether that means the richest or the most loved. Personally, I think this is exhausting and try to just exist. However, even I get sucked into the celebrity world and secretly wish I could afford top brands even though they have no real worth and are just clothes. American culture is very much in a rush to have the nicest house, cars and clothes. I think with social media today more and more people are starting to get sucked into the belief that having more expensive things makes you even more likable.
Word Count: 298
Conley, D. (2017). You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist (5th ed.). New York, NY: Norton & Company.
Star, J. (2016, September 14). Gucci Haul. Retrieved February 17, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWd5LepxiE4
Merriam Webster. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conspicuous consumption
Hi, I’m Shea and I am 19 years old. I hope to learn a little more about why humans interact the way they do through this course. I am going to another school after this semester to become a physical therapy assistant. I own a golden-doodle and her name Is Ella, she is the cutest thing in the world, still a puppy. I spend most of my time with friends and my boyfriend. I am definitely a summer person because there is so much to do in the summer and I feel lazy in the winter because I just watch YouTube videos. I hope this course can offer a change of perspective because I know that as humans we can only improve our mindsets moving forward. There really isn’t much else to know about me. I hope this course is helpful in learning about the world. Good luck to everyone.
