Blog 12: 'The Clash of Civilizations'

Since we spent Monday working on out group projects, the big discussion of this week was on Samuel Huntington and his theory on 'The Clash of Civilizations'. His theory focused on how different parts of the world could be classified into basic groups based on similarities in culture, religion, etc. Several of the groups that are especially of note include "Western civilization" which includes the U.S., Canada, Western and Central Europe, as well as Australia. He also has the "Orthodox civilization" which includes Russia as well as much of Eastern Europe.  Much of the eastern Asian countries are grouped together into what he calls "the Eastern civilization". Latin American countries as well as South America are grouped together into "Latin American civilization" as well as having Huntington put all middle eastern countries together into the "Muslim Civilization". Much criticism of his work comes from him grouping many of these countries together into groups which can be seen as racist and ignorant of the diversities existent within neighboring countries. He stressed that clashes would occur between these civilizations based simply on their group attributes, especially confrontations between the "Western" and "Muslim" groups.

The main reason he put forth that these two would come into contact is the idea that they're both predominantly religions that emphasize spreading one's faith and recruiting in order to gain more members. Huntington says that both groups are obsessed with colonizing and getting as many members as possible, so eventually they will come into full conflict with each other. While some of Huntington's ideas do have their merits, I firmly believe that he is incorrect in his assertions on Western groups and Muslim groups not being able to co-exist in this world. We're seeing some conflict between these groups now, but I feel that in time these observed differences between the two will subside as the generations go on to the point where people in our society wont automatically associate being a Muslim with being a terrorist or violent.

This is what Huntington's world map looks like based on how he categorized different countries.

    

Blog 11: Social Construction of Reality

In class this week we discussed the work of Peter Burger, as well as his concept of the social construction of reality. He described society as an invention of mankind and that there is a definite process in how things become integrated into society. The process begins with externalization, in which humans imitate behavior that they have observed others doing. An example of this would be imitating a new handshake that you saw someone do. This then turns into habitualization, in which this behavior turns into a habit, where no thought is given to why you do the behavior as it has become automatic. This would occur when you've done the new handshake so much that you don't even realize that it's how you greet everyone you meet. Finally, the behavior gets to institutionalization, in which it is now accepted by society and encouraged by others, further beginning the process anew with others imitating the behavior. This is when the handshake has become popular enough that you see others whom you're not familiar with doing it as well.

A modern day example of this would be the popularity explosion of Facebook. When it first started, it was very much confined to specific colleges and college students were the only ones who were predominantly using it.  Their friends then found out about this social media site and then began externalization through imitating others they had seen in going to the website to see what the excitement was about. This gradually turns to habit as they log on every day and pretty soon it is a part of their normal routine whenever they are on the internet. Facebook became widely institutionalized once it had spread widely enough to the point where the individuals who first started using it through imitation didn't recognize those that were now using it.  I can agree that this was similar to my first experiences of Facebook. When I first got onto the site I didn't entirely understand the appeal, as it seemed to me to be a watered down version of Myspace (of which I was a frequent user back in middle school). However, through imitating my friend's online behavior and checking it out, I gradually began to make a habit out of going on Facebook every day after school. Now it's gotten to the point where I have Facebook set as my home page and often leave that tab open even if I'm not planning on doing anything with it. It's become so fully institutionalized that there seems to be a stigma formed towards individuals who don't "have a Facebook".

                                                             

This is now a universally recognized logo, whereas ten years ago, no one would know what this is.

Blog 10: Finding Symbols

Symbols are objects that appear ordinary, but carry special significance based on designation from society. Many symbols are experienced everyday, but not given much though such as stop signs, handicap parking spots, or signs for restaurants. One such symbol that we see everyday, one such symbol in this country is the cross. This object is used to symbolize the Christian religion, which is the dominant one in the United States. The cross gains special significance by what it represents to individuals of the Christian faith. It stands for their deity in human form giving its life for all the sins of people. The shared meaning for this object continues to exist after all this time due to the prominence of Christianity as the main religion in our country. This object is traditional and is passed down through the stories and teachings of Christians through the generations. 

In his writing Peter Burger mentions symbols vaguely in how people give meaning to these through creating society. That it's natural for human beings to create symbols and give them true meaning in order to enhance their quality of life. Symbols can be both beneficial and harmful in society depending on the context in which they are used. Symbols can be helpful in uniting people under a common one such as the American flag. This is successful in uniting people and providing a sense of unity under a common grouping. However, they can also be used as a target, such as when people burn flags which enrages individuals who care about that symbol and what it stands for. These symbols can also be used as justification for treating others differently, as with how the Jewish stars were used during the Holocaust to single out individuals of the Jewish faith. 

                                                      A cross, which symbolizes Christianity. 

Blog 9: Self Label and Role

One of the interesting topics we covered this week in class was Irving Goffman's work on Status, Role, and the "Self Label". Status refers to an individual's social position in society, which can include things such as their occupation, marriage status, or parental status. Role is the behavior that is expected of an individual based on their status. An example of this would be how there are certain ways a father is supposed to act as opposed to a bachelor. As for "Self Label", Goffman described this as an identity that an individual shows other people to try to manage their impression of him or her. An example of this would be someone acting very knowledgeable in front of a group of people in order to make them believe he has high intelligence. However, sometimes these tend to clash with one another to cause problems in society.

Problems can occur when an individual's role in society is not properly enacted. An example of this would be if a college professor did something very un-professorlike, such as skip a class or show up unprepared and make up a curriculum for the class period. This would cause serious issues within the class and the Professor's status would be called into question. Some may even question if this person is truly fit for this occupation if they can't be prepared for their lecture. The "Self Label" can interfere with the role, when the individual is attempting to present them self in such a way, but end up contradicting what their role says they should behave like. An example of this can be found in this Family Guy clip, where Dr. Hartman is failing to meet his role. He's attempting to present the "Self Label" that he and Peter are friends and that he legitimately is trying to help out, such as reminding him that his driver's license is going to expire soon.

Blog 8: Stop and Frisk

An important Sociologist that was covered this week was W.E.B. Du Bois who did a lot of work about the obstacles that different races of people face in society. One of his important contributions was the idea of double-consciousness, which involves the inner conflict within individuals who find that parts of themselves seem to clash. An example of this would be when one's identity of being an African-American as well as an American citizen seem to collide, such as with the stop and frisk policy in New York City. While they are well aware that they're American citizens, they're treated like less than that when they're stopped and frisked because of what their skin color is. This promotes the idea in their mind that they will always be an "other" in society who doesn't fully belong. This also tends to begin a loop, in which people that are identified as criminals may engage in this behavior due to expectations from others. This can cause a self-fulfilling prophecy in creating more criminals and hostile behavior due to these practices, instead of inhibiting them as is the main objective.
 I was honestly astounded by the video we watched in class of the young man who was able to record the police stopping and frisking him. They were intentionally trying to aggravate the youth and get him to make a mistake so that they could take him in. This is horrible behavior, which I'm glad was filmed as this is a great way to show the world how these stop and frisk policies actually are carried out. These individuals are harassed and treated like less than the American citizen that they are due to the color of their skin. As more of these stories come out, hopefully this policy will be changed so that people don't have to worry about being targeted by the police for these searches while they're walking around their own neighborhood.

These stops are very humiliating for the innocent people who are targeted based on their race.

Blog 7: Assimilation

While talking about Anna Julia Cooper in class this week, we talked about four ways in which different groups of people interact in society. These include pluralism, in which all people are treated equally, but traditions and beliefs are kept. The second is assimilation, in which minority groups take up the customs and languages of the majority group. Segregation is third, in which there is a formal separation between the groups. The last is genocide, in which the minority group may be wiped out unintentionally through disease/ other means, or they may be intentionally wiped out such as with the Holocaust. Assimilation was the one which I feel we see the most in our country today.

Assimilation is seen in our country in regards to individuals who may immigrate here and adopt our culture as their own. This can include individuals who come here and adopt English as their main language of speech. An example of this would be immigrants from Mexico who come over and start speaking English instead of Spanish in their lives. They've assimilated into our society to the point where they know the language of the majority and can pass as ordinary American citizens. Another example would be individuals who came here from another country where perhaps they were big soccer fans and then once they have lived here for awhile they join our country in our celebration of American Football.

In class we also talked about benefits and problems of assimilation, although it does seem to be the most realistic option of the four. While it does often hinder the minority group in causing them to lose touch with their traditions and old way of life, it is better for the overall population in allowing better communication as well as enabling society to function to a greater degree due to sharing a common goal. This creates greater cohesion than can be found in pluralism, in which groups of people are often isolated based on beliefs and customs. Thus, assimilation is in my opinion, the best of the four options due to it benefiting society as a whole better than the other three can.

I found this video to be a good example of assimilation, but with Chris having accepted Britain's culture, while the rest of the family has not yet.
   

Blog 5: Ancestor Worship

An important reading this week was titled "Putting an End to Ancestor Worship" by Rodney Stark. Within this reading, he bashes the founding fathers of Sociology, voicing complaints with each one and seemingly having nothing positive to say about any of them or their ideas. In regards to Karl Marx, he focused on Marx's stance on how religion was rooted in poverty, and challenged this through assertions of how even the extremely wealthy can be tied to religion. Religion has also thrived in times of great economic gain, further showing that religion isn't solely connected with poverty and times of woe. When it comes to Durkheim, Stark criticized his view of religion as being too sociological, and stated that ignoring the supernatural aspects is an extreme lapse in judgement. Then with Weber, he explained how Weber's view of capitalism as being initiated by a protestant work ethic was incorrect, as many cultures without a major protestant force are embracing capitalism.
I agree with Stark's criticisms of the three founding fathers for the most part. Many of their original ideas were too biased or rooted in the historical time periods in which they came from, which makes them dated today. However, since Stark focused on the religious aspects of each, he ignored the ideas that were presented that are still useful today. Some of these ideas include Marx's writings about how capitalism leads to alienation in workers, which is still relevant today. Durkheim's work on suicide is also still relevant today, as we still have issues in our population with suicide and it's easier to see how this may occur through his typing and studies. As for Weber, his different categories of authority still hold up today as being accurate. We can still draw modern day examples of each type, although he believed that we would be past those by now. Stark warns not to idolize these figures, but we can still learn much from them and their work, even with the inherent flaws found in each. They're comparable to the early leaders in many sciences, whose ideas may have been wrong, but who will be remembered for paving the way to allow others to carry on their work and eventually come to the correct conclusions.
(When talking about Rodney Stark, I couldn't help but think of Tony Stark. I imagine Rodney Stark would have this look on his face whenever someone would ask him what he thought about the founding sociologists in regards to their other contributions.)

Blog 4: Charismatic Authority

In class this week, we discussed the three types of authority as they were constructed by Max Weber. The three types of authority are traditional, charismatic, and rational. Traditional authority deals with traditions and following customs which are encouraged through society. An example of this would be super bowl parties/football parties in general, due to our societies' firm standing that certain conditions are to be met at these gatherings. These include beer, wearing clothing representing the team, and often food/snack items. Charismatic authority comes from the persuasiveness of individuals to get people to believe in them and their cause. An example of this would be political leaders who are able to rally support for their organization and election. Rational authority is the more commonly thought about one in which laws are the focus, with the power resting in those who carry out and enforce the laws. An example of this would be police officers, who enforce laws for the greater good, such as making sure that speed limits are followed.

When thinking of examples of the authorities from my personal life, I can't help but dwell on traditional authority and how all the people in society are really the enforcers of this type. The "this is the way things have always been" authority depends on people informing others of how certain customs need to be followed.  Along with my football party example, another one would be our culture's tendency to have three meals a day. People don't really question this generally held consensus, instead allowing it to be passed down and learned through families/schools. Another example of this would be the tradition of having the man pay for a date, assuming that it is a male-female date. We have been groomed to expect that if we ask a woman our on a date, she will expect us to pay and we concede. While this view is changing, many still hold it to be the proper way to approach dating in high school and beyond.

(I ended up choosing this picture as an example of a man paying for the date. I do particularly enjoy the blank expression on his face though.)

Blog 2 (Alienation)

One of the crucial points that Karl Marx attempted to inform about was the problem with alienation. He saw four inherent problems involving alienation which were alienation from 'productive activity', 'product', 'fellow workers', and 'human potential'. He saw alienation from 'productive activity' as the fall of creativity and the rise of people merely accomplishing the barest essentials without pursuing greater knowledge. Alienation from 'product' is found when individuals don't feel attached to the products they make, such as factory workers not seeing their contribution in the car that just came off the assembly line. Alienation from 'fellow workers' occurs when individuals have no emotional or social interaction with their coworkers, which is ironic considering that at this time period people were physically working much closer together than ever before. Finally, alienation from 'human potential' is achieved when people have accepted their lot in life due to this new factory-oriented society, and don't push themselves to reach their max potential.

I chose this clip from the Charlie Chaplin film "Modern Times", as I feel it accurately shows the issues of alienation in this modern society, while still being funny. Charlie feels alienated from 'productive activity', as he's performing the same menial task for extended periods of time, to the point where he's not even looking at his work anymore. He also appears alienated from his fellow workers, as they don't really acknowledge or talk to him, other than to berate him for something he does wrong. This shows how his coworkers don't really care about him or his well being. They really only care that he does his job and not try to converse with them. Chaplin is alienated from the product, as he screws the bolts into the sheet of metal, but never gets to see what happens after it goes through his part of the assembly line. As far as he's concerned, he will never see the fruits of his labor in reference to the finished product that those sheets of metal are attached to. While this is only speculation, he doesn't appear to be reaching his human potential from this factory job which he appears to despise. However, this is the job he has, so he will just stick with it, which is what many Americans end up doing.

First post

First week of official classes/ not syllabus week.