# data[].attributes.headline
FIRST POST: Why are you taking this class?

# data[].attributes.subject
FIRST POST: Why are you taking this class?

# data[].attributes.body
I am taking this class because I want to be socially aware and I want to understand the behavior of the society. Taking this class would help me realize the importance of the discipline in general.

# data[].attributes.body
Students, who are first-time takers of the course Sociology oftentimes get asked "What is Sociology?" By definition, "Sociology is the study of society."n Thus, sociology circumscribes almost around human behavior -- just as the definition offers this idea. Henslin then presented the Natural and the Social Science, which I think is essential in understanding Sociology even further, and which will be the highlight of this padlet post. Natural Science encompasses Biology, Physics, Geology, and Chemistry. These are sciences specializing in scientific research to provide knowledge of the Earth and other parts of the solar system. Significantly, these are the sciences that are narrowed down in different fields to give focus on different aspects of science for broader knowledge, data, studies, and problems of life on earth. Additionally, these sciences contribute to the knowledge and research of nature to especially in understanding natural development. Social Science, on the other hand, examines human relationships, behavior, history, economy. While natural science deals with the objective understanding of nature, social sciences attempt to objectively understand the social world. And just like natural science, social science is divided into branches or specialized fields based on the subject matter. Under the umbrella term "social science," there are anthropology, political science, psychology, sociology, and history.

Now that we have established the two sciences that exist in our world, let us take a further look at sociology. Given the established definitions above, we can conclude that Sociology is a social science that attempts to understand human relations and behaviors. Furthermore, sociology has a diverse range of subject matters -- subject matters include culture, religion, crime, family, race, gender, and work. And there are still subject matters of sociology that I have not included. Thus, sociology deals with broad subject matters to attempt to establish social knowledge and understanding of society.

# data[].attributes.headline
8/27: [JCB] Chapter 1: Jeans/Discovering Sociology

# data[].attributes.subject
8/27: [JCB] Chapter 1: Jeans/Discovering Sociology

# data[].attributes.body
In this chapter of JCB's book, we can infer that the blue jeans used in this case/chapter is a method of introducing the sociological imagination. In a nutshell, this chapter talks about the relationship of our personal things with public issues and social structures.

This chapter of the book is an introductory chapter, an expository chapter of the relationship of social structures and constructs with the society itself. Significantly, we have the jean questions in the book: How did a piece of clothing that was historically developed to outfit miners, factory workers, and cowboys evolve into a high-fashion item that can be paired with heels or a suit jacket? Why are jeans a wardrobe classic for many, but also a key piece within changing fashion cycles that float in and out of style (e.g. skinny legs, flares, and overalls)? Why are some people content to buy basic, low-budget jeans, while others shell out hundreds of dollars for a pair of distressed designer jeans with holes in them?

The questions posited above are questions that may relate to the fast-changing fashion trends in a society. Thus, it is also a jump-off point of understanding the consumer culture and capitalism. With the ever-changing society, capitalism and consumerism play a vital role in the behavior of men. Therefore, this chapter of the book highlights these concepts to dig up the relevance of sociology in everyday life.

# data[].attributes.headline
8/28: [Henslin] Invitation to Sociology (Berger)

# data[].attributes.subject
8/28: [Henslin] Invitation to Sociology (Berger)

# data[].attributes.body
In this chapter, I have learned that men interest the sociologist. That is, the sociologist is curious about the behavior of men, such as men's engagements, men's institutions, history, and even passions. The sociologist, in my understanding, is naturally interested in the events happening in men, including men's beliefs. These things motivate the sociologist to study societal behavior. In that sense, the sociologist investigates men to establish a profound knowledge and understanding of society and its behavior. Thus, these established pieces of knowledge of society can be used to come up with a solution to social issues that may affect the world's diverse cultures, beliefs, races, and ethnicities. Significantly, the invitation to sociology [especially to students] is a driving force to learn and understand the passions, beliefs, and engagements of men.

Berger also reiterated that sociology should not be confused with social work or social reform. Thus, sociology is a discipline that that attempts to understand society. As I have said, the discipline establishes knowledge that can offer enlightenment to people to bring social reform in society. According to the American Sociological Association, sociologists investigate societal structures like organizations and groups, and how people interact. Therefore, the responsibility of the sociologist is to understand the social climate of the society, as I have been saying previously. In addition to that, sociology helps people to look more objectively in our society and outside our society. Among all other disciplines, sociology brings attention on how the parts of society fit or change in periods of time.

# data[].attributes.body
In the previous padlet, I introduced the concept of sociological imagination relating to societal behavior, consumer culture, and capitalism. In this padlet, I will introduce the sociological imagination and sociological perspective. These two concepts play a vital role in understanding sociology as a discipline. Thus, these concepts are relevant to understanding social relations, power dynamics, social structures and constructs.

Mills' The Promise tells the readers that a man's life and how a man actis is solely based on the society he belongs to and on the real-time happenings around a man during or at that time. With social imagination, we get to pick up a perspective in understanding an individual's background, lifestyle, habits, cultural practices, and traditions. In order for the sociological imagination to become an objective perspective and not merely a subjective one, one must be able to relate a person's public or personal issues with regards to the events happening around an individual/groups of individuals. I would like to reiterate further that an individual acts differently in different situations. Therefore, man's values reflect a man's state.

# data[].attributes.body
In this chapter, JCB emphasized the relationship of food with culture. People may not notice that food does not have something to do with our culture, since according to Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, food is one of our physiological needs, thus, concerning our motivation. Significantly, this theory of Maslow helps us understand what we need and how each of us differs from one another.

Food as a physiological need has something to do with one's culture as food reflects history and traditions. Food also shapes a society's tourism. Take Escargot for example. Escargot is a delicacy from the Mediterranean. As years went by, escargot became associated with French cuisine. According to the Journey of France, "All the major edible snail species have always thrived in the French countryside. With the abundance of these mollusks in the area, they became an extra food source that was important for survival and adaptation of ancient humans from this side of the world."

Therefore, in this chapter lies the big question "Why is food associated with culture, and why does it have something to do with sociology?"

The answer is very simple and can be found in this chapter, too. We use food to retain our cultural identity, and oftentimes, we connect with cultural and ethnic groups through our food patterns. Significantly, people from various cultural backgrounds eat different foods or cuisine. Take me as another example, I am from the Philippines and I am a pure-blooded Filipino, and I have a different cultural background, perhaps far from the cultural backgrounds of people from this class. Oftentimes, our food transcends our history. Additionally, Filipino cuisine ranges from vegetables to seafood, to dairy, to meat, to rice. These make up our cuisine and they signify our richness in culture and agriculture and fishery.

With the food that we eat, we can easily identify where a person is coming from. It also reflects the socio-economic status of a person. And when we go deeper, we realize that even in the food we eat, there is an economic divide between the rich and the poor. If we look at it from the perspective of a Marxist, we can infer that the food tells us which economic struggle and class conflict society is facing.

Oftentimes, the food we eat is also associated with our gender. Women tend to be associated to work in the kitchen and cook delicious foods for the family. We associate food with women because the patriarchal society that we live in today tells us that food, care, household chores are all women's jobs.

Basically, food exposes the structure of our society and the struggles of our society.

# data[].attributes.headline
9/03: [Henslin] Miner, Body Ritual Among the Nacirema

# data[].attributes.subject
9/03: [Henslin] Miner, Body Ritual Among the Nacirema

# data[].attributes.body
Before I take you to the analysis of Miner's article, take a look at the word Nacirema. At first, I didn't get its meaning. However, as I go on with the reading material, I realized that Nacirema is the reverse of American. We can say that Miner's article is satirical because it is an account of the non-existing Nacirema tribe referring to the American culture.

Miner used symbolism and representation to execute the culture of the Nacirema tribe. The use of bathrooms, special boxes, medicine men, and holy mouth men represent the hierarchy of the Nacirema society. Bathrooms equate to domestic shrines, while special boxes represent a medicine box. Obviously, medicine men are doctors, and the holy mouth men are the dentists. These representations symbolize the healthcare providers in the Nacirema tribe. There is also the latipso, which the medicine men work at, and the listeners as the psychologists. Then, of course, there are those who work with beautifying people, and they work at the salon.

And if we put these into perspective, we act as, perhaps, the sociologist or anthropology. We approach a particular attitude to study a particular society. Although satirical, Miner almost perfectly introduced what American culture is. Perhaps many would get angry over Miner's account of the Americans, however, it is in fact quite true as Miner's account presents a perspective or an idea of the Americans themselves.

# data[].attributes.headline
9/08: [Henslin] Hall & Hall, The Sounds of Silence

# data[].attributes.subject
9/08: [Henslin] Hall & Hall, The Sounds of Silence

# data[].attributes.body
The Sounds of Silence by Hall & Hall accounts to the communication of the people in a society. The essay articulates the way people communicate: verbal or non-verbal. We may not notice it but in every society, even in silence, there is communication happening. Take our eyes for example. According to Hall & Hall, it is possible that there is at least three ways where our eyes are used to communicate: dominance vs submission, involvement vs detachment, and positive vs negative attitude. How so? I observed myself carefully the past few days after reading the essay. When I say sorry, my eyes shows submission and involvement. When I am in rage, my eyes show dominance and a negative attitude. What Halls is trying to say is, we use our eyes, out of many organs in our body, to communicate thus, it shows complete awareness and control of the society where we move around. Therefore, our body communicates and many people don't even notice it.

# data[].attributes.headline
9/10: [Henslin] Clark, Sympathy in Everyday Life

# data[].attributes.subject
9/10: [Henslin] Clark, Sympathy in Everyday Life

# data[].attributes.body
In a nutshell, sympathy reflects the culture that we learn. Many of us may not notice it but we live in a society with an elaborate system of rules with regards to feeling or expressing sympathy. Take funerals for example. We attend funerals or burials to sympathize with the family of the deceased. We were born unaware of cultures. However, as we grow up, we learn them and gradually practice them. Just like my example. We learn to sympathize based on the situation we encounter.

The article of Clark tells us the history, logic, and life of sympathy. As I have said, we are born unaware of the cultures or traditions we practice today. However, sympathy is not just a natural or reflexive action. And for those who do not know sympathy, they learn about it from elaborate rules appropriate for their gender and the circumstance they are in. Clark then gives a visualization through extensive interviews, cultural artifacts, and intensive eavesdropping to public spaces how and where we learn the rules that drives our expression of sympathy.