My Introduction to Sociology Reflections. by Linda Martinez

martinezlinda1999 — 2024-09-09 06:43:54 UTC

For my Sociological Perspective , I choose prompt one :Outside Content. For my outside content I'm using the book "From Indians to Chicanos", by Diego Vigil from one of my ethic studies classes I took a couple years ago. The reason why I choose prompt one was because the reading "The Forest and the trees " by Allan Johnson talks about the concept of The Monopoly Analogy and how it's a good example of a social system. Allan metaphorically used the game monopoly, to demonstrate how large companies and corporates have all the power. This is an example of how social structure works. The richer get richer , and usually will always benefit , meanwhile the poor remain poor . Just like the monopoly game, the game is to beat and eliminate people out which causes us to be greedy , just like these large rich companies do ,when firing people in order for them to grow richer and keep more money. Social Structure also points out your economic system, political arrangements and cultural values, with of course using the term "difference" . A difference will apply to social structures used as a bias for including some and excluding others. Allan use's the next phase "For treating others with respect and dignity and some as if they were less the fully human. " After reading that phase and learning about social structures I right away made the connection with the book From Indians to Chicanos ,in chapter four , page 102 says the following "Spaniards viewed dark complexioned natives as biologically and physically inferior. "Thus one's physical appearance determined how high a person would climb on the social latter. The analogy here is how your skin complexion determines how you are treated and viewed in the social structure Allan talks about.

Module 3 : The Social Structure

martinezlinda1999 — 2024-12-08 03:56:23 UTC

For module three The Social Structure I chose Prompt 2 Personal Connections and prompt three which is two things I learned. The reason why I choose Prompt 2 Personal Connections is because the reading "The Forest and Trees" , by Johnson made me think and connect to the emotions Johnson was feeling. He explains how a new environment and "social structure" can lead to emotions of feeling hopeless and lost. This made me think of when I moved from Guatemala to the U.S.A , since all my family and friends were left behind I felt hopeless, and since the traditions ,food, and my biggest barrier which was language was different I felt lost. I applied the terms "status" and "roles" to describe how going to school without knowing English Affected me in a negative way. I also connected some of Johnson's statements that I agreed with. For example Johnson stated that schools often require for students to meet the requirements and pass the test, as well as school courses, however many schools don't offer the help or the extra resources students need in order to meet certain academic requirements. I also wanted to incorporate prompt three which was two things that I learned was which the sociological definition for status. The only concept/definition of status I had was that it had to do with your rank in wealth , however I also learned that status has a whole different meaning when it comes to sociology, for example a status in family refers to a "father" ,"mother" "wife" "student" or professor, that follows up with your role, which is the way you're required to act.

Module 4: Social Interaction and the Self

martinezlinda1999 — 2024-12-09 11:55:59 UTC

For module 4: Social Interaction and the Self I used prompt:one Outside sources. The reading "Us, It, and the Social Interaction" made me connect with the book "You sound like a White Girl " by Julissa Arce because the key concepts and ideas , Julissa Arce talks about are rejecting assimilation. Julissa Arce was just a teenage girl who had to learn English and leave her native language Spanish behind so that she wasn't perceived and viewed as less then by society. This book also touches how although Julissa becomes successful and becomes the boss at Wall street office , she now has a high Status, her role is now being a boss, but since she is a women, and her color of skin is brown she is rejected by society because of racism. That is exactly why I made the connection with the reading "Us,It and Social Interaction", because in the reading it says "The clothes we wear when were out in public matter. Our choices shape who other people think we are. It is why privilege and opression based on race and gender . " Which is exactly what happened to Julissa Acre she was perceived as less then by society because of her skin tone. Both of these readings explain the connection self, status, and roles have in society. It also connects with Gofman's theory "that compares human interaction to performances on a stage, and what it means to fake". This comes back and connects with my outside prompt "you sound like a white girl" by Julissa Arce because society viewed her as less because of her skim complexion , even though her status was a boss.

Module 5 : Sociological Research Methods

martinezlinda1999 — 2024-12-12 04:04:56 UTC

For Module 5 ; Sociological methods I used prompt three two things I learned which was the concepts of Quantitative methods and Qualitative methods. I had heard of both terms before but in math and science , I do remember that Quantitative referred to how many , and qualitative referred to the quality , and in English it referred to feelings. These two terms stood out to me the most because I never thought that sociology and science would have a connection with one another. After learning module five it made a lot of sense on how science is used in sociology. For example if you are studying a group of people of a community , it would be called "Ethnography" which is the firsthand study of people using observation in depth interviewing , also called field work. It makes perfect sense how these two subject go hand and hand. Something else that I learned was how many Research has flaws and are incorrect . You may wonder how false and inaccurate information surfaces articles, newspaper and mass media and that's because researches lie ! Numbers don't always mean it's true , numbers could also be incorrect. This especially stood out to me because I was the type of person who would see numbers or a chart and automatically assume the information was accurate since there were "statistics''. Thanks to module 5 I am now going to question things and do my own research.

Module 6: Deviance and social Control

martinezlinda1999 — 2024-12-13 18:17:53 UTC

For module 6 : Deviance and social control I decided to use the prompt of two things that I learned because I learned a new perspective. Durkheim suggests that crime is a good thing , and compares crime to a living organism. He suggests that crime in society is as necessary as living organisms in our body. Although I did not understand why crime was a good idea at first I now understand and also agree that crime is a good thing and we need it in society in order to function. Without crime as a society we would not be able to tell the difference between good and bad. Crime allows us to set boundaries , and create standards and norms. What stood out to me the most was when Durkheim suggested that crime actually brings us as a society together and in harmony. The reason why is because it allows us to agree as a society between what is good and bad. Another idea that makes a lot of sense is how crime is impossible to end, although crime rates are different depending on the area that you live in , crime is always going to exist and we have no control over it . As a society we are all different individuals therefore we might all react differently , and commit a crime. Crime doesnt always have to be killing someone, or stealing but having bad behavior, such as offending some one , we can think of it as bad behavior. Even though we have no control , and cannot end crime, as a society we can come up with solutions, to create a better society.

Module 7 Gender

martinezlinda1999 — 2024-12-13 19:11:44 UTC

For module 7 Gender I choose prompt one: Outside sources because I saw an art work where it basically shows a man smiling , but inside his head he is with his head inside his knees , we can tell the posture in which he is in means he is sad, and worried. It just comes to show how we describe women as sensitive , beautiful, soft, caring , demure , and also weak, and associate women with being good at house chores, we also associate women with cooking , meanwhile mean are looked as strong, bread winners , providers in control , but most importantly men are described as STOIC meaning there is no emotions, also as masculine and there is the idea that men do not cry ! This picture made me connect with how we divide gender , and how negatively in this case men are affected. I came up with this theory , that I believe that the reason "Machismo" which means men being rude, violent , and expect women to clean and cook for them all the time, is because society doesnt allow them to cry or share no emotion ! I think this is so bad because just like this module suggest sex is biological , while gender is a sense of self. So why would men have to built up emotions , and not cry. I believe crying is us cleansing our body and it is something beautiful it means we have emotions and its okay to cry at sad moments but also cry out of happiness. I have noticed that after I cry I feel better, I let it out and move on , there is no anger or mix emotions in me. While men are not allowed to cry all those built up emotions will lead to suicide. Suicide rates in men are four times more then women. Men only make up 50 percent of the population , but nearly 80 percent of suicides . According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. My theory is that one of the main causes why that has happened is because "doing gender" suggest that gender is performative , and other people "read" our performances. Therefore this idea that men do not cry or should feel any emotion is stuck in heads as a society.

Module 8 Sexuality

martinezlinda1999 — 2024-12-13 20:46:56 UTC

For module 8 : Sexuality I am doing prompt 1 which is Outside sources I will be using The 500 years of Indigenous Resistance comic book by Gord Hill . The main question here that made me make this connection is "Did prostitution begin with Racism? I wouldve never associated prostitution with racism, but after learning module 8, the answer is yes , racism did contribute to prostitution and its orgins . Women of color weren't seen as pure and innocent as white women. And due to poverty and lack of money they would please/satisfy white men because their women wouldn't. This made me make the connection of the Invasion of Columbus when the tribe of Taino's was taken over and how the Spanish settlers rapped little girls from as young as 9 years old and up, they viewed them as less then because of their skin complexion , and because they were Indians. They only viewed them as objects and in this case sex objects. The reason why I connected the book 500 years of indigenous resistance to module 8 is because due to biological features such as skin color , hair , and facial features, many white men viewed brown women as less then. That is why durning slavery many of the enslaved maids in the white household would become pregnant , because the White men would rape them. The term of "one drop" meant that non-white blood , you were not white and someone can own you. The only reason why the "one drop" came out was because of sexual assault white owners would have babies with black women, and the one drop would determine the babies status. This caused "Culturally Sanctioned" which was beliefs and practices which, regardless of intention , harm people of color and defined the advantages of whites. It has always been racism being the origin of disaster , in this cause causing prostitution like module 8 suggest. z

Module 9 : Race and Ethnicity

martinezlinda1999 — 2024-12-13 22:07:10 UTC

For module 9a/9b Race and ethnicity I chose prompt 2 personal experience and this is actually very personal , about questions I had about my ethnicity and race. My question was always if both Asians and Latinos came from struggles why is it that blacks and Latinos stayed behind.. Why is it that we don't graduate high school? Why are there statistics that show we score the lowest when it comes to IQ and test? Why are blacks and browns being the first generation graduating college? are we dumb? I'm I dumb ? Why can't I successfully pass my 5 classes I choose this semester without falling behind? Why is our RACE known and stereotyped for being the Race that is dumb and lazy. Why are there so many waitress, janitors , which are honest jobs and nothing to be ashamed of but why are latinos low wage income , instead of working as doctors , lawyers, nurses, teachers, basically any career that requires a college bachelors or even associates degree not obtained by Latinos. I'm not saying there isn't successful Latinos but it's very very very few, especially if compared to Asians or Whites. Well module 9a/9b answered all these conflicting questions I had. First of Race is a : social construction humans use to label people based on their skin color. And Ethnicity is Nationality , heritage, language, religion, customs, and cultural aspects of who we are. This module suggest that race isn't real, it only exist because we made it up. Now the way this module helped me answer these conflicting questions was with the reading that talked about college students and how being the minority effects them in college. It basically talked about how many Latino college student are not able to join extra curricular courses , or join sports , or even be able to just study and not work, because we have to work in order to maintain our families, pay bills , in order to survive, so we werent PRIVILEGE to only go to school we also have to work full time to pay our school expenses and our bills. From 500 years ago we were taken away from our land , and striped away from our language , and till this day it has caused us to stay behind , because those wounds still effects us. I answered my own question , no blacks and browns aren't dumb and neither I'm I , we just werent privilege to just go to school.

Module 10 Social class

martinezlinda1999 — 2024-12-13 22:42:49 UTC

For module 10 Social class I chose the prompt of feelings because the reading evoked many emotions such as anger, sad, and disappointment on the way social class is. And the reality of social class , which the reading compares it to the game of monopoly where the Rich get richer and the poor remain poor or even get poorer. The term Meritocracy: everyone has the same chances in life. Your position in a society is based on your skill talent, and effort. This caused a lot of anger and mixed emotions because this is false , many times , just like the character in the reading , there isn't the same equal opportunities for everyone, which makes meritocracy false. Module 10 social class also says that even professions are viewed as less due to gender, for example jobs such as nurses and teachers which are jobs that are viewed as more females, which are viewed as "SEMI PROFESSIONALS " which caused a lot of anger because nurses are careers that require a lot of education and hard work, without nurses what would we do when we are sick, I believe nurses are so important they are taking care of our health/ lives! So why would they be looked down as "Semi professionals " belittling them. Also it made me connect with all the amazing teachers I had in school that would buy things such as pencils, highlighters, markets and even snacks and puzzles for us that would come out of their own pocket. We should value our teachers more because they are teaching us and helping us become educated individuals in society !