We discussed the beginning of modernity, starting with the Enlightenment during the 16th and 17th century (this is when the production of knowledge slowly started to move away from the church and toward science). As the Industrial Revolution arrived and ushered in a new era the social, political, economic and scientific frameworks of that time began to shift and change into a more 'progressive' society. 

Marx, Durkheim and Weber were key early theorists in the science of sociology and discovered/explored a plethora of key topics such as conditions of the working class, the trappings of capitalism (Marx), anomie and suicide, among other things. 

The word 'identity' and the idea of 'self' are two different things. Identity is a manifestation of yourself that can be understood by the people around you as well as yourself; it is objective. It essentially means where you fit into the different categories or groups within society - you may be Asian, living in a populated city, Buddhist; all of these are different categories within society. It is socially given to you, but you also have your own sense of identity and it may not always fit with the identity the people around you give. The sense of 'self' is purely subjective and is constantly changing. Pretty much every time you receive empirical information you edit this sense of self. We make adjustments to our self-identity by reflecting off of others to further define ourselves. These parts of who we are detrimental to the relationships we form as they are the basis of how we assess things. 

The idea of the 'essential' or 'authentic' self is a very wide-known theory that there is an essence or something that you were born with that, without it, you wouldn’t be you. This motivates us to constantly be finding ourselves, bettering ourselves, to reach the person you were 'always meant to be'. There is also social constructionism, the theory that people develop knowledge slowly during their life span, constantly adjusting this using empirical data. 

Whichever one of these may be true, it still stands that identity and the idea of 'self' are the connectors and the shapers of society; it is what brings people together (or sets them apart).These things are not always helpful and often cause issues between groups.

This week we looked at the topics of social status and consumption, and how people use consumption and consumerism as a means of obtaining social status or forming identity. Weber identified classes as clusters of class positions that become socially distinguishable. We looked at how consumerism in the modern day has deeply rooted itself into how we as individuals form our identity. "Branding", for example, is a reflection of lifestyle in relation to specific brands people choose to purchase (e.g., purchasing Doc Martens implies a boho, hippie type lifestyle and mind-frame, or Billabong with surfer-types). This week's reading introduced the issues of consumerist culture and the way they can affect the development of identity in children. Due to such early exposure to these things (and no consideration for the intellectual, physical, emotional differences between adults and children) consumerist culture becomes deeply ingrained in their sense of self and identity. Childhood is a crucial time where we learn about the world around us through play and creativity. However, when these are stifled by constant media ads enticing us to purchase the 'next' and 'best' thing, it is implied that our imagination alone is not enough. This feeling stays with us as we grow into adolescents and adults. This factor is important in helping to explain why many consumers dive head-first into consumer culture with no regard to the consequences of it.