This essay will reflect on the key concepts I have learnt to date through Explorations in Sociology. My learning will be demonstrated by defining the key concepts and linking them firstly to personal experience and then to recent media articles. I will reveal how my thinking has altered as I look at the world through my “sociological glasses” by highlighting questions I have asked and how I have attempted to answer them through sociological concepts and theories. I will follow the learning as covered chronologically: social structures & social interaction focusing on roles and status, culture and socialisation and class and social stratification. The media articles I have chosen to assist my learning include; an inquiry into child abuse by the Catholic Clergy, a documentary called Miss Representation and one social researcher’s take on class in Australia. By examining each topic this essay will demonstrate my understanding of key sociological concepts and how they have affected my point of view when confronted with issues through media articles.
Week two covered the two levels of analysis typically used in sociology; macrosociology which explores the social structures of society and microsociology which investigates social interactions and how people behave towards each other (Henslin, Possamai & Possamai-Inesedy 2011). It was through this week’s reading that my thoughts about how society affects individuals was challenged as I became aware of the impact social structures such as culture, roles and social institutions have on identity. The concept of roles and status from a sociological view took my interest and I began thinking how my own identity has been shaped by the many statuses I hold and the subsequent roles I pl...
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...ss isn't based on cultural pursuits or educational background. These questions would have gone unasked only a few short weeks ago, now I have the ability to assess social issues and draw my own conclusions based on my understanding of concepts learnt to date from this unit.
Throughout this essay, I have reflected on three key sociological concepts of social structures and social interaction - focusing on roles and status, culture and socialisation and class and social stratification. By defining each concept I have showcased my understanding of these key sociological components. In addition to this I have further demonstrated my learning by linking these key concepts to personal experience and recent media articles. I have also offered some opinions on the concepts and identified changes in my thinking as a result of my newly acquired sociological knowledge.
Van Krieken, R Smith, P Habibis, D McDonald, K Haralambos, M Holborn, M (2000) Sociology: Themes and Perspectives, 2nd edn, Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest.
This course has taught me very valuable things regarding sociology overall, but its focus on the processes of social problems has been of the most particular importance over the semester. The different types of problems identified in the book, as well as their subjective reparative measures, have opened my eyes up for the future. Although only my first sociology class in high school, this course introduced me to all the terminology and background information needed to advance in the study of social problems.
Henslin, James M.. "The Sociological Perspective." Essentials of sociology: a down-to-earth approach. 8th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2008. . Print.
Sociology is the study of society and the interactions that occur within society itself. There are numerous methods of analyzing societies and the way the function, nonetheless, most methods fall in micro and macro level theories. Micro level theories allow sociologist to study smaller relationships such as individual or compact groups of people. On the other hand, macro level studies permit for larger scale investigations to take place. With both of these theories there are three theoretical perspectives used in sociology. Micro level theories include symbolic interactionism which focuses in interactions done with language and gestures and the means which allow such interactions to take place. Macro level theories include structural functionalism
Sociology is very complicated, it’s full of terms that can be misinterpreted. For example, social location is interpreted several ways. The most common it the assumption that it’s where you live, in actuality, it’s who you are, your social class, education, gender, race, ethnicity, and the culture. Your social location is affected, by sociological perspective, Henslin (2015) notes, “sociological perspective which stresses the social contexts where people live” (p. 2). As humans, we have to overcome social challenges every day some of us more than other.
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION:The Family The School Peer Groups The Mass Media Introduction to Sociology Social Sciences Sociology . 2014. AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION:The Family The School Peer Groups The Mass Media Introduction to Sociology Social Sciences Sociology . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.zeepedia.com/read.php?agents_of_socialization_the_family_the_school_peer_groups_the_mass_media_introduction_to_sociology&b=99&c=14. [Accessed 07 March 2014].
Giddens, Anthony, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P. Applebaum and Deborah Carr. Introduction to Sociology. New York: Norton & Company, 2012. Print.
After reviewing the article titles given for this first assignment, I believe they indicate that Sociology, generally speaking, is not only a study of diversity or commonality in traits among people; it is also a science about factors in a person’s life and how these factors culminate responses. Interestingly enough, its topics of concern seem to be directly determined by current and common events of the world. Through the invention and expansion of new ideas, popular trends and fashions through time, Sociology adapts to responsibly to service the very subjects of interest it studies; for, even the slightest change of a person’s daily experience can have an insurmountable impact on attitude, personal growth, family dynamics and basic group behavior.
Murray, Jane Lothian, Linden, Rick and Kendall, Diane. (2011). SOCIOLOGY IN OUR TIMES, Fifth Canadian Edition by Nelson Education Limited, Published by Thomson Wadsworth, USA.
Theories in sociology sometime provide us with the different perspectives with which to view our social...
Schaefer, R.T. (2009). Sociology: a brief introduction, 8th edition. New York, New York, USA: McGraw-Hill.
[10] Kendall, Diana, et al. Sociology in Our Times. ITP Nelson and Co. Toronto, 1997. 126.
(1997) Sociology: Introductory Readings, Revised ed. Cambridge and Malden: Polity Press. Hebding, D.E. and Leonard, G. (1996) Introduction to sociology: A text with readings, 5th ed. McGraw Hill Inc. (worldwide).
...Henslin, James M. "Social Structure and Social Interaction." Essentials of Sociology: A down to Earth Approach. 10th Ed. 10th ed. Pearson, 2013. 112. Print.
1. "Applying Sociology Within Various Society Levels." Sociology and Society Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2014.