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Cultural diversity addressed in the classroom
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The Social Construction of Reality Many theories have been developed over the years in attempt to explain how and why the human race interacts in the ways that they do. One of these theories is called the social construction of reality. Also referred to as social constructionism, this theory explains how humans come to understand knowledge through the sociological and communicative developments of these jointly constructed disciplines. Social constructionism became famous in the United States when Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann wrote the book entitled, The Social Construction of Reality in 1966. In their theory, Berger and Luckmann assert that all knowledge, including the most basic of everyday reality, is derived from social interactions. …show more content…
The weak end of the scale would depend on situations that deal with a background of specific facts or evidence that explain the situation. Money is the perfect example of weak social constructionism. In the United States, money is associated with green paper bills, which are traded for goods and services. These very specific pieces of green paper only have value because society has agreed it does. This particular culture assigned value to the paper, where as other societies may find this green paper to be valueless, perhaps because they have established worth in a certain coin. Strong social constructionism is different because instead of basing practices on fact, they are based on language and social norms. This can be better understood through the example of trees compared to other plant life. Humans differentiate trees from other plants because, through experience, humans have been taught to recognize them as trees. Beliefs and what man considers to be knowledge are dependent upon the narratives used to understand them. …show more content…
It may seem trivial and go unnoticed to most, but by assigning Barbie a real career, people are able to identify with and recognize her. The marketers also provide Barbie with a life other than modeling, such as friends and a home. The Ken doll, which is commonly known as Barbie’s boyfriend, makes her appear more real to the audience. Girls are able to identify with the idea of a boyfriend, which makes the notion of Barbie seem more realistic and desirable. The same idea is applied to the many friends Barbie has been accompanied by over the years. Lastly, and perhaps most famously, Barbie, like almost all of the girls who play with her, have a home. The Barbie Dream House is just another clever way her marketing team has presented her to society as a real person. Humanizing Barbie, and portraying her in such a manner makes her more attractive to potential buyers. The girls who engage in play with dolls do not want merely a doll; they desire something they can relate to and envision in the real world. Imaginative play is a large portion of childhood, and the ability for children to posses a doll like Barbie , who represents a real person in society, is extremely valuable. The use of social constructionism in the marketing of products such as Barbie is both brilliant and effective.
As the textbook says, the social construct reality is the process by which people creativity shaped reality through social interaction. Social interaction has a lot to do with social construct reality. Social interaction is the process by which people act and react in relation to others. The Thomas Theorem is situations that are defined as real are real in their consequences, which is named after W.I. Thomas and Dorothy Thomas. The Thomas Theorem means that although reality initially “soft” as it is being shaped it can become “hard” in it effects.
“If Barbie was designed by a man, suddenly a lot of things made sense to me,” says Emily Prager in her essay “Our Barbies, Ourselves” (Prager 354). Prager’s purpose for writing this essay is to explain the history of Barbie and how the doll itself has influenced and continue to influence our society today. Prager is appealing to the average girl, to those who can relate to the way she felt growing up with Barbie seen as the ideal woman. Emily Prager uses a constant shift between a formal and informal tone to effectively communicate her ideas that we view women today based upon the unrealistic expectations set forth by Barbie. By adopting this strategy she avoids making readers feel attacked and therefore
In the short story "Barbie-Q,” by Sandra Cisneros, the young girls didn't mind they did not receive other things such as new Barbie's or Ken Barbie's and the friends to go along with the dolls (206). These girls were just happy to play with their own dolls. The girls have bonded with each other and they enjoy playing with each other's dolls. A doll brings two or more children together for fun and social entertainment. Have you ever listened to a child frequently you will hear a child say " so what” that means the child really don't care, it don't matter; nothing else mattered to the two little girls. In the short story "Barbie-Q,” by Sandra Cisneros to purchase a brand new Barbie doll meant that the dolls are expensive in the store so the girls are very happy and pleased to own a second hand Barbie. When the parent places the dolls in the child's hands the dolls take on the character of the owner's beauty; culture; how girls see themselves and the future when the kids are all grown up. Barbie is a fun toy to dress up. Each child has her or his own imagination of a Barbie doll. I, too, myself, like watching all the different cultural background Barbie dolls in the malls or Macy's Department Store around Christmas times. Most large department stores dress
The role of Barbie in her many careers led me to think that they could do anything they put their mind to. Barbie has over 120 jobs some of them being a nurse, a veterinarian, a rockstar, plus she ran for president in 2008. “Barbie has always represented the fact that women have choices”- Ruth Handler. (45) Barbie showed me that even I could be dominant in male jobs including astronaut, surgeons, and baseball players. Barbie has taught me that I have a choice to make when it comes to my career and that we can’t be limited or held back to jobs that have been portrayed by men only. Ruth Handler believes that “Barbie was all about choices and being able to remain feminine while succeeding in a man's world.” (43) Role-playing with my dolls in different careers helped me to see what job my personality best fit
The academic essay, “The Social Foundations of Human Experience”, by Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann written in 1966 is an interesting take on the socialization of human beings. It provides a myriad of information and ideas promoting readers to think about how socialization, as well as social structures effect both society and individual beings. The authors argue that human beings experience life based on the socialization process and their innate abilities to interact with each other. Society operates in a distinct way, based on human activity and human interaction. Through examining our course content and reading the essay I have found that the Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann
Social constructivism is defined as the perspective that focuses on people's collective efforts to impose meaning on the world (1). The experiences a person goes through on a daily basis helps shape there perspectives. There are several benefits with social constructivism along with a few disadvantages. The main benefits being that it helps students learn and enjoy more when they are involved rather than sitting behind a desk and just listening
... construction works within society, which is that, a person witnesses another 's actions of thoughts on a certain thing. The more they see this type of thought towards said thing, the more they recognize it and assume that they must have the same thought on that subject. (Mizruchi, Fein. 2)
The Social Construction Theory is defined as the event of individuals and or groups perceive real life events and objects and put a meaning to them. Social construction is an ongoing process and views can be modified because the concept is relying upon the communication from one person to another and different people can interpret things differently. One way society has constructed ideas is with animals. Throughout history people have created stories using animals as characters and those stories were passed down from generation to generation. Those stories can influence how people feel about the actual animals.
In the beginning of “Barbie Doll”, pleasurable and unpleasurable imagery is given so that the reader can see the extremes girls go through to be considered perfect.
Social constructionism can been seen as a part of the postmodern ideology, the concept behind the postmodern concept is that reality stresses and builds upon worldviews by individuals in a dialectic interaction with society at a time. Dialectical interaction with society at given point in time. This theory assumes that knowledge is not developed within the individual. This theory assumes that human beings rationalize their experiences and knowledge by forming a model of the functioning social world, this theory also assumes language is the most important aspect by which they construct reality. Several theorists talk about the concept of religion as not being cultural or universal but has emerged because of historical and political conditions.
Those perfect days as a child when your countless days were filled with playtime. The time to set up those houses and dress the dolls up, and act out the future. “Through their play Barbara imagined their lives as adults. They used the dolls to reflect the adult world around them. They would sit and carry on conversations, making the dolls real people” (Ruth Handler). As a young child, it is all you look forward to in your future: being successful and confident, loved and cherished. Many dolls were used to project this. Specifically, the Barbie. Barbie is a positive role model girl should look up to for confidence and inspiration. She is a talented and educated career woman, self-sufficient in every aspect of her life, and a stunning example to young girls the body that is healthy and fit.
how we were raised, what believes that were instilled into us and how other might view or perceive us. This matters in the study of social problems, because it allows us to understand the individual or group of people. An example of something that is socially constructed is a wealthy man purchases organic locally grown fish food for his pet fish, when he checks out the cashier, who makes $6 an hour makes note the man is spending $50 on fish food and thinks to themselves, WOW! This fish is going to eat better than me. The man thinks to himself, I am taking great care of my fish and everyone should feed their fish this food. The cashier thinks, his man is wasteful with his money and has no sense of
The piece, “From Ways of Seeing” by John Berger, describes how a man’s actions are perceived and always focused on showing power. However a woman’s presence is opposite and that everything she does determines how people see her. Her choices and actions are what we go by to determine who the woman is. Whereas men want to be seen but women just want to be accepted (4). Aaron H. Devor in, “Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender” argues that men and women both strive to obtain power (112). Devor shows how the means of how they obtain said power are vastly different and mirror the statements that Berger claims (114). Devor helps further our understanding of how we come to act the specific ways that are customary by divulging the ongoing thought process toward gender of children (109). Berger as well as Devor seem to agree on the topic of how the members of a gender act in society, the motive behind these actions are where differences between the writers
Social Construction of reality basically states that individual perception of reality is based upon individual belief, background, and experiences. Many sociologists believe that what an individual perceive to be reality is based upon the culture norms that individual was raised with and what is considered acceptable by society. For instance, in the more developed/central parts of our country it is considered socially acceptable for women to be out in the work force. However, in certain cultures it is not considered acceptable for a woman to work outside of the home. One woman’s reality might that it is important to get an education and have a good job, while from the other woman’s point of view that is a man’s responsibility. These two constructions of reality are acceptable to society, thus social construction of reality
Social interaction is defined as the process by which people act and react in relation to others (Macionis 583). Symbolic Interaction Theory is a micro-level orientation, a close up focus on social interaction in specific situations. Social construction of reality, the foundation of the symbolic-interaction theory, is the process by which people creatively shape reality through social interaction. Quite a bit of reality remains unclear I everyone’s mind, so we present ourselves in terms that suit the setting and our purposes, we try to guide what happens next, and as others do the same, reality takes shape. Reality then is a product of social