Privilege, Power, and Difference

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In the beginning of the year I entered this class with a very sheltered and ignorant view of current and past events. Through time and sociological evolution I have begun to see things in a different light. The development of my ability, to look at something or some kind of situation, lets me use the sociological terms in such a manner to relate them to micro and macro problems in society. This started with the assigned readings of the class; the aim was to decipher the messages the authors were presenting. The goal was then to dig deeper and use my experiences to help myself understand the concepts throughout the course. "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited." Plutarch (46-120 CE--common era) I was no longer supposed to retain knowledge on a factual basis but to observe the problems and challenge my own thoughts, values, and beliefs. Challenging these aspects lights the fire that creates the ability to use working sociological terms in my analyses. Through my analyses of the authors in the course I developed questions about the particular readings that we were assigned. The questions I present from these authors are on the basis of learning and seeing the macro picture from micro events. The authors that we read from were: Allan G. Johnson, James W. Loewen, Jonathan Kozol, David Nibert, Arnold Arluke, Clinton R. Sanders, and Elie Wiesel. From each one of these authors we are able to relate a theme of sociology to what is happening in their books, which results in the discussion questions.

The book Privilege, Power, and Difference by Allan G. Johnson (2001) was the first that we were assigned, and the basis in which my ability to question what the author is saying, in relation to my own experiences. T...

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...s to relate their speech to our sociological themes. Put on plays or show movies that express the relationship of everyday life to our sociological terms. To inform the masses that even though it may not be spoken of doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem. There would be many obstacles to overcome and would involve a lot of cooperation. This takes efforts from members of a group, it cannot be done singlehandedly, who have different experiences, backgrounds, and ideologies to combine and form solutions and ideas toward our goal of peace. I know about cooperation and group effort from my experience with my picturing peace group. If we were able to find a medium and able to achieve success as a group, I think that even if people don’t get along they can come together for a cause. This effort in cooperation, sacrifice, and hard work are key essentials in achieving peace.

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