in class particpiation:

(1) Today we had group presentations by quite a few groups. I found the one on human trafficking to be partiularly interesting. It really talked about the issue of human trafficking. It was well done and i liked the personal stories that the group members shared. One member talked about his familys experiences with maids and his uncles experience with owning a restaraunt in the red light district of his country. I thought it was very brave of him to share such personal stories and it added a good element to their presentation. It is sad that so many people are victims to human trafficking and that number is growing every day. The group helped showcase the problem because it is not often talked about in “first-world” nations like canada. But it is still an issue that needs to be delt with.

(2) The other day we watched a very interesting video in class. It was regarding a study done in saskatuwan about racism against mainly first nations people in the area. This was a very interesting video with a good concept. A lady set up a study in which she had caucasian people become a victim of abuse so that they could feel what the first nations people feel on a regular basis. It was an eye opening movie – i didnt think that the caucasian people would have the reaction that they did. I belive that it did a good job in showing them the struggle of being “different.” I was also suprised that the first nations people had a hard time being “mean” to the caucasian people because they didnt want anyone to experience the hurt that they did. It showed the problem really well and i wish lots more people would get the chance to experience life in the other persons shoes because maybe then they will think twice about being racist and discrimination against innocent people who really do not deserve it.

(3) The other day in class we discussed the multi-perspectival approach. we discussed it in groups and our group thought that this wasa very good approach on life. With this approach you look at situations from all over rather than just head on. You look at every single side/aspect of a situation and not only in your own personal perspective but from the perspective of other people aswell. This is an important approach became you get all the sides to an issue/story rather than just one. it helps you better analyize the situation and get a better understanding of the entire picture. You do much better in life when you look at things from all angles because you get a deeper interpretation and understanding of the matter.

(4) we watched a movie regarding a Prision Experiement done many years ago at a university. I had seen this video before in my psych class but even watching it again was pretty eye opening. It was sad to see the way these “prisioners” were being treated but it was really interesting how these people acted. It showed that humans can be brutal even when theyre just acting out a role. and the prisoners were taking their “prision” sentance very harshly even though they had done nothing wrong. i found it really interesting when in the movie one of the guys talked about how easily the situation could have been reversed. That really caught my attention. That the exact same thing wouldve happen if the roles were reversed just because thats the way humans are. It was sad to see the prisioners just break down and have to leave but it was good that they stopped the experiment before things got too out of hand.

(5) In class we talked about culture. Culture is a term we all use a lot but theres a lot more to it than we think. We had some good talks in class about how culture varies so much from place to place. It crazy to think that even though we all live so close to eachother there are so many diffrent cultures and tradtions that are practiced. Every place has its own unique culture, no 2 are exactly the same.I think its super interesting learning about other cultures and how they function. We are lucky to live in such a multicultural place like Canada where there are so many other cultures present. You can go down to china town, main street and many other places and experience the cultures first hand without even getting on a plane.

“Bikini and G-String are OK but Wearing Hijab or Veil isn’t?”

Dialectic Reading

What questions does this video raise?

This video i think raised the question: how is it okay for women to walk around showing a lot of skin in bikinis and g-strings but women who wear a hijab are viewed as if their doing something wrong?

How does this video answer this question?

This video answers the question by showing us that we are all different and have different beliefs. We shouldnt be put down for our personal preferances. Some people feel more comfortable in a bikini and others in a hijab. Women who chose to wear a hijab because of their religious beliefs should not be treated differently just because they are showcasing their beliefs – we should be accepting of one another.

Does this answer match our own ideas and experiences?

I never really thought much of the issue before, but i think its sad that people are being treated differently due to their beleifs, we should all be accepting of one another and realize that not everyone will have the same opinion as you, but thats totally okay.

Negoriation, Not Retribution

by Charles Quist-Adade

Introduction to Society: Processes and Structures Fall 2012 Edition

Parapharistic Reading

This article talks about events that took place on September 11th and the mass amount of innocent people who passed away in that tragity. It discusses how saddened we were as a society to see so many innocent people die because of such a heinous crime. It tells us about how weapons that were made in countries like America are being sold to people all over the world and are being used to kill one another. It tells us about how in history things were viewed differently than they are now and so forth.

I picked the second paragraph of this article.

That paragraph starts by sharing the saddness that was felt over the death of thosands of inncoent people and reminding us that many innocent people die at the hands of another every single day all around the world. I found that to be a very interesting point, that innocent people are victims to other people brutality and as the articile disscusses in some cases weapons made in our very own industrialized countries are used in order to commit such crimes. It is sad to think that this is a reality.

Thinking About Sociology: A Critical Introduction

Chapter 3

by Karen L. Anderson

Dialect Reading

What question did it raise?

i think it raised the question of what are the factors out there that influence research done in sociology

How did it answer?

It answered the question by clearly showing the things that influence research within sociology. It pin pointed 4 main factors to be exact. It talked about how theory, epistemology, values and ontology.

How does this match our own ideas and experiences?

I didnt know much about research in sociology before so i thought this was an informative chapter. It really showcased how important values are and how they influence research. I think its important to look at all factors when doing research like the chapter outlined.

Who Will Liberate Liberia?

By Charles Quist-Adade

Introduction to Society: Processes and Structures Fall 2012 Edition

Dialectic Reading

What question does this article raise?

I think it raises the question that how will we help these other countries when we have wasted so much on things like the war on iraq, so who will liberate Liberia? 

How does it answer this question?

It answers this question by showing us how much money the Bush administration has spent on the war in iraq (billions and billions of dollars) that couldve been put to better use helping other countries like Liberia. It shows that Bush was willing to spend all of that money because of the oil that Iraq has but since Liberia doesnt have the same as Iraq, nothing really happend. 

Does This match our own ideas and experiences?

It matches our own ideas because it shows that as human beings we are greedy and go after whatever will benifit us more, we go after where the money is and try to be in control rather than helping out other places that could really use the help.

September 11: Forgiviness Is Not Part Of The Lessons Learned

by Charles Quist-Adade

Introduction to Society: Processes and Structures Fall 2012 Edition

Parapharistic Reading

This wriring talks about how things have changed in the world after 911 and how forgiveness is not seen as much as it should be. In the west we all talk about forgiveness but dont always practice it, It talks about ex president Bush and the war he started after 911. It tells us about how some people want others to forget about things that happen in the past but they themselves cant forget how they were wronged.

The part i picked was the second paragraph. It talks about how even after so much has happen leading up to and since 911 we are all still unable to forgive, “forgiveness is a scarce commodity.” But instead of forgiving humans are turning to things like war to solve their problems and not looking at any other solutions and so far things are just getting worse rather than better. I liked this passage and the statement really stuck out to me because i had never really thought of forgiveness in that context. 

Thinking About Sociology: A Critical Introduction Chapter 1 by Karen L. Anderson

Dialectic Reading

What Question does this chapter raise?

I think it talks about what sociology is and what sociologists do

How does it answer the question?

The first chapter of the book “Thinking about Sociology” talks about sociology as a whole. It discusses what sociology is and what sociologists do. It disscusses how sociologists do their work and and research within the core values of sociology. It tells us the components of sociology. It tells us the skills that are required inorder to be a successful sociologist. The chapter also effectivly talks about the sociological perspective.

How does this match my own ideas and experiences?

Well, i dont have much experience with sociology other than this sociology class and i think that it does a good job in outlining what sociologists have to do and sociology as a whole. It is in line with everything that we have learned in class thusfar aswell so i agree with it.

Thinking About Sociology: A Critical Introduction

Chapter 10 - Karen L. Anderson

CULTURE

Affective Reading

This chapter was about culture as a whole. It discussed how different parts of the world have different cultures and how they have changed over the years. The meaning of culture and how people perceive it is also mentioned in the chapter. It tells us about how we are surrounded by various cultures that have different practices. Even though we all come from such different backgrounds we can still talk and assosiate between one another. It even discusses how people marry people from other cultures and different views. This reading showed a lot of things, it made me feel happy to live in canada where we can all freely be from other cultures. But it was sad to hear about how people belive that one culture can be superior from another and reminds me of how hitler believed his “aryan” culture was better than the rest and so others should be put to death because they dont belong. It is sad to think that people still carry views like that today in regards to culture. Some people dont even assosiate with those who are outside of their culture and that is not a very good way to go about life. I believe that every culture should be accepted the way they are and people should get to know other cultures and not just jump straight ahead to judging them.

Zimbardo Prison Experiment 

Dialectic Reading

What Question did the Video Raise?

I believe that one of the questions it raised the question that when put in certain situations will humans act the way they are told to act (as their role) even if that means hurting someone else?

How did the video answer this question?

It answered it by showing the experiment itself. The experiment showed that people actually do act the way they are told to act by a higher power and they adapt to their given role. They become the role they are given. In the study there were prison guards and prisioners – the roles were randomly assigned to each person. In the study the guards took their role very seriously and were very strict on the prisioners, more than expected. They embodied the guards. They became something that the were not in actuality, It showed that as humans we adapt to our circumstances and can actually be pretty cruel to others who dont exactly deserve it.

How does this answer match our own ideas/experiences?

I think it very much does match, but its a little suprsing still to think that people can do bad things to other people. But thats just reality and stuff like that happens every day. We change and adabt to our circumstances no matter what they may be and a lot of people only look out for themselves without thinking about what effect they could be having on another person.

Issues in Social Justice

Chapter 2:

Discrimination Face by Members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, transgender Community

By:

Carrie Buist and Andrew Verheek

Paraphrastic Reading

This chapter outlines the issues faced by members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community. For years the LGBT community has been outcasted by some members of society and viewed as people who don’t belong. This chapter describes the LGBT community and gives definitions for genders and sex. It also discusses the hate crimes against the LGBT community and the problem of discrimination, from past to present – all kinds of hate crimes and discrimination. It talks about the prevalence of discrimination in the workforce for LGBTS and in other aspects of life. It compares the discrimination faced by women and African Americans to the discrimination faced by the LGBT community.

“First, Same sex marriage has been perceived as a threat to the defintion of traditional marriage.” Page 28. First Paragraph. Chapter 2.

This phrase caught my attention. It is sad to think that people within society view same sex marriage as a “threat.” I dont view it as a threat. Every person is different and should not be marginalized to that. It is ones personal preference to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or heterosexual. One persons views shouldnt be forced upon another. Traditional marriage is fine for those who believe in it, but others shouldnt be denied the right to be married just because their view differs from others. We need to be accepting as a society and let all people have the same rights and freedoms.