Introduction to Caitlin's Blog

My name is Caitlin and I am a senior at the University of Idaho.  I am studying Elementary Education as well as Spanish, and am student teaching in Phoenix this coming January.  I am from Moscow, Idaho and have lived here nearly my entire life.  I enjoy traveling and have done so a lot since graduating high school.  I am very active, love to be outdoors, and hope to be an elementary school teacher in the future. 

Sociology has the power to help us understand our world and our own lives because it defines how society and humans interact with each other.  Because of this, I found this photograph that in my opinion, perfectly represents society.  In the grand scheme of things, we are all created equal as humans, just as the photograph shows.  We are all both with the same innate features and are directly connected because of this.  The differences lie in how we interact and function together as a human race, and more specifically, in communities. 

Sociology is important to me, because in my career as a future grade school teacher, it is critical that I understand different aspects of society.  Realizing the differences in my students in term of their culture, backgrounds, where they grew up, and personalities will help me be better able to teach them effectively.  Better understanding society and how people interact, helps me foster better relationships in my life, as well as view the world in a different perspective.  

History is, strictly speaking, the study of questions; the study of answers belongs to anthropology and sociology.  
The reasons why events have occurred in history is due directly to the study of anthropology and sociology which is conveyed in the above quote by W.H. Auden (1973).  These areas of study not only explain the complex and unique human behaviors, they go in depth to how and why society acts and is portrayed in certain ways.  The study of sociology is intricate and will continue to be studied as long as the human race exists. 

Culture and the Media: Chapter 2

Culture

(Raszak, 2011)

I chose this chapter because I believe that culture and diversity are a couple of the most critical factors that influence our society today.  There are so many distinct cultures around the world and I think it is amazing how different they are.  Additionally, as I future classroom teacher, I believe it is extremely important for instructors to be aware of the diversity in their classrooms to be able to effectively teach to each student.  Understanding and accepting diversity is an issue in our country and will be inevitably.  

Human Rights and Cultural Diversity

This links to the United Nations web page, and contains an interesting article written by Diana Ayton-Shenker in 1995 on the challenges of human rights and cultural diversity.  It discusses concepts such as universal human rights, relativism and cultural context.   

These lines by Phyllis McGinley (1954), express the many positive aspects of cultural diversity:

In Praise of Diversity

Since the ingenious earth began

To shape itself from fire and rubble;
Since God invented man, and man
At once fell to, inventing trouble,
One virtue, one subversive grace
Has chiefly vexed the human race.
One whimsical beatitude,
Concocted for his gain and glory,
Has man most stoutly misconstrued
Of all the primal category --
Counting no blessing, but a flaw,
That Difference is the mortal law.
Adam, perhaps, while toiling late,
With life a book still strange to read in,
Saw his new world, how variegate,
And mourned, “It was not so in Eden,”
Confusing thus from the beginning
Unlikeness with original sinning.
And still the sons of Adam’s clay
Labor in person or by proxy
At altering to a common way
The planet’s holy heterodoxy.
Till now, so dogged is the breed,
Almost it seems that they succeed.
One shrill, monotonous, level note
The human orchestra’s reduced to.
Man casts his ballot, turns his coat,
Gets born, gets buried as he used to,
Makes war, makes love -- but with a kind
Of masked and universal mind.
His good has no nuances. He
Doubts or believes with total passion.
Heretics choose for heresy
Whatever’s the prevailing fashion.
Those wearing Tolerance for a label
Call other views intolerable.
“For or Against” ’s the only rule.
Damned are the unconvinced, the floaters.
Now all must go to public school,
March with the League of Women Voters,
Or else for safety get allied
With a unanimous Other Side.
There’s white, there’s black; no tint between.
Truth is a plane that was a prism.
All’s Blanshard that’s not Bishop Sheen.
All’s treason that’s not patriotism.
Faith, charity, hope -- now all must fit
One pattern or its opposite.
Or so it seems. Yet who would dare
Deny that nature planned it other,
When every freckled thrush can wear
A dapple various from his brother,
When each pale snowflake in the storm
Is false to some imagined norm?
Recalling then what surely was
The earliest bounty of Creation:
That not a blade among the grass
But flaunts its difference with elation,
Let us devoutly take no blame
If similar does not mean the same.
And grateful for the wit to see
Prospects through doors we cannot enter,
Ah! Let us praise Diversity
Which holds the world upon its center.
Praise con amor’ or furioso
The large, the little, and the soso.
Rejoice that under cloud and star
The planet’s more than Maine or Texas.
Bless the delighful fact there are
Twelve months, nine muses, and two sexes;
And infinite in earth’s dominions
Arts, climates, and opinions.
Praise ice and ember, sand and rock,
Tiger and dove and ends and sources;
Space travelers, and who only walk
Like mailmen round familiar courses;
Praise vintage grapes and tavern Grappas,
And bankers and Phi Beta Kappas;
Each in its moment justified,
Praise knowledge, theory, second guesses;
That which must wither or abide;
Prim men, and men like wildernesses;
And men of peace and men of mayhem
And pipers and the ones who pay ’em.
Praise the disheveled, praise the sleek;
Austerity and hearts-and-flowers;
People who turn the other cheek
And extroverts who take cold showers;
Saints we can name a holy day for
And infidels the saints can pray for.
Praise youth for pulling things apart,
Toppling the idols, breaking leases;
Then from the upset apple-cart
Praise oldsters picking up the pieces.
Praise wisdom, hard to be a friend to,
And folly one can condescend to.
Praise what conforms and what is odd,
Remembering, if the weather worsens
Along the way, that even God
Is said to be three separate Persons.
Then upright or upon the knee
Praise Him that by His courtesy,
For all our prejudice and pains,
Diverse His Creature still remains.

Media

Media is also has a strong influence in the United States, as well in other parts of the world.  Though we like it or not, the media impacts us in some way each and every day because we are surrounded by and immersed in it. It is so interesting to me how the media has changed and shaped our culture.

Media in the United States  

This website links the Global Issues website that was referenced in the chapter on racism.  This website contains global issues and is linked specifically to issues pertaining to the media.  The article is by Anup Shah, written in 2009 on the media and its effects in United States society.  This article delves into many issues concerning the mass media and cultural biases that exist. 

The Effects of Media Violence on Society

This link takes you to the website of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and specifically to an article by Brad Bushman written in 2002. This website contains scholarly journals on original scientific research and global news.  This article has to do with the correlation between prolonged exposure to violence on television in childhood and later aggressive behaviors. 

The Media and the Culture of Violence

This video "Media and the Culture of Violence was created by a group called the Killing Screens in 2006.  It discusses how the media is the new form of storytelling in today's societies.  It discusses the prevalence of violence in the media and the effects it has on youth and our culture in general. 

Race and Ethnicity: Chapter 10



(Managing Diversity, 2011)

















Avoiding discrimination, prejudices and racism is extremely important in our nation because of the many cultures and high diversity that exists. As a future classroom teacher, it is important for me to make students aware of cultural perspectives so that they do not fall into stereotyping habits. Immigration is another critical issue concerning the future of our country and is one that needs to be addressed.

This quote by Muhammad Ali (1942), expresses the negativity of racial prejudice:

“Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong.” 

Public Eye - Immigration and Racial, Ethnic and Cultural Diversity
This links to a website by the Political Research Associates (PRA) in 2002.  It explains about issues on immigration, racial, ethnic and cultural diversity, as well as other concepts such as ethnic conflict, assimilation and bilingual education.  It is a great resource for those needing information on the impacts of diversity in our society, as well as laws and effects of immigration. 

World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples
Thinks to a website of the Minority Rights Group International created in 2005.  This site contains a huge amount of information on minority and indigenous groups around the world.  This organization helps support these groups of people by giving them a chance to make their voices heard.  They create campaigns that target trouble areas such as discrimination and violence. 

Global Issues - Racism
This links to an amazing website on a number of global issues.  More specifically, I have linked to an article by Anup Shah written in 2010 that talks about the racism that exists in each continent of the world.  This site includes links to other interesting sites and videos concerning human rights issues. 

RACE: Are We So Different? - YouTube
The American Anthropological Association (AAA) created a video titled "RACE: Are We So Different?" in 2009. It talks about what race is, our ideas of it and what we really know about it as a concept.  It discusses how race has shaped our society and is a big part of the history of the world.

Families and Religion: Chapter 13



(2011)



I chose this chapter because I am very interested in the dynamics of families as well as the types of and theories of the concepts of families.  My family is one of, if not the most important aspect in my life. The role that family plays in human life has always sparked my curiosity.  I am also interested in marriage and divorce and the factors that effect and influence them.  Being raised as a Christian, religion has also played an important part in my life, and I have also been interested in learning about other religions as well.  Religion and family play huge roles in society and I was glad to learn about them in this course.  '

America's True History of Religious Tolerance
This link goes to the official Smithsonian website to an article written by Kenneth C. Davis in 2010.  This article conveys many truths about American's tolerance of religion and its' history.  I chose this article because it shows the significance of religion in the United States, which parallels with key topics in the textbook.

Transnational Family Research Institute
This link goes to the Transnational Family Research Institute (TFRI) website which was founded in 1972 and is an organization that conducts research on issues individual and dyadic human reproductive behaviors. They produce new information about family behaviors and the motivations behind them. 

Effects of Marriage and Divorce on Families and Children
This links to a website of the organization Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC)  which is a foundation that researches the effects of policies on families, especially low-income ones studied by the Vice President Gordon Berlin in May of 2004. This link is to one of their publications on many key issues concerning divorce, single parents, low-income families and the effects on children and the members of the family.

The Role of Family and Social Change - YouTube
This links to a YouTube video titled The Role of Family and Social Change by INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications made January of 2011.  The video tells of the role that families continue to play in individuals' lives, despite changes in the forms that families may take.  It talks about how the family as an institution continues to stand strong and be a very influential part of our society.  

Jim Rule (2006) writes about what the meaning of family really is in his song "A Family is What You Make it":  

A Family is What You Make it: 

Celebrating the Meaning of Families

I used to believe that a family
Was a mom, and a dad, and 2.3 kids,
and a great big station wagon or a mini van
And a house and a dog and a cat.

But now that I've seen lots of families,
I know it's not always like that,


Chorus
Because a family is what you make it.
It's you and your loved ones, whoever they are.
You've got to give and take it.
With understanding and love, your family's gonna go far.
With understanding and love, your family's gonna go far.


I used to believe I was normal
Now I don’t know what that means.
‘Cause if your family keeps you cozy and warm all right
and fits you like a pair of your favorite jeans

That’s what’s important. That makes it right,
Snug as a bug on a cold winter’s night.
Someone to love you and someone to fight
for your right to be just who you are.
With understanding and love, your family's gonna go far.
With understanding and love, your family's gonna go far.

Chorus

Emerging Issues in Society

Globalization

I believe that one of the greatest concerns in society is that of globalization - the increased interconnectedness and interdependence of numerous societies around the world (Andersen, 2011).  This trend is causing cultures and nations to be very dependent on each other, in terms of economics and customs.  As societies become more interconnected, cultural diffusion occurs and we move closer towards a single, homogenous culture.  In my opinion, the richness of our world y lies in the unique cultures and countries that exist and existed in the past.  As globalization continues to increase, cultures are fading, losing their traditional customs and languages, and others are even disappearing.     

(MCM Capital Partners, 2011)

Environment and Population

As a society, another key concern that we have is that of the future of the environment and population size.  First off, as our population density continues to increase, problems of urban living arise which then increase crime and homelessness rates.  These problems then effect the environment in terms of air and water pollution, hazardous waste and global warming.  As humans we depend on our physical environment and the resources that it provides us.  As the population increases, resources and space become scarcer, which creates a concern for all of mankind.  We have to meet our basic needs of food, water and shelter before anything.  However, if these needs can't be met, there is no hope for societies to continue advancing and flourishing.    

(Rogers, 2010)

Wrapping It Up
Sociology is a very important topic because it studies the social behavior of humans, as well as political, economic, economic, and religious aspects of peoples' lives.  Through the study of sociology, we gain a deeper understanding of societies around the world, how we interact with one another in our day-to-day lives, and can help improve the attitudes we have toward diverse groups of people.  Understanding these concepts can help in any occupational area and can even improve our personal relationships.

(Advisory Board for the Disabled, 2011)

References

Top Picture

Liberating Spaces. (2010, April). Retrieved from

     http://www.aribo.eu/tag/diversity.html

Emerging Issues

Advisory Board for the Disabled. (2011).  Retrieved from: http://www.the

     advisoryboardforthedisabled.org     

MCM Capital Partners. (2011). Retrieved from:       
     http://www.mcmcapital.com/2011/04/globalization-shapes-u-s- manufacturing-and-    
     mcminvestment-strategy

Rogers, S. (2010). 7 Environmental Problems that are Worse than we Thought.

     Retrieved from http://earthfirst.com/7-environmental-problemsthat-are- worse-than-we-               
     thought 

Family and Religion

Auburn School District. (2011). Retrieved from                                                                            
      http://www.auburn.wednet.edu/ForParentsStudents/ForFamilies.html

Berlin, G. (2004, May) The Effects of Marriage and Divorce on Families

     and Children. Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation. Retrieved from
    http://www.mdrc.org/publications/386/testimony.html

Davis, K. (2010, October). America's True History of Religious Tolerance. Smithsonian.  
    Retrieved from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/historyarchaeology/Americas-TrueHistory-of-
    ReligiousTolerance.html?c=y&page=4

Henry, D. (1972).Transnational Family Research Institute. Retrieved from
    http://www.tfri.org/_TFRI.org_/About_TFRI__.html

INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications. (2011, January). The Role

         of Family and Social Change. [Video]. Retrieved from

         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-  u3khwsUsc&feature=youtube

Rule, J. (2006). A Family is what you Make it. Retrieved from 
     http://www.songsforteaching.com/jimrule/afamilyiswhatyoumakeit.htm

Race and Ethnicity

Managing Diversity  (2011, May). Retrieved from
     http://www.managingdiversity.info/diversity-in-business/

Ali, M. (1942).
     http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/muhammad_ali.

American Anthropological Association. (2009). Race: Why are we so Different? [Video]. 
     Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aaTAUAEyho

Minority Rights Group International. (2005). Directory of Minorities and

     Indigenous Peoples. Retrieved from http://www.minorityrights.org/3/home/mrg-directory-
     homepage.html

Political Research Associates. (2002). Immigration and Racial, Ethnic and
      Cultural Diversity. Retrieved from
      http://www.publiceye.org/ark/immigrants/CulturalDiv.html

Shah, A. (2010). Racism . Retrieved from
     http://www.globalissues.org/article/165/racism

Culture and Media

Raszak, Y. (2011, October). Centennial College. Retrieved from 
      http://www.centennialcollegeblog.com/2011/10/international-video-challenge-for-
     youth.html

Ayton-Shenker, D. (1995). The Challenge of Human rights and Cultural Diversity. Retrieved
     from http://www.un.org/rights/dpi1627e.htm

Bushman, B. (2002, March). The Effects of Media Violence on Society. Retrieved from
     http://www.sciencemag.org/content/295/5564/2377.full

Challenging Media. (2006). The Killing Screens: Media and the Culture of Violence [Video].
     Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PHxTr-59hE

McGinley, P. (1954). In Praise of Diversity . Retrieved from
     http://holyjoe.org/poetry/McGin2.htm

Shah, A. (2009, October). Media in the United States. Retrieved from 

      http://www.globalissues.org/article/163/media-in-the-united-states