1. Essay about My Sociological Perspective
Sociology is a part of everyday life. People experience sociological changes when they get
married, get a new job, or get discriminated against. All of these things can alter a person's
perspective on a group of people or even the world. Since the beginning of this class, I have
personally endured several sociological changes in my life. I recently started a new job. I'm
meeting new and wonderful people and I no longer dread having to go to work. I have also begun
setting plans for my wedding to the one girl who I know will make everyday better than the one
before. But, perhaps the one instance that has affected me the most and the deepest was when my
parents got a divorce.
This is something that occurred over ten years ago but it...show more content...
If there was anything that I valued as a child, it was the togetherness of my mother and father. Due
to the fact that my father was now on his own and trying to raise three children (my older brother
from my father's first marriage), he had to take a different position at his work. Although he was
getting a raise it wasn't necessarily a good thing. He had to start working the night shift so he
could get the raise. He didn't really have a choice in the matter and because of this new change, I
began to lose valuable time with him as well. It was now up to my brother to watch over us at
night and make sure we got to bed on time. If there was any trouble or and problems in general,
my brother would call my grandmother. For three years my dad worked that job and every night
he would stay up after he got home to see us. He would make my sister and I breakfast and make
we were off to school on time. This meant the world to me because no matter what he always
made time for us. Now, it will soon be my turn to make the same vows my parents once did.
However, I will not make the same mistakes that they did. After seeing what divorce did to myfamily
, I will never even utter that word when I have my own. My children will never experience the pain
and agony and shear despair that I had to go through. Although it has been ten years, I still hurt.
When
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2. What is Sociology? Essays
What is Sociology? 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...show more content...
How has Sociology changed? According to the Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary (2010),
Sociology is referred to as ".the systematic study of the development, structure, interaction, and
collective behavior of organized groups of human beings" (para. 1); however, the transformable
qualities of this science are not represented by this definition, as they should be. To best understand
these changes, we must first consider changes within people as study objects; for as previously
stated, Sociology changes in ways which are commensurate to changes in the world around it.
For example, during the 1970's, single parent households did exist, but these arrangements were
considered to be the exception, not the rule. In contrast, today's family structures are as diverse as
the people within them. Given that it has become routine for some parents to live separately, and
couples of same sex marriages are now common place, unique areas of consideration have opened up
and are in need of further scrutiny. Through updated theories and advanced equipment, inventive
techniques have been applied to study people adjoined to the modernized world they live in. Also,
social sciences have fundamentally altered their beliefs of acceptability and acknowledged
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3. Reflective Sociology Essay
The last six weeks have challenged my preconceived ideas about sociology and the role that it plays
in society in the popular and social media, my values, behaviours and belief system. What I hope to
highlight throughout this reflective essay is what I have learnt and how that has shaped my new
thought process and reinforced old thought patterns. Week one I learnt about the Sociological
imagination where to quote C Wright "The sociological imagination enables us to grasp the
connection between history and biography." (Henslin et al., 2011). Upon further reflection of the
reading material in Sociology a down to earth approach there was one particular story that really
resonated with me. It was the illustration about expecting...show more content...
Week three see's the introduction of the fathers of sociology Auguste Comte, Herbert Spenser, Karl
Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, Georg Simmel. Karl Marx and Durkheim are the two that
really resonate with me, Durkheim due to his theories around the subject of suicide and how that
subject is particularly personal with me and also Karl Marx theory around class inequality.
Karl Marx believed that man's basic needs were food and shelter and the evolution of these basic
needs led to capitalism, after the industrial revolution we see there being two distinct classes of
people the workers and the capitalist and the effect that this ultimately has on social aspect of
society. Marx looked at the unequal power struggle in this theory and how that conflict would lead to
socialism and eventually communism and it was then that he co–wrote with Englels in 1948 "The
Communist Manifesto". I can really see the same picture that Marx was looking at, even in today's
society in Australia we see the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, but more evident in
third world countries where there are polar opposites in wealth and power.
This subject has actually spilled out into my conversation at different locations, talking at a bar with
a guy about the possibility that Jesus was a
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4. Sociological Theories Essay
Sociological theory creates ways to understand the social world by having different theories to
explain understand social life. It aids to make sense of this social world. It draws together a wide
range of perspectives to help provide the fullest picture. (Macionis & Plummer p.36) It shows that
one theory can explain something that another cannot. My aim is to answer this question with
reference to both functionalism and conflict theory. This will be done by comparing and contrasting
both theories in relation to their perspectives on both suicide and gender discrimination as social
issues relevant to this day and age. Functionalism and conflict perspectives are both macro theories.
This means that they focus on the big picture, for...show more content...
(Turner, p.112) Functional analysis established itself as a way of 'bringing to light the significance of
the institutional order and connecting it with the unintentional consequences of social action.
(Turner, p.121) On page 35 of Back et al. it states that Durkheim's argument is that classification is a
process of 'marking–off', of showing things that are related, but have distinct points of difference to
another. Functionalism assumes that society's social institutions perform important functions to
help ensure social stability. Rapid social change threatens social order, but slow social change is
desirable. Durkheim believed that the individual has no way of limiting passions, so the moral
authority of society must do this. Individual aspirations are limited two ways, by socialisation and
social integration. Socialisation helps us learn the rules of society and the need to cooperate.
Social integration allows us to integrate into society and reinforce our respect for its rules. These
both, as stated by Durkheim create a strong collective conscience. Suicide, as an example of a
social issue, is explained with the functionalism perspective by not focusing on the individual
unhappiness, but instead on the group rates of suicide resulting form external forces. This may be
caused by normlessness, which may result from periods of rapid social change, and people find it
hard and unclear about how to deal with problems in their life. This frustration
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