Final Course Reflection

1. At first, I couldn’t help but wonder why I needed to take this course. It seemed to be
irrelevant to my major, which is nursing. As I was going into sociology I honestly had no idea
what the course was even about. I went into the course thinking it was just another history class.
After looking into the course, I learned that it was a study of our society and how it interacts. I
was then very interested in the class. After beginning the course, I learned many things that had
never even crossed my mind. My expectations were more than met, and I do not regret taking
this course at all. I learned about the obvious topics such as race, gender, and sexuality, and
much more.
My responses on the social distance scale were not that much different from one another.
But I have always been more of an open minded, non-judgmental type of person. There was no
significant change, my reactions were very similar throughout the whole social distance scale.
As I think back over the course, the most “ah-ha” moment for me would be when we
discussed the issues of discrimination today. I never truly thought about how many kids, or even
adults, are being discriminated against for their race or gender preference in our modern society.
Prior to taking this course, I obviously knew that there were many problems with discrimination,
but I did not know how ‘in depth’ these things could be taken. As a young adult, I never truly
thought about how ‘socially unacceptable’ society thinks it is to dress as another gender, even on
Halloween. I was able to see how society really is, and how these things relate to me, or the
people around me, on a day to day basis. It truly blows my mind.
In my opinion, I loved pairing with Freshman Year Seminar. For those that also had
Harold Blanco, it was extremely helpful in the aspect that we got most of the same information
twice per day. It helped the information settle into my memory.

2. Overall, I am very much impressed with this class, both the course and the instructor.
Luckily, I pick up information in the same ways that was taught throughout the course. This
course has truly opened my eyes, and given me a better understanding of today’s society. It has
completely changed my perspective on everything I see on a daily basis. I now try to look from
the outside in before coming to a conclusion on my opinion of someone’s character.