In the article, “The surprisingly uncomplicated racist history of the Confederate flag,” Marc Ambinder discusses the Confederate flag as a symbol of slavery and oppression. Since the ending of the Civil War, authentic and confidential use of the Confederacy’s flags, as well as flags with acquired designs, has continued under cultural, philosophical, and racial disputation in the Unites States. On June 17th, 2015 in Charleston, a white man intruded in a black church, shooting nine African-Americans who were practicing religion. The incident in South Carolina that occurred earlier this year is brought up by Ambinder, stating that ever since the shooting occurred, many outside of South Carolina are looking at the Confederate flag as an unacceptable…
As mentioned in the present chapter, symbolic interactionism is an important theory in sociology that examines “how we [as humans] construct meanings, how we use symbols to communicate with one another and how symbols are the foundation of our world” (Henslin, 2012). In the field of sociology this theory consists of three fundamental themes –“humans have a self,” “people construct meanings, and act on the basis of those meanings” and “people take into account the possible reactions of others” (Henslin, 2012). Such themes aid in piecing together how we as a shared society and group of individuals find meaning in our lives as well as in the world around us through the incorporation of symbols. Thus, the overarching aim for the theory of “symbolic…
Every person possesses opinions or beliefs which shape and mold his or her political ideology. In today’s American society, political ideologies have split into a rift unlike any other in 21st Century America. While most Americans still identify as politically moderate, the divide between the far left and center and the far right and center continue to expand. The groups at each end of the spectrum have developed into radical factions, much to the dismay of the Americans in the middle of the spectrum. In the past few decades alone, a group based on the ideas of white nationalism has emerged on the far right side of the political spectrum: the alt-right.…
Alexandra Mederos Dr. Abdy SOC 201: Principles of Sociology 15 November 2015 Social Construction of Reality Conceptually, Berger’s book “Social Construction of Reality” is based on his belief that reality is socially constructed. He also believes that the sociology of knowledge must analyze the process in which this social construction occurs. The term social construction of reality refers to the theory of how we present ourselves to society based on our experiences and interactions with others. To completely understand the concept of “social construction of reality” we must first understand what knowledge and reality are.…
The sociocultural model is “Dysfunction best understood within broader context of social and cultural forces.” When it comes to abnormal behavior, the sociocultural model plays a big role. It has a lot to do with society and cultural rules. Living in society can be very tough. There’s lot things in society people feel the need to live up to, whether its money wise or just even looking like what society wants you to look like.…
From New Orleans to Charlottesville, Confederate statues have dominated headlines and sparked a new debate in American society. A dualistic, more mainstream, and simplified representation of this issue posits one side that argues that these statues glorify those who espoused an immoral stance and ought to be taken down, whereas the other side presents the counter that these statues serve a historical purpose and educate society of a darker age. This is a boiled down version of the matter. This paper argues that the latter perspective lacks cogency on the grounds that the statues do not illuminate the history of the past, but rather glorify the Confederate cause, white tribalism, and white supremacy. A fundamental premise of this paper’s…
"Consider the recent debate about whether or not display of the Confederate flag in public spaces in Southern states is a microagression (defined by Dr. D. W. Sue for Google as "the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership"). Analyze this complex political debate in terms of its rhetorical situation and semiotics." The public's perception of the Confederate flag is a multifaceted issue. The main opponents to the display of the Confederate flag argue that it has a history steeped in racism. They feel that you cannot divorce the symbol of the…
The Confederate Flag In 1860-1861 eleven southern states seceded from the United States to protect the institution of slavery, forming the Confederate States of America and precipitating the Civil War. During the war, the Confederacy and its military forces used a lot of different flags, but the flag that became most associated with the Confederacy was the battle flag. Organizations such as the Sons of Confederate Veterans adopted the flag as a symbol of Southern heritage but the flag also served as a potent symbol of slavery and white supremacy, which has caused it to be very popular among white supremacists today. This popularity extends to white supremacists beyond the borders of the United States.…
The Charlottesville riot of August 11, 2017 should not come as a surprise when the United States is still country struggling with racial tension. Also known as the Unite the Right rally, this event was designed to showcase the white nationalist movement within the United States. Armed with anti semitic posters, banners of swastikas, and confederate flags, it was evident that the participants were hoping to replicate the fear traditionally associated with these images. Most sociologists and media analysts reporting on the event neglected to discuss the significance of the protesters image selection. When looking at the history of racist imagery in America, there are connections to be drawn about how imagery can be used to mobilize, or act as…
This paper examines four current sociological phenomena and their resulting theories, offering possible explanations for the increasing problem of minority abuse by law enforcement. Although there are many other factors I have chosen to focus on racism (ACLU, 2015), militarization of the police force, (Jenkins, 2014) the hiring of veterans by law enforcement agencies (Jenkins, 2014) and a sociological phenomenon known as “the other” (Franzoi, 2012). Two of these seem to play a larger part in the problem as the other two forces are not recent developments and therefore less likely to be causative of a more recent issue.…
Dominic Tedesco Video Paper 2 1. The sociological problem that this video addressed was the issue of discrimination based on a person’s ethnicity. More specifically, the video covered the struggles faced by the Native American population and the indigenous Hawaiian population. These two groups of people have had many injustices done to them. They faced similar types of discrimination and in both situations there have been attempts to take the culture and history away from these people.…
As per the assignment assigned by our professor Mr. Micheal Hughey we had to write an essay regarding the topic “Sociological Eye and Its Blinders” written by the writer Randall Collins. The main reason to write this essay by the writer was a question of many people i.e. Is there a core to sociology? Simply, sociology is the systematic study of a human society. Sociology is a discipline, and it takes discipline to understand it. The main theme of this essay is to outline the core essence of sociology as a discipline.…
Spotlight – Sociologial Theories 1 “When the Boston Globe’s tenacious “Spotlight” team of reporters delves into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their year-long investigation uncovers a decades-long cover up at the highest levels of Boston’s religious, legal, and government establishment, touching off a wave of revelations around the world” (Road, n.d.). Spotlight is a movie based on real-life events that occurred in 2001and it shows the viewers the obstacles that these investigators had to endure while trying to uncover the dirty truth about the Archdiocese in Boston. This movie has three sociological theories which are Structural-Functional, Symbolic Interaction, and Social Conflict. Spotlight is a team of five investigators,…
To many thinking sociologically may seem like an easy task; throughout my sociology career I have overheard many times thinking in a sociological perspective means to think “outside of the box”, but the reality of sociological thinking is much more complex than that. To think in a sociological perspective requires a person analyze the phenomena they are studying critically and pose questions on how and why the phenomena is occurring or has occurred. One requirement of being able to think sociologically is being able to incorporate the knowledge and understanding a person possesses with those of others. By allowing others ideas and perspectives to influence one’s own in a positive manner it allows a person to grow and better understand the content…
This paper will discuss one of the three main sociological perspectives, conflict theory. The other two main sociological perspectives would be functionalist and symbolic interaction but will not be talked about in this paper. Also this paper will include the history, concepts, main points, examples and my own personal reflection. Conflict theory is a very important sociological perspective because it includes many important aspects in our lives that will be discussed throughout this paper.…