Individuals At The Muse: A Social Analysis

The Muse, a great place to drink coffee, interact, and observe social forces in action. This Sociology Project is to show how individuals interact with one another in a coffee shop environment. The Muse is a coffee shop located in Wyndhurst, Virginia and is a predominately white and upper-middle class suburb. The study took place on the afternoon of October 24, 2016. Individuals at the Muse were studied through visual observation and any verbal observation that could be pieced together to relate back to the Structural-Functionalism theory, a society’s system of dividing people into strata, each piece have an influence into why things happen. This theory was supported by the major observables aspect of the individuals at the Muse. Individuals were predominantly white, the cars parked outside were upper-end vehicles, each individual appeared to not be in poverty because of their laptops and casual …show more content…
Furthermore, actions that may have gone unnoticed were able to be related to the Structural-Functionalism theory, such as figuring out why a person may go sit with someone of the same or opposite gender, talks or does not talk with the barista, or even does or does not try to make conversation with those around them. The question was raised about the possible religious background of those who were there, with the likelihood that most of the students that were there were students of Liberty University. Ironically, in the middle of the conversation, someone who overheard the conversation came up to explain some of his struggles and the importance of relying on God. With the varying of people there, The Muse catered an atmosphere that the majority of individuals can relate to, and interact within a social environment. All of these things provided detailed evidence that would allow for further study on how social forces in society influence each