As I’m rooting through old old old files looking for some play scripts I stumbled across some notes from my Sociology class. It was a wonderful course taught by Profession Jerry Savells. Amazing teacher. He first turned me on to Alvin Toffler:
SOC200 HON notes for Exam 1 Savells
norms – guidelines of behavior
change & its outcomes
beliefs -> traditions (folkways, mores, laws) – gives a sense of structure
socialization – acculturation(transfer of meanings & values to next generation)
ethnographic – studying something as it is
WHY people do the things they do
HUMAN SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
private versus public self
I’m not what I think I am
I’m not what you think I am
I am what I think you think I am (Looking Glass Self)
10 Questions of Sociology
1. how do sociologists study society?
2. what does it mean to be human?
3. how is society possible?
4. why are people unequal?
5. why do we believe what we believe?
6. are we really free?
7. why can’t everyone be like me?
8. why is there so much misery?
9 does the individual really make a difference?
10. is sociology really important?
on Erikson’s Eight Ages of Man
socialization is a ongoing, never-ending, process acculturation is learning the proper way
8 stages
1. trust development newborn bonding in first 3 days of life
looking for a response
deliver of promises
2. autonomy vs doubt 2-3 years of age love “WHY?”\ hate the word no do I count?
3. initiative vs. guilt fear of failure explore w/o criticism passing on of hangups
4. industry vs. inferiority WORK peform tasks, patience
5. teens identity vs role confusion
6. late teens intimacy vs isolation -> alienation
– reinforcement, worthiness, can give/receive love
7.middle age – dreams may not be realized
8. validation for life
on The Promise
Mills died early, wrote the Sociological Imagination
biography and history form a symbiosis
ethnocentrism – we are culture bound, your group is superior
temprocentrism – we are time bound, we reflect our period
how do people in the 90s feel trapped?
stress inversely proportional to our level of control
Mills talks about alienation… (Melvin Seeman)
1. powerlessness *** others are telling you what to do
2. meaninglessness – indifference/uneasiness
3. feelings of normlessness or avalanche of norms (anomie) -too much change too fast -difficulty of choice
4. social isolation – detached Prozac & Valium top selling drugs
physical proximity does not mean emotional proximity
5. self-estrangement – voluntary isolation “I don’t care.”
FBI reports there are 40-50 serial killers loose everyday
Cathy Genovesie
leads to adversarial, on-guard
we become social spectators, not participants
loss of faith in goodness of man
how much change can society accomodate?
urbane attitudes ->don’t give a damn
outcomes urbanization
WE DON’T HAVE ANY HEROES
we need common values to lead to rational behavior
Socialization
Dulmer – try to find the blame – parents, schools, church
everything we become we are influenced by
media heroes versus real life heroes
binge of celebrity-itis
we rely on TV to clarify our values
parents, peers, media why do people watch such dumb sitcoms?
the other-directed personality: follower
inner-directed personality: rebel – different drummer, more creative, ego, don’t have self-esteem problems, self-reliant
tradition directed personality – blind faith
functional vs dysfunctional socialization
Phil Donahue teaching people how to touch
thin-ness was not in – here comes Twiggy
many times the perception of the problem is the problem
is obesity deviant? age specificity (ever hear of an anorexic grandmother?)
48 HOUR: fast times
hurry sickness, microwaves, fast food, working for vacation, coffee, fast prayer, fax, cellular phones, Nintendo, walking on eggshells, 1/2 hour relaxation a day, buzzers, bells, clock, den mothers, Type A, beepers, watch, personal assistants (2 people to live 1 life)
WE ACCEPT CHANGE AS THE DEFAULT
how you spend your time says everything about your values
a child leaves his home because his parents do not make time for him
anorexia as a miracle in medieval times
men are picked on for being thin, women are praised for being thin
do we scream to be heard or to make noise?
Hobbes Leviathan – a society without order is a society in chaos
American Society – Robin Williams Jr
recognizing trivia can complicate a life
presentation of self – up until recently only the rich could have the time to obsess about their appearance
as long as we are ritualistic we are on auto-pilot
“When in doubt, conform”
“Hard to be a rebel when someone else signs the paycheck.”
80% of adult population show evidence of Type A profile
SUCCESS – Status!
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