FINAL REFLECTIVE ESSAY

The Sociological Imagination

            Each day of our lives is filled with new experiences and encounters that challenge us to think critically about the world around us. There are several ways in which we can apply our knowledge and expertise to certain occasions, but we often run into problems when we only focus on one aspect of our lives, rather than our entire life as a whole. This explains the concept of the Sociological Imagination. The sociological imagination is the idea that there are intersections between our personal biography, our history, and social structures that we interact with (Lecture Notes). In other words, the sociological imagination allows us to connect with all aspects of our lives and understand how our surroundings impact us.

            I have found that over the course of the semester, I have been able to apply the sociological imagination to a variety of concepts, issues, and topics that we have discussed. We are able to look at the issue of ethnocentrism, the belief that one’s own group is superior to all other groups, and examine the term using our sociological imagination (Quist-Adade). In one aspect, we can look at our biology, and determine to what degree we are ethnocentric to others. We may also look at our history and where we originated from, in order to relate ourselves to others groups of people, but not claim our group to be superior. Another option is to use social structure, specifically social institutions like schools, to compare how we are ethnocentric towards people of different coloured skin based on preconceived notions. The sociological imagination is a great way to look at a situation from many angles and it helps us to understand how our world affects who we are.

            A different concept we can apply the sociological imagination to is culture. Culture, simple put, is the way we live our lives based on learned customs, traditions, behaviours, and so on through social interactions (Quist-Adade). Firstly, we can look at our personal biography, which in this case, applies to our practice of our cultures and how our culture changes the way we behave on a daily basis. Secondly, we can examine that culture is affected by our history. Everything we have learnt from our cultures comes from past generations that shared knowledge and beliefs with their children as each generation passes. Our history can show a lot about the way we act now, especially how it pertains to our connection with society. Thirdly, we can employ the sociological imagination to the social structures in our lives, such as family or social groups, and understand the types of things we take for granted and the diversity even within a social group.

            Honestly, I had always assumed that the term “race” was an identified, logical way of grouping people based on their geographical regions. I was ignorant to that fact that everyone is a mix of every “race”, and there is no “pure race” (Quist-Adade); we have no right to sort people into groups based on skin colour, because that cannot properly define a person’s biological composition. After listening to class lectures and watching screened videos in class such as “Race: The Power of an Illusion”, I was able to break from my preconceived notions that “race” is a social construct, not a social reality (Quist-Adade). I also learned that we are truly being racist and discriminatory when we group people into such categories and give them derogatory names, because we are more similar to them than we really know.

            The introductory course of Sociology is an “eye-opening” course. We are given the opportunity to explore topics that people often ignore or avoid talking about. As members of society, it is our duty to apply our sociological imagination and any other concepts of understanding to question why things are the way we are. The world is all about change, and it is up to us to see an issue, examine it thoroughly, apply our knowledge, and take action where action needs to be taken. I am now able to view the world in many new perspectives to really appreciate the value, strength, community, and the significance of our society.

 

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Works Cited 

Quist-Adade, Charles. SOCI 1125. Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey. 2011. Lecture.

SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENT

YOUTH SCHOLARSHIP FUNDRAISER NIGHT – 6 DECEMBER, 2011

            In my own opinion, making a difference in the lives of others is a responsibility that each one of us has, coming from such an affluent society. When I can, I try to donate, volunteer, and support organizations that aim to better the lives of those who need the assistance. Last week, I attended the Youth Scholarship fundraiser event at KPU. This Social Justice event was held by students from Dr. Quist-Adade’s Sociology 1125 class at the Langley Campus to raise awareness and funds for deprived children living in rural areas of Africa.

            Before attending the event, I was not aware of the scholarship programs that non-governmental organizations offer to students in Africa as a chance to flourish in suitable educational institutions. We were first introduced to Bonnie Sutherland, who is a member of AFRETECH, a non-profit organization that provides the necessary equipment and tools to schools in Africa. Bonnie explained to us that the focus of AFRETECH is to put books on the desks, on the shelves of libraries and offer computers, too. But the giving doesn’t stop here. AFRETECH supplies water wells, basic medical help and local assistance that government organizations cannot provide, scholarships for students to further their education, and focusing on giving the people exactly what they need, and not what we think they need.

            Bonnie also clarified that AFRETECH is a “grassroots” organization. Grassroots, in simple terms, is working from the bottom up. She noted that the organization was not trying to take the “rich, North American” approach to the issue, but rather take it on a personal and human to human level. When visiting Africa to determine what the village really needed, Bonnie and her team told them that if they could build a library, her team would equip it; and they did just that. Every since the creation of AFRETECH, schools and libraries across Africa have been stocked with new and used books from North America. Bonnie told us that they had to teach the children how to behave and listen during story time, and even how to hold a book and turn the page.

            In the words of Dr. Charles Quist-Adade: “it’s all about the kids”. He couldn’t be more correct in saying that the children are the future, and it is up to us to give them the opportunities to succeed. I learned many things during the presentation; especially that it is easy to make a huge difference in the life of another child or teen across the globe. Donating a few of our childhood books can make a great impact for an underprivileged child who may be able to afford books on their own. It was great to hear that the villagers in Africa were willing to build libraries for books and material, rather than us doing everything for them. They want to show that they can work just as hard as we can, and it shows tremendous enthusiasm that they want to be a part of a global change. I am glad that I attended this Social Justice event and will not hesitate to donate my used books to any organization, knowing that one book can make an enormous difference in the life of a child or teen, just like me.

COURSEMATE BLOG COMMENTS

Christina Sall – http://christinasall.wordpress.com

Issues in Social Justice: Chapter 4 – Driving Discontinuance

I agree with Christina’s posting of Issues in Social Justice: Chapter 4 – Driving Discontinuance especially in accordance to her point about depriving seniors of the ability to drive causing lonliness and great dependability on others. They do not have the freedom to go to the grocery store or to the bank without someone else driving them around. As Christina mentioned, seniors feel a connection to the community when they can get around on their own, and tend to lose this when they lose their license. I also agree with Christina when she points out that seniors do pose an concern for other drivers on the road, especially when they cannot maintain the speed limit and tend to have less control and reaction to their surroundings. I know that from my own experience driving, it is more dangerous when seniors drive way below the speed limit, as it causes cars around them to try to pass or switch lanes around them quickly which can be very unsafe.

COURSEMATE BLOG COMMENTS

Levi Atamanchuk – http://mratamanchuk.wordpress.com

Issues in Social Justice: Chapter 2 – Discrimination Faced by LGBT Community

I agree with Levi’s posting of Issues in Social Justice: Chapter 2 – Discrimination Faced by LGBT Community in respects to his comment that sexuality is not just a part of someone’s biological composition, but something that is a part of culture, and always changing. Levi also notes that people of the LGBT community face great discrimination and hate crimes because of their choice to be open about their sexual orientation. He also mentions how the LGBT community faces housing, marriage and employement segregation from “straight” people. Levi made a great point at the end by saying that the most important aspect to note is personality is a feature of a person that we identifiy with, but in my opinion, it doesn’t matter what our sexual orientation is to identify with someone’s personality. Personality is not just what you are interested in, but what you believe in, what you stand for, and what make you, you!

COURSEMATE BLOG COMMENTS

Marissa Majchrzak – http://marissajmajchrzak.wordpress.com

Issues in Social Justice: Chapter 8 – Minority Women in Violent Relationships

I agree with Marissa’s posting of Issues in Social Justice: Chapter 8 – Minority Women in Violent Relationships specifically in regards to the fact that women tend to stay in relationships regardless of the immense pain and suffering they have to go through. She makes a valid point that for the most part, we are aware that people go through great difficulties in relationships, but there are many factors such as low-income that keep abused women in these dangerous situations. Marissa makes a good point by saying that it is very difficult to leave a violent relationship for a variety of reasons. A person could have strong emotional attachments to the abuser or may share a child with the abuser, or even rely on the abuser for means of shelter/income. Although most abusive relationships never end well, Marissa suggests that we should always look for the good in a person and try to turn things around for the better.

COURSEMATE BLOG COMMENTS

Shelby Majchrzak – http://shelbymajchrzak.wordpress.com

September 11: Forgiveness is Not Part of The Lessons Learned

I agree with Shelby’s posting of September 11: Forgiveness is Not Part of The Lessons Learned, especially in respects to her comment of how people who do not forgive and forget end up dwelling on the past for the rest of their lives will always have regrets. Shelby also highlights the idea that warfare and constant killing, like a “body for a body”, is no way to retaliate and no way to set yourself apart from the opposing group. We are taught in school to always forgive others, because holding onto the past is no way to learn from the future, and this is exactly what we haven’t learned from the disaster of September 11th. Shelby insists that, from evidence of the text, that it is better for society to forget the past as it allows us to then “face the future” and whatever obstacles we may encounter.

COURSEMATE BLOG COMMENTS

Amy Morey – http://amykmorey.wordpress.com

The Phantom of the Race: The Myth of Race and the Reality of Racism

I agree with what Amy had to say in her blog posting of The Phantom of the Race: The Myth of Race and the Reality of Racism. She made excellent points about how racism is a social construction, not a biological part of human beings. Amy raises a good point by noting that people cannot seem to go a day about making a comment or judgement about someone from another ethnicity, and in this sense racism is very real. She also thoroughly explained how there is no “pure” race, that we are all a collection of genetic information and a blend of many cultures and ethnicities. From this view, we can see that people from Africa and people in Canada are a lot more similar than we really think!

PARTICIPATION

GROUP DISCUSSION

Question: What are the consequences in relation to social justice that we face because of the current world population?

The consequences of having such a large, and continuously growing population, is that we have an over-production of goods, but people are too greedy and selfish that the goods and services are not equally shared. Another obvious fact is that there are way too many people on the planet, and we are getting close to being unable to accommodate everyone. With these two factors in mind, we can see that at the rate things are going, we will always have such a gap between the rich and the poor, that is never going to close.

PARTICIPATION

INDEPENDENT CONTRIBUTION

Question: What is role taking?

Role taking is imitating others in order to be properly socialized into society. Children imitate their mothers and fathers in the home, as well as teachers, other children, and character from television shows or movies. Along with role taking, various influences from significant others and the generalized other play a big part in how a child grows up.

PARTICIPATION

INDEPENDENT CONTRIBUTION

Question: What is the generalized other?

The generalized other is referred to society as a whole. It also refers to the secondary socialization, for example, by our friends or teachers. The generalized other is apart of George H. Mead’s explanation of the process of socialization, also including our significant others (close relatives, parents, siblings, etc.) and role taking (imitating and modelling others).