Week 10: Race

          I had learned in school about the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, but reading the stories of those who experienced provided a much more personal look into the situation. The US government has since publicly denounced the internment of Japanese and Japanese Americans. The interment occurred following the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese military and lasted four years. In 1983, the U.S. congressional commission investigated and found no military reason for the discrimination and forcible removal of the Japanese Americans that had occurred. They also found that the reason for the unnecessary action was fear and war hysteria in addition to a failure in leadership. Hearing the interviews and reading the stories of those interned was very eye opening. I remember reading that the incarceration camps were run using the labor of those interned. The people interned here lost years of their lives they could have spent earning a substantial salary, getting a higher education, traveling, and doing other things to improve their lives. Instead, they were trapped in a camp without knowing when or if they would be allowed to leave. These experiences and stories should serve as a reminder to all Americans of how easy it is for misunderstanding and fear to be used as an excuse to take away people’s individual liberties. 

Week 9: Gender

     The book discussed the differences in opinion over whether gender differences could be more attributed to biology or culture; the classic nature vs. nurture debate. I find that biology can explain some of the differences between men and women but certainly not all. I thought the New Guinea study by Margaret Mead was very interesting, as it showed how gender roles can vary based on culture. It demonstrated also that in some societies, gender differences can be nearly non-existent as was the case with tribes who had both males and females share similar characteristics of passiveness, gentleness, and emotional responsiveness. This study would argue that culture plays an enormous role in gender differences, and therefore, can be cited as a reason for gender inequality.

      I thought the experiment that Norah Vincent performed was very interesting as well. She decided to pretend to be a man for an entire year to learn how men behaved when they didn’t think women were around, and how men in general are treated by society. She found many differences in the way she was treated by male friends, people trying to sell her things, and even differences in the ways she felt walking down the street. An experiment like hers can definitely shed some light on how gender differences are fostered and also how gender inequalities are experienced through the perspective of both men and women.

      Gender identity is something that is extremely emphasized in our culture. We are given an identity as soon as we are born and we continue to develop it throughout our lives. Gender inequality can be lessened by raising children in households that treat both genders equally. It may always be difficult to fully understand why certain gender differences exist. I believe that not all can be explained by biology and this is where I agree with the sociological perspective. The culture we live in definitely functions to shape our identity of which gender is a significant part.

Week 8: Global inequality

The podcast about why we should care about global inequality attempted to explain why the issues that affect the world economy are actually important to our everyday lives. I believe that global inequality does affect our individual lives, but I would argue that everyone should care about issues of inequality even if we are not directly impacted. Many times, inequality can be considered a humanitarian issue. The fact that so many people live under oppressive governments, in a state of poverty, or in a war torn area, should be of a concern to everyone and not just because it may have some impact on their lives.

It is also important to encourage people to examine how people live throughout the world, including their financial status and what kind of access they have to basic needs such as food, shelter, health care, and education.  The podcast explained that because of the way the world works, and how interconnected we are, inequalities that exist in other countries do heavily influence our lives. The price of products at a local store is influenced by the wage the workers in foreign countries are making. When a country is irresponsible and does not take precautions to protect their environment, it can certainly affect nearby countries and other places throughout the world.  A country with a poor education system or health care system cannot flourish in the global economy because they are lacking basic necessities that wealthier countries have in abundance. Our world is becoming increasingly connected through technology and multinational corporations. It is imperative that we address issues of global inequality because in many ways all countries are dependent on one another.

Week 7: Social Class

Social class in the US can be viewed in a number of different ways. Social groups are separated based on power, class, and status. Frequently, a social class is based on how much wealth and power a person has, but this is not always the case. The question of whether social class really matters in the U.S. is a difficult one to answer. The textbook makes the case that based on what social class a person is a part of, their opportunities for advancement may be different. A person in the working class living in rural Kansas most likely will not have the same opportunities and advantages as a middle class person living in Washington DC. The person in DC will be exposed to more powerful and wealthy people. They will also have access to better healthcare facilities and may have better job opportunities as well. If the person in rural Kansas is part of a lower social class, they might not have the resources to move to and live in DC, and so their opportunity for social advancement will decrease.

So, according to the book, your social class determines your opportunities for social and financial advancement. In my life experience, I have not seen a huge separation between people of different social classes. I consider myself to be in the middle class but my whole life I have known people in both the upper class and the working class. I have lived in both cities and in extremely rural towns. There is definitely a difference in the way people live, such as the way they celebrate holidays, decorate their homes and speak towards one another. But I have known many people who have experienced social mobility meaning they are not in the same class their parents were part of. I do not think that in the United States, your social class standing determines how you are viewed and treated as much as other aspects do. Based on the movie “People like us”, and the way classes are portrayed in the media, social class seems to matter a lot. In that PBS documentary you could see that everyone had their own ideas and stereotypes about other classes, and their own class. I think whether social class really matters in the U.S. depends on the person you ask, and in my opinion based on my life experience, I believe that while it does matter to some degree, it is not extremely important.  

Week 6: Technology and Isolation

             Americans today seem to be more isolated due to technology. However, since I grew up in the 1990s, when the internet was just starting to become really popular, it is difficult for me to really make a comparison between how people interacted socially before and after the age of technology. I think one thing technology has done that is negative is make people less responsible for what they say to others. On so many sites, people can make comments about a video, an article, or another person. Many times they can make these comments anonymously. I think this creates a situation where people can say thoughtful or cruel things and not be held responsible for what they are saying. In a normal face to face interaction, people will monitor and even change what they are saying based on the other person’s reaction. With increased technology, people are more isolated from the rest of society and do not have to observe the rules of polite and respectful interaction.  

         On the other side, however, technology has done wonderful things to unite people from all walks of life all across the globe. People are becoming more aware of other cultures and societies, as well as problems occurring throughout the world. It is very easy now to have a conversation with someone on another continent as though they are in the same room with you. In this sense, technology can serve to bring people together and diminish isolation. In fact, I believe I read somewhere that there is almost no group of people on the earth that are truly isolated anymore because of the global economy and widespread access to internet services. I think this can be seen as a good thing as the world can learn to see each other in the ways we are similar rather than feel separated and isolated from one another.