mod7 assignment for Kim woods

SOCIOLOGY 5

Sociology: personal biography aspect

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The video, “Living in Society” (2005) illuminates on how human beings in society do belong to a single human race despite differing in the social and cultural backgrounds and experiences. It also reveals that people are shaped by their past experiences which affects how they interact with each other. People cannot choose where they are born but they can certainly make choices in regards to how they live with others in society. According to the video most people tend to ignore the sociological phenomena hence the individualistic perspective of the American society. However one thing that stands out is the analogy that every human being represents a cog that holds up the wheel of society.

According to Mills, the history of a society has a significant hand in shaping a person’s biography and I can most certainly relate to this. One of the aspects that has impacted who I am and has influenced how I relate to and interact with other people in society is race. Being born and raised in a multicultural and multiracial society, race tends to rear its head. Pluralism is the word I would use to describe my society when defining race. Different races (whites, blacks, Asians, Indians and Latinos) coexist in the same society and interacting within the same social, economic and political constructs. While to a sociologist this seems ideal for social growth and progress, a number of issues always arise based on race including institutionalized racism. I find that I have to watch how I address people from other races without offending their sensibilities and beliefs .In some social situations there is always a group of people who are isolated because because of their religious beliefs or just their race. The law enforcement agencies are also part of this system where some groups of people feel that they specifically target with security policies such stop-and-frisk. All these situations have made me to subconsciously and sometimes deliberately gravitate towards my racial group because everyone seeks to belong and feel secure as it is human nature.

I believe I am part of a society that seems to be grappling with institutionalized racism however it would remiss to dismiss the progress made so far. Movements like civil rights groups and important historical personalities both politicians and liberation leaders are attributed to breakdown of restrictive laws such as the Jim Crow laws. This reverts back to the video that people interact and are affected as a group. Thus historical events in the society have had an effect on all races.

The sociological perspective illuminates the link between human behavior and the society. While the society I live in has made strides to make all people inclusive I believe there are still too many variables not addressed which propagate racism further. Thus conflict theory an aspect of the sociological perspective relates to my issue. Due to institutionalized racism in my society those considered in ‘superior’ races have more control over all aspects of society: social, economic and political, while the rest of the other races are always fighting to be heard. This conflict will never end unless societies are willing to assimilate. According to the reading, conflict theorists believe that conflict precipitates social change.

References

INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications. (2005).Living in Society. Retrieved from https://searchcenter.intelecomonline.net/playClipDirect.aspx?id=5F7C197AE94AFF2AF0F56AD8C5776D7C9835BBB90D6853D19E7153B578240BA7EC54A592C39F0C422150EC0EBAAD604CE5B5F7CB11884435

Module Notes. (n.d).Introduction. Thinking Sociologically and Doing Sociology.pg.1-5