42-Sociological Analysis

In the book titled Race, Sports, and the American Dream, it discussed how sports helped change the place of African-American in society. “Sports was well segregated deep into the 20th century” (Smith 9). How college football looked in America in the 1950s was exactly how American society looked in the 1950s, segregated and racist. African-American athletes in college football helped fight and negate stereotypes because it showed that they are equally as good

Another individual who “broke down baseball’s color barrier nearly two decades before discriminatory laws were dismantled in the United States” (Aaseng, 1993) was Jackie Robinson. Jackie’s perseverance and determination helped to ultimately influence the Civil Rights Movement, in which the ratifications of federal constitutional amendments, the passage of federal laws and the formation of federal agencies assisted in ending the racial segregation and discrimination of African Americans in the United States. The bearing of these two individuals facilitated the rich diversity in race that is currently present in society, which can also be witnessed in sports. Discrimination amongst women “in sports…goes back…as far as the Ancient Greeks more than 2,500 years ago.” (Aaseng, 1993), and can also be evident throughout society. Although the American Feminist Movement of the 1960s and 1970s reformed certain aspects of gender inequality amongst females, it has not been exhibited in sports until the last few decades. Currently, females in sports such as hockey and mixed martial arts have garnered significant attention from popular culture and have been a key factor in “inspiring and empowering women and girls to be confident and

Chapter 3 of The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology explains to the reader what culture is and goes into depth of the different concepts within culture. It defines culture as “the entire way of life for a group of people” (Ferris & Stein, 2010, p. 77). Culture is described as a “lens” through which one views the world and is passed from one generation to the next. This “entire way of life”, according to sociologists, consists of two major categories: material and symbolic culture. Material culture involves the entities associated with a cultural group, such as tools, machines, utensils, buildings, and artwork. When examining material culture, it can convey a great deal about a particular group or society. Symbolic culture embraces ways

One interesting view by Douglas Hartmann in his journal article entitled “Rethinking The Relationships Between Sports And Race In American Culture: Golden Ghettos And Contested Terrain” said that racial issues in sport is; borrowing Stuart Hall (1981) words- “a contested racial terrain” (qtd. in Hartmann 241). The “contested racial terrain” is defined as “a social site where racial images, ideologies, and inequalities are constructed, transformed, and constantly struggled over” (Hartmann 230). In other words, sports have become a medium where the definition and limitation of racism created. This also means that the definition of racial issues will constantly change over time. Hartmann view is interesting seeing that he believes that the context of racism in sports are actually broader than we actually think. He did not agree with the simple view of because racial discrimination happens in our society, thus racial discrimination also happens in sports (Hartmann 242). He further delves into two interesting problems in stereotyping and biasing.

Brian's Song is a movie that starred James Caan, as Brian Piccolo, and Billy D. Williams, as Gale Sayers. The movie was primarily about how the two players interacted each other as running backs for the Chicago Bears and how their friendship matured through the difficulties of Brian's cancer diagnosis and eventual death. The movie explores many themes such as friendship, courage and compassion, but it leaves one particular subject somewhat alone. Gale Sayers is black and Brian Piccolo was white and they were roommates on team trips at a time when relationships between these two races could be very volatile. The movie had very little to say about how black and white professional players interacted, but there is some evidence in the movie of the tension that existed and the segregation that still existed. This paper explores this theme of race relations in sports seen through Brian's Song and as it is today.

The movie 42 tells the story of Jackie Robinson, played by Chadwick Boseman, when he for the Montreal Royals and the first year he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The story looks at the strong racial prejudice he faced breaking into the league and how it affected him, his family, and his fellow teammates. Helgeland, director and writer of the film, in the film 42 reflects on how a racial culture in the United States can begin to change when indiviuals see firsthand examples of racial discrimination to someone they know and that with a good role model people can reject prejudice.

Shaun Powell's book, “Souled Out? How Blacks Are Winning and Losing in Sports” scrutinizes the paradoxes of African-American success in sports. Perturbed predominantly with the erroneous perceived accomplishment of equality through sports across the world, Powell offers his work as a portrayal of the evolution of African-american athletes over time and compares past struggles with modern day issues. Powell discusses how African American’s are both winning and losing in sports, but ultimately emphasizes the negative aspects of the on-going crisis. Powell, a well-known journalist, reviews and discusses how education, professional activism, media, and community relate and affect African-Americans in sports, therefore persuasively conveying his argument.

I think the film makers emphasize on this point in sports history, because they want people to follow their dreams, regardless of race or differences that everyone has.

After reading both chapters 8 and 9, they both discuss the relationships between the productions and consumption of contemporary popular music and how complex they are. In these both chapters sociologist has studied the different aspects of popular music and popular music in the society. In chapter 8, one section that really stood out to me was, the ‘Young people and cultural productivity’. In the beginning of this section it states that “Willis and his colleagues (1990) argue that as human beings we are symbolically creative, saying that ‘we argue for symbolic creativity as an integral (“ordinary”) part of human conditions, not as inanimate peaks rising above the mists’ “. In other words, humans like to create meaning to everything, including the music we listen to.

The movie 42 is based upon the life of an African- American man named Jackie Robinson. He was the first African- American to play Major League Baseball on

Being a legend is not easy. That ever experienced by Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player in the American professional league, Major League Baseball in 1947. The modern era film 42 which takes its title from Jackie jersey number when he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers club is directed by Brian Helgeland.

In this course I have learned about different social problems in societies worldwide. Some of these include poverty, social inequality, discrimination of race and culture, urbanization, and more. After learning all these subjects and more, I have decided to do my final on social inequality and minorities in the United States. I chose this particular topic because I have seen this in almost every place have lived. I find it appalling that minorities are still not treated 100% equal. We as Americans know what inequality is and know how it is used in our everyday society. I want to explore this topic and show how real and big this

I analyzed the data using the constant comparative method as found within the field of sociology. The constant comparative method consists of analyzing a single interview for themes, then using these themes to analyze the remaining interviews (Boeije 2002). The interviews are also analyzed against themselves to discover new themes and alter the beginning themes. In addition, the interview data will be compared between the gender of the interviewees, the roles of the interviewees, and the phase during which they were interviewed. The observation data is analyzed in a similar manner, however instead of comparing interviews the different observation sessions will be compared to first the initial observation session and then between days of the week and time of the day.

Final Exam Sociology 1) What are the main differences in functionalists and conflict theorists? How do their differences impact the views they hold on social phenomenons? Functionalists believe that society is based on a stable system and is set up in an order to continue the stability.

DQ1A: Is the eschatology variable a valid measure of the concept identified in the research question?  Eschatology doesn't have the ability to be used as a variable due to not possessing the characteristics of objectivity, verifiability and/or quantifications.