Review Of Richard Schaefer 's ' Consuming Kids '

Sociology is defined as ‘The study of human social life, groups and societies’ (Giddens, 1989). It involves describing and analysing how different forces such as social, cultural, political, and economic have on behaviour and an individuals identity. (Van Kreiken et al.2000). Furthermore, it encompasses the complex connections on a micro level along with those on a macro level thus enabling sociological imagination.

Sociology can be seen through three perspectives: functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. The three perspectives are similar; they all describe how society works. However, each perspective mentions a different mechanism of society evolves. An excerpt from the book Teenage Wasteland: Suburbia’s Dead-End Kids, written by Donna Gaines, and an article from the Sociological Inquiry called “Working at Bazooms: The Intersection of Power, Gender, and Sexuality”, written by Meika Loe, can be read with each perspective applied.

Sociology is the study of how social forces influence individuals living within a society. Any society is made of norms, values and beliefs that have the effect of constraining individuals’ thoughts and behaviors. Through understanding and sociological imagination, individuals can remove or at least lessen the social forces’ impacts that are causing the constraints.

Alex Kotlowitz’s There Are No Children Here is a documentary exploring life in inner-city Chicago during the late 1980’s. The book follows the lives of two African American youth, Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers, who live in Chicago’s Horner Homes over the course of two years. It tells of a lifestyle that is a reality for many Americans and forces the reader to acknowledge a broken system that so many turn a blind eye toward. Kotlowitz does not sugarcoat the struggles and hardships that the citizens of the inner-city face every single day. The Rivers’ boys, like all the children of inner-cities, experience situations and know of unimaginable horrors that rob them of their innocence and childhoods. Lafeyette and Pharoah have to face and overcome many forces that can change their lives for the worst, such as: gangs and drugs, the social system, the Chicago Housing Authority, and the battle within them to give into the worst of society. Sociological concepts, including: racism, strain theory, and social stratification can explain some of the exploitation of Lafeyette and Pharoah.

After reviewing the article titles given for this first assignment, I believe they indicate that Sociology, generally speaking, is not only a study of diversity or commonality in traits among people; it is also a science about factors in a person’s life and how these factors culminate responses. Interestingly enough, its topics of concern seem to be directly determined by current and common events of the world. Through the invention and expansion of new ideas, popular trends and fashions through time, Sociology adapts to responsibly to service the very subjects of interest it studies; for, even the slightest change of a person’s daily experience can have an insurmountable impact on attitude, personal growth, family

Many people have witnessed a toddler having a meltdown in public only to have a parent sooth them by giving in to the child’s demand. Although sometimes this can be a beneficial parenting technique, if a parent over-indulges a child too often, then that child can become spoiled. However in “The Veldt”, Ray Bradbury challenges the idea of satisfying children; he suggests through his tragic tale of the spoiled and undisciplined children Wendy and Peter, that over-indulged kids will be taught to not value their family. Through the use of spoiling kids, harms of technology, and conflict, Ray Bradbury shows children need to be disciplined in order to be well-rounded individuals.

The sociological imagination has two lenses to it, the individual lens, and the society lens. The individual lens deals with personal troubles; Individuals comparing themselves to everyone around them. For example, with the media, we see all these commercials, and ads that portray false

Sociology is the systemic study of human society and social interaction. Sociologists study human societies and their social interactions in order to develop theories of how human behavior is shaped by group life and how, in turn, group life is affected by individuals (Kendall, 4). The movie Crash (Haggis, 2005), is full of many sociological issues, such as race, social class, and gender. Crash makes you see how group life is affected by individuals and how human behavior is shaped by group life.

According to our textbook, The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, authors Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein define sociology as “the systematic or scientific study of human society and social behavior”, or more simply put “the study of society” (9). As well in the The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, the authors explain the definition of social science to be “the disciplines that use scientific method to examine the social world” (10). In essence, sociology is a factor of the social sciences. The way that “we know what we know” about sociology and human interaction in society is through the various types of institutions such as family, education, religion, economy, and politics. These create an impact on people’s lives by the influence

One of the foundational terms of the field of Sociology is that of “The Sociological Imagination.” One of the leading theorists in the field, C. Wright Mills defined The Sociological Imagination as “the awareness of the relationship between personal experience and the wider society.” The field of Sociology therefore raises the question of how the life of each and every individual is shaped and influenced by a wide array of historical and social forces.

A sociological perspective on human behavior is connected to the society as a whole. It invites us to look for the connections between the behavior of individuals and the structures of the society in which they live. (Appendix 1)

Sociology is a study of society social life, social change, and social causes and consequences of human behaviour and allows us to gain an understanding of the structure and dynamics of today’s society, looking at the interlinking links patterns of human behaviour. Sociology looks at the in which social structure and institutions affect our everyday life. Sociological imagination was founded by C. Wright mills in the 1950`s it is an overall understanding of that some of the things that happen in society may lead to a particular outcome. Mills said

Sociology wasn’t something that I was familiar with throughout my life. However, now that I know the basics of sociology, I can identify the various ways to study behaviors. These forces have molded who I have become as a person and how I interact with society. Understanding how I have been affected by my immediate surroundings is a significant part of a better understanding how I have been changed by the greater society. All through this semester, I have begun to reminisce back on my life and pull apart the different ways that I have been affected and how they can be looked at sociologically.

At the beginning of the semester, I knew very little about sociology or even what it was about. I just knew I needed to take the class for my degree plan to transfer to a four-year university and that I would be doing a lot of reading about different terms and theories of society. However, this first month of class has helped me improve my understanding of what sociology is about and shown me how my personal society has impacted the way I view society. Not only did I learn about the relationships between society and myself, but I have also learned different concepts that have helped me gain a better understanding of how society works. There are three specific sociological concepts that has helped me improve my understanding of the relation

Agents of socialization in short are the people, groups, and social institutions, as well as the interactions within these groups that influence a person’s social and self-development. Agents of socialization are believed to provide the critical information needed for children to function successfully as a member of society. Some examples of such agents are family, neighborhood, schools, peers, religion, sports, the workplace, and especially the mass media. Each agent of socialization is linked to another. For example, in the media, symbolic images affect both the individual and the society, making the mass media the most controversial socialization agent. One of the most obvious places agents of socialization lay is in the malls of