The Sociological Reaction to Whitney Houston's Death

Sociology is the study the different aspects of humanity and society. It encompasses a very broad and varying range of topics. It can be studied on a large world-wide scale spanning across several countries, which is called Macrosociology. It can also be studied on a small scale looking at only individual families or neighborhoods, which is called Microsociology. Not only does it peer into humans’ interactions with each other but examines why they act the way they do. It considers the environment, as well as how access to different luxuries can contribute to the people that we become. In this fascinating field there are three primary views on exactly what the fundamental driving force behind society is. Symbolic Interactionalism, the belief that symbols and the meaning that they are given, define how we will perceive life, in this philosophy these meanings are influenced by society and the events of individual lives. Functional Analysis, views society as any other organism, in this theory all parts of the whole must work together cohesively to function. Conflict theory takes a somewhat opposite view than Functionalism, this perspective suggests that rather than wanting to work in unison, society’s underlying motive is a power struggle for resources. Over the course of this paper the reader will explore these different perspectives.

In this sense, society relies on the reciprocal relations of humans. Society is derived from these reciprocal interactions and does not precede them. Society operates through our refraction and manifests through our actions. (Simmel) Building off a traditional Hobbesian view, human society is distinct from a ‘personal’ phase, rather it is deeply socially constructed. Society consists of interrelated activities in which humans can act in accordance with each other as well as against each other. Society is not a collection of individual humans nor a system of institutions. For Weber, society is in the interactions, not in the institutions. Society generates norms and values which influence human conduct, which is constantly being built through interaction. From the symbolic interaction perspective, there is no moral judgment placed on interaction.

This first part of this report will look at the development of social theory and its responses to the changes that took place during the 18th Century. It will examine some of the classical social theorists and their contribution to sociological theory.

Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston were two of the biggest music acts in the world, selling hundreds upon thousands of records between them. Both acts rose to fame at an early age eventually earning the titles ‘The King of Pop’ (The Guardian, 2009) and ‘The Voice’ (IMDB, 2012) as well as earning plentiful awards in their careers; It is claimed that Whitney Houston is the most awarded female artist of all time. As well as preforming at some of the biggest and most prestigious venues around the world we can only dream about visiting and gaining world-wide fame they ended up meeting an untimely death due to addiction.

At Aaliyah’s funeral everyone is crying, sobbing, or they have this look like they just lost something they loved. Which was true because everyone loved Aaliyah, her voice, her character, her everything. Everyone’s watching her parents as they see their daughter for the last time. Missy Elliot sings a song and the press were shock at the famous guest who came to say their last goodbye’s, some of them being Jay-Z, R.Kelly, Diamond Dash, and many more. Aaliyah was one in a million and she left a mark on this world that can never be

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

However, this definition is too grand to be applied directly to sociological research on urban community. Therefore, on the basis of the original conceptualizations, sociologists afterwards further develop and

Mills said in his essay, “the most fruitful distinction with which the sociological imagination works is between ‘the personal troubles of milieu’ and ‘the public issues of social structure’” (1959, 4).

This controversy is connected to sociology in many ways. As stated in the PowerPoint, society is a social organization which is made possible

The textbook mentions how, “the only material found in a society for marking boundaries is the behavior of its members—or rather, the networks of interaction which link these members together in regular social relations” (pg. 18).

Tonnies discusses the concepts of Community and Society in great detail, from the differences between the two to the wills that fuel them. Perhaps the main argument in the book is the differences between Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft, or Community and Society. Tonnies defines Gemeinschaft as a more intimate grouping of people who rely on each other and have shared goals that places emphasis on the cohesive unit. On the other hand, Gesellschaft is the impersonal grouping mainly found in city and urban areas. Societies are made up of people more interested in personal goals and the places an emphasis on individualism. I agree to an extent that communities are more personal and intimate and can foster stronger relationships within it. Communities require people to be more dependent on each other than cities and metropolitan areas and as a result the chances for tighter bonds are higher. However, present day Society and Community are vastly different than the time it was written. With technology and travel, communities can grow all over as well as virtually and can be present in a society location.

The sociological imagination raises three core questions. Firstly, what is the structure of the society being studied? Secondly, what relevance does its context in history have? And thirdly, how does it influence and shape those within it? (Mills, 1959: 6-7). The consideration of these questions enables the greatest understanding of the relationship between society and an individual’s position and circumstance, and is what makes the concept sociological.

A community is established when more than two people share the same values and through time this personal connection evolves into a fellowship governed by rituals, traditions, and a particular form of communication that when taken together makes a group of individuals whether living in a specific geographical area or connected by ideals so distinct that their distinguishing marks allow them to stand out from among the crowd. They do not just believe in something like an organization but they need each other to survive and thrive. A good example is the Old Order Amish Mennonite community wherein the community serves as source of identity, strength and provides the reason why they should sustain the community’s way of life.

Simmel argues that ‘society exists as social forms that come through human interaction’ (1971). He was interested in the interactions between individuals within society over a period of

Alan Page Fiske catalyzed the advocacy of the relational model 's theory (RMT) in 1991. The theory states that there are four natural ways of interrelating with other people. The author established the four models in his article structures of social life. Fiske affirms that the models work together in varying combinations and control almost all transactions by human beings (Bolender, 2010, p.60). He further asserts that the models unify ideas on moral judgment, social justice, religious, political ideology, and social conflict. It also informs the reactions to misfortunes and transgression. He explains that they are the foundation of human sociality (Bolender, 2010, p.60). The four models of relations as identified by Fiske include market pricing, equality matching, authority ranking, and communal sharing. The theory suggests the four models as the first cognitive models which represent, comprehends, evaluates, and constructs social relationships (Haslam, 2004, p.3). Therefore, the models do not define the type of relationships that exists between individuals in principle; the models are not empirically independent but are a contingent matter regarding the degree of their association as they operate in a culture (Fiske and Fiske, 2007, p.284). The culture adopted by different communities varies according to the combination of the four models.