Running Head: What Does Celebrating July 4th Say About Americans? 1
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What Does Celebrating July 4th Say About Americans?
What Does Celebrating July 4th Say About Americans?
Baylee Vaughn
Butler Community College
Abstract
If the accepted definition of Symbolic interactionism is ?a school of thought in sociology that explains social behavior in terms of how people interact with each other via symbols? (Chegg.com) then celebrating the 4th of July Holiday can be rightfully described as the quintessential example of symbolic interaction. On that day, 160 million will enjoy a cookout and 115 million will attend an organized fireworks display and $649 million will be spent by
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One remembers the incident because it was symbolic to them. Celebrating the 4th of July Holiday can be rightfully described as the quintessential example of symbolic interaction as a day that represents the?Declaration of Independence?and the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation even though the declaration was actually made on July 2, 1776 and the first draft of the Declaration of Independence was started in June 1776; however America remembers July 4 because that was the date that found its way on the Declaration of Independence and the date we remember. Pragmatists, George H. Mead, Charles H. Cooley, and W. I. Thomas believe ?The central theme of symbolic interactionism is that human life is lived in the symbolic domain. Symbols are culturally derived social objects having shared meanings that are created and maintained in social interaction. Through language and communication, symbols provide the means by which reality is constructed. Reality is primarily a social product, and all that is humanly consequential?self, mind, society, culture?emerges from and is dependent on symbolic interactions for its existence.?? (encyclopedia.com) Since in layman?s terms, Symbolic interactionism is a downtoearth approach to the scientific study of human group life and human conduct, the July 4th Celebration is an excellent example of symbolic interactionism. There probably is no
Symbolic Interactionism is the “ongoing use of language and gestures in anticipation of how the other will react” (Em Griffin, 2012, p. 54). George Herbert Mead, a philosopher at the University of Chicago, developed this theory. He believed “that our thoughts, self-concept, and the wider community we live in are created through communication, verbal and non-verbal” (Em Griffin, 2012, p. 54). There are “three core principles of symbolic interaction: meaning, language, and thinking” (Em Griffin, 2012, p. 54). The meaning is “humans act toward people and things according to the meanings they assign to those people or things” (Em Griffin, 2012, p. 55). Language “arises out of the social
Symbolic interactionism is a sociological perspective that focuses on the microscopic level of how society works. This particular perspective, allows sociologist to focus more on how and why people act individually. Throughout the story of The Grinch that Stole Christmas, the main theme is giving people a second chance even if they may not seem like they deserve it. Although there are many characters who
Symbolic Interaction focuses on a micro view of society. It focuses on a small scale perspective of interaction between individuals. Imagine you`re with a friend instead of looking at large scale structures like education or law, since we are looking at the small scale symbolic interaction explains the individual in a society and their interactions with others and through that it can explain social order and change.
Symbolic interactionists reject structure and believe that to study society, the only way to do so is to concentrate on the individual. Both theories believe in understanding the individual through the use of empathy. George Herbert Mead was mainly concerned with the importance of language. Language distinguishes humans from animals and allows us to be aware of our individuality.
The speech "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" was given in Rochester, New York on July 5th, 1852 by Fredrick Douglass; a former African American slave. In the speech, he discusses the true meaning of the widely celebrated holiday known as The 4th of July and what it really means a Negro.
Since in layman?s terms, Symbolic interactionism is a downtoearth approach to the scientific study of human group life and human conduct, the July 4th Celebration is an excellent example of symbolic interactionism. There probably is no
The Symbolic Interaction theory refers to ways in which a family or society attaches meaning to verbal communication, non-verbal communication, people, and objects. We are taught from a young age communication using verbal language and accepted ways to express our needs. The theory represents perception of objects or actions (Macionis, 2007, p.17).
Symbolic Interactionism Theory “sees interactions and meanings as central to society, and assumes that meanings are not inherent, but are created through interactions” (Chp. 1 Theory). An example of Symbolic Interactionism Theory is smoking (informal). Smoking is harmful to your health. A person may associate a meaning for smoking. They might use smoking for means as a way to meet a new friend. When two smokers meet, and one offers the other a cigarette, that is a way to become acquainted with someone. The gesture here is the offer of a cigarette from one person to another. This gesture is positively sanctioned because the person makes a new friend. The negative sanction is the harmful effects that a cigarette has on a person’s
Symbolic Interactionism – Micro level – This involves using symbols. The symbols generally have the same meaning to society, but may not mean the same thing to an individual. For example, a wedding band is a symbol used to show a person is married and it is generally assumed if a person is not wearing a wedding band they are not married or they are trying to hid the fact that they are.
Symbolic interactionalism struggles to comprehend how particular values and behaviors influence everyday interactions and their meaning. Regarding the institution of marriage and family, a symbolic interactionalist attempts to find a mutual social meaning that can be understood by all members of a family. This can be conducted through dramaturgical analysis, social construction, and impression management. Through dramaturgical analysis, a symbolic interactionalist tries to uncover the lives of every person within a family as if they were actors performing in a stage performance.
Symbolic interactionist is a micro level of social analysis, it is concerned with individual experiences and the wider society. As well as not focusing on the core structures or support the general theory of society like the functionalist does.
Symbolic interactionism deals with a micro-level theory that focuses on the relationships among individuals within a society that is studied through communication (language and symbols). With the symbolic interaction, it really tries to explore and explain the reasoning behind people’s actions. With people growing up in different social environments, they will have different moral values and people’s beliefs through different thoughts that people have. This also lead people to every decision they make. By understanding the sociological theory there is a relationship between the real world and also with characters that play on television can be seen through the actions of people during scenes throughout shows such as love scenes, real life dramas, tragedies, etc.
The symbolic interactionism theory is the view of social behavior of individual that emphasizes linguistic and the gestural communication in a society and its subjective understanding of different matters, but especially the role of language in the formation of the child as a social being and social behavior in the society.
George Herbert Mead studied and used an interactionist approach for many years. He was a philosophy professor at the university of Chicago. Mead thought that the true test to any theory is whether or not it is useful in solving complex social problems (EM Griffin, p.83). So Mead decided to study the procedures of communicating, specifically with symbols, the theory was titled Symbolic Interactionism.
Symbolic interactionism as a term was coined by Herbert Blumer to further develop the theories of George Herbert Mead and Charles Horton Cooley. This perspective gives priority to the importance of understanding the meanings of social action. This framework works with the belief that human social behaviour is based on symbolic meanings that are found within a given situation (Tepperman et al., 2013 p.369). Symbolic interactionism, being a form of microsociology, focuses attention on the smallest systems of society, being individual people and their interaction. Symbolic interactionists, like all microsociologists, see society