Final Reflective Essay

Reflective Essay

            Sociology with Dr. Charles Quist-Adade has definitely changed the way I view the society I live in, as well as all other societies in the world. I feel as though everything that Dr. Quist-Adade taught us had considerable amounts of value, but the most effective core-concept, to me, is that of debunking and critical thinking. Throughout the four-month duration of this course, I have learned many new concepts that have broadened and expanded my knowledge pertaining to the overall functions of society as well as the processes within them (racism, social justice issues, the sociological imagination, etc.).

Debunking is the core-concept that stuck with me the most because it challenges assumptions made, or conventional truths and goes beyond the “surface-level” of concepts. To debunk is to look at the obvious and pronounced, as well as the less-obvious and deeper explanations for social behavior. When debunking, you see the unfamiliar in the familiar and vise-versa. This means to decode and deconstruct conventional truths and the “taken-for-granted.” Some examples of large debunking movements in society include The Civil Rights Movement, racial and ethnic minorities, and women in academia.

Entering this course, at the beginning of the semester, I definitely had some preconceived notions about many issues in society. For example, I did not know there were so many issues in social justice, or how detrimental racism actually is in modern society. I also was not aware of the myth of race and reality of racism until I read Tridico’s book; I believed that races were a reality as well as racism.

However, the course as a whole helped me to deconstruct and debunk these preconceived notions that I had. Through the use of in-class lecture notes and lectures, in-class discussions, readings (from both “Issues in Social Justice” and “Sociology for Everyone”), videos and clips pertaining to the course. Through Quist-Adade’s teaching on the aforementioned topics, my preconceived notions were debunked and new concepts were learned and unlearned. For example, chapter 12 in “Issues in Social Justice” discusses the myth of race and reality of racism. Until reading this chapter, I truly believed that race was a real word to describe ethnic groups and separate different peoples of society. I also had no idea how detrimental racism actually was until reviewing some of the lecture notes and class discussions, as well as in-class videos. I was well aware of racism in modern-day society, but I had no idea as to the extent of how damaging it actually was/is. For example, there was one documentary that we watched in which “blue eyes” were placed in a room where they were being discriminated and prejudice against by both the “white” instructor and Native people.

There has been much learned over the past four-month duration of this Introduction to Society course with Dr. Quist-Adade. Whether it was the learning or unlearning of social justice issues, or other concepts dealt with in sociology. There have been quite a few preconceived notions that have been deconstructed and quashed through the use of lesson lectures, readings, discussions and videos. The core-concept that has stuck with me the most is that of debunking, which is the act of questioning or exposing a falseness or exaggeration of something.

Exploring Sociology Journal Entry #5 (Issues In Social Justice)

Issues In Social Justice

Chapter 12: The Myth of Race and Reality of Racism

Charles Quist-Adade

Affective Reading

In this chapter, Quist-Adade describes the perceived notion of ‘race’ and the irrational, powerful reality of ‘racism’. When put together, race and racism become a potent concoction that poisons people of all geographical dimensions. It has been determined that race is in fact a social construct, developed by the collective and based on “socially selective physical traits.” (Quist-Adade, 2008) Through the collective’s imagination of race, racism is created and conducted within society. The perceived notion that certain ethnic groups are dominant (Eurocentric) and others ethnic groups (such as Africans, Asians, and Indians) are inferior. Although in in the current time, 21st Century, racism does not come close to comparing to earlier, slave-era racism, racism does still exist. To this day, racism is still a cold reality, generally more subtle and “sophisticated” than 19th Century racism. Just because racism is more subliminal or polite than earlier ages, does not make it okay for it to exist in society. Thus, there must be drastic measures taken in order to eliminate this putrid disease from infecting society any longer through future generations. To do so, prevention of racism must be used through education and praxis. Starting the education process at an early age is best suited as children develop at a faster rate; eventually this will lead to praxis in communities and the lifeworlds with older groups.

The two central premises would be the myth of ‘race’, which in turn influences the harsh reality of ‘racism’ within the collective; and then the steps necessary to terminate racism as a whole through education and praxis.

I feel that this reading attacked the key points necessary to eliminate racism within society. It provided true and unbiased facts based on race and racism, which I was unaware of until reading this. I think that this reading brings out the horrifying truth about racism and the true facts that it needs to be controlled and depleted from society. I believe that ‘race’ is actually just a myth as is stated, but also that racism is a very powerful reality that will take years and plenty of hard work to fully eliminate from society. I know that racism effects every single person in society, whether or not they are White, Black, Native, Asian or otherwise.

Exploring Sociology Journal Entry #4 (Issues In Social Justice)

Issues In Social Justice

Chapter 4: Driving Discontinuance and Quality of Life Among the Elderly

Joseph M. Pellerito Jr.

Dialectic Reading

What question did the text/chapter raise?	How did the text answer this question?	How does the answer match our own ideas and experiences?
What are some negative consequences that have been associated with driving retirement?	There are many negative consequences that can be associated with driving retirement. These can include the feeling of being a burden on family members or friends (as you become dependent on them as a means of transportation), the diminishment of spontaneity (loss of an efficient, speedy mode of mobility), and the perceived loss of social status.	I myself have not witnessed driving retirement yet. I do come from a small, rural community in which mobility is not a major issue because of how accessible (in walking distance) everything is. However, I have been told of stories of forced driving retirement. I was told that the retiree felt restless, useless and how he/she urged to drive.
What are some positive outcomes that have been associated with driving retirement?	The first and foremost positive outcome of driving retirement is the obvious safety and security aspect of it. Driving retirement, whether voluntary or compulsory, is a direct result of a disability or incapability to operate a motor vehicle in a safe manner. Thus, keeping a potential hazard from driving and keeping not only the retiree safe but also other motorists and pedestrians safe as well.	I always thought driving retirement was a way of keeping communities safe, by keeping potentially dangerous drivers off of the roads. The text confirmed my thoughts as it states that driving retirement is used mainly to ensure safety within communities by keeping disabled and incapable elderly people from getting behind the wheel and causing potential safety hazards through their driving abilities.
How does driving retirement effect quality of life?	According to the text and contemporary research, driving retirement is a negative experience with a number of disabling consequences resulting in decreased quality of life. We see this through the qualitative research study.	I would imagine that driving retirement is a negative experience, as it revokes one of the many freedoms of life. Restricting many every day activities, as well as social experiences, and overall self-esteem.

Exploring Sociology Journal Entry #3 (Issues In Social Justice)

Issues In Social Justice

Chapter 3: Human Trafficking

Darrick Brake

Paraphrastic Reading

In this chapter, Darrick Brake discusses the different areas that define human trafficking. The main focus is on the victim; who the victims are, what they are forced to do, why are they chosen for human trafficking and much more. Brake also talks about who commits the crimes of human trafficking and what are some actions taken by different societies to address the problem of human trafficking. In short, human trafficking is the profitable, global and legal buying, selling and trading of people of all ages for their labour. According to the text, there are eight forms of bondage that are placed under the category of human trafficking. These include the following: (1) Industrial forced labour, which refers to the persons who are sold to perform industrial services such as manufacturing; this bondage is usually unregulated and unsafe work environments, which males are usually placed in because of the manual labour. (2) Mining forced labour, where people are forced to work for mining companies; here they dig new mines, retrieve mineral resources, or work with light to heavy mining equipment, this bondage is focussed on males and small children as they can crawl in narrow mines. (3) Forced domestic labour is when the victim as an individual is purchased by an individual to perform a myriad of household duties; the focus of this labour is on older or younger women. (4) Forced prostitution, which entails the forced and unwilling selling of one’s body for the purpose of sexual acts; this type of bondage relates to the selling of men and women (mostly women) to brothels, pimps, gangs, mail order bride companies and match maker services. (5) Forced child prostitution or forced child sex slavery can be defined as the forced selling of a minor under the age of 18 for sexual activities. (6) Bonded or indentured labor is a deal with an individual purchaser whom a person voluntarily offers to work or provide services under the pretense that they will receive a type of service or debt relief in exchange. (7) Military bondage, which entails the unwilling recruitment of person to be used in military service. These several types of human trafficking represent the kinds of forced activities in which victims of human trafficking are forced to endure. There are several factors that lead to human trafficking, such as supply and demand in an industrialized economy, globalization, a weak economic system, war and whether a country has laws against prostitution or not. These crimes of human trafficking are often committed and perpetrated through the use of various creative but sinister propositions. The criminals often lure the victims in through what is known as a ‘bait and switch’ scheme. This is when a person is promised a better quality of life in another region, but is actually put into bondage and human labour. Human traffickers represent a group of people that prey upon weak, unprotected and vulnerable individuals for profitable gain. This group of criminals has no real identifiers or commonalties as they come from different ethnic backgrounds. The outcomes for the victims are usually fatal; if they are not “disposed of” or killed then they are sure to be left with some psychological and physical damage. Whether it be an STD or AIDS or schizophrenia and other mental disorders, the victims are sure to be damaged for life. Tangible responses have included the development of nation organizations to prevent human trafficking. These organizations include the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and other Non-Government Agencies (NGOs) which focus on the elimination of human trafficking.

Five sentence segment: “Human trafficking can be defined as the purposeful movement of any person(s) to places in which they are sold, or purchased into forced labor or bondage such as prostitution, industrial work, domestic work, or sex slavery (Aronowitz, 2009; Lee, 2007; King, 2004). Not only are people purchased but the traffickers (sellers) use deceptive techniques such as violence, verbal or physical threats, or other types of coercion in order to force their victims into a life of bondage (UNODC, 2006; King, 2004). This differs from outright slavery because human trafficking, while not marked by formal, legal ownership of humans (which is the case with slavery proper), still entails temporary ownership, debt bondage, forced labor and hyper-exploitative contractual agreements (Bales, 2005; 2000). While the terminology associated with this type of exploitative practice has changed, the actual term human trafficking can still be conceptualized as a form of slavery (Bales, 2005; Lee, 2007; Ould, 2004). It can be conceptualized in this manner because trafficking represents the entire process associated with slavery as opposed to the condition or result of slavery.” ¹ Paraphrase: The trafficking of humans can be compared to outright human slavery. Although there is no formal or legal ownership of humans in human trafficking (as there is with human slavery), the person(s) are still temporarily owned as well as forced to complete a myriad of labor tasks that are harshly inhumane and often criminalized. Therefore, the term human trafficking can still be conceptualized as a form of slavery in that it has the whole process associated with slavery without the conditions or result of slavery.

^1. I selected this five sentence segment to paraphrase because I felt as though it summarized the chapter quite efficiently. It also defined human trafficking to the core, describing who is involved and what they do.

Exploring Sociology Journal Entry #2 (Issues In Social Justice)

Issues In Social Justice

Chapter 6: Public Space and Criminal Justice

Charles E. Crawford

Dialectic Reading

What questions did the text/chapter raise?	How did the text answer this question?	How does the answer match our own ideas and experiences?
What is defined as a public space?	According to the text, a public space is an area in which citizens are “invited to engage in a wide variety of activities with their fellows.” (Tridico, 2009: 141) Examples include parks, sidewalks and plazas.	This answer matches up with my ideas, I always viewed a public space as an area where citizens can interact and complete different activities with each other. I viewed public spaces as malls, parks, movie theatres and many other areas of interest.
How are these public spaces regulated and controlled?	Public space is often regulated and controlled to some extent, as to maintain order. Different rules and regulations are usually posted via signs and posters in public spaces. Also, some forms of law enforcement officers regularly patrol these public spaces.	Again, this answer matches up with my ideas pretty accurately. I have seen signs posted up in parks, malls and other public spaces that regulate the activities in the public space. These often limit what individuals are allowed to do, in hopes of maintaining order.
What are cities and governments doing about homelessness in their public spaces?	Many cities across North America have demonstrated their non-tolerance for the homeless community.  Mainly through legislating laws such as laws against sleeping in public and feeding the homeless and other such laws that prevent a homeless lifestyle. Thus, attempting to keep public spaces free of homeless and open to the rest of the public.	I honestly was not aware that most cities were this tough on homelessness. I knew that there were municipalities attempting to rid of homelessness altogether, but I did not know that there was such an urgency to rid of them. For example, I wasn’t aware of the laws against feeding the homeless in some regions.

Exploring Sociology Journal Entry #1 (Issues in Social Justice)

Issues in Social Justice

Chapter 10: Terrorism

Charles Quist-Adade, David Barry and Meghan Kenney

Affective Reading Method

This chapter in “Issues in Social Justice” covers terrorism as a whole. The history of terrorism leading up until modern-day terror is discussed as well. Ranging from Nazi Germany to today’s Al Qaeda, Quist-Adade, David Barry and Meghan Kenney discuss how terrorism has evolved over time and across nations. The authors also talk about the certain approaches to curtail terrorism. These methods include: diplomacy or constructive engagement, which enables international groups such as the U.N. to enact legislation to prohibit states from forming alliances with groups suspected of harbouring terrorism; economic sanctions and inducements, these deprive terrorist states or groups of the funds they need to act; covert actions or rewards for information programs, this process entails gaining knowledge of the internal dynamics of terrorist groups; law enforcement cooperation, which enhances the quality of information gathering, shared resources and level of mobilization; and finally, military force, which is usually a last resort method which involves engaging the terrorists directly. The two central premises are the five types of terrorism and the three forms of terror. The five types of terrorism are: mass terror, which is terrorism administered by the reigning governmental regime; dynastic assassination, this involves acts of violence against political leaders and elite; random terror, accounts for violent acts upon public places; focused random terror, which focuses on pronouncing the message over the number of casualties; tactical terror, where violent acts are systemized toward the controlling government as a part of a larger plan. The three forms of terrorism are: internal state terrorism, which is mass terror used on one’s own citizens to instil social order through the limiting of dissent, this often includes intimidation, coercion or genocide; external terror, strikes at the very structure of nation states because it comes form the outside; internal-external terror, this accounts for organized violence against civilians or military.

I feel enlightened from reading this chapter, I now know many new characteristics of terrorism that I did not know existed before. For example, as a result of the media’s portrayal of terrorism; I had a general sense that terrorism were acts of violence committed against innocent people in a public place and that’s all terrorism was. I now see that terrorism can come from many different aspects of a society, not just a psychopath with a bomb strapped to him. I think that in order to curtail terrorism, nations need to work in unison to prevent further acts of violence against societies. I believe that terrorism will never be fully put to rest no matter what methods or how hard nations attempt to prevent it. Hatred is a part of the human psyche and terroristic acts are based off of hatred, therefore it is quite impossible to fully halt terrorism.

Body Ritual Among the Nacirema

Until reading this article, I had no idea that the Nacirema existed. From the research based article, it sounds as though these people are savage, sadistic beings. When in reality, they are only doing what their culture has brought them to do. The Nacirema are only doing these rituals because they grew up learning them from their parents, through a long line of ancestry. Their society may seem a little gruesome in comparison to ours, but only because they have not been civilized through the Industrial Age. In our modern society, main focusses are placed on wealth, religious beliefs, social status, family views and many other aspects which relate to the social beings we are. Whereas in Nacirema, the main focus is on bodily appearance and functions. Every day, they follow the same ritual routine faithfully. In our modern society, it would be nearly impossible to complete a religious ritual routinely (such as attending church or praying on a regular basis) because of every day distractions. Distractions that include multi-media, work, school and many others that can prevent us from completing religious ritual routines. However, in Nacirema, there isn’t any of these distractions taking up their time. Without these distractions, they can prioritize their time to allow for daily rituals such as visiting the “holy-mouth-man”. To summarize, in this article I learned first off that Nacirema exists and secondly about its culture and main focusses as a society. I learned that their views and beliefs differ heavily from that of our modern, Canadian society.