Class Participation

Race: The Power of an Illusion
Episode 1: “The Difference Between Us”‘

Response to Video Shown in class

The video that we watched in class didn’t change or effect my thoughts on race in any way. This video was saying that there is no difference between people. It all depends on the way the person chooses to think about you. For example, many people judge based on the colour of someones skin. You can’t just assume whats someone would be like by the colour of their skin. people think they are more similar to someone who is the same race as them, but that’s not true you can be more similar to someone to who is a different race/colour than you. Also, in the video they shared the example of how people believed that the sickle cell disease was in African-Americans, but that was not true because it was found in many Europeans as well. Everyone is very closely related, no matter what colour their race is or what culture they are from.

Reply to Peer Blog 5

http://anishamangat.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/september-11-forgiveness-is-not-apart-of-the-lessons-learned-affective-reading-method/#respond

I agree with Anisha when she is talking about how we need to learn from past mistakes.On 9/11 many innocent Americans died, but as a result of this and the war many other innocent people lost their lives. People in today’s world need to realize you wont achieve anything from killing innocent people. I strongly agree with her when she says we need to believe peace and equality. People need to be more open to other cultures and accept them just the way they are even though they may dislike them.

Reply to Peer Blog 4

http://taylormariedavidson.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/the-danger-of-the-single-story-video/#respond

I agree with what Taylor is saying. Children are so easily influenced and this video made that clear. I also agree with her when she is  saying how others should watch this video so they can debunk  the preconceived stereotypes that everyone has of Africa. They makes it clear that other countries are not to far behind. With only limited resources people don’t really have access to much, but now the times are different and there shouldnt be only a single story. I also strongly agree that you need to be open to other cultures, religions, and stories and not be only willing to hear one story because a single story is never enough.

Reply to Peer Blog 3

http://amandamohan.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/social-structures-and-processes/#respond

I really like the passage that you chose to paraphrase. I agree that people need to live there life. You don’t get a second chance. Every new day you get it should be cherished to the fullest. Also, I agree weapons should be completely be rid of. If weapons are still present there will be some sort of violence all the time. Additionally, an end needs to be put to war because many innocent people are losing their lives, especially young children.

Reply to Peer Blog 2

http://sharonsingh1.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/issues-in-social-justice-chapter-8/#comments

It is so true how women would rather stay in a violent relationship than leave, just because their significant other is the one that supplies all the money for them. I think women that are like this should either go out and seek some help, as they may just need some emotional support, or they need to become more independent because they can pretty much do anything a man can do. Also to answer your question as to why men always feel they need to wear the pants in the relationship because after all that is a stereo type. Men are always supposed be the leaders in the relationship, they have an ego that they need to take care of. But I disagree with this just because I feel everyone deserves to be treated equally.

Reply to Peer Blog 1

http://sharonsingh1.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/negotiation-not-retribution/#comments

I completely agree with Sharon. We don’t realize all the other problems that are happening in the world. There are many children who with the lack of clean water, and food are getting diseases that can not be treated. Also, I agree with the part about the US training Osama Bin Laden, they did to have some part in this. I do think just like you that money shouldn’t be spent on wars. We should be using that money to support the children in the less developed countries.

Class Participation

Is it possible for us to live without Ethnocentrism? 

I don’t really think its possible because people always unconsciously find themselves being competitive. People living in Canada are ethnocentric because they believe that they are better than the US, and even within different cultures and religions people think they are superior to one another.

Class Participation

Racism in Canada and the United States of America

I feel like the United States is less diverse, where as Canada is more open to different  race. Canada is really multicultural. There are so many different races living here. In the US they were talking about blocking off the border. With this it made me think that the US is not really multicultural. I feel like people are more open to being racist. From my own experience I feel when I go to the states I’m treated differently than someone who is white. Although this could possibly be because I am ethnocentric, and believe Canada is better than the US, but just with my own experiences ive been led to think the US is more racist.

Class Participation

What do you think about the about the current world population of 7 billion in terms of global social justice?

With so many people in the world we  have fewer resources . There are fewer jobs, which make it harder for everyone to be employed. With different cultures they have different ideas. Some cultures believe they should have lots of children. Although, things are changing now there are still some people who have at least four kids.

Final Reflective Essay

Reflective Essay

 

A reoccurring theme in Sociology that I learned about was Cultural Relativism. This core concept talks about how “all cultures have intrinsic worth and should be evaluated and understood on their own terms” (Ravelli 81). Culture has such a great influence on how people act and think. It really affects how you perceive the world. For many people culture is all they have. If someone is ethnocentric they won’t be willing to enjoy other cultures, or think they have any fundamental worth. This course has helped me open up my mind to other cultures and think about them on their own terms.

In this course I’ve learnt that it’s good to be open-minded to other cultures and to be open to learning about other cultures that are not your own. Whereas if you’re ethnocentric then you don’t get to enjoy other cultures and learn about them either. I’ve learnt not to judge other cultures before truly getting to know them and understanding them. Even though some cultures may be completely different from your own and challenge the way you think about your own, I believe its stills best to be open to other cultures. What I’ve unlearned in this course is to not be ethnocentric. To not focus on only your culture, but as well as the other ones around you.

Cultural Relativism enhanced my understanding of the sociological issues that were covered in the course by helping me understand more clearly how society works as a whole. If people are not willing to learn out other cultures, there wouldn’t be much diversity in the world we live in today.

This course helped shatter my preconceived notion about other cultures and how it is so important to have a broader understanding of other cultures. A social justice event that I attended about student who went to Ghana and experienced what Ghanaian culture was like opened my mind up more. When they talked about their experiences it made me realize how similar some cultures can be and how different they can also be. The students shared their experiences and how they’ve learnt a lot. This made me want to go there and experience that culture for myself. This course has helped me shatter the way I view other cultures. It makes me want to expose myself to something so different from the usual.

Before taking this course I didn’t believe everyone’s culture was just as good as my own, but by learning about Ghana and other places and the traditions they have made me realize how alike our cultures really are. It great how there is, so much diversity in the world. It keeps it interesting and learning about different cultures is really cool. It gives you new experiences and different stories to tell. It’s great to get out and be involved in different cultures. You can learn a lot.

In conclusion, this course really helped me look at culture through a different lens. Learn about something different and experience something different from the usual things made me less ethnocentric. Living in Canada, such a multicultural place makes me realize how lucky I am to experience all this on a daily basis.