Chicago Marathon; Nature/Nurture, Soc Imagination and Race

In honor of the Chicago marathon this morning, I did a little research.  One Students have insisted in the past that discreet biological races must exist because “look at all the African runners”.   Well, checkout the article from NPR here:

https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2013/11/01/241895965/how-one-kenyan-tribe-produces-the-worlds-best-runners

The elite runners are not generally African, but they are more specifically Kenyan, and not just Kenyan but Kenyans from a small minority tribe within Kenya.  

First, this is an example of nature and nurture.   Yes there are phenotypic traits (like small ankles) that make the Kenyans better runners.  This is nature, or biology/genes.  But genes exist as part of populations.  In this case (as in most) the population is not people from Africa, or in other words people who we would call black.  The population is a genotypic group made up of people who can trace their ancestry to specific genotypes, or gene pools that give them this build.  This may be why we see so few "African American" runners dominating distance running.  Most of those in the U.S. who are "African American" are from West  Africa which has a different genotype than East Africa.  Similarly, there are over 50 countries in Africa, but the dominant runners are all from limited parts of east Africa and primarily from just a few countries there.  This is much more indicative of how genotype works - genotypic traits do not conform to political or continental boundaries, nor do they conform to our socially constructed categories of race.

Additionally, not everyone with this genotype will thrive in distance running even though they might have the aptitude to do so.  But the small tribe in Kenya nurtures distance running through their culture. They teach their young people to endure pain and persevere - necessities for someone who is going to run 26.2 miles in just over 2 hours.  

 Second, this is also an example of sociological imagination.  Consider the time and place.  It was not until the 1960s that Kenyans made a sudden and dramatic impact on the sport of distance running.  Before then, Kenyans hardly placed on the finishers circle.  So their success is an example that success athletically is nature and nurture but these are also confined within a particular time as well (post 1960s) 

The start of Unit 3, socialization; a metaphor called "The Growing Man"

HW: For Tomorrow, please read and annotate "What is Human Nature?" from your packet.



As students enter, on page 9 of your packet, please answer this:

What are all of the ways that you are similar to your immediate family (your parents, siblings, the people that have raised you)? Brainstorm as many ways as possible.






The metaphor that I use for the unit on socialization is called The Growing Man Metaphor. I developed the metaphor after being inspired by Richard Strozzi-Heckler's book Holding the Center; Sanctuary in a Time of Confusion. The idea is that to go from being a baby ruled by emotions, instincts and training to being a fully human adult (conscious and aware), we need other people. As humans we were made to be social. Our nature - biology, our language, our dependency all make us social beings. 

For more proof on how we are made to be social, checkout this link to see a story on 60 minutes about how we have an ability to interpret and remember human faces. So we are made to interact with other people and it is through other people that we become human and that we develop our potential. The process of this influence in sociology is called "socialization."

Here is a link to the packet for Unit 3.


Takeaway:

What is socialization? 

What makes humans special?

What is innately human?  

What is human nature?

What evidence do studies of twins provide?