Introducing...YOU! (and Sociology!)
As students enter, please follow the instructions below:
1. iPad and Blog
Take out your iPad, open http://sociologysal.blogspot.com/ and bookmark it. I will post lessons on the blog each day. If you miss a class or, if you are simply not sure what the lesson was about, go to my blog page to review the lesson from that day.
2. Student Demographics Survey
I want to get to know each of you better as an individual, so please answer this demographic survey. Please share as much info as you are comfortable sharing.
3. Syllabus
If you finished 1 and 2 above, please begin reading the syllabus which is one of your homework assignments.
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Ready to go?
Fired Up.
I had you fill out the survey above because I wanted to get to know you as an individual. My question now is, are you, in fact, an individual? What makes you an individual? Please answer individually for all of the numbered boldface questions below. I will do this for each lesson of ours. Click on the link below and open the Google Form in a new window. Then read along with the blog and answer questions in the order that they come up.
Here is the Google Form for today's lesson. Please open it in a new window. Answer numbers 1 and 2 and then return to this blog page.
Introducing You...
1. Do you think you are an individual? Why or why not? What makes you unique?
2. What do you think it means to be an individual?
Big Group Discussion: 1 and 2.
At first glance, it might seem like you are unique. In my case, I am a Loyola University graduate and a Chicagoan; I like basketball, the Cubs, skiing, mountain biking, golfing, gardening, and cooking. I am married and I have three daughters. All of this might make me sound unique, but all of it also is a result of my connection to others and at the same time, it connects me to others. We are intimately shaped by other people and society at large, but our culture's fascination with individuality often hides this connection. Sociology will help us explore this reality.
Small groups: Brainstorm the people who made it possible for you to be here today, in this school and in this classroom.
2A. Now think about how you arrived at this moment in this class. How did you get here? Who are all the people that helped you get here today?
Mindfulness
How many different people did you come up with? Did you think of your parents or the person who drove you to school today? Probably. But, how about your grandparents or great-grandparents who made it possible for your parents to be living in our district now? How about the people who built the roads or the engineers who designed them; The architects who built the building you are sitting in; The doctors who helped you stay healthy until you reached this age or the dozens of teachers who have taught you over the years. There are so many people who have affected your ability to be here and now. Sociology will make us aware of our connections to other people. This awareness of our connection to others is sometimes called sociological mindfulness. Throughout our class, you will see that sociological mindfulness is woven into the lessons and assessments.
The bell and meditation
Mindfulness is an awareness of yourself. To start each class, I use a mindfulness meditation. I will ring a bell to signal that you are starting class and you should center your thoughts and limit distractions. I want you to be in the moment. I will also give you a thought to meditate on and help you develop your own personal mindfulness.
Introducing Sociology...
Background: The Creation of Sociology as an Academic Discipline
Sociology was a reaction to the extreme individualism that emerged from the Enlightenment.
During the late 1600s, European scholars Sociology doted on the idea that each individual person is unique and each person is free to choose whoever they want to be. These ideas fueled a radical individualism that especially took root in the United States. This has led the Western world in general (especially the United States) to embrace individuality to an extreme that over-minimizes our social connection to others. But our discussion of the demographic form above reveals that we are connected to others in myriad ways. The term sociology comes from the latin socius which means "friendship, neighborliness, companionship."
Sociology is rooted in scientific study, a product of the Scientific Revolution.
Sociology was also a product of the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution established the scientific method as a standard for understanding the world. As we will learn in our second unit, sociology uses research and the scientific method to understand our social connection. This is the -ology in sociology which means the "study, science." The term sociology was first used in French (sociologie) by Auguste Comte in 1830.
The Industrial Revolution created just drastic changes that it inspired scholars to study society's influence on individuals.
But sociology was not simply created because of the changes in scholarship as a result of the Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution. The individual ideals of the Enlightenment were questioned using the scientific method because of the salient changes of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution changed the way people lived.
The industrial revolution brought about changes from:
Pre-industrial Society to Post-industrial Society
- an agricultural to an industrial economy
- rural to urban living
- a cottage system to a factory system method of production
- group identity (tribe, religion, nation, family) to a belief in individualism
So, sociology began as a scientific study of how individuals are influenced by those around them in contrast to the individualism of the Enlightenment era. This became salient during the industrial revolution when changes in society were so rapid and extreme that they were noticed by scholars. These scholars studied society's influence on individuals and that was the beginning of sociology as a discipline. Simply put,
Sociology is the study of how society/social groups influence the individuals within them.
3. Any questions about what sociology is?
Syllabus
Here is a link to the syllabus. Please read it thoroughly. This is a good habit to get into because in college, your professors will refer to the syllabus often and they will expect that you read it thoroughly and understand it.
PRO TIP: ALWAYS read your syllabus for college. When asking your professors a question about the class, be sure to mention (and demonstrate) that you read the syllabus before asking them.
4. Any questions about the syllabus?
HW: Name Survey
For homework, please survey your family about why you were named the legal name that you have. If you have a nickname, please ask about that as well. How and why did you get these names? Is there a symbolic meaning to your name or why you were named that?
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