Lost boys

Here is a website dedicated to the Lost Boys of Sudan in Chicago.
To speak about culture in a more measured way, think in terms of the way sociologists might break down culture. Culture is made up of material culture as well as the nonmaterial: gestures, language, norms, values. Did you see aspects of these cultural components in the movie? Have you ever met anyone from a different country? Did you notice or discuss any cultural differences? What component of culture (from the terms above) did those differences fall under?

I also like the theme in the movie about communal society versus individualistic society. We see the Lost Boys in the United States have food, shelter, jobs and schooling but they feel lonely. They miss their culture because they are so used to communal culture. That is being together with their friends and family, rather than living nearly alone in an apartment. This is an important revelation that our culture sometimes de-emphasizes to a fault; we need other people. Humans are social and communal beings. Do you see how this individualist way of living and thinking shapes our lives? How can we work to change that and satisfy our inherent needs for connecting with other people?

Lost Boys of Sudan

 Here is a description of the documentary we are watching in class this week ,"Lost Boys of Sudan"

(This) Emmy-nominated feature-length documentary that follows two Sudanese refugees on an extraordinary journey from Africa to America. Orphaned as young boys in one of Africa's cruelest civil wars, Peter Dut and Santino Chuor survived lion attacks and militia gunfire to reach a refugee camp in Kenya along with thousands of other children. From there, remarkably, they were chosen to come to America. Safe at last from physical danger and hunger, a world away from home, they find themselves confronted with the abundance and alienation of contemporary American suburbia.

In what ways does Looking at our culture through the eyes of these refugees help us to see ourselves in a new light?

Sociological perspectives on Freaks and Geeks

We will watch an episode of Freaks and Geeks. The show centers around the lives of a group of high school students in Michigan in 1980. Short plug: Although it only ran for only one season, the series appeard on Time magazines 2007 "100 greatest shows of all time" list, and in 2008 Entertainment weekly ranked it the 13th best seies of the past 25 years.

Of course we didn't watch the show just because I like it. We are using it to learn how to apply the major sociological perspectives to real life experiences. Of course this TV show isn't 'real life', but it's a pretty good representation for our purposes. My hope is that, by being able to use this not-so-far-away-from-your-own-experiences example you will be able to look at the world and see it the way that sociologists do. And hopefully have some laughs along the way. After all, sociology is fun!