violating social norms

Social Norms are the rules that a group uses to define appropriate attitudes and behaviors for a member of that group. We respect and adhere to social norms to make sure we are accepted, and even popular, among our fellow group members. Some social norms are formal laws, but many are simply agreed to by group members. We learn these norms from interacting with other member of our society; we come to know when and where it is appropriate to say certain things, to use certain words, to discuss certain topics or wear certain clothes (and when not to!). One of the sources of humor on "The Office" derive from the fact that Michael and Dwight are continually violating the implicit and explicit norms of behavior for their situation. If you are a fan of the show, can you think of other instances where the source of the humor is in the violation of social norms?

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!

Honfest

The film brings up some interesting questions about Honfest, particularly what it means that one group of Baltimore residents dresses up and acts like a caricature of another part of the population–”hons,” or working-class women (so named for their supposed habit of calling everyone “Hon”).
From the Honfest website:
The Bawlmer term of endearment, Hon, short for Honey, embodies the warmth and affection bestowed upon our neighbors and visitors alike by historic working-women of Baltimore. HonFest is an annual celebration in honor of these women…
In answer to the question, “Is the hon a dying breed?,” Denise Whiting, creator of HonFest, exclaimed, “No! Absolutely not. Hon will live on forever in our hearts, and HonFest gives everyone an opportunity to celebrate and embrace their heritage.”
The festival includes a Miss Hon contest. Here is a photo of Miss Hon 2007:

The website’s description of hons:
…the women who vie to become Baltimore’s Best Hon are a vision of the sixties-era. They are women with beehive hairdos, bright-blue eye shadow, spandex pants and anything with leopard print!
But commentators in the documentary argue that some of the things being parodied–big hair, certain makeup and clothing styles–are still common, particularly in the working-class areas of Baltimore. From this perspective, it’s not just that people are mimicking or parodying the past; there’s also an element of class ridicule involved (since the style, taste, and speech associated with working-class women are being fetishized and parodied by other, often wealthier, women). This brings up a number of questions: Is this just good-hearted fun? Is it truly honoring these women, or mocking them? Does it bring attention to Baltimore’s working class residents, or simply treat them like they are historic relics?
(In)famous Baltimore resident and “Hairspray” director John Waters says,
It’s condescending now. The people that celebrate it are not from it. I feel that in some weird way they’re looking slightly down on it.
This might be useful for a discussion of social class and issues of representation–is Honfest respectful and fun or condescending? Does it make any difference whether some of the styles and mannerisms being parodied are still used by working-class women? Does it matter what the class background of attendees and participants tends to be? You might compare it to the controversy surrounding American Indian sports mascots for a discussion of concerns about representation more broadly. (

From my friend, Chris Salituro's sociology blog:

We have been examining the components of culture. The non-material aspects of culture are often the most important but we are often unaware of them. One type of non-material culture is symbolic culture, or gestures and language. Here is a link to a list of some single hand gestures from around the world.

Language is important too as it affects how we think. When we think about something, we are using language inside of our heads so if we use certain words or do not have certain words, it may affect how think about things especially how we categorize something. This was first studied by Saphir and Whorf. Sapir-Whorf has been critically contested in recent years, but the NY Times ran a story about how there is still some merit to the idea of language affecting our thoughts. See that article here. Here is a book that highlights untranslatable words from around the world.
Here is a study explaining that with out language, numbers do not make sense.

Nurtured by Love or Matured by Nature?

As we begin to look at the topic of "socialization", It is amazing to me that so much of what we take for granted as being human (part of our nature) is actually learned from our environment (nurture). The "Wild Child" video about children raised without human love and support demonstrates the power of social experiences on individuals. The following website: Feralchildren.com is a fascinating source of more information on the topic. Please read the article on this site entitled, "Nurtured by love or Matured by Nature"you and comment on your impressions from the video and the website, and about how you feel that your life has been shaped by both your inborn qualities as well as by the experiences of your life.