General Sociological Orientation
Development of a General Sociological Orientation (GSO)
1. The sociological phenomenon that interests me the most is that of black people, or African Americans, and the stereotypes that are assigned to them. A stereotype is a simplified image of a group, object or an individual. The basic assumptions that
I made about this particular social phenomenon are that the stereotypes that are assigned to black people have some truth to them, but are mostly based upon ignorance. I also believe that the stereotypes are in place to keep society's mind frame conditioned to place and keep certain races in superior and inferior positions. If children of each culture can categorize strangers to their "normal" groupings by the age of three, and can …show more content…
The theory that I would use to study this social phenomenon would be the conflict theory. The conflict theory states that the organization or social units of society compete for resources, which creates conflict. This theory explains the conflict between social classes. Even though the conflict theory is the exact opposite of structural functionalism, I still feel that one (implementation of structural functionalism) can intrinsically, or naturally, cause the other (conflict). Starting at the beginning of the timeline, deep rooted issues began at the time of slavery. From slavery, people (specifically white people) developed a hatred for black people that sparked dominance issues and oppression. Throughout time black people have been competing for acceptance as human beings, only to encounter more and more obstacles. The stereotypes are put in place to keep black people in an inferior place, economically and socially. This creates conflict on all sorts of levels. Therefore I …show more content…
Dominance and sub ordinance are classified as attitudes that change reality for mankind. Whereas, inequality is more of an act from one vessel to the next. All three concepts work together in defining the how and why African Americans have been placed in a lower class level, compared to any other race, hence making the African American stereotypes the worst and most ridiculous to live up to. For instance, "all black people love chicken and watermelon (cliché)" is this really true or is it a myth? * Most of the stereotypes that black people endure are negative and condescending.
Dominance can be defined as the authority or control of something or someone. Sub ordinance is the attitude and mindset of being placed in or belonging to a lower order or rank. Those two concepts fit very well together because in order for one to be in rule, he first needs someone or something to dominate, hence the sub ordinate. In order to give, one must be receiving. Without inequality, the push and pull of dominance and sub ordinance would not last long at
1. The sociological phenomenon that interests me the most is that of black people, or African Americans, and the stereotypes that are assigned to them. A stereotype is a simplified image of a group, object or an individual. The basic assumptions that
I made about this particular social phenomenon are that the stereotypes that are assigned to black people have some truth to them, but are mostly based upon ignorance. I also believe that the stereotypes are in place to keep society's mind frame conditioned to place and keep certain races in superior and inferior positions. If children of each culture can categorize strangers to their "normal" groupings by the age of three, and can …show more content…
The theory that I would use to study this social phenomenon would be the conflict theory. The conflict theory states that the organization or social units of society compete for resources, which creates conflict. This theory explains the conflict between social classes. Even though the conflict theory is the exact opposite of structural functionalism, I still feel that one (implementation of structural functionalism) can intrinsically, or naturally, cause the other (conflict). Starting at the beginning of the timeline, deep rooted issues began at the time of slavery. From slavery, people (specifically white people) developed a hatred for black people that sparked dominance issues and oppression. Throughout time black people have been competing for acceptance as human beings, only to encounter more and more obstacles. The stereotypes are put in place to keep black people in an inferior place, economically and socially. This creates conflict on all sorts of levels. Therefore I …show more content…
Dominance and sub ordinance are classified as attitudes that change reality for mankind. Whereas, inequality is more of an act from one vessel to the next. All three concepts work together in defining the how and why African Americans have been placed in a lower class level, compared to any other race, hence making the African American stereotypes the worst and most ridiculous to live up to. For instance, "all black people love chicken and watermelon (cliché)" is this really true or is it a myth? * Most of the stereotypes that black people endure are negative and condescending.
Dominance can be defined as the authority or control of something or someone. Sub ordinance is the attitude and mindset of being placed in or belonging to a lower order or rank. Those two concepts fit very well together because in order for one to be in rule, he first needs someone or something to dominate, hence the sub ordinate. In order to give, one must be receiving. Without inequality, the push and pull of dominance and sub ordinance would not last long at