Social Location

Social location, as defined by C Wright Mills, is the corners or place in life that people occupy because of where they are located in a society. Factors such as gender, class, race, and religion are four of the main factors in determining one’s social location. Essentially, social location is how our backgrounds and cultural upbringings affect our place and views on society as a whole. Understanding one’s position from a sociological perspective is an essential element in sociological research as it greatly assists in pinpointing potential biases that an individual may possess. Bias in social research is undesirable because it affects the reliability and validity of the findings or results. My parents who are now in their early eighties belonged to the working class or proletariat; they placed a great deal of emphasis on faith in God, love, honesty, respect for those in authoritative positions such as members of the clergy, teachers and police officers. Our cultures introduce and teach us different roles, aspirations, values, and norms in society. I was raised in a devout Christian home where several family members were ministers. As long as my siblings and I upheld the aforementioned Christian values, norms and standards we were regarded as successful individuals. The Christian values that my parents instilled in me remain invaluable as they shaped my identity and continue to be the predominant source of my strength. However, the emphasis that my parents placed on faith was disproportionate in comparison to education, particularly, higher learning. My parents did not discourage the pursuit of a college or an advanced degree but did not encourage it to the extent that it was believed to be invaluable and essential. The extent to which higher learning is emphasized by parents or extended family is predicated upon such factors as economic, racial and religious. Middle income or affluent (bourgeoisie) families have the means to pay