Final Reflective Essay

In Sociology, I have learnt many new things that I was unaware about prior to the course. In this course I have learnt not to judge someone or something based on its appearance, I have learnt to treat everybody equally, as well as the fact that anyone can be whoever they choose to be. Throughout this course I have learnt many new key concepts that I will be able to carry on with me for the rest of my life, and reflect to in order to help me out in certain situations. This class has taught me to look at every concept to every situation and look at the deeper meanings of  things. This class has taught me to keep an open mind about everything, and everyone, regardless of their race, culture, etc., and I believe this will immensely help me in life as my opinions towards certain things have definitely changed.

The key concept that I believe stood out to me the most was ethnocentrism.  The definition of ethnocentrism is ” the view of things in which one’s group is the center of everything, and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it” — W.G. Summers. The way ethnocentrism enhanced my understanding of the sociological issues covered in the course is that it taught me not to be so narrow-minded and to not just listen to what I want to hear, but rather to keep an open mind to everyone and everything, and absorb as much as I can. Ethnocentrism has taught me to get rid of my bias opinions when dealing with new situations and people.

Prior to this course I was unaware of how important the everyday lives of people on the other side of the globe are in affecting my daily life. This course has helped me understand the issues around how something so small done by someone in Africa decades ago for example, affects my life today in the 21st century. As a result of taking this course I am now aware of the efforts made by those in developing countries, and I am extremely thankful for those individuals who make my life that much easier, and give me that much less to have to worry about when I wake up in the morning.

Video #3 Canadian Culture (Affective)

This video is about two men that sing a song about the culture within Canada. In this song, the two men are singing about how they are searching for it. In their song these men also give examples of things that are Canadian such as it being cold, talking about beavers, etc.

I FEEL that these guys did a good job relating all things in the song to Canada and Canadian culture.

I THINK it was a cool idea how they incorporated all the things about Canada as well as stereotypes.

I BELIEVE these guys did a great job and represented Canada in a good way. I believe Canada is a very multicultural place, and the way people are treated equally everywhere within it, according to our charter rights, is a beautiful thing.

I KNOW now how very unique Canadian culture really is. This video really highlights important features about Canada, and just how great of a nation it is.

VIDEO #2 Stanford County Prison Experiment (Affective)

In this video Philip Zimbardo, a professor, conducted an experiment at Stanford University. His expierement’s purpose was to figure out the psychological effects of being a prisoner or prison guard. The experiment was set for two weeks, although due to the brutality of the prison guards towards the prisoners, the experiment was stopped as the prisoners couldn’t handle it. The guards were given batons and uniforms to show their authority. As the prisoners began to act crazy, the guards felt the need to abuse them in order to keep them under control.

I FEEL this video shows how power can take over oneself, and how hard it is for prisoners.

I THINK that this experiment was crossing the line as some of these prisoners will have problems maybe for the rest of their lives due to all the physical and verbal abuse.

I BELIEVE these types of experiments should not be carried out at all due to the brutality and the abuse that people have to go through.

I KNOW now after watching the video that the experiment was not a success as the experiment had to be shut down and the prisoners may be facing lifelong trauma.

Appendix 4: The Phantom Of The Race: The Myth Of Race And The Reality Of Racism (Dialectic)

What question did the text/chapter raise?	How did the text answer the question?	How does the answer match our own ideas and experiences?
1)Is there a difference between race and racism?	As many of us would think these two to be the same, they   actually are not. Race doesn’t exist while racism unfortunately does.	My idea of the two was that they were the same thing as   race and racism would feed off of each other.
2)Is racism dead?	Racism is ideas that infer the superiority of one specific   group over another. Michael Baton Stated in his book that racism is simply   just a biological myth, and therefore racism is dead.	Through my own experiences, I would say that racism is not   dead as many people are still put at a disadvantage due to their skin colour.   Although racism in my opinion is not dead, it surely has declined over the   years.
3) How can we as a society make changes in order to stop   racism and unite all cultures and communities?	The reading talks about the focus of employing course   material into elementary and middle schools. The reason why is because this   would make children realize that the world is a multicultural place, and that   every race is equal as there is no superior race.	I think this method would be a very successful way to   reduce racism as children would learn at a very early age to get along with   other races and respect them like they would respect someone of their own   race.

Appendix 3: Who Will Liberate Liberia ? (Affective)

The main idea of the reading is that it explains how much money is invested into warfare and issues around warfare, and how the money is going to waste, when it could be put towards benefiting others and other important things. the article suggest an idea about how this immense spending of money could be put towards feeding the hungry around the world and offering those in medical need healthcare. The Bush Administration seems to not understand how much money they are wasting in order to fight one country nor how carelessly this money is being thrown away.

I FEEL this reading makes us realize how much money is invested into warfare and how expensive it is for a country to go to war. More importantly however, I feel this reading makes us realize how much a country could help out the hungry and those needing medical care.

I THINK countries should not invest so much money into warfare and the issues surrounding it, and focus on helping out the third world countries.

I BELIEVE I believe this reading make us realize how we make decisions that may help us in the near future, although cause difficulties for us in the long run. I believe society doesn’t really care much about how money is carelessly being thrown away otherwise politicians would have done something to stop it.

I KNOW after finishing the reading that as humans, we tend to focus on ourselves and on situations that will benefit us as we tend to be selfish. I know also know that we must look at every perspective when dealing with an issue as there are many things that are needed to be taken into consideration when dealing with an issue.

Appendix #2: September 11: Forgivness Is Not Part Of The Lessons Learned (Dialectic)

What   question did the text/chapter raise?	How   did the text answer the question?	How   does the answer match our own ideas and experiences?
1) What   are some of the double standards the US has?	The   US desires the Africans to overlook the African Holocaust as well as the   European slave trade including multiple other things.	The   reason as to why the US has double standards is because they want everyone to   forget their mistakes and move on although when they are cheated on they seek   revenge.
2)   What is the main concern/issue with the “forgive and forget” way of mind?	The main concern with the “forgive and forget” way of mind is that people may forgive and move on, although they will always remember what happened when seeking revenge.	We all   use the “forgive and forget” model in our everyday lives whether it’s to deal   with arguments, relationships, etc. As a result of the “forgive and forget”   model, we can always forgive but we tend to always keep in mind what wrong   was done to us, and we seek revenge when we have the opportunity.
3) Did   Bush learn the lesson of forgiveness?	No, Bush   has not learnt the lesson of forgiveness as his army invaded Iraq.	The   reason why I believe Bush didn’t learn the lesson of forgiveness is because   if he did learn it, he would not start a war with Iraq, and he would instead   try to make peace.

Appendix #1: Negotiation, Not Retribution (Paraphrastic)

The focus of this article is to make us aware of the tragic deaths caused from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, as well as the numerous deaths happening in the 3rd world countries that go un-noticed. The cause of these deaths are due not only “to the direct and indirect interventions by the US-led West, but as well as the apathy, wastefulness, and greed of people in the industrialized nations of the world”. The article also brings up the fact that thousands of people are killed in warfare and in the makings of war weapons, as well as people being put into extreamely dangerous situations to earn a living. The article also brings up how there are only interests and not friends in politics, and lastly how Nelson Mandela was once considered to be a terrorist himself, and later on was given high respect and status.