Final Reflective Essay

One of the first things I unlearned in the course was about critiquing; I always believed that being critical was a negative thing. But in actual fact, being critical is how we learn and move on from past assumptions or facts to learn new ones. Thus, being critical is positive, for in doing so we move beyond what we know now and into a new mode of thinking. It is only through critical thinking that we are able to constantly revamp what we know and make it better. If we are not critical of what we hear, see, and know, then we are stagnant and are not moving forward with new knowledge.

This course also re-taught me about the sociological imagination and how one is using their sociological imagination when he or she is able to step back from the assumption that our lives our shaped by ourselves. And instead realizes that there are greater social processes that shape who we are, be it our social contexts such as social institutions, structures, social actions, interactions, time, setting, and people. Thus, in being sociologically mindful, one is able to see how there are various things that shape and influence who we are, how we think, act and behave within our lives. In doing so, one understands that there are wider circumstances than our personal daily lives and daily routines, for the power of the sociological imagination is the understanding that personal troubles are connected to public issues. The global sociological imagination goes one step further than the sociological imagination in that it sees how we are globally interconnected and that there are global factors that play a part in how we develop as societies rather than just seeing things developing at the societal level. Thus, another country across sees might affect this country and vise versa. Canadian companies might travel to India to exploit their country’s low wages for greater returns, which affects the entire global economy including the middleman, the rich man, and the poor man. Thus, globally there are things that are impacting who we are, as a whole.

“Obvious” was another core concept that opened my mind. For, it made me realize that every society, community, culture, or nation has an idea about what is “obvious” or thought to be “common sense.” And that this mode of thinking helps to hide the real truth, or helps to decrease its importance or value; thus, there are some things that seem to be “obvious” and because of this nobody goes beyond and looks further in depth towards its truths. In not seeing past the obvious, people are not fully understanding the world and its full meanings. In short, people are only seeing partial meanings, and as a result are not fully aware of life’s truths. Thus, in seeing past the façade of the “obvious” one is better able to do research and study beyond cultural understandings, so that deeper truths can be achieved.

Some of the preconceived notions I had about this course were already mentioned, however, the notion about social justice was definitely altered upon the completion of this course. I honestly did not entirely know what this course’s definition toward social justice was. I thought that this course was going to dive into the different laws and regulations to do with law on the topic of social justice. However, to my surprise, this course mainly discussed the issue of social injustice and how social injustice touches everyone around the globe. Whether it be children who are starving because their land’s resources have been stripped from big businesses from various rich countries, such as United Kingdom, United States and Canada, and or because their country is in debt due to corrupted government business deals. In either case, social justice is global, it is not a term that is reflective of each society, rather it is a term that is formed from the interconnectedness societies maintain. We all see and endure forms of social justice and injustice may it be locally or internationally, one business deal across the globe will ultimately affect my life on the other side. Thus, this class taught me how social justice works and affects us all on various levels through the various films we watched on different countries. Not only did this class reveal to me how people in poverty around the world are receiving social injustice through exploitation, but this course revealed to me how the world is the product of its environment and that every action has a consequence whether intended to be positive or negative. Thus, social justice is global and the sooner people realize how interconnected we all are, the sooner we can make changes, and take responsibility for our actions that affect the planet as a whole.

I really enjoyed this course and how we took the theory and put it into practice. This was one of the first courses I have ever actually done this; and I really enjoyed this process and felt like I actually made a change, even though it was a very small change, it felt good.

FILM Transforming Ourselves, Transforming The World: Dialectic Reading

What question did the film raise?

The film, Transforming Ourselves, Transforming The World discusses the issue of connectivity and whether or not this is an important issue that the global world needs to understand and assume. Is the world interconnected? Does this interconnectivity matter? Is it an important aspect to not in order to make change?

How did the text answer this question?

Yes! The world is very interconnected and intertwined even on a global level. One person’s actions as a result will affect another’s and so on and so fourth. We the human species are one big family and could not have evolved or presently exist without being connected. Interconnectivity matters because it unites the human species. Capitalism has taught the globe that individualism is favoured, but collectivity will actually ensure that the world as a whole will be strong, protected, and will have the ability to flourish and maintain itself and all of its living creatures. Thus, interconnectivity is one of the most important aspects for human and planetary development. In order for there to be change for the good of the planet, we must realize that we are connected and that all actions effect each other. With this realization, humans can take ownership of their actions and we can start to make collective change for the good of the human family.

How does the answer match our own ideas and experiences?

This answer to human development, the idea and promotion of collectivity answers and matches our own preconceived ideas and experiences because we as human beings already understand the benefits of collectivity. Family is one of the first and foremost examples of positive collectivity and how working together simply works. Teams are also another example of camaraderie and how collectivity is the only real way to an attainable goal. Thus, we have our own experiences with collectivity and how it works. However, in terms of global connectivity, most of us do not have experiences with this. Global connectivity is uniting humans like a big family to work together, not work against each other. Instead, of handing out power to certain parts of the globe and exploiting and taking away power for others, we need to create equality in terms of realizing the potential powers of all, in terms of collectivity. Rather than working like a capitalist with the “me” mentality of gaining resources, we need to work together to develop a “we” mentality so that there is no “us” against “them” anymore. In this way, the human family can be realized and the good of the planet, our home, can be understood as a common ground that needs to be cared for with a collective conscientiousness.

NICKEL AND DIMED FROM THE AMERICAN RULING CLASS: Paraphrastic Reading

The film, Nickel and Dimed from The American Ruling Class is about the under paid men and women who are in the workforce who cannot afford basic necessities. A young and older man talk to a waitress who is actually an undercover reporter who is working low wage jobs to see if she can actually sustain a decent life without debt. The answer is she cannot. After working in places like Walmart and serving jobs and living in a trailer park, the reporter comes to the conclusion that it is impossible to live off of such a low wage. She is short by at least a hundred dollars a month, and she states that living in a trailer is even too rich for her wage. The film talks about how people who are in the low wage service sectors are actually paying for middle class people with their services that are not being properly compensated for. This brings up the five-sentence segment that I wanted to discuss, which was to do with who “the real philanthropists in our society” are. The reporter states that the real philanthropists in our society are the people who work for less than they can actually live on (nickels and dimes). Because they are giving of their time and their energy so that middle to upper class people can buy cheap clothes and food etc. Thus, the working poor are actually giving fully to the middle to upper class rich. This makes one think twice when a person is begging for money, for we are actually giving back and in the process of reciprocation when we give money to people on the streets. The film talks about nickels and dimes and how the working classes are basically receiving pennies for their work, and how it is their work that makes the world go around and function on a day-to-day basis.  If we do not have people to perform services such as manufacturing products, performing daily customer services etc., doing jobs that everyone hates, like janitorial work, than who will do it? Thus, we need to consider how important all society’s jobs are and create equal wages.

THE STORY OF STUFF Film: Affective Reading

 

The film, the Story of Stuff is about the economic system and how it is endangering the entire health of the planet and all living creatures on it. This film was the second section of the film and focused not on how stuff is produced, consumed, and discarded but it is about how to make change in our planet. The speaker in the film believes that it is not at the consumer level that a person can make change against our poorly evolved economic system. She believes that this actually just forces people to buy more expensive things, which feeds the economic cycle rather than breaking it; for, being a picky shopper is not going to help anyone. The speaker believes the only way to make change is to stand up and do something, whether through protests, marches, or coming together as citizens. She believes that we as citizens need to first recognize the problem, which is what the first section on the story of stuff talks about and then she believes we need an idea for change combined with the power of “we” and “action.” And if these three steps are followed, so will change. How do I feel about the movie I just finished? I believe that this film is easy to understand; yet it is very powerful because it still is talking about huge ideas and problems that we have today. Thus, this film is a great film for change, because it does not put people on the defense or antagonize people. Thus, I feel eager to make change after watching this film, because it simplifies things and makes change seem like an easier task, unlike some films or books. What do I think about the film I just finished? I think that the film is an excellent medium to get a point across, and I feel as if I could show my friends and family, who know nothing on this topic, and they would understand what is going on in our world today. Therefore, I think this film is a great source for a message and is a great catalyst for change. What do I know about the film I just finished? It is interesting because we always talk about what is wrong with the world, and who is suffering, but we never discuss how to make a difference and what it takes to do so. Thus, this film took a hard issue and simplified it so that one can easily see what it takes to make a difference in the world today: idea+we+action=change.

Charles Quist-Adade’s SOCIAL JUSTICE, ISSUES IN LOCAL AND GLOBAL CONTEXTS Chapter 3: Paraphrastic Reading

 

This chapter talks about inequality and how this social construction is born, maintained and promoted within societies through the ruling/prevailing elite classes. The chapter talks about power, and how power is the ability to coerce or sway others or a group to act out or behave in a desirable way. The person who is in control of others and has the ability to manipulate them for their benefit has power. When a person has power the only way that power can be realized is through the opposing side that is the other who has no power or control. For, a person who has power can only exercise their power on the account that the other has less power than he or she. Thus, social categories such as class, race, gender, etc. rank and stratify people so that power can be handed out to those who hold specific qualities that “at that time” are considered to be appropriate for holding power. In addition, the chapter talks about privilege and how privilege ties into power, for those who have privilege have an unfair advantage much like a person who has the power to operate others accordingly. The chapter talks about this and how privilege is an unearned advantage, which when talking about class, is usually afforded at birth. Thus, one child might have less or more advantage over another depending upon his or her socio-economic status and the privileges or lack there of that go along with such status. Charles Quist-Adade talks about this in a quote, for he states that “power… lead[s] to domination, [which] lead[s] to stratification which create[s] social injustice.” I thought that this point brought out the most significant themes in this chapter. For it is true, power first comprises the control and coercion of others, and this coercion and control can only be established through the differentiating process of rank ordering traits that are either valued or devalued, which in turn leads to social injustice for those who are labeled as deviant to such ideals. I believe that this sentence is very powerful and important today. People are being discriminated against for traits that in one hundred years might be valued or not even realized as anything different. This is because the traits the discriminate us are social constructions and are nothing more. Thus, the sooner people of today realize this the sooner they can not be coerced and controlled by their labels; and as a result they can live freely and equally, at least within their own minds.

Frank Tridico ISSUES IN SOCIAL JUSTICE Chapter 3: Dialectic Reading

What question did the text/chapter raise?

 

The chapter asks whether or not child workers/soldiers, labour workers, domestic workers, and prostitutes still exist within the world today, does slavery still exist, and if human trafficking is an important thing to fight, today, alongside with world hunger and war?

 

How did the text answer this question?

 

The text believes that human trafficking does exist within the world today, and there are various different job titles within this global business. The text talks about various markets, such as prostitution, child labour, domestic labour, to name a few, which are exploiting the poor who have no other choice but to engage in the trafficking business, that or die of starvation. The texts talks about how women are drugged or stolen at a young age, and then forced into the prostitution market; and how adults are forced into labour sweatshops, told that they will work off money owing, which will never occur. In addition, the text reveals how all these different methods of human trafficking can be regarded as slavery, revealing that slavery still exists today. Thus, the text reveals how the issue of human trafficking should be made an important issue that needs to be dealt with within the world, as soon as possible.

 

How does the answer match our own ideas and experiences?

 

I think the answer to human trafficking goes against what the norm believes. For, many of us do not believe that there are people in other countries or even in our own countries who are succumbing to slavery. Slavery seems like a thing of the past for most people living middle class lives within North America. Thus, the answer to this chapter unveils to people, such as myself, how the world is not a perfect and equal place of opportunity. And that those who are in the trafficking business, such as prostitution, do not choose to be there on their own accord. This goes against the general assumption I had toward prostitution. I believed that it was something that women chose to do because they wanted to make a decent wage. However, this is not the case. Thus, the chapter helped reveal the truth about our global world, and how human trafficking is not just in one place on the globe it is everywhere. Thus, it is a global issue that needs to be dealt with collectively. Thus, because I believe that most Canadians are blind to the world’s global issues, I believe that the answer does not match with our surface based knowledge of the world and the surface based experiences that go along with it.

Frank Tridico’s ISSUES IN SOCIAL JUSTICE Chapter 2: Dialectic Reading

“What question did the text/chapter raise?”

The text raises the issue of heteronormativity and how this sexual choice is preferred among the North American dominant/elitist group’s standards; and whether or not the LGBT community is affected by these standards throughout their lives?

 “How did the text answer this question?”

 

The text proves that the LGBT community is discriminated against due to this heteronormative standard, which is present within many aspects of the LGBT community member’s lives. Many LGBT members are discriminated and stereotyped due to their sexual preference, and face unfair treatment in the work place, in the housing market, and in various others institutions. LGBT members in many states are not even allowed to engage in the institution of marriage because same sex marriage is not supported. Basically the text proves that the LGBT community is stigmatized due to their different sexual approach, which discredits and disfavours them throughout everyday situations. In addition, members of the LGBT community are not looked at beyond their stigma, for they are only seen by the label society gives to them. A lesbian is not seen beyond her label as a “lesbian” for her dignity or intrinsic value. Instead the LGBT community is labeled, stigmatized, discredited, disadvantaged, and forgotten as valuable members within society. And for that reason the text proves that LGBT members are highly discriminated against due to their deviance from the normative heterosexual position within society.

 

How does the answer match our own ideas and experiences?

 

The text matches our own ideas and experiences, because it proves that simple everyday contact with people who are not abiding by the norm’s standards are sought out and discriminated against, whether through small interactions or large institutions. The text shows how there is actual evidence showing how LGBT members are disadvantaged within society. This is evident throughout our everyday encounters with LGBT members who are labeled and are only known for their sexuality. For example, when somebody introduces a man and he is gay, the introduction usually incorporates information towards the gay man’s sexuality. This proves that even in everday circumstances labeling occurs, and discrimination occurs. For, the “odd/queer” needs to be pointed out and labeled within society so that the “normals” can avoid the “abnormals” (queers) and not be “hurt” or “affected” by their so-called “freakish” nature. This reveals how today we are constantly engaging in discrimination against the LGBT community and are constantly a part of the LGBT’s community’s negative experiences by enforcing the labeling process.