In this essay I will draw on what I have learned from the Making Social Lives DVD and Learning Companion 1 to outline how material things favour the activities of some groups of people over others on a street that I know.
The street I will be focusing my essay on is West Main Street in Armadale, West Lothian. This street is a lot like City Road in Cardiff in terms of the businesses of which it is made up. Family run businesses dominate West Main Street, like Coia sweet shop, Peking House Chinese take away, Talking Heads hairdressers and Allure beauty salon, as well as bigger, more established businesses like the Co-operative, Lloyds Pharmacy and Ladbrokes. Other similarities to City Road are the variety of people from which the community is
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Pedestrian islands are another similarly regular sight throughout the street. (‘The Street’, 2009, Scene 1) Both these material things are there to ensure the safety and ease of pedestrians while drivers may find these a nuisance as they are restricted to the small amount of parking bays along the street instead of parking on the pavement for convenience, consequently resulting in an inequality amid the public. There is a steady flow of traffic through the street of which most are cars but there are a lot of busses as well. The busses seem to be in favour of the local people who are visiting West Main Street for a purpose as opposed to drivers of cars who more often are using the street as a thoroughfare to reach their destination. This is a fine example of how the same material things, methods of transportation, favour the activities of some groups of people over …show more content…
If we look at the buildings for instance, all kinds of buildings use the same obvious material things like electricity and water however the same area or shell can be used to sell an assortment of goods from a pint of milk to a fully fitted kitchen. It’s clear that most of these companies have a target market. The Wool and Card shop for instance, it’s apparent that the majority of their custom is generated by middle aged to elderly women, in comparison to Ladbrokes bookmakers whose stereotypical customers are men of 18 years and upwards. In City Road there are people like Janet Symmons who owns Xquisite Africa shop, again she has a specific clientele, hers being women of African origin. Janet’s’ shop saves the women from travelling into Birmingham or London for a particular hair product. (Blakely et al., 2012, Page 25)
If we look at the other end of the scale we have a business such as The Goth Pubic house. The most obvious reason for anyone visiting a pub is purely sociable however they also have a function hall which is used for dance and exercise classes which makes the variety of their customers much vaster – it now favours all kinds of people for a range of activities. These classes have opened up the pub to perhaps a more health conscious person as opposed to people visiting for a drink after work or a night
This essay will explore and examine various ways in which differences and inequalities are seen to persist over time in ‘Making Lives’ and ‘Connecting Lives’ strands from DD102. Differences and inequalities are not strictly the same thing, although some do relate closely. Differences are things which vary between individuals, however in social science differences tend to be more focused on contrasts between groupings of people – such as those based on gender, age, class, race, ethnicity or sexuality (Blakeley and Staples, 2014, p.25). This differs from inequalities as they are defined as the unequal distribution of valued social resources within a society or between societies, this generally refers to things such as economic resources (money), time, access to education, cultural facilities – however it is not limited to these things and they do, however, differ over time and between places. (Blakeley and Staples, 2014, p.25)
Ann Petry’s The Street is more than a story of racism and poverty in America. This novel is about how the intersectionality of identities limit African-Americans from achieving equality in the dominant race’s society. The protagonist, Lutie Johnson has three barriers dragging her down. She is not only a woman, but a black woman that is also a lower class single mother. In the novel Lutie faces the realities of the American Dream, which for African- Americans is literally just a dream. Lutie also experiences the harsh effects of poverty and how it shapes one’s life.
For social sciences majors, reading this book can provide a look at exactly what biases there are in the field we are hoping to enter, and what mistakes are commonly made. It provides a long list of examples of ways in which numbers can be messed up, and is a good warning to those of us wanting to be social scientists.
The Open University (2010) K101 An Introduction to Health and Social Care, Unit 5, ‘Identities and Lives’, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
Blakeley, G., Bromley, G., Clarke, J., Raghurham, P., Silva, E. and Taylor, S. (2009) ‘Introducing the Social Sciences’ Learning Companion 1, Milton Keynes, The Open University
This essay focuses upon evidence gathered from people who provide good examples of ‘making and remaking’ on City Road in relation to connections and disconnections. Evaluations are drawn from the relevant Open University reading and visual resources and the essay is revised following ‘TMA 01 feedback’ (TMA FORM PT3e: TMA No 01, 2016).
Silva, E. B. (2009). Chapter 7. Making Social Order. In: Taylor, S., Hinchliffe, S.,Clarke, J. and Bromley, S. (eds.) (2009). Introducing the Social Sciences. Making Social Lives. Milton Keynes: The Open University.
Throughout SOCIO 211, Professor Sanderson has repeatedly stated that the things we do every day are not natural. Instead these things are constructed by society. He has repeatedly reminded us that we don’t “see” sociology or culture and that we need to “teach ourselves how to see again.” This has been the main take home point of this class for me. I’ve never realized how much I am shaped by my friends, family, teachers, and others around me. That being said, three sociological concepts have improved my understanding of my relationship with society: socialization, gender, and family. These three concepts have been the most important to me because they all are concepts I’ve related to my everyday life, that I am influenced by, and have been molded into. These concepts have made me realize that I cannot necessarily be whoever I want to be or do whatever I want to do. Because of these three main points, I understand my roles and expectations better in life. I have noticed that I act the way I do because I have been socially constructed to do so through socialization, expectations of gender and gender roles, and by how my family has influenced my view of society.
The open University (2011) K218 Readings, Working with children, young people and families, Milton Keynes, The Open University
Babbie, E. (2007) The Practice of Social Research. Thomson Higher Education. Belmont. (USA) Eleven Edition.
Murray, Jane Lothian, Linden, Rick and Kendall, Diane. (2011). SOCIOLOGY IN OUR TIMES, Fifth Canadian Edition by Nelson Education Limited, Published by Thomson Wadsworth, USA.
Harrington described social theories as analytical frameworks or models used to examine different social phenomena. The term ‘social theory’ includes ideas about ‘how societies change and develop, about methods of explaining social behaviour, about power and social structure, gender and ethnicity, modernity and ‘civilisation’, revolutions and utopias’ (Harrington 2005,) When looking at social theory today, certain central themes take precedence over others, themes such as the nature of social life, the relationship between self and society, the structure of social institutions, the role and possibility of social transformation, as well as themes such as gender, race and class (Elliot, 2008)
Newbold, C., Peace, M., Swain, L., Wright, M. (2008) AQA Sociology AS. Nelson Thornes: Cheltenham
The theme of community has always had a central and prominent place in social theory. A number of connected problems are at the heart of social theory. These related problems are often thought of as variations of the key problems of the relationship between ‘the community’ and ‘the individual’. (Browning et al., 2000) Communitarianism is a philosophy that emphasizes the connection between the individual and the community. While the “community “may be a family unit, it is usually understood in the wider sense of interactions between the community of people in a geographical location, or who have a shared history or interest. (Wiki, 2014) Thus, this philosophy, in this period, has been said to be prominent in a number of distinctive and time-specific ways. Community is just the whole range of that sort of group or institution-not the individual, not the family, not the state, not the market, but all the ones in between: churches, neighbourhoods, schools, clubs, kinship networks, associations etc. The concept of community refers to both a particular class of social entities, and to a particular range of social relations. (Browning et al., 2000) Some characteristics of this philosophy includes the fact that it is related to older theories of community such as Marxism, pragmatism, romanticism, ethical socialism, and strands of theology from the Jewish, Christian and other religious traditions. Secondly, a number of government-sponsored social policies have brought the term ‘community’ to a new prominence in political and social discourses- policies such as community care, community policing and community regeneration. These programmes during the 1980s were introduced by right-wing governments who attempted to yoke them together with ...
...Henslin, James M. "Social Structure and Social Interaction." Essentials of Sociology: A down to Earth Approach. 10th Ed. 10th ed. Pearson, 2013. 112. Print.