Symbolic Interactionism

I In Cathy Davidson’s essay “Project Classroom Makeover”, Davidson talks about how educational institutions can limit some people 's identity by standardizing and favoring certain subjects that society values. In Karen Ho’s essay “Biographies of hegemony”, Ho discusses how Wall Street affected recruitment in Ivy leagues and how they were able to influence students into believing that Wall Street is the only viable option. In Susan Faludi’s essay “The Naked Citadel” , Faludi describes The Citadel 's environment and how it affects the people that attend it. It is evident Institutions like the ones mentioned above can shape, or in the least influence, their attendees ' identities by imposing the surrounding society 's belief and influence onto them. This influence however can be a byproduct of what those institutions are trying to achieve, it can also be intended to maintain hierarchy.

The tile of the article that I have chosen is “Courageous or spineless? Our actions -- or inactions -- decide for us”. This article is written by Leonard Pitts, Jr. Leonard Garvey Pitts, Jr. (born October 11, 1957) is an American commentator, journalist and novelist. He is a nationally-syndicated columnist and winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. He was originally hired by the Miami Herald to critique music, but within a few years he received his own column in which he dealt extensively with race, politics, and culture.

Gary Leon Ridgway began killing women in 1982 and was caught in 2001. He was convicted of killing at least 48 women in Washington state. He was born on February 18th 1949, in Salt Lake City Utah. He held a job painting trucks for 30 years. He was married three different times. Gary was raised near seattle’s pacific highway, a deprived neighborhood near seatac airport, Ridgway was a poor student and was sent to vietnam after high school. When he returned, he was fanatical about religion, Ridgway was also a frequent customer of prostitutes. He was convicted when the DNA test revealed a match.

Symbolic interactionism is placing a meaning on an object and behave based of that meaning which might not be necessarily true. This theory is present within the novel because the Hmong ascribe a stigma to doctors and by doing so this causes them to interact with them differently. Another example of symbolic theory within the novel is the placenta that the Hmong symbolize. The placenta is symbolize as the passage for the soul and they were upset with the Western medicine for not being able to keep the placenta after child birth, however Dr. Fife did allow this which caused more interactions with Hmong for Dr. Fife. Also, even though doctors warn against the handling of the placenta because it may transfer disease, they ignore it because of the symbolic importance it have to them. So, the symbolic meaning of the placenta overrides the actual fact of health

The Symbolic Interactionism Theory focuses on the relationships among individuals within a society as well as the meaning given to objects through day-to-day interactions. Symbols and the terminology given to the current social problem contributes

Pleasantville is a movie about two siblings who find their true colors with the help of others. David and Jennifer fight all the time, and when they fought over the TV remote it broke. Out of nowhere a TV repairman gives them a special remote, allowing them to be teleported into David’s favorite show Pleasantville. Pleasantville takes place in the 50s and is a black and white program. There everyone is happy, life is simple, and there are no conflicts. David and Jennifer become Bud and Mary Sue in the sitcom, and their parents and friends become the other characters in the show. Bud tries his best to make sure the show goes as it normally would, but Mary Sue has other plans. She shows the other teens different ways to show affection for each

The subtle but accepted social norms can be categorised neatly into two categories; folkways and mores. While both of these are informal social rules; folkways carry almost no punishment, although, mores are rules that when broken reap heavy consequences. The study of social norms is best done under the symbolic interactionalism lens. Symbolic interactionalism allows us to look at society on a micro level, meaning, we are able to focus on individuals, particularly, emphasizing verbal and physical gestures and how we interpret them.

The purpose of symbolism in literature is to represent the turmoil and struggles of the characters which cannot directly conveyed. Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel Speak relies on these as a subtle method of characterization and a way of expressing the themes of the novel. These symbols in the story are plentiful and make parallels to Melinda’s feelings, fears, and character development, such as mirrors, the settings of the closet and art room, and trees.

Graffiti isn’t just some type of vandalism to private property in others eyes it can be considered as art.

Symbolic interactionist perspective is the way you view yourself, and think of yourself when interacting or how you act towards other people using symbols. People use different symbols and gesture to interpret their feelings, language, culture, or point of view (Newman 41) . Depending on how you view the symbol effects the outcome of the interaction. The symbols can be anything from colors, clothing, flag, profession, food, hand gestures, actions, or anything that represents you. Whenever you are communicating with other people this represent the views you were taught showing symbolic interactionist. Conflict perspective is when there is conflict due to inequality based on power, class status, or resources. The more power you have the more

During this school year, the question “Does society shape the individual or do the individual shape their society?” was explored in our reading. In book that we and I had read like Romeo & Juliet, Night, and My Life Next Door there has been times that society has altered their life or have they altered the way society is viewed.

The Pulitzer-winning story of Ron Suskind about Cedric Jennings, a son of the drug dealer and the Agriculture Department worker, has been a source of inspiration for many students who struggle to change their lives by getting prestigious education. Cedric has lived in Southeast Washington, and the school he has attended (Ballou High School) consists mostly of black teens connected with gangs and drugs: the circumstances are not friendly for an aspiring learner. Cedric Jennings has made his educational and career path successful due to the social capital he has received in his family; structural and expressive racism have influenced his character and led him to his

This essay will describe Phillip Zimbardo’s conforming to social roles experiment and its contribution to our understanding of human behavior. It will start by talking about how the experiment started and how Phillip Zimbardo chose who became prisoner and who became prison guard it will then go on to discuss how the social roles started and began to change the students morals and ethics when the prisoner was stripped away from their identity and completely controlled and how power took control of the situation it will then lead on to the understanding of human behavior and how this changed the experiment that was supposed to last two weeks end just after six intense days. It will then end with the conclusion as a result of the experiment psychologists

The battle over power can range between social class, race, sexuality, even monumental corporations causing the society to divide into groups against each other. Opposed to conflict theory, symbolic interactionism is composed of people who are focused on individuality and personal pathways.

The sociology of education is the study of how public institutions and individual experiences affect education and its outcomes. It is most concerned with the public schooling systems of modern industrial societies which including the expansion of higher, further, adult, and continuing education. Education has often been seen as a fundamentally optimistic human endeavour characterised by aspirations for progress and betterment. It is understood by many to be a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality and acquiring wealth and social status. In Malaysia context, Malaysian education system revolves around the National Education Philosophy where it aims to produce a loyal and united Malaysian nation, produce faithful, well-mannered, knowledgeable, competent and prosperous individuals, produces the nation’s human resource for development needs and to provide educational opportunities for all Malaysians.