SOCI midterm 1: Introduction
Social Construction of Reality
(Berger and Luckmann, 1966) Two key ideas: 1. People categorize/classify experience, then act on the basis of those categories/classifications. 2. The social origins of categories/classifications get forgotten, and people come to see them as natural and unchangeable Examples 1. Friday / Saturday night - times to party, to have fun, to chill / to .... 2. To do otherwise on Friday / Saturday night - deviant, difficult, unorthodox, abnormal [Storyline - Neil's 1st dates with B. H.] 1. For breakfast you eat - cereal, toast, eggs 2. In foreign countries, these breakfast foods are often not available - learn to eat different [Storyline - Neil in South Korea] Key ideas: 1. *Categorize/classify experience* (typical Friday night or breakfast foods), then *define normal* on the *basis of that experience.* 2. *Origins* of categories/classifications get *forgotten*, and people have *trouble doing different* (on Friday night, or in eating breakfast)
A. Dominant western "way of seeing"
*Christian* theology: o Human *uniqueness due to our soul* o *Biblical assertion of right* to *dominate other animals* (genesis) Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) - an early sociologist "man is not merely an animal with certain additional qualities: he is something else" - man is beyond an animal because of social interaction with the environment whereas animals only have physical interaction with the environment
Why human exceptionalism
*Convenient myth or rationalization* for our *Domination of nature* >allows us to dominate nature *without* having to *question it*
Key ideas of discovery
*Discoverers create*, they *do not simply render reality* to others >*Observations* must be *made to fit into an existing way of seeing*, >OR a *new way of seeing must be created* >(*reformed* way of seeing versus *revolutionary new view*; latter much rarer) • Furthermore, discovery *requires* that *others must recognize* and *endorse a new reality*
Summary Idea of human exceptionalism
*Humans invent or construct idea systems* (myths) that are *convenient* -As a species (human exceptionalism; as a western idea system) -How about other groups that have constructed idea systems supporting their self-interest? -men, Nazis, wall street bankers, street gangs
HUMAN/NON-HUMAN DISTINCTION III
*Most distinctive* features of humans: I.Ability to *build on past achievements* by *passing* them across *generations* - steady, adaptive change accumulating over time [*change beyond natural selection*] II. Capacity to *create or socially construct norms*, values, beliefs, rules - e.g., democracy, money, marriage, religion (*Durkheim's collective consciousness*)
ANGLO-EUROPEAN VIEW OF RACE
*Races defined* as groups of people assumed to have: 1. Common *physical traits* (e.g., skin colour) 2. Fall into *distinct*, sharply *bounded groups* 3. *Inherit racial statuses* 4. Share *behavioural characteristics* imputed* to *physical traits* 5. Are *naturally ranked hierarchically*
the importance of language; sapir-whorf
- Language *shapes how we understand and think* about the world around us - languages *differ in sounds and sequences*, and they *differ as ways of looking at the world* Language's influence: >does *not determine what* we think; >it *mediates* what we think by *influencing what we see and focus on* "observers are *not led by the same physical evidence* to the *same picture* of the universe, unless their *linguistic backgrounds are similar*, or can in some way be calibrated." (Language, Thought, and Reality pp. 212-214). SAPIR-WHORF HYPOTHESIS - EXAMPLE - Each language fosters a particular way of making sense of the world, thereby creating a diversity of worldviews. - Language *used to organize / classify our experience* - We *selectively organize / classify* - Different languages lead to different ways of thinking about and classifying reality. >different languages pay attention to different things >e.g., problems of translation - When learning a language, we learn a certain way of perceiving and understanding the world Members of a language community have strong affinities because of this common way of seeing the world *We think with words created by others*
The myth of human exceptionalism
- Myths are *"ways of seeing", frameworks* or structures for *understanding* >Think of a myth as a *'package of ideas / representations'*, I am thinking of myths as stories we tell ourselves - The myth of human exceptionalism allows humans to dominate nature without having to worry about or question whether this is right and proper - *Myths provide taken-for-granted world views*
Idea of human exceptionalism
-*Radical difference* between humans and non-humans -This idea has been *ubiquitous - present - in western thought* (homo sapiens are distinctive)
Where does your language come from?
->*Genetic*: fully *formed in our brain*; as we grow we simply *'turn on' various neural networks* - vocabulary circuits, grammar circuits, etc [language as *hard-wired in us*] ->Societal: fully *formed in society*, as we *grow we absorb language rules and resources* from family / others (e.g., grammar and vocabulary) [language as *deposited in us*]
Scientific racism
-Following the thread of evolutionary theory, a popular argument of the 1800s was that *different races* of people were at *different stages of evolution* -Further, these *stages* could be *ranked along a hierarchy of inferiority / superiority* •*Eugenics Movement* (late 19th-early 20th century) >*Science* used to try to *prove racial differences*, particularly between black/white -*Essentialist and hierarchical* views of race -*Biological reductionism* (theory stating all social phenomenom have a biological explanation) >*Justified European* imperialism
Summary points of ways of seeing
-human exceptionalism: *way of seeing" that supports domination of nature* -science: "way of seeing" that *has important consequences for how we organize society* -science as a "way of seeing" generates new *problems as well as solutions*
Human exceptionalism reconsidered
-perhaps not voting, but the right to dignity; to humane treatment -*fueled a social movement around animal welfare* (rejection of human exceptionalism) examples of how we dominate other animals? - domestication, test subjects, eating, zoos, examples of how *animal welfare has changed* how humans do things? - *veganism, reducing animal testing, sanctuaries, rules and regulations on domesticating animals * o *social movements producing social change* What does a "human exceptionalism" world view *allow*? - provides *human a rationale*, *taken for granted framework*, *allowing* us to *dominate nature* for *our purposes* = domination of nature
SUMMARY of Humans as Social Animals
1. What makes humans *unique*? humans are *different in degree, not in kind* but institutions are formidable human creations (Durkheim) 2. *Human Exceptionalism myth* A way of seeing that allows us to *dominate nature* 3. *Classification systems* Are socially produced, not inevitable or natural 1. Did I agree or disagree with Emile Durkheim, one of the founders of sociology? >Agreed - Durkheim says humans are "something else" - institution creators (more to follow in discussion group) 2. What is a thumbnail answer to the question, "What does human exceptionalism allow?" The domination of nature
Foundations of Exceptionalism
A. *'Way of seeing'* -World *view of humans as superior*, indeed as *exceptional/ as distinctive* B-*Human 'genius'* • Sapiens - *wise, reasoning. thoughtful* Only *humans possess reason and rationality*
the risk of society: consequences
CONSEQUENCES: THE RISK SOCIETY Ulrich Beck (1944 - present; German Sociologist) The nature of risk has changed with the transition from *pre-industrial to industrial society* • From *natural* risk -> to *manufactured* risk • From *calculable* risk -> to *unknown* risk • From *localized* risk -> to *global* risk THE RISK SOCIETY Risk is now often *manufactured by our decisions, not by nature* • Consequences of this change: 1. Risks less temporally/spatially bounded 2. Risks potentially more catastrophic 3. We lack institutions and rules to identify new risks and to deal with disastrous outcomes (e.g., from last lecture à three parent babies) CONSEQUENCES OF THE RISK SOCIETY We seem now more fearful of risk and safety - What are examples of this? • Food security, water filtering/bottling, wearing masks We seem to question the role of science in society - Is it the cause of problems or the savior?
Columbus
Christopher Columbus • Said to have "discovered" North America àBUT he went to his grave believing he had "uncovered" a westward route to India • So how did Columbus come to be credited with discovering North America? -- all things 'Columbia' celebrate this (Columbia Pictures, District of Columbia, British Columbia, Columbia shuttle) 1) Why did he go west? - anticipation 2) How did he get resources? - support 3) What did he "uncover"? - naming 4) How did community react? - recognition 1) Anticipation: • Europeans wanted a western route to India o (riches & splendor: spices, silk, jade, resins) • "sail west to reach the east" - but underestimated actual distance 2) Support: • initially many doubters that one could sail to the "Orient" (risky and dangerous); Columbus spent years seeking support; (i.e., others sharing his 'way of seeing') • threat of another European country finding western route prompted Queen Isabella to fund Columbus's "Enterprise of the Indies" (financial support) 3) Naming • we know the Caribbean also as the "West Indies" because Columbus thought he had discovered the water route to India • we often call Indigenous peoples in North America Indians, because of the power of the Columbus myth >also, as a footnote, Columbus didn't have a word for "discovery"; this concept had yet to be invented (socially constructed); See Wooten, The Invention of Science •the power of European naming dominates the globe >notice too the power of drawing lines on maps to create borders - often why straight line borders occur rather than natural borders • the power of the English language in the naming of places and peoples is also dominant [but ... Bombay à Mumbai; Madras à Chennai; Peking à Beijing] -- English naming still dominates 4) Recognition • Columbus managed to fit all the evidence into his pre-conceived notion of the "Orient" - e.g., Caribbean islands thought to be the islands of Japan (as the Behaim Globe showed) - e.g., Agave Americana confused with Aloe vera • Columbus died in 1506 convinced he had uncovered the westward route to Asia • in 1499 Amerigo Vespucci "discovered" South America, disproving Columbus's claim • but Vespucci's claim was resisted; it ran against Christian notion of earth as uniform & known
Africa and colonization - European quest for resources/riches
DISCOVERY OR COLONIZATION? The *'age of discovery' as a period of colonization* ->There are *different ways of viewing* and *interpreting historical events* WHY DID COLUMBUS SET SAIL? -Adventure / Exploration / Discovery frequent depictions of exploration as "age of discovery," *heroism of adventure*, *'rugged individualism' in action, highly valued* activity -Wealth / Riches / Fortune I. increasing economic competition among European states II. land route to Asia blocked by Muslim states COLONIZATION AND EMPIRE • Processes of *nation-building* • Processes of *'Othering'* > Natives seen as *culturally and racially inferior 'savages'* > *Inequalities* (differences) *legitimated* between *colonizers and colonized* SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA an 'empty' continent, virgin land and uncharted territory >Resources - wood, diamonds, minerals, ivory >Possessed people who could be enslaved Remember: oldest inhabited territory on earth, origin of human species THE IMPACT OF SLAVERY ON RACE New World economically dependent on African slaves >The *concept of race* came to *embody the social relationship* between Europeans and slaves
what is society
Defined by *space* - borders, land, region, territory Defined by *time* - heritage, history, permanence Defined by *organization* - associations, governance, institutions Defined by *shared identity* - ways of seeing, language, norms, values
Social Process of discovery
Discovery is a social process. Involves the following phases: 1) *anticipation & planning* 2) *soliciting support/funding* 3) *naming and defining* 4) *community / institutional recognition*
HUMAN/NON-HUMAN DISTINCTION I
Is the human mind distinctive? • *Six criteria* sometimes used to *examine distinctiveness* of humans: 1. *Name* objects and *use* tools 2. Possess a *moral compass* (e.g., fairness) 3. *Distinctive* ways of *doing* things that are *passed down* from *generation to generation* 4. Express *emotions* (e.g., compassion, pleasure/pain) 5. *Recognize others* and recognize they too *have purposes / desires* 6. *Complex language* use, using grammar / narrative stories / poems Only *humans have all* these attributes, but each of these attributes is found in *some non-human animals*
Social production and reproduction
Language as structure (intentionally first) <----> speech as action/interaction -language bears(supports) much more heavily on speech *Structure is not self reproducing* time is integral (necessary) since this is a process SOCIETY • *Society, like language, exists on a collective, abstract level* o you cannot directly see it; but you feel its power/influence • In social interaction people use the rules and resources of society in a manner analogous to using language A KEY SOCIOLOGICAL PRINCIPLE • Human groups are more than collections of human beings (contrary to Thatcher) o e.g., human groups have language, social rules, conventions, norms, etc. • *You cannot have society without individuals.* • So, how do we understand the relationship between individuals and society? SOCIAL PRODUCTION AND REPRODUCTION *Society <---> individual* (same concept as lang. and structure)
Example of Reena Virk
MURDER OF REENA VIRK • November 14th, 1997 - Victoria, BC • Reena Virk (14-year-old South Asian girl) was swarmed by a group of seven girls and one boy (aged 14-16); repeatedly punched, kicked, and burned with cigarettes. • Reena managed to walk away, but Kelly Ellard and Warren Glowatski followed her, then viciously beat and drowned her. Why did this happen? >The portrayal of difference and the importance of labelling •Reena Virk was portrayed as someone who failed to 'fit in' o "caught between two cultures" • Bullied and tormented because of her: o Colour, Weight, Facial hair •When they say she did not "fit in", what did she not "fit in" to? o white, middle-class, feminine norms o These *norms are socially constructed* >These norms change over time!
the sociological imagination
Main ideas: 1. An individual's *personal troubles and the public issues* of a society can be linked through the "sociological imagination". 2. Mills suggests that *individuals can only understand their own experiences fully* if they *locate themselves within their period of history.* Main ideas said differently: >Social life demands public competence - that is, we all must have an ability to understand social things competently (social things like using money, texting others, buying clothes, standing in line, not being racist/sexist/ageist) - We learn this competence like we learn language (suddenly kids start talking without benefit of grammar lessons, etc.)
personal troubles and public issues
Mills makes the distinction between a. personal troubles: individual problems; a *public issue felt at a personal level* b. public issues: *social problems*; something that *affects many people* (even if rarely spoken about - incest)
Intersection of Biography and History
Mills writes that "neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both" (p. 3). o Why is it important to understand history? >*Individuals create history and are created by history* oHow does this happen?
science and sociology
SCIENCE AND SOCIOLOGY • Sociologists see *science as a cultural construct*, or model, with its *own values and assumptions* • This is not an attack on science (but notice that to question science is seen by some as attacking) • Sociology seeks to investigate positive, negative, known, and unanticipated social consequences of science as a "way of seeing" (and the same for education or social movements or democracy)
science as method and myth
SCIENCE AS METHOD • Science *produces knowledge through a series of procedures*: - *Observation* of the world (based on evidence from our senses) - *Creation* of generalizations about the world - *Verification* of the generalizations we create SCIENCE AS MYTH • Scientific knowledge is the *preeminent* form of knowledge western people use to *interpret the world and guide our actions* • Science guides our inexorable quest for knowing more and more about the laws of nature - so as to better control it
Durkheims findings on suicide
SUICIDE Suicide is an *individual act and decision* BUT, rates of suicide differ across countries. >Why? o If rates of suicide vary by society, then something about the *organization of society may be a key factor* 1: SOCIAL INTEGRATION Which of the following groups did Durkheim argue were least integrated? o Protestants, Catholics, women, men, single, married, rich, poor, low education, high education • The groups in red have higher levels of suicide because they are less integrated into society. o Protestants, men, single, rich, high education >*Social structure (such as how integrated you are in society) influences individual behavior (e.g. suicide)* 2: SOCIAL REGULATION •*Regulation also predicts suicide* o When individuals are *overly regulated by society (they have no free will)*, suicide rates are *high* o When individuals are totally *without regulation (there are no rules, values, or norms to shape behaviour)*, suicide is *high* MAIN ARGUMENT *Individuals shape society*, but *society (and how it is structured) also shapes individuals.* >Analogy: *people make language, but language also shapes people's speech* (& thoughts)
Summary points of Language and Society
SUMMARY POINTS Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis o Language mediates thinking and structures "ways of seeing" *Society, like language, is developed through interaction and changes over time.* Durkheim's findings on suicide illustrate how social structure influences individual behavior à Society shapes people as they shape society
how do the individual and society interact?
Sociology and the workings of society *Saussure's theory of linguistics*: •language (langue) •speech (parole) *Individual level: speech* *collective level: language* Language and Speech, in parlance of sociology - thinking about language in the sense of words and rules -*speech as action and interaction* (ppl communicating orally) -*language as structure* (words,symbols - resources, grammar - rules) Saussure says written language exists for the purpose of spoken language (speech contributes to language)
Summary ideas of Colonization and Power
Summary Ideas Naming -labels are *not innocent identifiers, appearing out of 'nowhere'; nor are they inherent in objects, places, or people -labels are *tied to social processes* and the *power relations embedded in those processes* -*European conceptions/constructions* of the continent of *Africa* and its people, and *processes of mapmaking* are *framed and legitimated* by Eurocentric and Nordicentric idea systems -*Convenient myths that make the lives of some comfortable at the expense of others*
Summary of Sticks and Stones
Summary Ideas: • Much of *'reality' is socially constructed* • As *social actors*, we *engage in* processes of *categorizing/classifying* (lumping & splitting) • Practices of labelling in this way can have *negative consequences, even if the labels are not "real" and are socially constructed* --> e.g. facilitating violence against "others"
the rise of science the authority of science
THE RISE OF SCIENCE • An *instrument of modern society* that *responds* practically to the *demands and needs of humans* • Science is an *authoritative world institution* • It is so central in modern society that we *take it for granted* THE AUTHORITY OF SCIENCE • Science as an ontology (way of existing/being) - a world view guiding rational action • Science as a cultural frame - a model of authoritative knowledge • Science as institutionalized - ideas deeply embedded in major institutions • Science as global - transnational organizations and networks
Race as a Scientific Artifact
Two *key assumptions*: • *Race captured* a *clear, objective, naturally occurring* *set of biological distinctions* between peoples • Biological races were *distinctive in levels of intelligence*, *cultural success*, and *morality* • Race as *Phenotype* (physical appearance) — *skin* colour — *facial* type — *cranial* profile and size — texture* and colour of *hair* • Race as *Genotype* (genetic boundaries) — genetic coding / hard wiring but ... — *no clear demarcation between 'racial' categories*
positive and negative consequences of the rise of science
WHAT ARE THE POSITIVE CONSEQUENCES OF THE RISE OF SCIENCE? • Longer, safer lives - *Health research*, sanitation, running water, disease prevention, fewer accidents (per capita) • Increased ability to *explore*, to connect - Outer space, molecular science, global communications ARE THERE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF THE RISE OF SCIENCE? i) kinds of *products we make* e.g.'s: weapons of mass destruction, chemical toxins ii) *colonization of other spheres of life* e.g., reach of *scientific reasoning to everything* (how to ...) iii) eclipse of other ways of knowing e.g., intuition, emotion, spirituality all downplayed
Whiteness
WHITENESS • *Historically constructed* (relating back to process of myth making for justification) • *Takes meaning* only in *relation* to other *racial categories* • The *norm* to which other *groups try to assimilate* • Conveys *invisible privileges* • Part of *"interlocking oppressions"* WHITE PRIVILEGE "An invisible package of unearned assets that I [white person] can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was 'meant' to remain oblivious." --Peggy MacIntosh, "White Privilege: Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack"
HUMAN/NON-HUMAN DISTINCTION II
What *standard of evidence* is required to make a definitive statement on distinctiveness? -*Proof beyond reasonable doubt* - the criminal court test. -Preponderance of *evidence* - the civil court test. -Test II is a *weaker standard*; some *similarity is found* between humans and non-human animals
Discovery
What defines a 'discovery?' I D E A S ?? •Simple view o *Novel observation* Unearth something previously unknown •More sophisticated version: o Process of *uncovering & recognizing* o Observation novel or new, appreciated as such in the context of one's culture / society o Collective appreciation of novel / new Message: *discovery is not as simple as being the first to observe something* (i.e., novel observation) If it were, Professor Jaworski would have won the Nobel prize for the ulcer (!) *Nobel prize, 1st award in 1901 (Jaworski still alive then)
REIFICATION
What is considered *"normal" is socially constructed*, but through a *process of institutionalization* these *ideas become a reality* •How do ideals of beauty, masculinity, etc. get reified and institutionalized? >Thomas Principle in action • Reena Virk did not fit into the right patterns and categories, patterns and categories that are socially constructed (they could have been constructed in a different way) • Even though the *labels are constructed, the consequences of these labels are very real* • *Illustrates power of socially constructing our reality* (Thomas Principle).
Durkheims distinction
animals *act how they want to act* but humans have *outside influences* -societal force is very strong -humans have *language* which *allows us to communicate ideas* >the reason why a lot of *societal institutions are created*
Similarities and differences between life forms
o *Advanced communication* o *Abstract thinking*, reasoning, ethics o *Social learning* and intergenerational transmission o *Advanced tool use* and manufacture o Humans *barter/trade* - apes & dandelions do not
Racial Superiority: Comparative anatomy
phrenology & craniometry -19th century *claiming* that the *shape and size* of the skull *determines intelligence, criminality, personality* >Samuel George Morton (1799-1851) ranked 623 skulls to prove European superiority
THOMAS PRINCIPLE
• *"If [people] define situations as real, then they are real in their consequences"* (Thomas and Thomas, 1928: 52) • What does this mean? • How can our definition of reality be more important than the real "reality"? DAYS OF THE WEEK: SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONS • Is there any link between our western days of the week and natural phenomena? Ideas??? o 24 hour day and the earth's rotation around sun - But that is a day, not days of the week o No reason to have seven days, or to have Saturday and Sunday as weekend days
Key points of human attributes
• *Blurred lines* separate chimps and humans • Not a *difference* of *kind*, but of *degree* • 'human exceptionalism' as *convenient myth*
Summary points of Discovery/ Exploration
• *Discovery is a social process*, involving the phases of *anticipation, support, naming, and recognition.* • Discovery *must fit into an accepted way of seeing*, as was the case with Columbus. - What *people define as real, is real in its consequence* • e.g., indigenous peoples of North America as "Indians" - Was it 'Discovery' or Colonization/Imperialism? the means by which Europeans exercised the power to discover, to name, to create a worldview and a reality
Rise of science linked to human exceptionalism
• Common origins of Science & Human Exceptionalism: - Humans as *rational organisms* >Quest to know about nature >then understand nature >then control nature >then manipulate nature -> Rise of science as a method and a 'way of seeing' or a mythic system
Racial Superiority
• European sense of self as *'normal' & 'beautiful'* • Africans as *"other" - primitive, savage* • African *body as a curiosity* to Europeans o halfway between apes / humans o abnormal bodily features The Hottentot Venus: Saartjie (Sarah) Baartman (1789-1815) -"Hottentot" was the name given this group by Dutch South Africans -She was 'persuaded' to travel to England in 1810 -Saartjie & other Hottentot women were displayed throughout Europe -Sideshow *curiosities exhibited*, as part of the *Enlightenment, to educate the public* -Appeared in a cage alongside an animal trainer -Saartjie's "large" buttocks was much remarked upon (visitors permitted to touch for an extra fee) ->*Comparative anatomy stressed differences* ->*popularized idea* of *essential physical differences* between races (black and white) ->*physical differences* seen as *evidence of differences* in *intellect, culture, and morality*
NATIVE VIEWS ON EUROPEAN DISCOVERY
• Europeans seen as great chiefs, shamans, "descendants of the Sun," reincarnated ancestors, spirits disguised in human form (possessing powerful material goods) • later the greed, violence and sexual avarice of the Europeans convinced natives they were unscrupulous mortals • Also a certain bemusement: o why travel so far for resources? o why couldn't they survive the harsh winters? o why did they prefer 'used' beaver pelts? • Both the Europeans and the Natives had "ways of seeing" • In their contact with Natives, Europeans demonstrated their ability to create the reality of discovery • The European worldview of discovery, exploration, etc. is the one that has been privileged, cemented in history
B. Human 'genius'
• Humans *constrained by biological and physical laws*, but we have the *ability and (purpose and agency)* to *understand* those laws and *transform the environment* • Other *animals* use *trial and error*, but *advanced experimentation* is solely *human* • Other animals communicate via *distinctive sounds and gestures*, whereas humans *create and manipulate language* • Humans *pass abstract ideas* from *generation to generation*
Discovery or Colonization
• In recent decades the *'age of discovery'* has been seen more as a *'period of colonization'* - two different ways of seeing ENSLAVING OF COLONIAL PEOPLES • In the West Indies Columbus could not find the riches of the "Orient"; no gold, no spices, no silk • He *turned instead to enslaving the people of the Caribbean* to work on sugar plantations • The importing of slaves from Africa to work these plantations followed • In Canada, it was the *exploitation of First Nations people* in harvesting fur EXPLORATION AND EMPIRE *Domination of Nations* • -- *slavery & race* relations • -- *global power*
THE ROLES OF MYTHS
• Myth-making is a *universal property of human societies* and plays a *vital role* in *every culture* including our own [e.g., creation myths] • Myths are "...comprehensive visions that *give shape and direction to life*". Myths are "*essential categories* that we all *take for granted*." • But myths typically *exaggerate one way of seeing, often a 'dominant perspective'*
Alternatives to human exceptionalism
• Oglala Sioux of the Great Plains (their myths) refer to nonhuman animals as nations or peoples (e.g. winged peoples, four-footed peoples) - this is a world view treating others more like humans, not something to be dominated ASIAN TRADITIONS: BUDDHISM • Humans are unique because only they can meditate, become enlightened, or become a Buddha. • Humans have *no special privileges over other forms of life*, because, through reincarnation, human beings were *once and could again be other forms of life.*
HUMAN/NON-HUMAN DISTINCTION IV
•As criteria to help us decide, we tend to use attributes and qualities similar to our own (i.e., human attributes) •Suggests a 'test' based on some level of similarity to us; a 'test' for sameness •What about diversity? Celebrating difference >Are there dimensions on which non-human animals surpass humans? (yes: flash memory) >Animals might also think in ways humans cannot decipher - processes utterly unlike what we can imagine
Summary of the sociological imagination
•Mills' refers to the sociological imagination as a "quality of mind" or a "way of thinking." (page 5) •this perspective enables people to comprehend their place within the context of history •But more, it also permits people to understand that they create history ("By the fact of his living he contributes, however minutely, to the shaping of this society and to the course of its history, even as he is made by society and by its historical push and shove" p.6). •*Personal troubles are very often actually problems created by the way the social world is structured or organized* - Being a woman under patriarchy - Being an aboriginal youth in Canada's north • What of 'personal triumphs'? Are these too not influenced by social structure? o being born to educated, successful parents - given inequality of wealth / income, which is a public issue o Meant as a modest critique of Mills •the sociological imagination *offers both a "terrible lesson" and a "magnificent one"* >terrible in that it makes us realize that *many powerful social forces affect our lives* >magnificent because it *provides us with knowledge we need to begin to reshape* these forces to enact a better world
Consequences of Social Construction
•Those *constructions* that come to stick and be institutionalized, *benefit some over others*: o Who benefits from these social constructions of "race", beauty, femininity? - Nita Naldi, Silent Film Star, 1920's - Cameron Diaz, 2000's
Ways of seeing/representing - maps
•maps are a *graphic representation of a certain world view* •they *reflect the knowledge* and *attitudes of a particular time/place* COLUMBUS AND MAPS 1. Maps of late 1400s underestimated distance to the far east 2. Maps led him to believe he had "uncovered" India (hence the West Indies) MAPS AND COLONIAL PROJECT Maps represent knowledge, they help legitimate the colonial project 1. *"Technology of Knowledge"* - maps imply an *objective truth about a place, a scientific form* 2. *"Technology of Possession"* - those *able to produce such knowledge* must also have the *right of territorial control* *Mapmaking is an exercise of power*
