Coolest Concept #1

In Sociology, I have learned many new interesting concepts, theories and themes. However one that stood out to me recently is the concept of Functionalism. Functionalism is based on the idea that society shares the characteristics of a living organism-it’s made up of many different parts that all collectively work together to create equilibrium in the world. This made me think of how society really is built up on working together. For example everyone in society has a job, be that employment, parenting, etc. and each of these jobs is performed everyday by everybody with the goal of achieving a positive future.  Each task is interrelated for example farmers grow food which is prepared in restaurants which feed families who in return pay for these services and eventually the children grow up to supply for the next generation. Society is like a factory of well-oiled machine in my opinion and instead of functioning towards homeostasis, I believe it just works towards a continuing future trying to preserve itself. That is my take on this theory, however I found the original concept very interesting and thought-provoking despite my revision of it!

Issues in Social Justice: Religion and Homosexuality!

Recently I read through chapter one of Frank Tridico’s Issues in Social Justice textbook for sociology. It concerned religion and homosexuality, which is important because that is such a controversial issue that affects much of societies structure. Living in Canada, I at first found it difficult to put myself in the shoes of a nation that does not consent to gay-marriage. I also as an Atheist found it a bit difficult to pull back my beliefs and see the argument from the side of Christianity or other religions that believe homosexuality is a sin. After battling away my own ideals, I realized how much of a role history plays into this argument. The power of religion comes from it’s age and role throughout history and more importantly it’s consistency. I began to see just how difficult it would be to completely change the religious views of people who believe in the same religion that has been around for so long. This gave me some perspective and made me realize that acceptance of homosexuality is possible and currently moving in the right direction but it is a long process for a new religion can’t possibly spread over night. I also feel even more privileged to live in a nation that allows gay-marriage. Overall this chapter was very insightful for me and I am happy to have learned something.

On the Nacirema

Okay so this is my first post-intro post and the assignment was to respond to an article titled “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” by Horace Miner. The article is presented as an intriguing sociological account of the strange practices of a foreign tribe known as the Nacirema. Horace’s descriptions initially make you shudder and question the rituals he speaks of. Mostly because the descriptions of the tribe sound both extremely exotic and at the same time very familiar. In fact to me this contradiction was so noticeable that I thought the article sounded wrong and left me questioning its authenticity. For example the area’s it described that were native to the tribe were extremely vast, even though I admittedly did not know most of the areas mentioned. Also the rituals that I regarded as sounding familiar were explained in language that seemed to purposefully focus on making it sound irregular. I found it hard to read this article with an open-mind, it was if the language used was trying to force judgement and that seemed to contradict the very focus of sociology.

So I did some quick research and found what I expected to find. Ta-Daa this article was a hoax (and a good one at that) it basically was written as a spoof of other sociological articles describing the lifestyles of different peoples across the globe. Only the rituals described were all ones performed by many people across the planet including myself. The article intelligently described acts such as brushing one’s teeth, shaving, going to the doctors, or dentists and using the bathroom in ways that made these customs sound irregular and in some ways revolting. In the end the article made its point and gave me a good chuckle. Furthermore the article takes it one step further when you realize the Nacirema is actually American spelled backwards! Horace Miner is quite the genius.

Hello world! This is my Introduction!

My name is Nick Markovich and this blog is part of a project for Sociology class. I am required to do an introduction, so the semi-boring but mostly true facts about myself that I am willing to share are;

I am 18 years old, currently single, interested in females,(okay enough of that, this isn’t a dating site.) I live in Maple Ridge, work at Wendy’s, and attend Kwantlen Polytechnic University. I am in my first year of studies and plan on completing a double minor in English and Philosophy. After that I want to teach English abroad because it combines two things I love; making money and traveling the world.

Now onto the somewhat more interesting facts about myself. I am very awkward and I’m a little egotistical though strangely people generally seem to like me. I enjoy reading, drinking tea, good puns, puppies, the Vancouver Canucks and other normal things. I dislike pretentious people, sharp objects and spicy food because they all tend to hurt me in some way. I tend to be bad at introductions (see this post!) and even worse at goodbyes. Two strange qualities about myself are that I have been accused of having an addiction to the T.V. show Buffy the Vampire Slayer (don’t judge me, I’m re-living a childhood memory) and I have a knack for taking random courses I know nothing about.

If you haven’t guessed already that last one was my terrible segue into the required Sociology aspect of my bad attempt at an intro. I am still not quite sure that I even understand exactly what “the study of society” even means so my reasons for taking this class are well non-existent. Furthermore my background in Sociology is severely lacking (I’m sure you read that one between the lines.) however I am interested in learning new things and said to myself “what the heck” and that is why I am here! With that I conclude my introduction and therefore you now know everything about me…….sort of.