Here, there, and back again

Sociology 4310: Reflective Essay

When first registering for this class, I was expecting that we would simply cover the history and ideals of various extremist groups because in a post-911 era, I wanted to have a better understanding of the various groups that the United States and the rest of the Western world are waging a “war” against. What I did not expect was that we would be looking at terrorism through the eyes of the terrorist, to essentially understand their reasoning for resorting to extremism. Suffice it to say, after taking this class, I have some sympathy for certain groups that are out there; they are merely defending themselves from what they perceive is a threat against them and after learning about the ordeals that these groups go through, I do not blame them for resorting to extremism, I do not condone their actions but I can understand why they do it.

It is important to note that while one may perceive a group as being terrorists, others may view them as freedom fighters. A historical example would be the Viet Cong, who waged a guerrilla war against the United States during the Vietnam War. While many people associated the Viet Cong with communist North Vietnam, they were in fact a communist political party founded in the democratic South Vietnam. The Viet Cong spoke out against what they viewed as American colonial interests and wished to unite Vietnam under a communist government. When war broke out, the Viet Cong went into hiding and became a guerrilla group operating out of North Vietnam. To the American-supported South Vietnamese government, this group was labelled as a rebel faction, which today would be considered terrorists, while others called them freedom fighters.

Perception is vital when looking at extremist groups. I had to re-evaluate my understanding of terrorism because I had developed the pre-conceived notion that all extremist groups were one in the same, which is far from the truth.  It is important to remember that each and every group has a unique history and that we must put aside our preconceived notions, and critique each group separately. We must keep in mind that the actions of a few do not reflect the majority as a whole. This is the issue that is going on in the United States where the Islamic faith is viewed as the religion of terrorists and where people of Middle Eastern descent face discrimination because it is believe they can “potentially” become terrorists. We must open ourselves to have previously learned knowledge debunked, and allow for new knowledge to flow in.

Some final thoughts…

Sociology 2311: Reflective Essay

Social justice is the idea of creating a society based on the principles of equality and solidarity, which is the basic definition of the term which anyone can look up in a dictionary, but do they understand what it is? Many of people including myself believe we all understand social justice but when asked to describe it, we are forced to pause and contemplate it. This is because we live in a society where injustice and inequality have become the norm and rarely do we notice it. However we often see individuals such as Ghandi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. bringing attention to inequality and it makes us wonder, can one single individual really have an impact on society to the extent that it promotes change? This course looks at social justice and how one can think globally while interacting locally or “glocally” as coined Dr. Charles Quist-Adade.

Living in Canada, a country that is at the forefront of equality and solidarity, we are blessed to be a part of a society that is accepting of a variety of cultures, ethinicities, and religions. However, even Canada has committed acts of social injustice, as is the case with our country’s First Nations communities. For a country that prides itself for promoting equality, this has me wondering why there is not more being done to resolve an issue that has been plaguing our nation since even before confederation, and the answer is simple, it has become a norm within our country. The government of Canada is so focused on promoting social justice globally that it fails to deal with the social injustice that is going on at home. If our government were to adopt a “glocal” approach and make resolving the social issues in the First Nations communities a priority, Canada’s influence in promoting equality across the globe will have greater impact.

I had the privilege to participate in building a solar powered lantern that will be given to children in Ghana who do not have access to electricity like we do here in Canada. Many communities in Ghana are off the nation’s electric grid and when it is night time they have no light. With these lanterns, they can charge them during the day and use them all night long if they need to; children will be able to do homework at their own pace without having to worry about losing daylight. During the four months of working on this project with my fellow group members, I came to appreciate all the little things that I took for granted such as lights and even electricity. Building the lanterns has humbled me in so many ways and I am grateful to have been able to make a small difference in the lives of people half-way across the world.  This project is an example of how one person such as myself can make a difference when it comes to social justice.

Social Justice in Local and Global Contexts

Social Justice in Local and Global Contexts

Chapter 4: The Sociology of Human Rights
and Social Justice.

Dr. Charles Quist Adade, PhD

Parphrastic Reading Method

Sociologists view people as being a product of their social environment. How we interact within this environment determines how we develop as individuals. For us to fully realize their potential, it is believed that we need to live in a society that guarantees all human rights and that everyone is equal. While society may claim to strive towards ensuring rights for everyone, there are many obstacles which prevent this from becoming reality. Structures of domination such as
inferred dominance where a group(s) possesses power over others, this has been ingrained into society by the ruling elite and limits equality for those with
less power. Since reality is socially constructed, the ruling elite have control over what is deemed socially acceptable.

Social Justice is the idea that a society or institution is based on the principles of equality and solidarity; that human rights are valued and understood. But even now there is an ongoing debate as to whether human rights can be universally applied due to conflicts with customs and traditions of individual cultures; do human rights take precedence over cultural practices? Who are the ones that enforce human rights? This debate stems from the conflict of ideologies between Western and non-Western societies.

Paraphrase

Social Justice cannot be achieved unless there is a united front in practicing it. This process will take time and will take even longer if the ruling elite are reluctant to assist in making changes.

Social Justice in Local and Global Contexts

Social Justice in Local and Global Contexts

Chapter 3: Social Justice and the Social Construction of inequality and Difference

Dr. Charles Quist- Adade, PhD

Paraphrastic Reading Method

Those in a position of power ever want to give it up, especially those with privilege who are given it. There are two types of privilege: unearned advantage and conferred dominance. An unearned advantage means that one enjoys a special status for being part of a dominant group with examples including those who are of royal descent and those who gain a substantial inheritance. Conferred dominance refers to one group possessing power over another. An example of this would be the perceived advantage that whites have over other races in the world; that they control the majority of positions of power in the world.

There is a debate as to whether the present social reality is static or that it could be changed. The essentialist perspective believes that reality is independent of our perception of it and what we see is indeed what we get due to human behaviour being seen as “natural” and predetermined by genetics. The opposing perspective is the constructionist and believes that there is nothing natural about the world, rather that social reality is constructed by individuals or groups to
reflect their interests.

Paraphrase

Inequality and difference are socially constructed as well as maintained and reinforced by the ruling elite in society. The groups stay in power because they are privileged, either unearned or through conferred dominance. Those who try to change the status quo are immediately crushed by the system; this is due to the inequality and difference being ingrained into society to the point of it being considered the norm.

Social Justice in Local and Global Contexts

Social Justice in Local and Global Contexts

Chapter 2: Social Reality Construction and Global Social Justice.

Dr. Charles Quist Adade, PhD

Paraphrastic Reading Method

The concept of Social Constructionism can be inferred that the world that we live in is socially constructed based on the knowledge that we possess and our position in it. An example of this would be objects such as a chair; it is called a chair because that is what we call it. If the reality we inhabit were to call it a table then it would be referred to as a table. Another example would be that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”; to a country being attacked by extremists those individuals would be called terrorists, but to those that the extremists represent, they are freedom fighters; how things are socially constructed is based on how a person views reality.

Alternatively, critical constructionism is the theoretical framework which states that social reality is a creation of the interests of the ruling elite. The elite have control over social construction at the expense of those with the least power. An example would be slavery and how it was a socially accepted norm for a white person to own a black slave; this went on for hundreds of years until it was abolishd by the ruling elite and from then on slavery was viewed as socially unacceptable. What becomes social acceptable has to be approved by the ruling elite.

Paraphrase

The ruling elite of the world are currently western nations such as the United States, Great Britain and France. These countries possess extensive social influence and use it in an attempt to influence smaller, weaker nations such as those in the Middle East. There are two opposing views for the war on terror: one is that terrorism is a threat to global peace and must be eliminated to create a better society, and the other is that attacks against western nations are being done by freedom fighters that are fighting for a Middle East that is free of western influence. Both views have validity because reality is constructed based on one’s position in the world.

Social Justice in Local and Global Contexts

Social Justice in Local and Global Contexts

Chapter 1: Key Concepts and Recurring Themes

Dr. Charles Quist-Adade, PhD.

Paraphrastic Reading Method

Social Justice is the idea that a society or institution is based on the principles of equality and solidarity; that human rights are valued and understood. In chapter one the reader is introduced to key concepts and recurring themes so as to better prepare them to think critically. One key concept is the notion of “debunking,” which is defined as looking at both the obvious and the less obvious explanations of social behaviour, in other words: “What you see is not what you always get.” An example of debunking would be seeing a homeless person on the street and immediately assuming that they are drug addicts. Through the use of debunking we can also realize that the person may actually hold a full time job but is forced to live on the streets due to the harsh economic times.

Human rights is going to be one of the most recurring themes because studying social justice means that we will frequently discuss this theme. It refers to the basic rights and freedoms that all people are entitled to regardless of their status such as nationality, gender, and sex. Human rights are considered to be universal, meaning that simply being human means that any person should have these rights wherever they may be.

People with different ideologies and beliefs each interpret the world in various ways and as Karl Marx stated: “The point, however is to change it.” The key concepts and recurring themes that we will learn will enable us to see beyond the surface level and carefully analyze both the obvious and less obvious and through the use of Praxis we can take the knowledge we have gained and apply it in the real world.

Paraphrase

Everything that we thought we knew about the world and social justice will be put to the test. By carefully re-evaluating our beliefs, we will come to see that “appearances are deceiving.”

The Sociological Imagination

“Now that you have learned about the concepts of the sociological imagination and the global sociological imagination, write a 300-word essay explaining how your life has been influenced or affected by other people, keeping in mind C. W. Mills’ observation that we are who we are thanks to the intersection of biography, history and social structure.” – Charles Quist-Adade

The sociological imagination, as was defined in last week’s class “is a capacity, an ability, a quality of mind that allows an individual to understand and connect her or his life with the forces and dynamics that impact it.” Who we are as individuals is due to our past experiences and the people that we interact with. I consider myself to be Vietnamese first and Canadian second, and while this may seem like an obvious statement, many people take for granted their ethnic origins. My parents, since I was old enough to speak have instilled in me the importance of “remembering my roots,” and how being born outside of my ethnic country makes it all the more important that I know and acknowledge where my family came from.

Being raised in a strict, conservative family meant that I was sheltered for most of my childhood and that resulted in me not developing the proper social skills that I believe was the cause of the years of bullying and very few friends. However, I had a strong support network in my extended family of cousins that helped me to gain confidence and develop strong social skills.

I always maintained an small interest in politics and social issues and that led to me first taking political science as a major but during my second year I took an introductory sociology course and immediately after that I fell in love with the subject and since then I have never looked back. My interest in racial issues and discrimination are influenced by my parents’ teachings of remembering my roots.

Reflecting back on my childhood and my experiences growing up as led me to realize how even the smallest forces and dynamics of my life can have a major influence in who I am later in life.