Sociology Final Reflective Essay

My Introduction to Sociology class helped me learn a lot about race and racism. One sociological concept that helped me to learn was bracketing. Bracketing means to let go of any previous ideas or assumptions that you had, even if it’s just temporarily, so that you are able to allow new concepts and truths to flow in. This helped me to be open to new ideas about what is race and how it came into existence. It also helped me to learn more about racism and to be challenged by the difficulties of race.

I’ve never been racist in my entire life. I grew up in a very multicultural family, which has been such a blessing because it has made me very open to different cultures and people from different races. When we started studying race and racism, I didn’t think that I would learn anything new, but I opened myself up to be challenged and to learn new ideas. Because I practiced bracketing, I was very surprised by what I learned in class.

One thing that I learned was that race is not genetic. Though I never thought that my race (Indian) was better than any other race, I did think that every race had to do with biology. I was surprised to learn that race is not genetic and, genetically speaking, I share a lot of commonalities with someone from Africa or Asia, races that I originally thought would be nothing like me.

Because of bracketing. I was also challenged in another way. Because I knew I wasn’t racist, I thought that I was completely free from any prejudice and, in fact, I thought that I was very accepting of other and I was stereotype free. While I do think that I am pretty tolerant, maybe more than the average person, sociology forced me to think seriously about the prejudices that I might have.

I decided to seriously ask myself these questions: “Are there certain people I don’t like?” “Are there certain people who I trust more than others?” “Are there certain races that I like more or less?” “Do I have positive or negative beliefs pertaining to different races?”

What I learned about asking myself these questions was that, while I may not be racist, I definitely have my own prejudices and stereotypes that pertain to certain races. I would definitely consider myself someone who loves most (if not all) people and there is not a single person that I hate, but I think that I tend to place people in categories and assign certain characteristics to those people. Realizing this has challenged me to try to do away with these stereotypes and prejudices and to try to see other people as individuals instead of categories or groups.

Bracketing is a concept that I will take with me beyond sociology. I’m really grateful that I learned this, not only because it helped me learn more about race and racism, but also because I think it will be an invaluable skill in the future. While I think it is important to hold on to your beliefs and ideas, it is also good to be able to put them aside for a short time so that you can explore other ideas and beliefs. This doesn’t mean that you become a person that lacks integrity or that you adopt ideas and then abandon them. I think this simply means being open to new options and ideas and not being so stuck in your ways that you aren’t willing to risk vulnerability and risk being wrong.

Social Justice Event

A couple of months ago, I planned a social justice event to raise awareness on human trafficking, which was held at the Wired Monk in Langley. This event was called “the Freedom Art show”. I organized artists to create art pieces on human trafficking and I had musicians come out and play. I also asked for donations for Deborah’s Gate, a safehouse for trafficking victims in the Lower Mainland. The “manager” of Deborah’s Gate came out and spoke that night, as well as a couple of other speakers.

I found out about human trafficking a couple of years ago through a friend and I had no idea that slavery still existed. Sure, I knew that there were some people that worked in sweatshops, but I didn’t think it was that bad. Through research, I found out that, since 2008, there have about 2.5 million slaves in the world and that number is increasing. Not only are these labour slaves, but these are sex slaves as well. Men, women and children. I’ve read countless stories of people who have been affected by human trafficking and their absolutely horrific experiences. Ever since I found out about modern day slavery, I knew that I wanted to raise awareness about it.

So many people are not aware of human trafficking and that’s why I wanted to do this event. I wanted to bring awareness to my generation because it is my generation that has the power to end modern day slavery. We have the power, the education, the creativity and the energy to bring hope to those who are in chains. I so long for my generation to rise up and speak up for those who are voiceless. That was why I did this event and hopefully I will be able to plan another one in the future.

The Nacirema Tribe (Affective Reading)

We were assigned to read an article about a tribe called “the Nacirema”. This tribe is described to have very unusual, magical practices that involve almost a hatred of the physical appearances of those within the tribe. The Nacirema are very religious and systematic. They subject themselves to various tortures, such as having their teeth drilled by the “holy-mouth men”, lacerating their faces & baking their heads. They do these things because they believe it will cure their illness’ and keep themselves pure and holy.

This reading is pretty disturbing and it also makes me sad. It’s disturbing that someone would force themselves and others to endure torture and to promote self-harm, especially to the degree that this tribe imposes. It makes me sad because nothing that they are doing is helping them.

Based on the reading alone, I think the Nacirema tribe seems pretty extreme. Though there are many tribes that believe in magic and do partake in body rituals, it seems unlikely that someone would allow themselves to undergo such torture, especially when it produces no results. On the other hand, within their culture it seems as if only a few people hold the power. For example, only the medicine men can administer drugs to the people and they look to their medicine men for all their answers. The people blindly place all their trust in these men and in turn these men can manipulate their lives for their own gain.

There are a lot of practices within the Nacirema tribe that I do not agree with. I do not agree with self-harm and subjecting yourself to torture. Nothing they did was for their benefit. I also do not believe in magic or charms. I don’t believe that magical potions can cure you or cause something to happen. I believe that exposure to those things is harmful, not only to yourself, but to those around you.

What I do know about this article is that the Nacirema tribe is not real. It’s in fact “American” spelled backwards and this article was written to criticize the American culture and how Americans view other cultures. I think that this article is well written and that most people would not even think that it’s a made up tribe. I think the author of this article draws interesting parallels to the American culture. Even as I was writing this essay, I would laugh because what I was writing about was presented as a criticism towards American culture.

I think this article brings up a very important truth: to understand others, we need to see the world through their eyes. We can’t look at other cultures through our own eyes. I can’t look at an African tribe through my Canadian eyes, nor can I look at any other culture or country with my own perspective. I think once we understand this then we will be able to understand each other better.

Michaela – In a Nutshell

My name is Michaela Putra & I am 21 years old. I’ve been working at a Christian bookstore for almost three years & I love it. I also do paid photo shoots on the side. My favourite colour is yellow & my hobbies include, but are not limited to, reading, hanging out with my family & friends & watching movies.

I have started my second semester of post-secondary school. I am currently taking sociology, two psychology courses & intermediate French. My goal is to have my bachelors in Sociology with a minor in Psychology, as well as to be fluent in French (& many other languages).

The reason I am taking sociology is because I am very passionate about social justice & the world around us. My hope is to be able to use what I learn in school to make a greater impact on our society for good. I hope to some day work with a charity and plan social programs for various communities around the world. I don’t want to change those communities, but rather, I want to help them thrive and be the best that they can be within their culture.

What I know of sociology is that it is the study of society. It is the study of how human beings interact with each other on a micro & macro scale. It is the study of how society is shaped & how it shapes us. Sociology is trying to understand why people behave they way they do in certain frameworks that they have essentially created for themselves. It is understanding not only the society that you live in, but also how societies around the world interact & affect each other.

This is me.