The Moral Mind is an interesting Ted Talk that looks at groups, morality, how the mind works, and social and cultural layers of knowledge and understanding. Take a look at it. What do you think?
Now that you've got your critical thinking caps on... What do you think of what Sir Ken Robinson has to say about how school kills creativity and intelligence in his Ted talk?
If you are interested in the meanings of surnames try google or the Surname database. But remember, it may tell you the meaning, but not why we have them in the first place, and not the social meaning we attach to them (why we have them is a historical/sociological question)!
A nice starting point into the thought and debate around the limiting nature of "structure" and how we can overcome it through "agency" is in this wikipedia article. Please note: Wikipedia is only a good "starting point", it is not a credible academic source, (it is akin to electronic hearsay in my opinion) so be careful how you think about and cite a Wikipedia article (ask your prof)).
If you interested in the issues surrounding the social construction and the Sociology of Knowledge, check out What the Bleep Do We Know? I would rank the movie "What the Bleep do we Know" up there with "The Corporation" as far as getting at issues outside the realm of common knowledge, but with a much different subject. Another more traditional sociological approach to the construction of knowledge is "Manufacturing Consent" by Noam Chomsky – relatively old, but as important as ever, and well worth watching.
So you are interested in Agricultural Sociology, global food issues, worldwide trade, how the macro and micro levels interact? A starting place for some of the issues we have started to analyze in class can be seen at the Food First website. In the "publications" menu there are "development reports" that get into the coffee and bt cotton issues. In "backgrounders" there are some good starting points to think about myths involving hunger, GMOs, and sustainable agriculture. A particularly nice writeup to get you thinking is: Voices from the South: The Third World Debunks Corporate Myths on Genetically Engineered Crops.
"To maintain and transmit a value system, human beings are punched, bullied, sent to jail, and thrown in concentration camps, cajoled, bribed, made into heroes, encouraged to read newspapers, stood up against a a wall and shot, and sometimes even taught Sociology."
His obituary, in the Harvard crimson is [here]. A quick synopsis of his life and work uploaded by the Wiki people is [here].
Even after reading about social constructivism, structure and agency (above), and agriculture and food in countries all over the world, you might still wonder how your preferences might be shaped by the groups you are part of, and your interactions with those around you. Pierre Bourdieu wondered about this stuff too. The wiki people have a nice little article on him [here]. He was French. I'm sure he knew all about good wine.
Haiti has come up a lot in class. We have looked at things in a few different ways. The devastation and poverty is not just a result of the earthquake. And how does Canada fit in? One perspective is brought forward in the following book: Canada in Haiti: Waging War on the Poor Majority - Yves Engler and Anthony Fenton - Fernwood Press, 2005. There is a review by the SFU student newspaper - The Peak - originally posted on Sept. 12th, 2005. Required Reading: Canada in Haiti - "For a long time, I thought Canada's role in world politics was more or less benign. Although I was aware of the colonization of Indigenous nations and the genocide against Native peoples within what is now called Canada, I assumed that outside our borders, Canada had little influence." [article web link]
So now you might ask yourself... What do we owe Haiti? Richard Kim asks the same question [here].
Noam Chomsky brought up "The Tragedy of Haiti" in 1993, inside his book "Year 501: The Conquest Continues". Chomsky may be a bit dense to read, but he is worth the trouble.
earlier in class I noted that social experiments weren't done much anymore in sociology because of the ethical issues - but look what I found on you tube!! If not the universities, who has the ability to do social experiments now?
Here is a clip about Women Abusing Men in Public - what do you think about this - are you surprised? A bit of a look at people's reactions to racism in the Shopping While Black clip. A disturbing clip about the Bystander Effect - girl being abducted. A clearer look at the The Bystander Effect, which might indicate that it is in fact deeper than the "crowd mentality."
Even the famously controversial "Milgram Experiment" of the '60s has been redone in the UK: Milgram 2009 - part 1, Milgram 2009 - part 2, Milgram 2009 - part 3
As a student, if you take what these people are saying as true... what does it mean for you? What does it mean for the type of knowledge you must acquire in university and in life? What is your most important skill-set going to be when you graduate? Did You Know? 3.0. And what do you think of this guy's analysis? How about yours, if you are looking at it with sociological mindfulness?
(Dis)Empowering Images? Do you think that women are portrayed differently than men in sports, and does it matter? Here is what Dr Schell thinks.
One of my favourites. Ceci, n'est pas une pipe.
BBC tells us all about Scientists vision of five ways to save the world
Canada at the COP15 climate change summit.
DOW Chemical on cleaning up its mess in Bhopal...
Back to the main page [link]