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Sociology theorists and their theories
Sociology theorists and their theories
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Seeing and making culture: representing the poor by Bell Hooks, is a hard look at the way the higher class and lower class see the poor. The essay was written by the way Hooks seen how the higher class had prejudices towards the lower class. Gloria Watkins, or Bell Hook as she is known in her writings is a prominent colored scholar her topics range from race to gender and even some politics. Her child hood helped her to write the essay, seeing and making culture: representing the poor. As a child of disadvantaged background, her father worked for the local post office as a janitor in a small Kentucky town.
When students are unaware of the history of social class, they begin to believe false information, such as, poor people deserve to be poor. Loewen does a great job of pointing out student’s misunderstanding of social status and strongly believes that it is the high school text books to
A child’s well-being plays a major role in political debates and decisions. Whether the debate is about a child’s mental health, their social class, or the effects of their parents, politicians are constantly striving to improve the lives of the future generations. In Mical Raz’s book, What’s Wrong with the Poor? Psychiatry, Race, and the War on Poverty, she argues that maternal deprivation, sensory deprivation, and cultural deprivation shaped public policy. Ultimately, Raz believes that interpretations of race and social class influenced the different types of deprivation.
William Hazlitt composed his passaged, “On the Want of Money” to express that “one cannot get on well in the world without money”. Although many believe money is not necessary to be happy Hazlitt provides his audience with a substantial argument that money is needed to live happily. Within Hazlitt’s sharp excerpt, he uses several different rhetorical strategies to strengthen his argument and express his views on the importance of money. Money in fact, is very important to each person since in today’s world, money is used for everything. The problem is occurring is it is almost impossible to not desire or need money in our society.
Approximately 48,472,800 Americans live in poverty: 15.2% of the population. Poverty is clearly an ongoing issue in today’s society. Many people today look down upon, and think badly of, those who are impoverished. Intolerance of poverty is an attitude held by most characters in “The Jacket”. These attitudes reflect the current intolerance towards poverty and persist throughout the story.
In his story, “A&P”, John Updike shows that sometimes people unhappy with their opportunities judge people based upon their social class causing bad decisions and later disappointment. Updike utilizes symbolism, irony, and characterization to display the impact of a person’s social class on society. The different social classes of people create a barrier between them leading to the desperation of trying to fit on a different level. Social status is the way a person lives their life and the lifestyle they
The Politics of the Hoodie Why do we judge a black man? Is it because they might live in a house that we wouldn’t give a second look? Or because they can’t afford the nicer things that they’d like to have? How is it their fault the for society treating them bad because sometimes they have to do bad things, things that are unthinkable to us as middle-class, just to put food on the table for one more night so their children don’t starve?
In the article, “The War on Stupid People”, Freedman depicted the emphasis the society has placed on determining or facilitating human capacity has failed the less intelligent people. Freedman detailed his argument by providing evidence on how intelligence played a huge role in employment opportunities and academic performance. Moreover, he illustrated the issue of the economically disadvantaged/less intelligent, the current approach is flawed in the favoring the intelligent. He asserted with the evolution of the view of intelligence to the point as becoming a detrimental measure for human worth. He developed his main message by first established a neutral tone by providing statistical evidence of what a significant role intelligence has played,
According to the PBS Frontline video “Poor Kids” 2012, more than 46 million Americans are living beneath the poverty line. The United States alone has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the industrialized world. It is stated that 1 out of 5 children are living in poverty. The video documented the lives of three families who are faced with extreme hardships and are battling to survive a life of being poor. All three families have more than one child and could barely afford to pay their bills and purchase food for their household.
The progression of materialism in the media and advertising has a major affect on young African Americans which can cause poor money issues. In a materialistic society, young African Americans aim to gain a sense of importance through buying expensive things and owning the latest whether it be celebrity shoes, pricy clothing, high-tech electronics, or luxury cars, that we can show off to our peers in hopes of impressing them. It is almost as if young African Americans are brainwashed to not only have the best, but to drag one another into competition, boasting about what they have and daring the next to top it. As a result of that competition, young African Americans who do not meet the “expectations” of their peers are humiliated and ridiculed so harshly because they do not own a pair of four hundred dollar jeans or two hundred dollar shoes. Today’s society is so brainwashed by what they see on social media and advertising that they will spend their last just to fit in or try to look like something or
They are unwilling to follow standards set by society, and make damaging conscious decisions such as using drugs or committing crimes. Rutger Bregman of “The Correspondent” illustrates more valid examples about the lower class, stating how they are usually the last to sign up for money management training and “when responding to job ads, the poor often write the worst applications and show up at interviews in the least professional attire” (Bregman 1). Although this might be true, the impacting cognitive effects from an impoverished upbringing can explain these behaviors. For the lower class, resting is a luxury and they are often exhausted by how much they have to work in order to pay the bills. The Atlantic states how “poverty 's stress interferes with our ability to make good decisions... because the short-term needs are so great and the long-term gains so implausible” (Thompson 1).
People in poverty are generally portrayed as worthless and this is because culture today illustrates a man’s worth from how materially successful they are. Hooks explains how this kind of representation of the poor can mentally and emotionally handicap and entire society of people in poverty. She goes into an example of how a
In the passage “What is poverty?”, the author Jo Goodwin Parker, describes a variety of things that she considers to portray the poverty in which she lives in. She seems to do this through her use of first-person point of view to deliver a view of poverty created by a focused use of rhetorical questions, metaphors, imagery, and repetition to fill her audience with a sense of empathy towards the poor. The author’s use of first person point of view creates the effect of knowing exactly what she is feeling. “The baby and I suffered on. I have to decide every day if I can bear to put my cracked hands into the cold water and strong soap.”
Growing up around social media and movies that contrast stereotypes frequently, it has become almost natural to presume a way about a group or individual without knowing one’s identity. Before interacting with those who attended a private school, my mind was entrenched to the assurance that those students were wealthy, preppy, and superior who wore the same uniform everyday, resembling everyone else. From kindergarten till seventh grade, I attend a small charter school called Sherman Thomas where uniforms were enforced. Being mistaken as a private school majority of the time, outsiders viewed me differently. Mrs. Napier, the principle felt as if all students wore the same attire, no judgement towards the less fortunate would take place.
Additionally, the attention of people who are more in appearance rather than saving and donating to the poor will produce a trivial society with no values. Self-interest is also a problem for influences people’s