Blog Prompts for Week Two

Option 1
This week we are discussing the sociology of culture and media. For your blog post, choose a cultural "object" and analyze it sociologically. Use our discussion of weddings as a model. Your "object" could be anything really, a song, an item, a social practice, etc. In your post, be sure to define material and non-material culture. Then, discuss the components of material and non-material culture that are relevant to the object you've chosen; that is, you should link the material and the symbolic. Be specific and thorough; you might find that pictures and/or other media might help you illustrate your discussion.

Option 2
Also on our agenda this week is a discussion of socialization and the social construction of reality. Choose a socializing agent (you should define what we mean by agents of socialization) and discuss how your "self" has been shaped and influenced by this agent. How might you be different in the absence or alteration of the socializing agent you've chosen? In your post, be sure to define and use some of the language we've learned to describe social interaction such as roles, statuses (achieved, ascribed, and master). You might also consider applying Mead's concepts of the development of the self or Goffman's dramaturgical theory (note that this is not necessary but their theoretical concepts might be helpful for your analysis). Hint: I am asking you to link the processes of developing your self with the idea that we construct our social reality.