Hot Topics of Sociology

Hot Spots of Sociology:

• ·        Social Protests in Sports

Colin Kaepernick was a highly successful NFL star. He played an important role in helping the San Francisco 49ers reach the super bowl during the 2012 football season. While they did lose in the championship, he did establish himself as the future starting quarterback for the team. However, during the national anthem before the games. This was in protest against the unfair treatment of minorities, specifically by police. This highly controversial protest lost him his position in the NFL. NYtimes - The Awakening of Kaepernick

• ·        Youth Gangs as Psuedo-Governments: When Institutions Fail

When institutions fail the people they are meant to help, there is a void left behind. Gangs are often the organizations that fill this void. The gangs become appealing to poor youth because it appears like a way out of poverty, a chance to climb the socioeconomic ladder. These gangs fill in for many government institutions by providing order, protection, an economy, and other services, even if it is all done illegally. Jstor - When Youth Gangs as Psuedo-Governments

• ·        Increasingly segregated and unequal schools

Inequality of social class begins at a young age. Segregated schools cause some schools to receive better funding and others to fall behind. This difference can lead to huge inequalities in the education system. Students who attend the poorer schools will be much less likely to get a strong education that will lead to a college degree or even a high school diploma.

Increasingly segregated and unequal schools as courts reverse policy - Sagepub

Of these three, the first one strikes me as the most interesting. I think it is a highly controversial subject on the matter of social protest that uses a silent form of communication to cause a huge uproar across the country. However, I am fascinated by the reason's youth put their lives at risk by joining gangs as well. I think people generally do not understand this subject because they do not realize the poverty that forces people to look to gangs for help.

The Forgotten Man

I dug my spurs into my horse’s flanks, urging her forward to cut off the cow before she wandered off the trail, dragging half the herd with her.  She complied but bellowed to let me know she wasn’t happy, and it wasn’t too long before a heifer tried the same thing.  My horse diligently obeyed, though I could feel her heavy breaths as her sides expanded and deflated, moving my legs out and in with each pant.  Her mane was damp and her hide glistened with sweat, but on she went. 

It’s not a perfect parallel, but to coincide with William Sumner’s ideas, we could call this horse “the forgotten horse.”  William Sumner was an American social scientist who taught at Yale during the Gilded Age.  The uprisings of monopolies and flourishing of the middle class starkly contrasted with the life the new immigrants and lower class were living.  Efforts were put forth to hinder the growth of booming businesses and others sought ways to assist the immigrants and lower class.  So what does this have to do with a forgotten horse?

In Sumner’s work, What Social Classes Owe to Each Other, he passionately argues that “every effort to realize equality necessitates a sacrifice of liberty.”  He sees many people working diligently and seeing success, yet the fruits of their labors are laid at the feet of those in poverty.  There is no motive to rise above that condition when “social doctors flock about him, bringing the capital which they have collected from the other class, and promising him the aid of the state to give him what the other had to work for.”  With these circumstances, the social reformers and philanthropists, A and B, dictate what C will do for the poor, D.  And what does he call C?  The Forgotten Man. 

Image Credit: Scale (via mesosyn)

Artificial Social Division

The novel Evelina by Frances “Franny” Burney was first published anonymously because during the time period that this novel was written, women such as Franny held opinions that weren’t important…er, wait, I meant women in Franny’s social class weren’t supposed to interject in literary circles –no I don’t think that’s right either…

Burney's Class Motivations

Satirically laced commentary like above is found in Evelina, or the History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World. Evelina soon finds that the “higher” class of people that she meets throughout the novel aren’t much superior than others. The men attempt to seduce her, there are feuds in her family between her mother’s relatives and her father and who deserves what and is entitled to which inheritance. Essentially, people fight for money, power, and sex.

Verga's Reality of Poverty

Serendipitously, I was reading an Italian anthology of short stories by Giovanni Verga published in the 19^th century while reading Evelina. Verga follows the impoverished Sicilian people in southern Italy and thematic elements of these stories were the same; the fight for money, power, and sex.

From the high society living of Evelina to Verga’s representation of poverty, I think the question that I wonder is: Why is there tension between social classes if they are founded on the same basic human 

nature?

Our Modern Financial Division 

Modern research shows that this tension still exists! I remember when the finicial crisis of 2007/2008 destroyed my parent’s personal business and left them depressed, anxious and scared. They were looked down on because they no longer had the small fortune that was providing for their large family. In an attempt to identify the psychology and stigma of social division, researchers Miguel Moya and Susan Fiske outlined the negative social impact the Great Recession had on American social class in an article titled “The Social Psychology of the Great Recession and Social Class Divides.”

I’ll let you read the article on your own time but it proves that social class tension still interferes with individual progression today, even with the same innate nature.

As written in Evelina, “the right line of conduct is the same for both sexes [and classes], though the manner in which it is pursued may somewhat vary, and be accommodated to the strength or weakness of the different travellers.”

Image Credit: Homeless New York  and High Class Lady (Public Domain Images via Wikimedia Commons)

The First Mystery

The Moonstone offers a fascinating view of the social constructions of the late 19^th century that creates a unique dynamic. Many of the actions made by characters in the book are formal and when there is an outburst, they immediately apologize for “breaking the norm.” I found it interesting that it reflected an almost feudal system where the rich family was waited on by several servants, however, it was much more progressive as the relationship between the characters was not only financially motivated but often out of love or loyalty. Despite potential motivations for their work, the servants were much like an extended family to the nobles they served. This book reflected the strong distinction of social class between these nobles, government officials, and the common servants and lower class, evident during this time period.

This novel seems like one of the original thief stories. I noticed connections between both mystery and crime forms of media.  These connections to mystery include a highly observant detective seeking the truth who is hedged up from every side. Such films, books and tv shows as the timeless Sherlock Holmes come to mind in this department. The intricacies of the plot to steal the diamond remind me of Ocean’s 8, which is a film about an inside job performed to steal a multimillion-dollar diamond. In the real world, we rarely hear about intricate thieving plots.

The Moonstone was a large diamond worth an outrageous amount

While participating in a discussion online at Goodreads.com, I found an interesting viewpoint on what this book brings many firsts to the table by Bill Kerwin. He points out that this book was the first to detective novel with a large guest list of suspects, the first to have a small, suggestive clue have significant impacts, the first crime reenactment at the scene of the crime, and the first pursuit of a disguised criminal through a major city.

I believe that this book opened up a new form of entertainment. While many novels already existed, this genre engages a new market of mystery lovers. This niche of entertainment has become a large part of the entertainment industry with thousands of films, books, and stories utilizing precedence’s set by The Moonstone.

A quote that struck a chord with me was when a character of the book was announced to have killed herself, Gabriel, the narrator at the time, made the quote: 

“Your tears come easy, when you're young, and beginning the world. Your tears come easy, when you're old, and leaving it. I burst out crying.” - Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone

Image: 17914, by PublicDomainPictures/Images, Licensed by Pixaby from CC 2.0 

Persuaded.

In Jane Austen’s novel, Persuasion¸ the importance of social class in the early 1800s is demonstrated by the measures characters take to preserve their status.  Sir Walter is forced to "let" his primary residence in Kellynch Hall to avoid further economic harm, and he intends to do so discreetly to avoid negative repercussions.  However, he later openly regards the Admiral and his wife as his "tenants" as it seems fit to his advantage.  Austen ends the book novel with Anne and Wentworth wed and in good social standing, reflecting her own consideration of the importance of social class.

Admiral and Mrs. Croft give insight to how roles of men and women have changed individually and collectively, as in marriage.  Admiral Croft was just that--an admiral. He wasn't a wealthy landowner or member of the aristocracy, nevertheless he represents an evolving group of those who would be considered “gentlemen.”  Mrs. Croft likewise defied the norm and accompanied her husband on his voyages rather than stay at home.  In the 21st-century we see an increasing number of women embracing and pursuing what might be considered male roles, whether through education or careers or social interactions.

Anne & Lady Russell

Persuasion is heavily evident in the novel, specifically with Anne.  These persuasions frequently result in negative consequences until a strong-willed character, Louisa, is seriously injured because she would not be persuaded.  In the end, Anne herself, speaking of the decision to not marry Wentworth initially, acknowledges, “I must believe that I was right, much as I suffered from it, that I was perfectly right in being guided by [Lady Russell],” because she felt it her duty to obey who she considered a maternal figure.  Many readers think Anne was right to have waited and allow herself to be persuaded by Lady Russell given that she was so young and would have to elope without her father’s consent.  On the other hand, some are frustrated with her submission to Lady Russell’s advice and wish she wasn’t so easily persuaded.

Image Source: persuasion1995-1 (via Kalafudra)