How are bodies socially constructed?
How are bodies socially constructed? It is crucial to gain an understanding of what social construction is, in order to assess its influence on human bodies. However it is difficult to operationalise social construction in literal terms. Social construction encompasses a multitude of elements, Hacking (2002) notes, 'social construction is a kettle of many very different kinds of fish'. Typically however, social construction is concerned with the ways in which society has conceptualised ideals and expectations, looking at this in relation to specific areas of sociological interest. For sociologist when looking at the body their main concern is with 'the process of... transforming a biological entity through social action' Chris Shilling (2003). 'Members of a society construct their bodies in ways that comply with their gender status and accepted notions of masculinity and femininity. That is, they try to shape and use their bodies to conform to their culture's or racial ethnic group's expectations'. (Lorber and Martin 2005) This essay will look at the ways in which the body is a social construction, with particular focus on the extent in which individuals in society are willing to perform to socially constructed ideals. It is important to recognise that social construction of the body is a global phenomenon; however this essay will look at westernised social construction of
Introduction to Political Thought
Student Number: 452091 Due Date: Nov 29/04 Course: GV1700- Introduction to Political Thought Thomas Hobbes "Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where every man is enemy to every man; [..]in such a condition, there is no place for industry.....no society, and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death. And the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short"(Wotton, David, "Modern Political Thought" (Cambridge: Hackett Publishing 1996), 171) This is how Thomas Hobbes, a well-known 17th century philosopher considers the state of nature to be. He had concluded in many of his works, (especially in Leviathan), that humans were naturally selfish, and constantly in a state of war. "Again, men have no pleasure, (but on the contrary, a great deal of grief) in keeping company, where there is no power able to aver-aw them all. [...] Hereby, it is manifest, that during the time men live without a common power to keep them all in aw, they are in that condition which is called war, and such a war, as is of every man, against every man." (Wotton,170). He went on to state, that humans want to get out of the state of nature to protect themselves from their evil neighbours. Therefore, every human seeks "self-preservation." Hobbes gives a solution to humans' state of nature, and that is to give up our rights to a sovereign; to form a
modernisation vs dependancy theory
Compare and contrast Modernisation and Dependency theories Theories are necessary in the understanding of social change, and the explanation of how and why things happen. Throughout this essay I will be examining ideas of Modernisation and Dependency theorists, and how their theories can give and understanding into the process of development. 'Development' as a word is often linked with ideas of change or improvement. There has never been any real agreement in what the concept of 'development' really means. Modernisation theories can be linked with the ideas into the ways which traditional societies become modern societies. An early idea, linked to the starting point for 'development' was the thought that there could be a single perfected human species based in all different parts of the world. Europeans saw themselves as representing perfection and civilization, and others as being uncivilized. The 'civilized' Europeans saw it as their moral obligation to 'help' the other 'less civilized' countries to become 'civilized.' On this view colonise were formed to help these 'backward' societies. Colonisation assumed the promise of world-wide civilization for all. By the end of world war one in 1918, there was a major shift in power. Germany lost is colonise to Britain and France. Also a mandate system was set-up so that certain territories would be supervised by a
Aristotle's Politics
Introduction Aristotle's Politics is one of the most influential and enduring texts of political philosophy in all of history. The Aristotelian tradition has formed the backdrop against which all subsequent political and moral philosophy has found its orientation. While writers in the Aristotelian tradition believed that politics has to be based on a fundamental conception of the good as an objective ultimate end for human beings, political theorists from the pre-moderns to today have tried to base politics on anything but a shared idea of the good. The initial reason for this change is perhaps the fear that claiming the existence of one objective end for human life is too likely to lead to serious conflicts like the Wars of Religion. These motivations are relatively clear at least in the case of Hobbes, who lived through both the Wars of Religion and the English Civil War, both of which were highly ideological conflicts, although concerns for power and material gain were also at the forefront. Hobbes attacks Aristotle vehemently in his writings, precisely because he is afraid that having such a clear-cut and universal conception of the good will inevitably lead to further ideological warfare. It is because the core assumptions of Hobbes' and Aristotle's thought are directly opposed to one another that Hobbes believes Aristotelian ideas sufficiently dangerous to merit such
The Life and Accomplishments of Edwin Sutherland. Edwin Sutherland was a sociologist who was passionate at trying to define and explain crime and criminal behavior.
The Life and Accomplishments of Edwin Sutherland Edwin Sutherland was born on August 13, 1883 in Gibbon, Nebraska; he was the son of George and Lizzie Sutherland. Edwin was born into a family headed by an authoritarian, religious fundamentalist father who followed all the rigid and strict practices of the Baptist faith. His father, George Sutherland, a minister and teacher, was the head of colleges in Kansas and Nebraska, including Grand Island College a conservative Baptist school. Edwin Sutherland attended this school and graduated with an A.B. in 1904 (J. Robert Lilly, Richard A. Ball, Francis T. Cullen, 2011 p. 269). In 1906 Edwin continued his education at the University of Chicago where he received his PH.D. in sociology and political economy. After his graduate studies, Sutherland went on to teach at a number of Midwestern institutions: William Jewell College (1913-1919), the University of Illinois (1919-1926), University of Minnesota (1926-1929), University of Chicago (1930-1935), and University of Indiana 1935, where he was Chairman of the Sociology Department. Sutherland was relieved of administrative duties in 1949 but continued his teaching and research career at the University of Indiana until his death (Hall, 1950). Sutherland devoted his life and gained public recognition as one of this country's leading criminologist through teaching, writing, and research
It is morally wrong to allow young children to fight in armed conflicts? Discuss
Option 2 Title - It is morally wrong to allow young children to fight in armed conflicts? Discuss Looking at why children fight in armed conflict raises questions about whether children should be involved in armed conflicts. To answer the above question it is necessary to first look at whether child soldiers are victims or perpetrators of violence or both? What are the implications when children commit violence? Do children as perpetrators suffer the consequences of violence and should they be protected from violence or should they be allowed to participate in political struggles and have the right to defend themselves and their families? In addition also looking at whether the causes behind committing violence are important. What is aggression and violence? Children play fight, play rough and tumble games and war games but when do we draw the line and say that it is getting out of hand and that children are becoming violent? There are different forms of aggression in children, Instrumental aggression is where a child is wanting to obtain a specific goal, such as retrieve a toy or win a game and there is Hostile aggression where a child is wanting to hurt someone or show dominance, maybe a game that has got out of control. Cole and Cole psychologists on violence define aggression as 'an act in which someone intentionally hurts another.' (Montgomery, 2009, P.148) Other
Gang Leader for a Day: The Ethical Concerns and Questionable Motives Behind a Rogue Sociologist. Sudhir Venkatesh, the rogue sociologist took to the Chicago streets in the most notorious housing projects in search of people to take part in his survey o
Gang Leader for a Day: The Ethical Concerns and Questionable Motives Behind a Rogue Sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh, the rogue sociologist took to the Chicago streets in the most notorious housing projects in search of people to take part in his survey on urban poverty and crime. He entered a poor black crime ridden neighbourhood for seven years and his first question was, "How does it feel to be poor and black?" Venkatesh was a first-year graduate student at the University of Chicago at the time. What he found in the abandoned apartment building was beyond his expectations. He met a gang leader named JT and they would soon become friends as Venkatesh observed the gang life. Venkatesh's study is nonetheless gripping and nothing short of interesting, however it raises some ethical concerns regarding the relationships with the gang members as well as that of his professor. The largest ethical concerned is obvious when Venkatesh himself says that he was a hustler among hustlers, however the substance he was hustling was not drug or money - it was the participants. It appears that Venkatesh used the gang members for his own personal advancement due to the fact that he received academic acclaims, a prestigious fellowship, a position at a renowned university, and general public recognition. Meanwhile, the gang members he befriended are left with the same poverty and social
The report into the tragic death of David Bennett has shown beyond doubt the importance of stepping up efforts to improve mental health care for black people in Britain," Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (SCMH) chief executive Dr Matt Muijen said
"The report into the tragic death of David Bennett has shown beyond doubt the importance of stepping up efforts to improve mental health care for black people in Britain," Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (SCMH) chief executive Dr Matt Muijen said today, 12/2/04. In the light of recent research examine whether institutional racism is present within psychiatric services. David Bennett (DB), who was a 38 year-old Afro-Caribbean patient, died in The Norvic Clinic, a medium secure psychiatric unit in Norwich, at the end of October 1998 after being restrained by staff. David Bennett was born in Jamaica on 5th February 1960 and came to the United Kingdom in 1968; and lived with his family in Peterborough. David gained 5 C.S.E's in school and thereafter worked as a sign writer for some three years before leaving due to the onset of his illness. Mr. Bennett first showed signs of mental illness in 1980, help was sought from his GP and a consultant psychiatrist at The Psychiatric Unit at Peterborough General Hospital, they were dismissive of his illness and he was later diagnosed with cannabis intoxication at the local psychiatric unit (Gables). He was taken home to be cared for but his health deteriorated and was referred back to Gables where he had at least two episodes of in-patient treatment from 1980 - 1984. In 1984 DB received a Community Rehabilitation Order with
The Problem of Obesity in the Youth of America.
Johan Cruyff Arts&Health 02-08-2010 Obesity for the youth When it comes to our children we would do anything for them. They are the reasons we work overtime, work multiple jobs and push ourselves to the limit. We make these sacrifices so we can provide them with the things we never had to show them how much we love and care for them. In the American culture; food is one of the most influential and abundant aspects in our lives. Our culture has used food as a tool for nurturing our children for many years. As the healthcare industry has evolved we are know able to see that this lifestyle has hindered our children and left other countries to develop a prejudice that Americans encourage their children to believe that being overweight or obese is okay. A prejudice is defined as "a distinguishing characteristic of a prejudice, as opposed to an ordinary opinion or belief, is that it reflects only the feelings within an individual, without regard to facts. This willful disregard of reality usually leads to the use of stereotypes, or oversimplified generalizations, about the group against which the prejudice is directed", (Funk and Wagnalls). The heart of the matter is that our culture lacks the knowledge to break this cycle. Education is the best way to address the problem of childhood obesity. As we look into our cultures background we that in earlier times it was common
HOW FAR DOES HEALTH DATA SUGGEST THAT SOCIAL CLASS REMAINS THE KEY CONCEPT FOR UNDERSTANDING CONTEMPORARY UK SOCIETY?
HOW FAR DOES HEALTH DATA SUGGEST THAT SOCIAL CLASS REMAINS THE KEY CONCEPT FOR UNDERSTANDING CONTEMPORARY UK SOCIETY? Society consists of social stratification of unequal layers or strata based on some social characteristics such as social class and social mobility, which are typical features of modern societies. Socio-economic positions in modern societies become more achieved than ascribed. The awareness of health inequalities in Britain can be linked to socio-economic factors, which is dated as far back as the seventh century. In the nineteenth century stresses on occupation and late social classes emerged from the General Register Office, founded in 1837 which used data from occupation on death certificates and census information on numbers in each occupation to examine mortality rates amongst different groups of workers (Scambler & Higgs, 1999: 276). According to Marx class was defined in terms of economic relationships also relating to the history of class struggle. He combined class with the emergence of capitalism, where the owner of capital (the property owner), the bourgeoisie meets the seller of labour (the propertless), the proletariat. Property ownership and propertylessness were fundamental aspects of society. These were factors affecting people's life chances, which in turn affected health, survival and mortality. Weber moved towards a more complex view of