Analyze What Role Society Plays

Objectives:

Describe and analyze how the key elements of your culture, and its past and current social structure, have influenced the “look” and “feel” of your identity, or sense of self. This requires you to do library research of your culture’s historical elements and structure. Remember, you are to use a sociological imagination which requires you to make a connection between “history and biography” and self and society.

Describe the social processes that have made you uniquely you.

Analyze how your culture (and/or subcultures) shapes the choices in life you have made and outcomes of those choices.

Analyze how culture (and subculture) creates challenges and/or benefits for you personally.

Explain whether your personal challenges are actually social issues in the larger society.

Describe through use of examples of how culture (i.e. norms, beliefs, ideas, values, customs, and patterned behaviors), subcultures (religion, ethnicity, gender, sports, age, your social class, etc.) and society (interacting groups and networks of people) shape your identity. Be sure to clearly identify the norms, beliefs or values)

Overall, in keeping with Mills’ sociological imagination thesis, the aim is to connect the “personal” (you) and the “social” (society); “history and biography.”

Task:

What makes you uniquely you? Write a critical essay (1000 word minimum) that describes and explains the role of your culture, and the social structure and their present and historical elements in shaping who you are. Discuss how culture and social structure has contributed to your values, ideas, behavior, and overall identity? Discuss several of the social forces and elements of social structure (social statuses/roles, groups—primary, secondary, institutions, such as religion, education, health, political, marriage, family, etc.) and culture (values, norms, beliefs) that have played a key role in your development and sense of self. Discuss the role of various agents of socialization (e.g. parents, siblings, mass media, peers, teachers, coaches, etc.).