Week Seven - Social Class

How much do you think social class matters in the U.S. today?


I believe that social class really only exists in politics and the entertainment industry. When you are rich you are more likely to be elected for a political position or chosen for a movie role. In everyday life, however, people don't particularly notice that you are low class or middle class. Maybe it's just me, I choose not to hold people's financial situations against them. Unless you look specifically like you are poor, not many people are going to notice. The only time that I have noticed when a person is of a high social class is when, at a baseball game or event and there are the "special" box seats that they sit in. 


I do believe that to a certain group of people, the higher classes, that social class matters in the U.S. That when they shop at Tysons 2 instead of just Tysons. I really think that social class only matters to a small portion of people in the general public. 

Week Six - Changing Social Connections

I do believe that people today are more isolated. Even though we are connected to people across the continent or the globe through Facebook, we never really have any interaction with them. Because of Facebook, I have noticed that I, personally, have a harder time talking to people in person. I believe that if I hadn't learned to have conversations online, I would probably be better at talking with people. I'm not socially awkward and I have never been diagnosed with any social complications, but I have a hard time with being with real people in person having actual conversations. I'm not always quick on what to say next but online I have more time to think so it's more acceptable that I take a few minutes to reply, whereas in person if you having a conversation and you don't immediatly reply to what someone just said, they wonder why and may think that you don't believe what they are saying or that you are mad at them. It's happened multiple times in conversations that I've had where, if I didn't comment on something immediatley have the other person said it, they question me. They ask if I'm mad, or did I not hear them.


Having conversations online is easier for me, and I assume many other people. You can think about what you are going to say next. If you want to be funny or serious, or if what you were going to say may come off as rude or stand-offish. In person, you have think quicker and really be on your toes. I have noticed that when I don't know what to say to a person, I usually nod my head or just say "Yeah," never really commenting on what they said or actually answering their question.


My mother always said that if someone called and you weren't home, you never knew. When she was in high school, they had just bought a answering machine before that if someone called, they couldn't leave a message and you would have never knew anyone had ever called you that day. Nowadays, everyone has their cell phone. You are connected to the outside world 24/7, all the time unless you turn your phone off. I don't think this is good for socitety. Being connected can be good for work and emergencies, but it can also interfere with your relationships with family and friends. We have all seen the movies with the fathers, while on vacation, take the business calls and leave the children playing alone on the beach. Being that connected makes the realtionships you have with you children, family, and friends more disconnected. It's unfair to those around you.

Week Four - Nature vs. Nurture Debate

     There are certain traits and conditions that many of us would like to have -- intelligence, athletic ability -- but there are others, such as psychopathy and cancer, that we'd like to avoid. The nature or nurture debate concerns whether these traits and conditions are a product of genetics or of the environment in which a person is brought up. For example, let's say that a man grows up to be a violent killer. Was he born with a gene that makes a person more violent? Or, were circumstances in his upbringing the ultimate cause of such a career? Did he lack loving parents? Was he exposed to violent movies and music? The nature or nurture debate has been difficult to resolve because there are plenty of people born with certain genes who don't grow up to express the traits associated with those genes, just as there have been plenty of people who have confounded all predictions based on how they were brought up.
     In some instances, it appears that nature nurture plays a greater role than nurture, and sometimes the reverse appears to be true. As I believe, and many others do as well, it is a tie. Neither nurture nor nature is more dominant over the other.
     A person's upbringing and environment affect his or her genes far too much to discount either option. If a man has a gene that's linked with being tall but he doesn't receive proper nutrition, then he may not reach full genetic potential. If a woman has a gene linked with musical ability but she never takes a violin lesson, she will never reach that potential either. On the other hand, someone born without a gene that lends itself to musical genius may still reach that point through hard work, lots of practice and supportive parents and peers.

Week Three - How American Culture Looks to Outsiders

Hugh Laurie's song for America - A bit of Fry and Laurie - BBC sketch


I suppose that in Hugh Laurie's sketch he was supposed to be dressed up as a "typical America" (a.k.a. a hill billy). He wore a plaid shirt and a bandanna.
The song lyrics were comprised of the words "America" and "States."
The audience was laughing at the face he was making and how he was singing the song.
The sketch/song ends with Hugh Laurie being punched by a another man.
I think the sketch represents how the British view Americans as barbaric and "hill-billy" like.


Frankly I did not find the video very funny, maybe because I am an American. I think the only joke the British has ever made about the Americans is that we are just giant hill billies and we have no manners or sense or style.

Week Two - The Standford Prison Experiment

"What happens when you put good people in an evil place?
Does humanity win over evil, or does evil triumph?"


I believe that the Standford Prison Experiment was ethical. The psychologist did not know that this was how the experiment would turn out. Because of how the prisons acted and the guards reacted, the experiment was ended early. If the psychologist knew that this was how normal, everyday people would react in this type of situation like this and they still conducted the experiment, then it would be unethical.
I was surprised, though, that they altered the environment and the look of the jail just to mislead the parents and visitors.
     "The next day, we held a visiting hour for parents and friends. We were worried that when the parents saw the state of our jail, they might insist on taking their sons home. To counter this, we manipulated both the situation and the visitors by making the prison environment seem pleasant and benign. We washed, shaved, and groomed the prisoners, had them clean and polish their cells, fed them a big dinner, played music on the intercom, and even had an attractive former Stanford cheerleader, Susie Phillips, greet the visitors at our registration desk."


I believe that this is how any prison experiment would turn out. It's done every day in prisons all over the U.S. and in other countries. If it was any different, I would be surprised.

Week One

Hi, my name is Lacey and I'm a going into my second year at NoVa. I'm taking Sociology 200 because it was one of the options for my major. My major is Liberal Arts with a certificate in American Sign Language Interpretation. My language is Sign Language and I will be taking my ASL 5 this summer. I want to be an interpreter for the government and I thought Sociology would help me understand how and why people act and react the way that they do. Interpreters sometimes have to deal with clients that unhappy with their bosses or other people in general. 


After NoVa, I would like to transfer to either Univeristy of Virginia or Virginia Tech. UVa has a Sign Language program and V-Tech accepts Sign Language as a language (most colleges in Virginia do not.)


In my free time I read a lot of different books, usually non-fiction but I read art books and nature books as well. I do watch T.V. and I watch Community, Fringe, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, and Freaks and Geeks. I listen to a lot of Indie music and my favorite band is Voxtrot and my favorite singer is Ellie Goulding. 


On the weekends I practice songs with my friend Nate (I sing and he plays the guitar) and we go to different open mics during the week.


I drive a 1996 Buick Century, that has a busted bumper. It is my baby, but I'm am looking for a new car. Preferably I would like a 1989 Buick Electra that is a manual transmission, but I need to save a little money and find one that is in better shape the one down the street. For now, I shall drive my beat-up old Buick.


That is pretty much all about me. :)