Undergraduate Studies Journal

For this fieldwork assignment, I accompanied my friend to her church. It is a bilingual Salvadorian church.

There were many examples of the sacred and the profane in the church. The altar, bible, cross, and music are some of the sacred items. Cursing/swearing, dressing inappropriately, and abrupt behavior is considered profane. There are not necessarily a lot of profane objects in the church, but more so profane actions. The ritual of attending church is separative in of itself. The act of going to church separates churchgoers from non-church goers. Liminality consists of attending church and listening to messages. Reincorporation consists of joining the church and participating in church activities.

The Crucifix is one of the most important symbols in Christianity. It is symbolic of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for humanity. Christians are the ones that assign meaning to the cross. To them, it is a physical representation of the ultimate sacrifice and of love. Karl Marx’s critique of religion being, “the opiate of the masses” is relevant. During the service, the pastor constantly referred back to his home country of El Salvador. Also, many of the church members are from El Salvador and have most likely found solace in God as they were able to survive and prosper through their struggles.

The show I watched was The Office (US version).

In The Office, there is a hierarchy based on status. The person with the most power in the workplace is Michael Scott who is the Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin. The salespeople have the second highest status in the office due to their salary. Lastly, the receptionist has the lowest status in the office because many see this occupation as one that does not require a lot of skill.

Michael Scott often makes inappropriate and offensive jokes about age, gender, race, and sexuality in the show. As he is in a position of power and of privilege, he is not aware of the impact that his offensive jokes have. Pam, who is a woman, is also the receptionist at the show. Later when she is replaced, another woman named Erin becomes a receptionist as well. Power within Michael’s subordinates is also organized by income. The salespeople in the show make the second highest amount of money other than Michael, and at times this has been a cause of conflict within the workplace in the show.

The political negotiations that occur in these power relationships are often a result of either interpersonal conflict or inappropriate behavior in the office. When this occurs, Toby, a human resources officers will mediate and assist in resolving the conflict. The power dynamics within The Office were most likely established in archaic times when people were separated based on some system of supremacy. The power dynamics can only be changed by those in power. However, this change first occurs through change.

Mia Hickman

SOCI 110.001

Dr. Angela Howell

November 18, 2017

My name is Nadine, and I was interviewed by one of the high school classmates, Mia about my experience as an immigrant in the United States. This is my story.

I am originally from Togo. It is West African country located between Ghana and Benin. I left my country in pursuit of the American Dream. My mother and father wanted to give my sister and I the best opportunities possible. Education, healthcare, quality of life. They new that in America these things could be so much more than what they would be in Togo. We were pretty fortunate in coming here. We did not have to wait long to get our visas and whatnot. Although, I do remember my mother wanted to bring more of us over. The was a young man we considered a brother to the family. He practically was family. My mother wanted to bring him over, but because he did not share our last name, the United States government did not recognize him as such.

So, we left. I was only four years old when we immigrated to the United States. My sister was only two years old then. When we came over, we lived with my grandmother. She had already been living the States for awhile, so it was her that helped us adjust to our new life. She let us stay with her until parents had enough money to buy a place of their own. I never specifically remember “assimilating” into American culture. I was brought over so young, and did not really grow up in my Togolese culture. I grew up surrounded by American culture. I often struggled with remembering traditions and customs from back home. The two cultures would often times clash. At times, I remember my mother reminding that I, “Was not one of these Black American kids. You’re African, remember our culture and traditions”.

In Togo, it is typical of the women to cater to the men. The women cook, clean, and care for the children. Only a few women break this norm and have both a family and a career. This is the norm. In America, this occurs tenfold. There is more leniency for women who decide to have career and not get married and have children. My parents brought us to this country so we could grow up and have successful, amazing futures. They wanted us to find a good careers and jobs, that pay well of course, so we can be successful and independent. My mom’s family always stressed the importance of education, so I knew that my mother would the same to us. However, her parents also equally stressed how important it was for her to marry someone wealthy and start a family. She in a way, did the same thing to me as well. My life is so different from my parents life, both their families weren’t rich and they had a lot of siblings. Their fathers had more than one wife and they struggled growing up and they didn’t have as much opportunities that my sister and I have. Growing up we had access to a good education we played sports we didn’t always get everything we wanted but we got everything we needed

Mayor Michael Bloomberg made his financial start as the CEO and owner/founder of Bloomberg L.P., a global financial, media, and software company. His company for one of the first worldwide financial advising firms. He has been the mayor of New York City for three terms. He at first was as Republicans, then Democrat, and as of 2007 he identifies as an Independent. In the most recent Presidential Election, Bloomberg endorsed Hillary Clinton. From each Presidental Election since 2008 he has been suggested by many to run. He supports candiadate and organization from both parties, as he has been a member of both the Republican and Democratic parties during his life. Bloomberg i️s a philanthropist, although the majorities of his initiative are US based and not international.

Source

https://www.biography.com/people/michael-bloomberg-16466704

https://www.politico.com/story/2016/11/bloomberg-new-york-donor-230861

Social Class Documentary

https://youtu.be/O7A8JUUm13E

Sources:

Statue of Liberty image: https://www.nycgo.com/attractions/statue-of-liberty-national-monument

American Flag via Getty Images: http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/american-flag-waving-in-breeze-on-pole-royalty-free-image/157605738

Capitalism Definition via Merriam Webster Online Dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capitalism

Image of hands in circle: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/574279389955798620/

Census Bureau Wealth, Asset Ownwership & Debt of Household Detailed Tables: 2013

Pie Chart Data: http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

CNN Video: https://youtu.be/j_m7Fia_v5A

Key:

*All kinship terms in the diagram are in relation to the Ego. Ex: the mother of the ego would not be labelled wife, it would be labelled mother.*

*For two Kinship Abbreviations together: M is mother, Z is sister, so MZ is mother’s sister.

My kinship chart shows the diversity in family types. Although my parents, siblings, and I are apart of a nuclear family structure, the same does not apply for my father’s side of the family, or my mother’s sister’s side of the family. My paternal grandmother never married and had four children my father being one of them. My mother and maternal aunt both had children within their marriage. In reality, my family tree, the earliest generation starting from my grandparents, has to include at least 40 people in it. I do not know all of my family members or how I am related to them, so attempting to include them in the kinship diagram would prove difficult.Both the maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother come from families that have many siblings. For example, my maternal grandmother is one of twelve children. There is a pattern of noticeable in my paternal grandmother; she was never married yet had four children. Perhaps she does not agree with the institution of marriage, or that a woman needs to be married in order to have children. A pattern in the paternal side of my family tends to consist of blended families, whereas the maternal side of my family consists of nuclear families. Perhaps this is just a result of the generation social upbringings of each familiar generation.

(Sorry for the blurriness)

Video games, action figures, nerf guns, and buildable toys (Lego, Bionicle, etc.) are most advertised for boys. Dolls, makeup (kid makeup), diaries, and clothes are the most advertised for girls. The colors in the boy commercials are blue, grey, black, and forest green. The colors in the girl commercials are pink, red, and white. Both commercials have the kids playing with their respective toys. Both appear excited to play with the toys. Both genders behave, from my observations, in the same way when presented with their respective toys.

For the commercials that had adults, they did not really "participate" in the commercial. Many were only seen in the background. if they appeared at all. Of about seven toy commercials, only one parent appeared, and they appeared in the background only. For all toy commercials, they mostly took place in the living room of the assumed house. Some took place in the respective child's bedroom as well. In the boy commercials, the narrator was always male. The voiceover actor's tone was much more serious; it was not whimsical. In the girl commercials, the narrator was always a women. The voiceover artist also typically spoke in a very high-pitched voice. It was also very enthusiastic and whimsical.

Ethnicity: African American

Race: Black

State: United States

Nation: United States

Ancestry: (West) African, European, Possibly Native/Indigenous

I personally found this entire situation to be very interesting especially given the status of dreadlocks in modern culture. Unlike box braids and cornrows, dreadlocks are not exclusive to African culture. The Ancient Grecian Kouros Statue has what appears to be dreadlocks. Dreadlocks are a common hairstyle within the Tibetan Buddhist culture as well. I do not see Jeremy Lin in the wrong here. However that could be because I have “given up” on calling out people who were their hair in dreadlocks because it is hard to prove their exclusivity. Lin also make an interesting point to Kenyon Martine. Lin eloquently calls Martin out on his Kanji tattoos, especially considering the exoticize of races, ethnicities, and cultures that use languages that have Kanji, Arabic, and Hangul scripts. Moreover, people will get tattoos in these languages why people who do not speak or write in that language. So not only is the tattoo not written correctly, it may also say something totally different from what it is supposed to say. There is definitely a racial component to cultural appropriation, because it appears that these cultural practices are not being respected because of feelings either racial superiority or blatant ignorance towards other races’ cultures. Whether this situation is an issue of cultural appropriation or racial exoticism is debatable.

Ancient Greek Kouros https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/32.11.1/