Description
The sociological autobiography is a written paper about 4 pages long, double spaced. This essay requires you to apply what you have learned about culture, society, socialization, social interaction, communication, social roles, social norms, and social groups to your personal life. How have these concepts played out for you? You should select at least five sociological concepts and write one good paragraph about each concept. The paragraph should briefly define/summarize the concept, then explain how that concept was relevant in your life, using a few specific examples. Be specific about examining sociological issues ? a generic autobiography is not specific enough.
Sociological Autobiography
There are many sociological influences that help me define myself. I have had challenges come my way, experiences that made me stronger, and lessons that I will bring with me for the rest of my life. These life experiences serve as my sociological road map to navigate our ever-changing society with resilience. Furthermore, my perception of my experiences good and bad played an essential role in overcoming many obstacles. I did not comprehend how many complex sociological factors significantly influence my life’s experiences and life choices. I can now affirm, using my sociological imagination allows me to connect to my behaviors, personal experiences, and attitude on the macro level of social structure. The sociological themes that manifest throughout my nurture are how growing up in a middle-class spiritually rich Mexican American family has influenced my culture, communication, social roles, social norms, and social interactions. Social Institution: families tend to shape our thoughts and emotions in basic ways. These sociological themes played a vital role in contributing to my sociological autobiography.
Before taking this sociology class I did not comprehend that our choices are largely influenced by the choices of our parents, elders and others whom we attribute to our culture. Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, roles, and concepts of the universe that are passed down to members with in the group. The Hispanic culture is proud of their traditions and history. It is the value we have about our culture that binds Latinos together.
For example, finding spirituality is not individualistic, but rather it entails a lifelong collective responsibility for the wellbeing of self, family, and community. My grandma, Martha Sanchez, and my mother, Lupe Sanchez, both played crucial roles in shaping my perception of the world around me. The women in my family are revered and respected with the utmost of manners, as the unity of our family depends on their wellbeing. Latina women have a fundamental, albeit formally unrecognized, role in shaping the spiritual perspective of the family. I learned that spirituality can be discovered in almost anything, and finding spirituality is one of life’s greatest gifts. It can make you feel enlightened and bring strong emotion and deep feelings of peace and contentedness. I found spirituality through self-actualization, or finding and fulfilling my life’s purpose. This knowledge served as a fundamental mechanism through which I was able to cope and deal with the struggles in my life. For many Latino families, the matriarchs are the ones who inculcate values and keep religious rituals alive. Further, the structure of the Latino family is often formed by the influence of the mother, grandmother, or other prominent female figures.
The institution of family remains at the center of social life in virtually all societies. The institution of family has three essential functions: to provide for the rearing of children, to provide a sense of identity or belonging among its members and to transmit culture between generations. Peers may also play a role in this regard, we do consult them and they may suggest to us based on their perception. In a nutshell what is socially considered a better option in our family or community does influence us to go for a certain course. But sometimes being an individual means going against your cultural values and norm. Sexuality also involves gender norms, which deviance from symbolizes a deviation in sexuality.
Social Interaction
Social Roles
Learned and internalized gendered behaviors from my parents and siblings through social learning. American society encourages gender-stereotyped behaviors for females and males as accepted norms. My gender influenced the type of games I grew up playing and the friends I was allowed to have. All the toys I received growing up were gender-stereotyped toys for girls such as Barbie dolls and princess-themed products. As the oldest sibling with two younger brothers, from an early age, I was not allowed to play with boys outside my family nor were my brothers allowed to play “roughly” with me because I was a girl. I believe because of social learning, I am able to understand why I have come it to find it difficult to watch when my son gets tackled in football or being open to the idea of my daughter participating in this sport, indicative of how pervasive gender is in my family life and American society in general (Ferris & Stein, 2014.)
Social Norms:
Masculinity revolves amongst most societies, and has been passed down from generation to generation. In Latino culture gender roles have been set by society and have ultimately held men as superior to women. These examples set by the world surrounding
Communication styles?
The communication style of Hispanics is much more formal than that of the Anglos. Respect is highly valued and shown by using formal titles. Hispanics tend to show affection through touching. Friends can kiss, males hug, shake hands or pat each other on the back. This has somewhat influenced Anglo behavior in recent times. Hispanics tend to be very polite, which can be interpreted by Anglos as being subservient or servile. Phrases like A sus ordenes (at your command), para servile a Usted (at your service), Mi reina (my queen) or mi rey (my king) are found in the daily repertoire of Hispanic expressions. Language is an important value for the nationalistic identity of a nation. Hispanic culture is the way of life of people
