Culture from a different view

We usually think about the way we live and what we do on an everyday basis as normal and nothing out of the ordinary but thats not how everyone else sees it.  Coming into our country from an outside country could put some people into culture shock.  This is a state experienced when suddenly exposed to a new/strange social or cultural environment.  Some of the things we do, wear, or say are very different from other cultures. We learned that you can tell a lot from a culture from material culture.  These are objects associated with a cultural group, such as tools, machines, utensils, buildings, and artwork.  It is any physical object that gives social meaning.  All countries also have different forms of communication.  We all use different signs and language in order to communicate with each other.  This unit made me open my eyes more and not only see things from my point of view and accept things that might be out of the norm for me.

This week we got to watch a t.v show in class called Freaks and Geeks. It related to what we have been talking about in class a lot. In the show, all three theoretical perspectives were shown. The show demonstrated structual functionalism by showing how a school runs and the typical social classes that are associated with a high school. The popular kids were "cooler" then the nonpopular students. There were people who caused some dysfunction in the show to. Dysfunction is something that leads to sociL change. The girl in the show went from being herself to trying to fit in with another croud. The show also demonstrated the conflict perspective. The freaks were the power of the school and controlled almost everyone else because no one would stand up to them. It also showed symbolic interation. The arm coat was a symbol of her being rebellious and trying to fit in with people she was not like. Overall I thought the episode related to what we were learning In a big way and really helped me understand the unit.