September 25,2013 (Paraphrastic)

Chapter 6: Karl Marx and Max Weber

 Marx and Weber were the earliest sociologist of the 19th century that left such a huge impact on the world then and it still exists till this day. Karl Marx’s ideas led to revolutions like the “Russian and Chinese” uprising (138). There are many books and articles dedicated in his name, even after his death people remembered all the changes he brought. He disliked the communist party with a passion and set out to overthrow the government to replace it with a better one. His goal was to improve the working class conditions and bring a change to the system. His courage and words of wisdom led others to believe in him too, this way he gathered more protesters.

five sentence segment: ” Weber believed that only individuals are capable of meaningful social action. For the purposes of sociology, he argued, ” There is no such thing as a collective personality which “acts”. When reference is made in a sociological context, he continued, to a state, a nation, a corporation, a family or an army corps, or to similar collectivities, what is meant is… only a certain kind of development of actual or possible social actions of individual persons. Weber’s point was that only individuals could think, feel, and act. Collectivities were incapable of such things.”(155) This summarizes basically the way Max Weber thought about societies impact on the system. He knew that people were the only hope for change and nothing was going to improve unless people took a stand like Karl Marx and he had.

September 25,2013 (Paraphrastic)

Chapter 10: Culture

Culture is connected to a persons identity, without it one is incomplete, In this chapter, Karen Anderson explains the significance of culture on society, country and persons life. In a country as diverse as Canada almost every culture is celebrated in some form. Whether that be food, events, fashion, accessories, and much more. These are all ways that Canadians express their love for multiculturalism. One is not born knowing their culture or with their ancestral culture, they are taught it by their family and surroundings. If one lives in a particular culture for too long, they will begin to pick up on those cultures customs and ways of communication. With various cultures around us,we learn new things about others and ourselves. With every culture comes its own traditions and boundaries that one should know if ever put in that culture. Which is why it is beneficial in learning about the various cultures the world has to offer because it passes its wisdom that will come in handy if ever travelling or even eating at a completely new cultural restaurant.

five sentence segment- “Culture is one of the most widely used concepts in sociology. To fully function as a member of a society is to be able to communicate with other members of that society in way that are mutually understandable. A common culture facilitates mutual intelligibility. There are many different cultures in the world today, with a great deal of diversity among them in social practices, values,norms,and belief systems. One very good reason for studying this diversity is to help reduce ethnocentrism, the tendency to believe that one’s own culture is superior to all others”(259). Essentially this becomes the summary of the chapter on culture but also states a very key point in understanding culture. By understanding others cultural ways, one will gain the sensibility  to not underestimate or disgrace others backgrounds. For example Hitler thought his culture was superlative from all others so he mass murdered the citizens of Germany that were Jewish because he simply disliked their culture.  This is why culture is very important to understand and its something everyone can relate too.

Thinking about Sociology- a critical introduction by Karen Anderson

This is my first semester and first year at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and the experience so far has been surprisingly fantastic. By taking this class,the experience has became even better. My knowledge of sociology is close to nothing due to lack of research and interest from the past. However, since I need this course for my criminology major,I am required to pay attention and attend every class. I had taken a course in High School, psychology and in my opinion that had taught me the little bit I know about our human race.From the books and Professor Charles own wisdom on society ,I hope to learn everything and more. This will help me succeed in my future goals of becoming an aspiring lawyer. By the end of this course I want to gain enough knowledge from this class to be able to notice the different aspects of society. To be able to see the different attitudes of society as a whole and alone. Before taking this course I had no idea that we were even covering the material we are.I came into this class expecting long lectures and something not in my interest field nonetheless I’ve been proven wrong. I strongly believe the professor plays a big role in making a class intriguing and something to look forward too. Professor Charles has been meeting all my expectations and made this course so worth my time.