Alive In Joburg

Alive in Joburg

Multinational United

http://d-9.com/

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Tetra Vaal

www.tv-robotics.co.za

Spread the Wealth!!!

Since being a sociology major at E.U.P., I have considered myself to be a Symbolic Interactionist. However, I think the older I get and the longer life has to kick the mess out of me...I think I'm starting to lean to a Conflict Theorist sociological perspective on the world. I think there can be a good argument made especially during our present economic conditions for the scarcity of resources and different groups competing for them. Primarily the resource of "wealth", although I am sure the executives at A.I.G. would have a different opinion.

Last October I was traveling to a conference with a friend to Kansas City. We spent the night half way in St. Louis at his uncles house. He told me that his uncle was pretty wealthy and that we would have a good time staying there. Needless to say, after gaining permission to come through the guarded gate, we entered the 28,000 sq.ft. mansion on the Mississippi River. In the mansion was 14 bedrooms, 18 bathrooms, 4 dining rooms, a foyer the size of my entire house, a movie theater, full size arcade game room...as well as a guest house, servants quarters, and a Lamborghini, Prowler, Mustang, and 4 Harley's in the garage. I had my own floor to stay on with my choice of bedroom, bathroom, and a personal servant to get me anything I might need. The mansion had a staff of 20...for the 3 people who lived there. Life was good.

However the good life that I got to enjoy that day was abruptly interrupted by the conference I was attending on "Meeting the needs of the less fortunate." According to C. Wright-Mills, this separation of classes is nothing new but has been evolving from the early years of the formation of our country. But within the last 30 years there has been an enormous spike in the socio-economic stratification of the country.

1. What sociological theory best addresses the current state of our socio-economic condition and how or why we got here?

2. How can the study of social sciences play a part in pulling the plane out of a nose dive...if you believe we're in a nose dive.

3. What work of science fiction do you think best portrays the present day realities of our society, and what could we learn from it's projection?

Exam One - Spring 2009

Sociology of Science Fiction
Exam -- Spring 2009
Due Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 @ 11:15 am via email
ramatthews@edinboro.edu

INSTRUCTIONS
Answer 3 of the 6 questions.
Format: 1” margins -- Arial Font -- 11 pt
Upper right corner header with last name & first initial -- page number underneath, email address underneath that – the font size for your header should be 8 pt.
Place the question above each response.
Use in text citations & include your references at the end of each response.

GUIDELINES
Answer three (3) of the six (6) questions.
Use a theoretical perspective in each response.
Use the readings, and reference, at least, one in each response.
Please feel free to discuss these questions with each other. It is the best way to understand the subject matter. However, do not write your answers together, as this increases the likelihood that you will unintentionally plagiarize each others’ work.
Type your responses! And place the questions above your responses.
I will not accept hard copy exams. Turn it in, in, via email, by Wednesday, March 25th, at 11:15 am.
I will not answer questions regarding your responses once I have handed out the exam. You may, however, ask for clarification.
Do not ask questions in your responses. Answer them. Remember, you are the expert here.
Don’t bullshit me. I really hate it. If you don’t know the answer, move on to another one.

1. The sociological perspective allows us to view social interactions from a broader perspective than other social sciences generally allow. Science fiction, as a genre, seeks to address present day social issues by hypothesizing their existence, or the result of their existence in future societies. Using one of the major social theories, discuss the popularity of science fiction in popular culture and its role in addressing modern social interactions.

2. Discuss the importance of projecting the future of a society to the study of sociology.

3. Core U.S. values provide our major social interactions with a unifying theme. They represent the foundation of our culture. Using two works of science fiction, discuss three core values addressed in the works & juxtapose their depiction in the works with the real world, social realities of their existence in our culture.

4. Octavia Butler’s short story “Bloodchild” exhibits a reversal of gender roles when the T'Lic use mostly men to "birth" their young & T'Gatoi is depicted as a powerful, T'lic, female, political figure. Compare & contrast major gender roles & expectations in U.S. society with the roles depicted in the story. Particularly address whether the domination of one gender over another is welcome, or even encouraged, in both societies?

5. Thoroughly discuss empire, its expansion, its depiction in science fiction, and whether or not it constitutes a core U.S. value.

6. Social interactions are constructed via values, norms & cultural belief systems of a society. Generally speaking, they are constructed in order to maintain and sustain a particular social structure. Exchange theory is a subtle, unspoken theory of social interactions, in real society, as well as in science fiction. Its intersection with conflict theory is addressed even less. This is a function of the high priority placed upon the value of “feeling” and emotion in the construction of relationships. Using an intersection of exchange and conflict theories, compare and contrast the construction of relationships, families and reproduction in science fiction and the real world.

Families of Star Wars

Star Wars has been a favorite science fiction saga of mine since I was a little kid. I have very much enjoyed the lasers, jedi, spaceships, and the intense action scenes found throughout the tale. But I have recently realized that Star Wars is filled with sociological metaphors and beliefs. This includes the institution of the family. Family is very important in the story, and nontraditional families seem to appear quite often. However, it seems as though George Lucas has a negative viewpoint of these types of families, and feels that they result in a dysfunctional family. Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa are raised by somewhat traditional families. Neither are raised by biological parents, but they have the traditional “father” and “mother” figure in their lives; Luke has his Uncle and Aunt on the planet of Tatooine, and Leia has her adopted parents on the planet of Alderan. When they mature, they grow into adults who not only posses good morals, but actually become leaders of a rebellion for the greater good. They work to correct the apparent flaws of the social institutions of the Empire, and viewers are led to believe that they are successful.

Now on the other hand, children of nontraditional families in the story turn into the villains. Boba Fett is raised as a son (despite the fact that he is actually a clone) by Jango Fett. Jango is a single father. He appears to be a good father to Boba, and it appears as though Jango loves the boy. However, they are constantly on the move because Jango is a bounty hunter. Thus, Boba also grows up to be a bounty hunter who cares for nothing except money. Another example of a nontraditional family would be that of the Skywalkers. Anakin’s mother raises her children by herself, and struggles in doing so. She actually sells herself and her family into slavery because she cannot afford to care for her family. And thus, Anakin suffers from inner agony throughout the tale. He finally snaps in Revenge of the Sith, and slaughters the people he once called friends. By doing this, Skywalker reshapes the government of the republic, and disrupts the entire structure of their society. Perhaps George Lucas is hinting that these single-parent families are not appropriate for child-rearing, and the child will only suffer in such an environment. And through this suffering, the children will mature into dysfunctional adults, and disrupt social institutions. Perhaps Lucas is implying that children raised in a single-parent home will suffer the same fate as Anakin Skywalker, and they will turn to the Dark Side of the force.

Discussion questions:
1. How is Lucas’s portrayal of nontraditional families similar/different to our contemporary society?
2. What are some of the effects of single-parent families on children? Does this environment lead to dysfunctional families?
3. Are nontraditional families beneficial to our society as a whole, or do they cause social institutions to crumble? Explain.

African womanism is an ideology that struggles to be defined admist other womanist and femenist views. There is a lot of controversy on what term we shall call these people that prescribe to this ideology. Do they want the race or gender to be emphasized or other? Just like the academics struggling with this name game, I became thoroughly lost trying to balance the differance between black and african, feminist and womanist. The confusing academic dribble aside we can learn through African Womanist theory. What i find particular important is that the black womanist can't totally extracate themselves from the male gender because they need eachother in the fight for racial equality. Many feminist theories were white centered and did did not account for the cultural diffances of resulting from oppression. I believe as the more encompassing fact of racism is undermined and challenged that women as a collective will have more power. More clear cut objectives will be able to be considered when challenging male dominated society. Black females deal with more elements when defining themselves because race issues offer a myriad of challenges let alone female oppression and inequality.

Discussion questions
1 What are the advantages and disadvantages of black women ideolically seperating themselves from black men?
2 How does the politics of naming bog down black womens quest on self identification?

Bloodchild

Octavia Butler's BloodChild follows a society of humans on a preserve who are governed and watched over by a superior insect-alien race, The T'lic. The T'lic use the humans to host and give birth to their young in a blood ritual. The story focuses on the love story between a young male who is the future host of T'Gatoi's offspring. T'Gatoi is a powerful T'Lic with political influences.

Questions:1. The general "deal"is for each human family to offer at least one son to the T'Lic to breed their young. Apparently The T'Lic prefer women but leave them free to bear more children (more future hosts). Do you believe that this tradition or the story exhibits forms of sexual discrimination towards both genders that can be paralleled to our society?

2. Bloodchild exhibits reversal of gender roles when the T'Lic use mostly men to "birth" their young, and T'Gatoi is a powerful T'lic whose a female political figure. What roles in society that are dominated by one gender are beginning to welcome the other gender?

The Lottery

The story "The Lottery" is one that I have read many different times during middle school and high school. Everytime I have read it the story has struck a major chord, but for different reasons each time. The title in itself depicts a clear image in my mind that is an obvious reflection of our society. The lottery, to us, is a way to win MONEY. It is a chance to win hundreds, thousands, even millions at the cost of a few dollars. But this is not the case in this story. It is a device used to cast out one member of a group. Whoever is lucky enough to draw the slip of paper with the black dot wins that opportunity of being stoned to death by their peers. This black dot is a symbol of the end and a mark for death. Given the story, some of the things that America values don't seem so valuable after all . For example, the idea of "tradition" and "beliefs". The two concepts are extremely important to the American value system and many people do not want change them and those who do are frowned upon or seen as radicals. Nobody likes a stray. Also, the idea that these traditions are instilled in children from the time they are young, in this case "old enough to throw a stone", is somewhat scary but can explain many things in today's society. The fact that no one, not even the family of the woman being stoned, stood up or tried to save her is ridiculous because we see ourselves as individuals who stand up for what we believe in and those we care about, not sheep following the rest of the flock. To end, I want to throw it out there that just because we have a belief or tradition does not mean that is is right or the right way and only way to do something. Also, many of our mistakes as humans were based on these very belief.

Discussion Questions:

1. Name a few parallels of today's society found in "The Lottery" and explain how they reflect society.

2. Give some examples of "traditions/beliefs" that are instilled in us as children that aren't necessarily "a good thing".

3. Discuss other symbols that have been used as marks for death by a society and the beliefs behind these symbols.