Dorothy Smith: Standpoint Theory (Sumblog 11)

“It’s Only Me.” is an interesting article I found online This article refers to several children including an eleven year old boy from Higley, Arizona who threatened to kill the girl he liked and the boy who had kissed her. The boy later stated that he never meant to go through with it but felt like it was the only way he could get their attention. Another eleven year old boy from Phoenix, Arizona was arrested after he threatened to shoot a teacher's tape player and then the teacher. This was caused because the boy thought it would be the only way to get across to the teacher that he did not like the music she played. Elizabeth Bush was eighth-grader from Williamsport, Pennsylvania who wanted to grow up and become a human-rights activist or a nun. She ended up shooting the head cheerleader of her school in the school’s cafeteria. Elizabeth yelled, "No one thought I would go through with this," as she fired the gun. Nancy Gibbs  gave these examples of children in different age groups who felt the pressure to commit a school shooting. These children all had one thing in common, they felt as if they were not able to voice their opinion and that their opinion did not matter anyways. Gibbs noted that if each of these individuals had someone to talk to and if others were able to see things from the perspective of the children, many of these cases could have been prevented.

The article by Gibbs  provided a perfect example of Dorothy Smith’s standpoint theory. All of the examples provided were instances when the students felt like they had no say in either their school, friends group, or other aspects of their lives. The children felt as if they did not have much of a standpoint and that no one was viewing things from their perspective. Dorothy Smith felt as if the views of women were almost invisible and forgotten to the rest of society, much like these children felt like their views and ideas were invisible.

SumBlog 10 (Symbols)

Symbols serve to capture meaning--they stand for something else. For instance, if you were reading a fictional book and in the first line it mentioned that the male protagonist had "his trophy wife on his arm" what impressions would you form about him from that simple statement? Or if you saw a woman wearing a chardor or burka? Or if you saw a young black male wearing a gaudy gold necklace? Or a young Hispanic male with lots of tattoos? 



There are many symbols that we as society experience on a day to day basis. One very common symbol, especially in the United States of American is the idea of the cross. Alone this symbol does not have much meaning to it. The Christian religion puts a whole new meaning to this object and makes it sacred and no longer profane. 

The cross symbolizes the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the idea of forgiving sins and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is one of the best known religious symbols of the Christian religion.This symbol is maintained by many churches these days. It is common to see a cross at the front of the church facing the pews or audience. This symbol has historically existed in many Christian churches throughout the world.

In the Paul Berger reading he talks about ideas that coincide with the idea of symbol and having a mundane object become sacred. He talked about how men together produce society and the ideas in it. These symbols are made by society as individuals having the same interpretation of an object.

Overall, symbols are prevalent in society, past and present. They make up many of our beliefs and interpretations. Symbols give meaning to mundane objects and portray them as being sacred in society in some way.

(SumBlog 9) Erving Goffman

 

I looked at Erving Goffman's The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. It uses the imagery of the theater and acting to portray the importance of human social interaction. According to Goffman, social interaction may be likened to a theater. I also liked how he linked people in everyday life to actors on a stage, each playing a variety of roles. The audience consists of other individuals who observe the role-playing and react to the performances. In social interaction, like in theatrical performances, there is a front region where the actors are on stage in from of an audience. There is also a back region, or back stage, where individuals can be themselves and get rid of their role or identity that they play when they are in front of others. 


Some of the main aspects Goffman talked about in this anaolgy were:
Performance
Setting
Appearance
Manner
Front stage
Back stage
Off stage
  
I found his explaination of how society functions to be very intriguing. When  you look at concepts from  another perspective, you are able to see things at a whole new level.