A Conscious Awakening

I initially believed that this course would only introduce me to the fundamentals of social institutions including family, religion, education, and race. However, after reflecting on the entire semester, I’ve concluded that this course not only imparts knowledge but also symbolizes a conscious awakening. From the standpoints of social structure and ideology, it forced me to reevaluate my life experiences and comprehend “who I am,” “why I have become who I am today,” and “how I should change.”

I’ve learned that culture is an intangible power from studying Unit 3. I’ve started to realize that culture is a set of values ingrained in our everyday lives rather than merely festival rituals or familial traditions. I thought about my family’s behavioral norms: we value education, observe customary holidays, and place a strong emphasis on deference to elders. I now realize that these are reflections and replications of the dominant societal and cultural norms, which I previously believed to be just “family styles.” I understand that culture is not innocuous. It suppresses “different” voices while regulating our behavior in a variety of ways. Obedience can occasionally be interpreted as disrespect for one’s own character rather than respect for the other person.

The phenomena of “identity inconsistency” was evident when I examined my identification as a part-time waitress and my role as a “college student” in Unit Four. I do well in school, but I also have a low-status, low-paying work where I must follow rules to the letter. This conflict helps me understand that social identity is built collaboratively by the social context, cultural norms, and economic background rather as being solely a personal choice. Role norms, expectancies, reward and punishment systems, and self-identity are some of the ways society molds our behavioral patterns. I became aware that roles and identities are socially constructed as a result of this. In the meantime, I have also learned how to be more explicit about who I am, both now and in the future. I finally grasped the idea of “labor exploitation” from a global viewpoint in Unit 6 after watching the documentary “The True Cost” and studying Marx’s class theory. I once believed that I could alter my destiny if I put forth a lot of effort. However, it is now evident to me that the capitalism system has consistently increased the wealth disparity. Under the logic of capital’s pursuit of profit, the existence of female workers in the global south who are exploited by low wages and face health risks is not an accident; rather, it is an unavoidable consequence. Our “freedom of consumption” is founded on a “life of exploitation” over which others have no control, I started to comprehend. This prompted me to consider whether I valued my parents’ class welfare and everything I was given. As they say, “There is no such thing as a peaceful and quiet life; it’s just that someone is shouldering the burden for you.” This is true.

In Unit 7 I developed a deeper comprehension of Maria Campbell’s narrative. In addition to documenting an individual’s injury, this shows how racial discrimination has long imposed various differences on indigenous communities, particularly women, and permanently denied them the right to speak and the qualifications to access resources through structural mechanisms like laws, education, health, publishing, and cultural institutions. Campbell is an example of how to reduce and stop structural voices because of her passive attachment to the triple identities of Black, Indigenous, and female. Her records demonstrate that this type of suppression can persistently produce a sense of non-existence, leading to some members of society being forgotten by the formal society, rather than being done only to cross a line. My experience as an immigrant woman from a minority group is inextricably linked to this systemic constraint. I have encountered little bias, resource disparity, and linguistic barriers, but my social obstacles are not as systematic and startling as Campbell’s. I have sensed the similarities and variations of this structural limitation in both the stage when self-expression is universally accepted and the stage where the accomplishments of active writing through motivation are imprisoned in the methodical demands of a closed saw.

The section that most emotionally connects with me is Unit 8. I’ve been told since I was a little child that “girls should be quiet” and “not suitable for studying science and engineering.” I’ve also been told to do most of the housework at home and to pick a career that is “suitable for women.” I now realize that these recommendations, which I initially believed to be motivated by love and care, are the outcome of gender role socialization. Through the media, education, and family, society continuously dictates to women what they ought to be, limiting their autonomy and potential. I have started to reevaluate my notion of “female success” and have gained confidence in my ability to challenge gender stereotypes because of studying this lesson. Women can have a variety of skills. They are adept at secretarial work and can pick up a wrench to fix an automobile. Gender is a social construct rather than an underlying trait. In addition to improving my understanding of social multiculturalism’s inclusive policies, this unit fortified my overall viewpoint on how to interpret the interplay between racial inequality and other social stratifications. With the use of sociological imagination, I was able to carefully consider and debate everyday situations and explain both my own and other people’s experiences. I learned how ideology allows us to tolerate inequality in Unit 9. Several ideas that rationalize inequality have been ingrained in me since I was a young child, including “Society is like this,”

“The poor don’t work hard enough,” and “One has to endure hardships to become a superior person.” These ideas have been ingrained in me continuously by parents, schools, movies, television, and religion, leading me to feel that racial, gender, and societal divides are all unavoidable and inherent. However, this training helped me to see that this “common sense” is a product of ideological operations and a tactic employed by the ruling class to uphold the status quo. I was able to reclaim my capacity for introspection and questioning by challenging ideologies.

The most core transformation that the entire course has brought to me is: from regarding problems as individual failures to a structural understanding. I no longer simply blame myself for “why I’m not confident enough”, “why my career choices are limited”, or “why my family’s expectations bind me”, but realize that there is an invisible but powerful social mechanism at work behind the scenes. This has enabled me to no longer merely blame myself when facing life’s difficulties, but to start seeking a collective perspective, structural changes and social connections. SOCI 287 is not just a textbook or a course. It is a mirror and a key. It enabled me to see clearly the oppression that I couldn’t see in the past and gave me the possibility to start a change. The sociological perspective gives me language, concepts and the courage to question, to analyze and to resist. No matter what profession or social position I hold in the future, I will continue to think, act and speak out with this sociological acumen and criticality.