Entry #8: The End of the Journey

October 10, 2015

Learning Sociology was fun and I learned a lot. I learned a lot about other people. I learned that they act like that because of certain reasons. Maybe it has something to do with their past or how they're brought up by their parents. I also learned a lot about myself. I learned that I act like this because I'm different to other people. And I realized that being different is okay. Everyone is unique in his or her own way, and I learned that in our Sociology class this semester. And now, that class has come to an end. 

I had fun writing in my blogs. Even before I started this blog, I'm already a blogger, posting random and crazy stuff just for the fun of it. It wasn't hard for me to start a blog, but it was hard for me to write things about sociology. I expected from the very beginning that sociology was just talking about people and how they behave like that. But I did not expect that we are going to dig deep for it. It was quite exhausting and hard (especially the quizzes and exams) but it was still fun. I'm quite sad that there's no more sociology in the next semester. Still, I will bring what I learn from this class as I grow up.

From Karl Marx to talking about family, it was truly fun and memorable. Here's to the end of this blog and to my amazing Sociology teacher! 

Entry #7: My Family VS Their Family

October 10, 2015

My family is the same as other families. I have a father, I have a mother and I have siblings. We live in one house, however my older brother doesn't live with us anymore because he currently rents an apartment together with his workmates. Still, all of us meet up whenever there's a special occasion like birthdays and graduations. We also gather together during Christmas holidays and such. 

We are different from my seatmate's family in a lot of ways. I have three brothers, whereas my seatmate has a sister and a brother. Her parents doesn't live with her because they're in Digos and mine are here in Davao with me. She only lives with her sister, because her brother also stays with their parents in Digos. 

We are also different because of our different ways of living. Her parents allow her to go out or hang out with friends during weekends. I, on the other hand, am not allowed to go out of the house with strict permission. I am only allowed to go out during school projects, or birthdays. Only once in the blue moon I am allowed to go out. This might be because my seatmate is the eldest in her siblings, and her parents treat her like an adult. I am the third child out of four and I am very sheltered.

But one similarity that I have with my family and with my seatmate's family is that both of our families celebrate special occasions. Whenever we celebrate birthdays, we always go out and eat somewhere fancy. Everyone is present and we just have fun. Sometimes, we watch a movie or go shopping. It is universal that birthdays and other special occasions make families closer, despite differences. 

Entry #6: Deviance

October 10, 2015

What is deviance? According to John J. Macionis, "deviance is the recognized violation of cultural norms or, in different terms, it is behavior that a large or powerful segment of the population disapproves of." There are two types of deviance - the formal deviance and informal deviance. But what are the differences between the two of them? How come they are classified into two? 

Formal Deviance

Formal deviance includes criminally violation of formally-enacted laws [https://www.boundless.com/sociology/textbooks/boundless-sociology-textbook/deviance-social-control-and-crime-7/deviance-59/deviance-362-4916/]. These types of deviance or violation can land you in jail or worse, even give you a death penalty. These violations include robbery, theft, rape, murder and assault. All of these are against the laws of all countries. 

Different violations:

• Robbery - essentially theft accomplished through the use of physical force or fear;
• Theft - unauthorized taking of property from another;
• Rape - unlawful sexual intercourse or any other sexual penetration;
• Murder - the crime of unlawfully killing a person essentially with malice aforethought; and,
• Assault - a threat or attempt to inflict offensive physical contact or bodily harm on a person (as by lifting a fist in a threatening manner) that puts the person the person in immediate danger of or in apprehension of such harm or contact.

Violating the laws is an example of formal deviance, 

and you may get yourself in jail because of it.

Informal Deviance

Informal deviance, on the other hand, refers to violations of informal social norms, but not norms that are included in the law. Most of these are just violations against one's culture. For example, belching after you eat is quite acceptable if you're in China because they would take it as a compliment. If you belch, it means that you are happy with your meal and you're full. However, if you belch after you eat in another country, people may look down on you. Belching, to some people, is like the equivalent of farting. It is rude and immature.

Belching is an example of informal deviance.

Sources:

http://blogs.findlaw.com/blotter/2015/01/whats-the-difference-between-burglary-robbery-and-theft.html

dictionary.reference.com/browse/rape

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/murder

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assault