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Contributions will be
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Date: Tue, 13 Sep From: "Phil D" In response to Jennifer's question. I think that the purpose
of taking sociology, is to give us a better understanding of our social
surroundings. I think because the medical and crimology professions deal
with people, having a good grasp with understanding the mechanics of society,
and understanding how society affects the people that live in it will help
us do our jobs much better in the crime and medical fields. However we've only had a
very limited look into what sociology really is so what I'm saying could
be absolute garbage. Date: Tue, 13 Sep From: "Jen K" This emial is a response to the
question Jennifer D had about what we can get out of this course. I believe
that understanding how the people in our community are influenced by the
society, we ourselves can understand how the society initially works. The
reasons for the decisions that are made. Why people choose to make the
decisions they do, such as crime. By learning how people act in society,
we can repsond better to their needs whether it's by being a nurse or a
police officer. As it is only the second
week of classes now, I believe that most of us will have a better understanding
of what we can get out of this course. Date: Tue, 13 Sep From: "Jennifer N" This is a response to Jennifer
D’s question about the reason why sociology is a prerequisite for the
nursing. Sociology opens communications and understanding between
people of all walks of life. It allows good nurses and other professionals
that work with the public a better understanding about different ways people
deal with everyday problems. Sociology helps nurses understand each individual
person, so that they can understand patients better. Date: Tue, 13 Sep From: "Christina A" This is in response to Jennifer
D’s question about what she thought she could get out of taking Sociology. I believe that Sociology
can help us to better understand our society, and as such is relevant as
it is the interactions, activities, beliefs, and values of people that
make up society, and once we have a better grasp of the reactions and influences
of these aspects, for everyone in the community, we will be more effective,
functioning members of society. In addition, for those of us who are planning
on a career, such as policing or nursing, that will put us in the midst
of many different social interactions, it is helpful and advantageous to
better understand where everyone is coming from. We will then be able to
better sympathize, and rectify any issues that one might encounter in such
a profession. I personally believe that by understanding how one person’s
actions and activities will affect another person’s life, I will be a
better police officer as I can offer guidance and support to those who
need it and maybe be a more understanding person. That being said, I have no
knowledge of what Sociology entails other than what we have done in class,
and the little bit of reading that I have done in the text book. I could
be totally off base… ~ Christina A Date: Tue, 13 Sep From: "Ben M" In response to Jennifer D's
question: I believe that her doubts for the course were reasonable at the
time, I mean if you want to be a Nurse why do you need to learn about society
right? Sociology will widen one's
understanding and tolerance of people and where they are coming from. In
most Criminal Justice related fields (Parole Officer, Cop, Social Work)
this is paramount. If one does not have a respect, tolerance, and even
knowledge of other people's culture and circumstance only half the job
is done. Date: Mon, 12 Sep From: David C Dr Phil, In response to Jennifer D's
question about relevance...I believe that Sociology is a tool* that will
help us better understand the communities we live in and will make us more
effective human beings, regardless of what you do for a living. Being
in touch with the social interactions of society will help us be more compationate,
more understanding, and more accepting of other people's ideas and situations
(and the causes of their ideas and situations). I think it can also help
us recognize areas and times that we can have a positive influece on/in
society, when maybe without the sociological perspective we would choose
not to act. The sociological perspective may help you understanding
why you have a malnourished child or a gunshot victim in front of you (and
how one could lead to another) - and while it won't have an affect of the
treatment you administer, understanding the social issues behind it will
make you a more effective practitioner. * I believe that my perception
of Sociology simply being a tool will change the deeper we get into this
course. The term "tool" seems to belittle the importance somehow,
but that's the best I've got right now! Date: Mon, 12 Sep From: "Joe Jerk-Off" wat i could get our of this course
is to learn the way society works and to learn the functions of society.
I will help me in the future with my studies in Crimianl Justice so i get
a clear understanding of the view of society as a whole. Date: Sun, 11 Sep From: "Nadine M" Here is a response to Jennifer's
question. I think it will provide a
larger prespective for our lives in general. In the past I always thought
that people comitted crimes just because they are bad people. But theres
more to it most of the time, and I believe this coarse is designed to expose
us to these other areas. As mentioned before, at the end of the coarse
I think some of us will recieve various benefits from others and be able
to see what this coarse provided us with. Date: Sat, 10 Sep From: "tim h" Simple. I think you can gain a
better perspective of society. What makes it tick. Perhaps why a society
does the things that they do. Why some people in a society would choose
to act in crimial ways. If we are learning about other people, we will
be able to better understand what to do with them, in both medical aid
and serving and protecting. Date: Sat, 10 From: "cam ." This email is in response
to Jennifer D's question of how social sciences are relevent courses for
those who are attending professional programs(such as nursing and criminology).
I believe that social sciences will give students a much better understanding
of how social issues take place, the relationships within a society, and
how one can control these interactions. This meaning that a nurse, for
example, will be faced with these interactions every day of her career,
with her patients, co-workers, ect, and being able to interpret and contol
these situations will be important. That being said, I think that we as
students will be better equiped to answer this type of question at the
end of the semester, when we have a better understanding of the course
and how it will help us in the future. Date: Fri., 09 Jul
From: "Jennifer D"
Subject: soc 100: Question
My question to you Dr. Phil and to
anyone in the class who can answer it is:
How does or how can Sociological perspectives
help me as a medical professional to understand the beliefs, desires, wishes
and complaints of my patients? Meaning what am I going to get out
of this course and how am I to apply it to my career?
From Dr. Phil,
Friday July 9, about ten thirty: This is a good
question, and a legitimate one. I would invite all to ask if it can
be useful to your career plans. Or should it be? Also -- and this
is important -- to suggest your own replies to this and other student queries.
(1) There is an important branch of Sociology called Medical Sociology,
and it looks at such questions as the interaction between patients and
medical professionals. It is not included in an introductory course such
as this one, because we all must learn how to walk before we can run.
It may be in third and fourth year university courses, post graduate courses,
and certainly on post graduate theses. (2) I would say that if the question
interests you for the future, that you look more at symbolic interaction
now when you are starting your sociology. There are, of course many
other questions in the field, but that might be a good start. Many
professional programmes include prerequisites in the social sciences (nursing,
social work, criminology, education), and they are there for a purpose,
not merely to make students jump through hoops just to be mean. This
is the place to consider those reasons. My suggestion about the value
of the sociological perspectives themselves is that it is not necessary
to justify them for immediate practical value in professional programmes;
they do help to make professionals more educated and aware of social issues,
they allow for a more sophisticated and deeper analysis of illness by seeing
the social factors in disease and wellness; they help professionals to
learn that there are several contradictory ways of interpreting the same
information, that we should scientifically ask why doctors are treated
so much better than nurses in medical institutions (are our assumptions
and common sense enough justification for this huge inequality?), and that
even nurses should learn to have fun with a few things like learning. I'd like to hear
from other students. Phil
