July 20 2007
Sociology is an intriguing subject. Contrary to popular belief, wherein one feels one would study society and make statements about it, it actually helps you understand yourself. Something most social sciences do.
Sociology has helped me understand my location. It has helped me to know why do certain things trouble me. Why do I react adversely to certain comments? Where does my identity come from and how it isn’t the same for everyone else. It has helped me reflect on my own actions and question my beliefs.
My Mass Media course truly helped me question homogeneity. Sociology is helping me know why I prefer homogeneity. It is making me amoral ….. i.e. it is constantly challenging me not to make moral statements about others. It is asking me to understand a phenomenon rather than make judgements about it.
It is asking me to reflect on why was dowry instituted and the political-economy of marriage. It is rubbishing my ideas of women empowerment by showing me how many women still remain untouched by progress. It is showing me how numbers can deceive you and the prorportion of women receiving primary education is decreasing even as the number of women getting higher education is increasing!
It is making me question why are slums increasing in numbers and how that relates to the economy. It makes me see how certain spaces in urban areas are restricted to a few and privileges aren’t obtained in spite of having money.
It shows me caste isn’t dead. It points out that how communal tensions receive attention while caste conflicts remain invisible. It shows me how family is the site of violence. How it becomes the site for oppression, for power games and isn’t the sacrosanct ideal. It shows how the heterosexual, 4 member family becomes the norm, making all the other families abnormal. This needs to be questioned. By you and me. We need to ask why are single parent households looked down upon.
Often people wondered why did I choose sociology for my masters. But when I make such revolting statements or question their own beliefs, it disturbs them. It makes them uncomfortable and they would rather be in their stable comfort zones.
This is why I took sociology. I enjoy status quo and I know it isn’t good. Being a comfort zone doesn’t help. I enjoy sociology. It is disturbing. It is critical. It is unsettling.
And I like it that way :)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
...and rational n all ...
what they taught us in the earliest grades ...
coming a full circle indeed . . . [:)]
Wow...Sounds fantastic. It's good that you like it more than being in a comfort zone. But I would have gone crazy with all these thoughts and truths. Not many people gain so much from education. Hope you keep learning.
Post a Comment