Socialization: Integrating Into Society & Its Concepts - Essay Sample

Introduction

Sociological Concepts: Socialization refers to the process by which people integrate into society. Karpov (2016) articulated that socialization gives a growing person the capacity to gain knowledge and cognition. The process begins after birth and continues throughout an individual's life. In this project, the sociological concepts I intend to use include socialization, agents of socialization, culture, values, language, norms, social structure, social stratification, and social change. Socialization perpetuates a culture in a way that people learn cultural values and norms. Language is relevant since it determines the way people adjust to a social institution. Agents of socialization are aspects such as family, school, and media that influence and shape a person's life. They are relevant since they determine the way people interact with each other in a social institution. Social structure is relevant in the sense that they determine roles and interactions in a social institution. Social stratification is relevant since it determines the placement of individuals in society. Social change is relevant because it defines the change in human interactions and relationships.

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Culture and Socialization: Culture has a big impact on my life. Boyd (2011) asserted that culture teaches us to behave in a certain way within the social institution. As he added, to learn a culture, people must socialize. in this socialization, various agents that influence it include media, family, school, and peers. My family was the most important agent of socialization since me being a Mexican-American and my parents being born in Mexico, they expected me to behave in a certain way. For example, the way I dress is completely different from the Mexican culture. Also, the foods that I eat are mostly American considering the Mexican culture revolve around food. Even though this socialization has not affected my language and values, it has affected me in a way that I have the constant though my family feels that I am drifting away from the Mexican culture.

Social Structure and Groups: being a Mexican-American, most of the people I associate with are from either Mexico or America. To me, I am influenced by the norms and beliefs of Western culture. According to Karpov (2016), social structures acquire the features of cognitive stratification. As the author explains further, the cognitive role defines group identities in the cultural system. Face-to-face interactions with groups are significant to me since it takes a more expansive form of social structure. These interactions influence my perceptions positively and make me act accordingly.

Education: from a sociological perspective, education has played an important role. Dworkin, Ballantine, Antikainen, Barbosa, Konstantinovskiy, Saha, Essack, Chang, Vryonides, and Teodoro (2013) affirmed that the sociology of education incorporates action theories such as interaction and social constructionism which are dependent on peers, learning environment, parents, and teachers. In my school, there are many diverse students. Students from the same cultures tend to group themselves. Practically, that has been the norm in the school. Also, I have noted that people from the same social class. Even though at first I was not content with that interaction since it created inequality, I had to do what other students were doing for the sake of fitting in the social institution.

Professional Field: this field of sociology equips me with the knowledge to cope in the increasingly diverse world. Social issues prevent the normal functioning of society. An example of a sociological issue that affects my field of study is social stratification and inequality. Guo, Li, Lu, Yin, Gorson-Deruel, and King (2018) stated that social stratification is the product of an unequally structured society. In my professional field, most of the people I know in my class have categorized themselves in regards to social class. People of the higher class hang out together while those in the middle and lower classes spend time together.

Technology and Media: Technology and media promoted social change in my life. Daniels, Williams, and Buggs (2017) discussed the social construction of technology and media where he indicated that it determines social structures, cultural values, and the way people think. Since I came to learn how to operate the internet and social media sites such as Emails, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, I have met new people and learned many things. YouTube, for example, has many me discover interesting things in life and developing creativity and literacy. Practically, technology and media have influenced my life positively.

Preliminary Supporting Resources

The source Socialization for the Knowledge Society by Karpov (2016) gave an outline of the aspect of socialization that prepares young people to live in a knowledge society. The author discussed the role education plays in building a knowledge society. More so, the author talked about cultural and historical epistemology that contribute to the conception of a knowledge society. Besides that, the author introduced the phrase "socialization of the research type' to describe the importance of research education in socialization and knowledge society that depends on cognition and creative personality.

The source Digital media technologies in everyday life by Daniels, Williams, and Buggs (2017) discussed the emerging fields of digital sociology by examining Bourdieu's concepts of field, capital, and habitus as parts of approaches to social research. They mentioned digital media technologies such as Facebook, Skype, and Email. More so, the authors asserted that digital media technologies in everyday life influence the social, political, and cultural aspects in diverse settings.

The source The Research Topic Landscape in the Literature of Social Class and Inequality by Guo, Li, Lu, Yin, Gorson-Deruel, and King (2018) discussed social class and inequality. The authors introduced the concept of social stratification, which they described as the unequal categorization of individuals in society according to social class. They provide the landscape and mapped the topic by providing various literature reviews that could help both students and researchers to comprehend the subject.

The source The Sociology of Education by Dworkin, Ballantine, Antikainen, Barbosa, Konstantinovskiy, Saha, Essack, Chang, Vryonides, and Teodoro (2013) talked about the emerging issues in the sociology of education. In the article, they discussed theory, issues, stratification, inequalities, multiculturalism, peer groups, social control, teacher-supply demand, and the politics of education.

The source Culture and Socialization by Boyd (2011) discussed the development of culture through socialization. The author uses Marx's and Engels perspective of the development of culture and the way it links to socialization. Besides that, the author examines the agents of socialization and the way they impact behavior. They derive information from theorists such as Mead and Durkhem who delve deeper into the discussion of the agents of socialization. According to the author, language drives culture, which eventually results in social interactions.

References

Boyd, Georgina. (2011). Culture and Socialization. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/296698391_Culture_and_Socialisation

Daniels, J., Williams, A., & Buggs, S. (2017). Digital media technologies in everyday life. Information, Communication & Society. 20. 1-3. DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2017.1307435.

Dworkin., A., et al. (2013). The sociology of education. Sociopedia. DOI: 10.1177/2056846013122.

Guo, L., Li, S., Lu, R., Yin, L., Gorson-Deruel, A., & King, L. (2018) The Research Topic Landscape in the Literature of Social Class and Inequality. PLoS ONE 13(7): e0199510. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0199510

Karpov, A.O. (2016). Socialization for the Knowledge Society. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, Vol. 11, No. 10, 3487-3496. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1114688.pdf