Discussion Forum on Society and Social Interaction + Socialization

Part I:

Choose one discussion prompt from the options below, and then respond to the question(s) within it as your initial post on this forum. If there’s a prompt that you notice hasn’t yet been selected by our peers, I encourage you to consider selecting it, in hopes to enrich our discussion about Culture even further. Be sure to start your response by letting us know which prompt you chose to explore (for example, you can indicate the number, such as #3) and then proceed to respond to all parts of the question you selected. Note that you may choose to post your response as a video or written response.

1. Think of the five primary socializing agents. Now rank order them from the one that influenced you the most (#1) to the one that influenced you the least (#5). Now, explain why you ranked them this way. How deeply, however, do you think that #4 and #5 also influenced you, including your values and norms?
2. Erving Goffman defines the core components of “dramaturgy” in his book The Presentation of Self in 1959. The basic idea of this perspective is that our entire social world is a stage, where performances take place. These front and back stage performances are either convincing, or not, and influence how we are perceived by others, and also how we perceive ourselves. What are some of your “front” and “back” stage behaviors? Whom do you feel most comfortable revealing your back stage behaviors to? How do you use your front stage performances? How do you control your behaviors around your family, friends, and in public to reflect an identity you want them to believe?
3. Think about Cooley’s concept of the looking-glass self. Do you see yourself as someone who can make a positive impact on society? Why or why not? In what ways has your own looking-glass self experience influenced this? If you answered “no,” that you don’t see yourself as someone who can make a positive impact on society, how does analyzing your socialization experience help you to start to think differently, that there is a possibility for resocialization of your thinking on this?
4. Have your values and norms about environmental issues, such as recycling or global warming (or the views of someone close to you), changed in recent years? If so, what were the social forces that led to this resocialization process? What does this tell you about the possibility resocialization (for you and for society) on other seemingly embedded ways of thinking (values and norms)?

Part II:

What is your “muddiest point” from this module, either from the reading assignment or the related videos? Be sure to include at least one question or general comment about the material, before submitting your initial post. [Note: the “muddiest point” refers to the most difficult or confusing part of the assigned reading and/or related videos].