In the three classes stated on my previous page I learned multiple concepts on how structures in society influence our daily lives. In Sociology 205 we learned how Deviance was manifested in society. We learned about people’s needs to be a part of something, and when they cannot be part of things involving societal “norms” they convert to “Deviant subgroups”. These Deviant subgroups can range from just a group of kids or peers that simply do not fit in with the majority, all the way to gang related activities. The definition of “Deviance” is anything that goes against social norms or violates social rules and conventions. We dove into multiple forms of Deviance such as Drug addiction and abuse, Assault, Sexual Assault, and the concept of retreatism. In a novel written by Beth Macy called “Dopesick” we analyzed the Opioid Epidemic at the roots, to understand how it began and spread so fast across our country. While reading we learned that the Opioid “Oxi” was advertised as a “safe” way to relieve chronic pain. In a area like West Virginia where the coal industry thrived there were not many hospitals. So, when workers got injured, they went to a nearby doctor to be prescribed something for pain. Purdue Pharma and their sales representatives targeted those lower income areas and advertised Oxi as a safe pain reliever. Eventually the industry died out and that whole area was out of work so they could not afford the medical prescriptions and resulted to cheaper alternatives on the streets. The moral of the story is looking back to the beginning of the era, Purdue Pharma a massive medical institution was pushing the production and sales of this product on the public having a big impact on this outcome.

In Sociology Race and Racism, we analyzed different ways people experienced discrimination and racism in their lives. “Micro aggressions” is one of multiple ways. Micro aggressions are side comments on a daily basis that make someone of a different race or culture feel different from the rest or discriminated upon. We analyzed how subtle micro aggressions really are to someone who may not even know they are doing it. These small comments, expressions, or actions really do effect people and how they live. We also analyzed Racism in the work environment including micro aggressions and the idea that people who submit resumes for a job that have a “white” sounding name are more likely to get call backs for interviews than people with other names. In this class through learning these concepts we came to understand the privilege that white people experience in society that they might not even have recognized without taking this class. This is because the structures in society are made to fit a particular “ideal person” or people.

In sociology and the community, we learned how people interact with structures and others in a society. We learned how people can not only be influenced by societal structures, but also influence societal structures. This is because Society is a group of people with a common territory living in interaction, with common cultures. Since people make up society they too can be influenced and influence the structures within it.