Tuesday, April 21, 2009

UTEP as a society

Anthony Guiddens talks about the duality of structure and how all social structures are mediums and outcomes they organize. For example, Applerouth (2008) uses Language as a medium and outcome; explaining how at the same time we follow the rules of grammar and language we are creating them (the rules). However, this can be applied to any sociological structure, any society or anything that we can possibly think of. For another example I will mention UTEP is a society that is both creating rules and is creating a medium to follow these rules. So, at the time we are following what we think of as set rules and regulations we are also making either new rules and regulations or the same rules we are following. A constant creation of structure is always happening. In order to fully understand this concept I believe we must participate and create a discussion so my question today is, how and what social structures do you create and/or participate in that you can think of that is both creating and regulating preexisting norms. What structure is both the medium and outcome of itself?

9 comments:

  1. I'm not sure how large the population has to be for this to be valid but after reading the question I automatically thought about the family structure. I think there are societal norms and rules that we consider are part of the family, (taking care of the children, providing meals...etc.) Each family is different though and creates it's own rules and norms that derive from the original norms and values (game night, Spaghetti Sundays...etc.). Each family is different and I think families are constantly cchanging and evolving as the years go by.

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  2. I totally agree with Dheredi; personally speaking, coming from a traditional Mexican family, I believe that I grew up following the norms my parents taught me during my formation, but at the same time, as society progresses, some of those old norms start to evolve and some other ones are created along the way. Some of those old traditional norms that have passed through different generations have become obsolete and have changed, despite the fact that my parents would not like that to happen too drastically. But at the end, one needs to adapt to society, and with this, once again, the cycle starts again, when we end up following new norms and create others at the same time.

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  3. I believe every system, from a democracy to traffic regulations become an cycle in the sense that those who participate reinforce such regulation and those who do not are punished in one way or another. The only way to break from such cycle would be to opt for a total anarchy rejecting all forms of regulations and refusing to participate in such interaction.

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  4. By reading the blog I also automatically thought about the family structure and I completely agree with both of you. I think that the family would be the best example of how we create the structure and it is the outcome itself. Moreover, I can think of an example of the house rules, like cleaning after ourselves, picking up the dirty clothes and many other rules that we create but that we also have to follow. I really think that rules are created for a reason and that it is for the better of everyone to follow them.

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  5. I agree with the previous responses on how the family is a prime example of this. Before a family is created, there are already rules on how each members should behave. Traditionally, the husband goes to work, the wife is a homemaker, and the children go to school. Even so, the rules have changed a bit and evolved. That was how my family started, but by the time I was two, it changed. My mother went to work, and as time went on, less of the household work was put in her hands. The older we got, the more household responsibilities we got. So although our family started out with a set of rules, the rules changed to suit our family needs as time went on.

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  6. Social stuctures, rules and norms go hand in hand. Social rules and norms are embedded into social systems in such a way that they shape the behavior of actors within those social systems. As actors within a social structure we follow the relatively enduring patterns of behaviour and relationships within a society. Every social structure has a form of rules and norms.

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  7. I think that we create rules everywhere we are, it does not matter if we are in a small group or a very large group of people, or even a country. For example whenever we are in a small group or with another person we know what the rules are after we have spent sometime with that person(s). We know what we can do and what we can't. The medium and the outcome in this example are employed all the way from the language that we use in those different groups (when we are talking about small groups) to what we do and what we do not. For example we do not use the same language with our close friends than the one that we use with our grandparents for instance. It all depends in the situation that we are experiencing with the outcome that it is going to have, and also the way that those rules and norms will shape our relation with those persons.

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  8. I think that I participate in the family social structure where I play many roles, mother, wife, daughter are my main ones. With in this structure I am expected to obey the rules of my original family while creating rules for my own family. I think I have taken many rules that I have followed when I was a child and implemented on my children. For instance growing up I was never allowed to sleep over other people house, not even family members and I though it was so unfair. Now my daughter is older and she wants to spend the night at her friend’s house and I will not allow it. The thought of her sleeping at someone else’s house, overwhelms me with fear.

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  9. I agree with this analysis. I can visualize how everything has a "structure" on the way things work. Starting at home with family, school, society and work. There is a set of standard rules and regulations that we unconciously follow on a daily basis. We continue to build upon the old structures and continue to improve our way of life.

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