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#sociology By Dr. Mike Sosteric Associate Professor Athabasca University So here you are, a student with a sociology textbook in one hand and this “primer” in the other, ready to study sociology, and asking the question what is Sociology?  Congratulations! It’s …

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What is religion? Most sociologists would say religion is either fantasy, social gathering, or elite machination; but in fact it is much more. Religion is an organized and institutionalized response to answering the big questions of life.

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Corporations and governments received heavy criticism for influencing the minds of the public in the 1950s and 60s: corporations for manipulating a potential purchase and governments for deliberately guiding people through the city. In 1955, Guy Debord criticized, “Present-day urbanism’s main problem is ensuring the smooth circulation of a rapidly increasing number of motor vehicles. A future urbanism may well apply itself to no less utilitarian projects…”. He suggests the threat of control is timeless, only the practice changing method.

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So, in an interview Bette Midler said that she was disappointment with the risque way young Hollywood tartlets were parading their bodies around. She specifically targeted little elf Ariana Grande when she said, and I quote, It’s always surprising to …

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This photo of my parents reveals much about their personalities (hers vivacious and outgoing, his withdrawn and closed off), their relationship (little real contact), and also the times. The typicality of their lives reveals much about the USA. My mother …

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Sociology has a lot to say about the education system. In this article Dr. Waters talks about status and education. He draws our attention to the mysterious world of hierarchy and how people learn to deal with that. This is a peek into the hidden world of the meritocracy that we all suffer within.

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Humanity used to believe in God, but now they believe in Darwin. This is a bit of an extreme statement, since most people still believe in God, but the sentiment is accurate. Darwin’s theories of the MECHANISMS of evolution has had a major impact on the social, emotional, and even spiritual fabric of this planet. There is a problem though. In a lot of ways Darwin’s theories seem more like canon, or ideology, than good science. This article explores early awareness of the ideological nature of Darwinian theory, and provides some suggestions on how scientists can break free of dogma that has more to do with religion than with good science.

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What is money? What is the nature of money? This is a problem that has occupied Sociologists since Karl Marx wrote his magnum opus, Das Kapital. If you go by Karl M’s massive, or by any of the many Economics 100 texts (which often don’t even bother to define money), money is a mystified, magical thing that requires incredible effort to understand. In reality though that’s not the case. Money is simply abstracted labour, pure and simple. Once you understand that, then you have the key to understanding the whole of modern society, including the pernicious problems we all face, problems caused by the easy way money allows us to accumulate labour.

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Here’s something you maybe didn’t know went on in our world, female infanticide or killing girl babies just because they do not make economic or social sense. It is a problem in certain countries of the world and the fallout is getting worse by the year. A growing gender imbalance will have serious political, economic, and social consequences if people don’t smarten up and see beyond the socially constructed categories of gender. In the 21st century is this really something that should still be happening?

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What does Psychology, Sociology, Behaviourism, and emotional, psychological, physical, and spiritual abuse have to do with each other? A concern with uplifting the human being, transcending pain and suffering, and moving towards holistic health and wellbeing. Or not. Sometimes it is just about command, control, and fitting people into the System. But not here, and not from now on. The winds of change are blowing, a hurricane is coming, and no amount of self delusion, self deception, or social propaganda are going to turn those winds away.

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