Typologies

I’ve heard from a few folks who are having trouble figuring out typologies. I hope this post helps.

A typology means that there are several different ways of doing the same thing, each of which is a different type. If we take a biological example, there are lots of different ways of being a dog, even though each is clearly a dog (and not a cat or a wolf):

• a terrier: quick to bark, nervous, jumps and runs, small
• a German shepherd: protective and territorial, strong, needs to run
• a collie: friendly, sociable, herds others into place

Your project asks you to take some role in social life that is learned (unlike the dogs, whose behavior patterns are genetic). So, for instance, there are lots of ways of being a student, each of which has role expectations that people are socialized to follow. Here are a few:

• the grind: always studying, little social life, high ambitions
• the activist: takes part in many student organizations, helps run a lot of them
• the partyer: rarely studies, much social life, focus on college life more than the future
• the older student coming back to school, maybe with a spouse or job

My concern with some of your topics is that the connection with socialization was not clear to me. A few of them had very clear possibilities. For instance, considering indigenous medicine vs modern medicine will have typologies of illness that contrast sharply and are learned:

• You’re sick because spirits have influenced you.
• You’re sick because germs have influenced you.
• You’re sick because you are upset, and your bodily humors are out of balance

I hope this helps you in working on your projects.

Socialization Paper / Project

This project has a dual focus:

ü      To gain awareness of socializing forces in American culture

ü      To gain awareness of similar or competing forces in other cultures

Each project should have two or three authors.

Overview:

1. Select a focal topic  such as gender, social class, education, work place behavior, professions, family behavior, or peer groups.
2. Use the CSS Library, your textbook, meetings with your professor, and other resources to identify some typologies or variables that are at work in your focal topic.
3. Explore the research on socialization in this area.
4. Present socialization in the U.S. context with typologies or research findings.
5. Locate a resource exploring this dimension in another culture. This might be a movie made by a film-maker in that culture, magazines or publications from that culture, or a series of news stories (see the BBC) related to that culture.
6. Compare and contrast socialization in the non-US culture to US socialization.
7. Create a presentation that can be posted on our blog.  This could be:
   • a PowerPoint slide show
   • a mini-video
   • a PDF of a traditional paper including images
   • an audio podcast
8. How long should it be?  It should present at least 4 aspects of socialization (e.g., 4 types, or
   4 elements or 4 different methods or 4 theories) in the U.S. context.  It should make at least two distinct comparisons with the non-US culture.  It should be an appropriate length to accomplish that.
9. Do include full citations for any material that you use (video clips, songs).  This is an academic project, so you are covered by the Fair Use provisions of copyright law.

Due date:  Wednesday 12 March

Example Socialization Project 5: Social Class from PBS

Links to two clips from the PBS series People Like Us: Class in America.

You Are Your Stuff  – possessions as class markers

More WASP Lessons – behaviors, speech patters, clothing as class markers.