What’s Next?

Well, if you haven’t noticed, I learned a lot in one particular class this semester. Though it kept me up until the wee hours of the morning, much like my residents, I’d rather have my intellectual brain keep me up than my emotional one (though she takes her turn too, don’t worry.) You see, the issue here is that the class is now over… SOC100-04 has stopped, but my brain hasn’t. While I’m considering taking another sociology class next semester (unfortunately with a different professor), I don’t want to wait until September to keep learning. So, then, what’s next? I’m so glad you asked…

There are a few topics I started exploring this last semester that I want to do some more digging into. While I could sit here and list every unit as one I want to learn more about, I’ll be a little more intentional. For starters, I want to do more learning about Symbolic Interactionism. While I’m moderately obsessed with Emile Durkheim, I’m also moderately intrigued by Symbolic Interactionism. It’s worth noting that “moderately” here is synonymous with “extremely”. I have a book waiting for purchase in my amazon cart, but I’ll also do some online, free reading too. Perhaps it’s the literature geek in me, but any time I even remotely see the word “symbol”, I have to learn more. I think I’m spending my life searching for, and trying to understand, meaning(s). So understanding what certain things, symbols, mean, is right up my alley. Unlike the large sociological perspectives of conflict theory and functionalism, I feel like Symbolic Interactionism (I have no clue why my laptop insists on capitalizing that one but not the other two) seemingly flies under the radar. I want to change that.

I also want to do more snooping into Max Weber. Step aside, dear Durkheim, though only for a little while. Durkheim is next on the chopping block, but I’m very interested in Weber, especially considering he’s the most “modern” sociologist we studied in class. I have a book on/by him also in my amazon cart, and I think I’ll be clicking “purchase” soon. Weber first sparked my interest when I was able to connect him to my senior thesis (titled “From Christian to Constitution: Transforming Gender Roles of Early American Literature”) which talked about the role of gender and especially religion in early American, Puritan society. Weber’s take on religion overlaps nicely with my Puritan obsession, so we’ll be diving into his work, both religiously themed and otherwise.

Future Elizabeth here. Yeah, I bought the book by Weber. In a few days you’ll see my post “Pt.1: Dear Max Weber…” where we’ll discuss the first half of that book. I’m pumped for that one. Kk, see ya later.

And lastly, there’s another book I’ll be reading. The Second Shift by Arlie Russell Hochschild was recommended to me by none other than my sociology professor. It talks about the “revolution at home” and the role of unpaid labor, namely that of parents, with consideration for both the working and stay-at-home. We went over this topic briefly in class, but I’m very excited to learn more about it, though like much of sociology, it’s something that is constantly changing. As the child of a mom who worked until she literally couldn’t work any more, and a father who was unemployed for eight years, I’ve seen a few different sides of unpaid labor by parents. I’m excited to compare my own experiences with the research, especially considering I had a working female parent and a stay-at-home male parent. My gut tells me that isn’t the norm… call it an “educated guess”.

If you haven’t noticed, I’ll be doing a lot of reading, though the books mentioned in this post make up less than half of my “to read” list. But as I’m reading all of these books, I also want to consider the role of music in society. I always joke and say that I was born in the wrong decade/musical era because I’d rather listen to Joni Mitchell and Harry Chapin than Lizzo or Post Malone. That being said, I think society relies on music quite a bit. Norms, events, people, and more are all included in the meanings of song lyrics and literal music notes. I want to explore that more. I’m sure I could find a book about it, but I’d much rather listen to the music and observe it’s impact on our world. Yes, even if that means listening to Lizzo and Post Malone.

So, at least for right now, that’s what is next in the sociological realm. I really wish I had taken this class sooner. I would have declared a minor in sociology, at the absolute least, if not gone further than that, if I had taken it sooner. I’m a firm believer, however, that you don’t need the institutionalized educational setting of desks in rows to do authentic learning. Hell, sometimes authentic learning can only happen outside of that setting. So with a fabulous foundation established in my sociological knowledge, I’m ready for more! Fear not, I’ll of course be sharing all of my learning here (where else could it possibly go?). Thoughts can only spin around in one’s head for so long…

Let’s crack some book spines, turn up the radio, and get to it!