Sometime I think there are a lot of K junkies about :)

you get this
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[QUOTE=SameOldStory;1417311]Lol, I don't mind, it takes the stress off it a little. It's for Intro to Sociology. There's a bunch of rules and stuff, and I don't know how to write about stuff that might not be there. Heres the rules:

"Select a subculture to which you currently do not belong to or with which you are not very familiar with. It might be a religious, racial, or ethnic group; it might be a sports or social club, or an occupational or workrelated subculture.

In a titled, cogent essay, (sh!t, I'm already in trouble :p) demonstrate your understanding of ALL the following concepts by describing the following:

Shared beliefs
Values
Norms (including folkways amd mores), customs, and sanctions
How does one become a member of this subculture?
What are the outward symbols and behaviors that might indicate to others that one is a member?
How do these beliefs, values, norms, sanctions, customs, differ from the dominant culture?
Conclusions- what did you learn about subcultures? (that so far the topic isn't fun, lol!)

Other considerations:
Your paper must draw upon and complement the readings and lectures. Do more than summarize the lectures and readings-you should be able to develope a central theme or a basic focusing thesis and organize an argument around it. Synthesize, compare, contrast, think crtically, and analyze. Use proper citations and include a bibliography (if applicable). Papers need to be 4-6 pages."

There it is, folks. I was thinking hippies, but that is a counter culture and I don't know if it matters for this paper. I could pick a gang and write about it but I want to do something that interests me, rather than just write something to turn it in (although that may become an option, lol). I was thinking homeless people, prostitutes, and teen moms.

[QUOTE=emonti8384;1417542]Do homeless people, prostitutes and teen mums constitute sub-cultures in the terms in which the task is defined - do these groups have identifiable beliefs, values, norms, sanctions, customs, which define them as separate from the dominant culture?

Hippies is good...trouble is they are either dead or running large corporations.

What about MMOG players or death metal fans?

You're screwed. There's no way that you can fulfill the requirements.

Do you have enough time to find someone who took his class to find out what he/she really wants, and write to that? And I don't mean copy.

Baring that I would pick a very tight sub-group like Eskimo whalers vs Eskimo hunters.

Take people that use funny looking pictures of themselves on their bus cards. You do not need many. I am one and could give you an easy interview, for free.
the rest of the paper could be an expanded version of TGS post, Theory and Methodology, my interview could be A Case Study.

A few days back I found an old newspaper clipping in one of my grandmother's bibles (probably kept for the title, which was something like "Boys Killed the Second Time.") According to the article, two young boys (around 8 to 10, IIRC) ran out in front of a car, the man hits the breaks, grabs the boys, pulls them off the side of the road, and chews them out about the danger of running into the road. He gets back in the car, drives off, the boys run back into the road again, a car hits and kills them both. I thought at the time that they merited a proto-Darwin Award.

Well I overheard her talking to a student that asked if she could do teen moms and my prof said yes, so I'm assuming the others are ok too. But there is a difference in gangs, where things are structured- they have rules, heirarchies, and shared beliefs, and hippies, who do not have that type of structure among them. Sure they had beliefs, but there is no "head" hippie that tells the other hippies this is how it's going to be. I'm just having a hard time with it because the subject is so vast. I almost wish she had a list of topics and you had to choose. The paper is due on Feb 28th at midnight. Grrrr!

Keep the focus very narrow. Amish hippies?

Seriously, there's not much that you can cover is 4 to 6 pages. Not in the depth asked for.


Thinking on it, I think that you could cover "conscientious objectors" in those few pages. In truth it's as complex as anything, but it could be easily encapsulated by focusing on a few people. Check out Conscientious objector on Wiki.

More so than almost anything else, I believe that hoomins think they are privileged to be here and that somehow they think (or maybe they just don't think at all) that they have the right to use everything around them as if it was a resource that was intended for just them to use at the expense of everything not human (or even at the expense of other humans). Wresting power from this self-proclaimed privileged group will not be easy but is probably the single most important issue in front of us (although we instead focus on "the economy", marriage laws, and what movie will win an Oscar this year). It (the end of privilege) will probably either come welling up from within or else through its own extinction accelerated by its own actions. We can only hope for the former. Or maybe not.

"Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Rehinhold Neibuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals." -MLK, Jr. in his letter from the Birmingham jail

Although I'm a hyprocrit (I participate with my larger group of hoomins and buy cars and ice cream and such), I am one of what is probably an incredibly tiny number of unassociated individuals who are at least aware that the larger group is the enemy. I, at least when it is convenient for me, choose to fight for the rest of the planet by making choices at the polls, in stores, at the bus stop, in conversations, etc. on this topic first and foremost. I am not a member of any political party or religious group. And I don't chat with like-minded individuals at weekly meetings at the library or online.

So, am I a member of a subgroup? If so, how are status relationships defined among this subgroup? What is the division of labor? How does the subgroup function?

I meant the motorcyclist shouldn't make eye contact. :2thumbsup

Speaking of motorcycles and sub-groups, I read Hunter Thompson's Hell's Angels a couple of weeks ago. Now, there's an interesting sub-group. :D

hoomin 3 up, 2 down


the word "human," as written by cats and dumb people.
i Iz stoopid annd cant spel rite, cuz im a cat, not a hoomin.

No need to thank me, it is a pleasure and a duty.

You can write about people who don't belong to any subgroup.

Please use the spoilers with care as they might be offensive. The first time look at the content through the fingers of your hand

yes, you are a member.

Yes, your subgroup has a function. The how in the spoiler

dog. Cuz im a dog. Arf.