The Best of Both Worlds

A lot of people don't really understand what sociology is all about. Yes, some people might know that sociology deals with studying human behavior, but putting sociology into the context of a job is hard to grasp. Preparing for graduation, it is a little daunting to figure out what I can do within my field. In my capstone class, Perspectives in Sociology, we focus on not only how sociology fits into everyday lives, but how it can fit into our futures. I have learned that I am prepared for multiple job opportunities because of my breadth of knowledge and dispositions. Coincidentally, many important sociological themes can also be reflected in the skills of a leader. For instance, some of the topics that we address are: how to work within a group, how to interact with various cultures, the importance of race, class, and gender, and public advocacy. Each of these topics is very helpful in terms of working with specific groups of people or working under certain circumstances. In my Perspectives in Sociology class we have taken what we know about these topics and put it in a larger context of public sociology. Both aspects require a deep understand of society in order to have success. As a future graduate from the department of sociology, it is inevitable that I will run into situations within these larger categories.

DEFINING PUBLIC SOCIOLOGY

In his 2004 address for the American Sociology Association, Michael Burawoy** defined public sociology as "taking sociology to publics beyond the university, engaging them in dialogue about public issues that have been studied by sociologists" (Burawoy). He was trying to promote public sociology because he believes that nowadays "professional sociologists" spend so much time discussing and researching social problems with other people in higher education, that rarely there is interaction with the people who are affected by the social problems. Instead, he proposes that people should not only share their research with the educated, but also share the information with the general public. Subsequently, the general public, too, could participate in promoting social change.

While talking in my Perspectives in Sociology class, we addressed the key characters of public sociologists and how they are differentiated from the professionals who spend their time researching and writing. First, they spend more time in a certain community, actively learning about what is important to the community and what the members might be struggling with. Subsequently, public sociologists address the needs of the people in the community. Finally, public sociologists are generally only well-known within their own community. They are not as famous because they spend their time and efforts in a specific community rather than trying to gain attention for their work. Examples of people who would fit under these definitions would be church leaders, volunteer coordinators, or other leaders within smaller organizations.

I view public sociologists as leaders. Not only do they understand what encompasses a certain issue, but they understand how to go about and promote change. During my sophomore year, I took a class called Social Problems. In this class, all we did was deconstruct various social problems and brainstorm possible ways to implement change. There is a model that we used from Joel Best's book, Social Problems, to try and solve these dilemmas (Best 49):

Claimsmaking --> Media Coverage --> Public Reaction --> Policymaking --> Social Problems Work --> Outcomes*

Basically, a sociologist takes something that they believe is a problem, defines it, informs the public, evaluates the public's response (and adapts accordingly), and then tries to fight for policies that could help start social change. One sad truth is that this process can be slow and it might take a really long time for social change. A public sociologist would then take measures accordingly within their own community. This usually means taking measures for short-term change. Interestingly enough, providing support within a community can help bring the community together because they are aware of the issues at hand and know how to manage them. The public sociologist is just the leader who brings people and resources together.

As I have previously mentioned in other posts, service is very important to who I am and what I do. What intrigues me so much about sociology is applying the knowledge of how to interact with people in various situations whether they have differences of race, class, gender, culture, or sexuality. Rather than judging people, sociology learns about people for who they are and how they interact. I love learning about how different people interact. I believe that my knowledge is useful in terms of problem solving. While people view social problems in an egocentric perspective, I try to think about the lifestyles and backgrounds of others and how to form a common ground between extremes. If I do not know the other perspective, I am not afraid to ask about it. In terms of service, this has meant that I have gone out into various communities and gotten to know the people and their backgrounds. Although I might not be able to understand what life is like living in their shoes, I have a base knowledge that can help develop my own opinions and perspectives. Having that type of information then makes it easier to use the social problems model. Even though I have not been able to make that large of a social change yet, through sociology it is a goal that I would hope to someday attain; even if it were to be a small-scale change within a community like a public sociologist.

PUBLIC SOCIOLOGY IN ACTION

Plus, public sociologists reflect three of the four pillars that Wartburg promotes: Leadership, Service, and Learning. By being leaders in communities, public sociologists promote learning through service to try and fight social problems. At Wartburg, many of the opportunities that I had to a leader through sociology was during the service trips that I went on. One service trip in particular really made me want to become more involved in  communities and promoting their social problems was my spring break trip to Corpus Christi, Texas.

Throughout the week, our group of Spanish majors, minors, and native speakers worked with an organization affiliated with Lutheran Social Services of the South called Bokenkamp Children's Shelter. This organization works with unaccompanied minors who crossed the United States-Mexico border through various modes of transportation. Some children rode across the border on the tops of trains, some walked across the border with a group, while others were part of a form of trafficking. The children are caught on their way to finding their families in the United States and taken to this shelter. Bokenkamp provides, clothes, food, shelter, and an education. Most importantly, the workers try to find a way to reunite the children with their families in the United States. The steps taken by the founders of Bokenkamp relate to the beginning stages of Best's social problems model that is promoted in sociology. In terms of the institution itself, the founders of the shelter made a claim that unaccompanied minors were being put in danger by being taken to I.C.E. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) because they were housed with adults. Subsequently, they worked within the Lutheran Church to develop this shelter to protect the children. Unfortunately, immigration is such a controversial issue, that there has been little additional progress for Bokenkamp. Not everyone supports the idea of helping children who traveled here illegally to be reunited with their families here in the United States but rather have them sent back to where they came from. However, the founders of Bokenkamp acted more as public sociologists, addressing the children who were caught around the Corpus Christi area and provided shelter and services for them. Even though their influence might not be nation-wide, the services provided by the organization have truly made a positive impact on the children that come through. In terms of leadership in public sociology, addressing the needs of the community is the most important.

In terms of our involvement, we helped repaint some of the bedrooms that the students stayed in but also had the opportunity to interact with the children. We sat and ate lunch with them every day and learned about their stories - how they arrived to the United States and who they were planning on visiting. What we learned as a group from this group was more than what services that Bokenkamp offers but rather pain that these children have to go through emotionally, physically, and mentally. Within sociology, I can understand the problems within immigration as well as the personal effects that it has had on people. I became increasingly more aware about immigration reformation after participating in this trip by reading up on the progress being made at the national level. Sociologically speaking, the reasons that the children are coming here is to be reunited with family. In Latino culture, family is central where often multiple generations live together. Even though there are more financial opportunities  in the United States, the reasons for coming here are based on the family. However, there are many people who stereotype any immigrant coming into the nation as one involved with drugs. I can then, as a leader, discuss the various perspectives of the issues by sharing the stories of the people I interacted with. Hopefully then people can see immigrants as fellow humans rather than criminals. Many of the stories that I told were to friends and family. Although not all of them agree with the intentions of Bokenkamp Family Shelter, they took the time to listen to me because I was passionate about it and I can see the issue from various standpoints.By continuing to share stories and the various perspectives that I encounter through my experiences and through sociology, I can hopefully start to make change one person at a time.

MY FUTURE

At this point, I am not entirely sure where my sociology degree is going to lead me. However, I know that sociology can be seen in many forms and can definitely come in handing in terms of working with diverse populations. It can be hard to take the time to look at various perspectives of a certain issue - especially if it is controversial. Therefore, it is even more imperative that I use my knowledge and training from sociology to help build relationships and promote understanding through communities. In the past I have done this through attending service trips, such as my trip to Bokenkamp. Since I enjoy working with people as well, I am hopeful that I can find a job that best reflects who I am. Now it is important to keep on searching for a job and hope that future employers can see my passionate personality with my desire to help others.

*Best, Joel. Social Problems. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., Inc., 2008. Print.

**Burawoy, Michael. “The Return of the Repressed: Recovering the Public Face of U.S. Sociology.” American Sociological Association. University of California, Berkeley. 14 August 2004.