Sandra Gallosa
SOC 100
November 14, 2012
Peggy Maki-White
Sociological Perspective
As a group we decided to review the video clip “The Joy of Garbage” where several college campuses are now offering Liberal Arts courses such as “The Simpsons and Philosophy,” “The History of Shopping,” and “The Joy of Garbage.” These courses are being taught at major universities such as Cal State Berkeley, Yale, and Rutgers University. Universities are offering these popular courses with hopes of bringing life back into colleges. While many individuals would consider the classes to be pointless, students at Santa Clara University are learning there is more to garbage than sorting recyclables from regular trash. Students have experienced the meaning of science in garbage. For example, trash that rots breaks down, combustible, and has positive and negative effects on the environment (Stanek, 2012).
Components of Symbolic Perspective
Looking at this from a symbolic interaction perspective television shows like “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” portrays the typical dysfunctional American family where the father is a negligent alcoholic, the mother is a home-maker, and the children are socially awkward. We feel that individuals in society tend to mimic these behaviors since they think behaviors demonstrated by the characters are cool. Another perfect example is teens smoking cigarettes because commercials lead teenagers to believe it is the cool thing to do. While courses provided on “The Joy of Garbage” and “The History of Shopping” can be informative, it has been hard to understand the validity of college courses on “The Simpsons” and “Philosophy.” Many people have different opinions and cultures that would think of these television shows as being productive and entertainment. Depending on different cultures and individuals points of view the norms and values demonstrated in these television shows may help shape our society.
As a group we believe