Arab Culture as Its Allegiance to Islam - Assignment Example

of the Sociology of the Concerned 11 April Culture: Discussion Questions Think about the major components of yourculture. How has it shaped you in terms of your own identity? Response- The most important attribute that defines the Arab culture is its allegiance to Islam. The association between the Arab culture and Islam could be traced to very ancient historical influences. Many a times the unique Arab culture comes out as being really peculiar to the people from the West. Religion plays the most dominant role in Arab culture. Islam has a very direct influence on the way Arabs live their life, conduct their family affairs and do business. The Koran is the primary religious text of Arabs and it prohibits alcohol, and pork. The other most important aspect of Arab culture is the institution of family. In the Arab family system, men and women are expected to have different roles. Men are traditionally expected to be providers and manage financial affairs, while the women take care of the household work. The Arab families believe in the values of dignity, respect and honor. The Arab families value privacy. Here modesty is considered to be s desirable trait. My culture and religion have indeed influenced the vantage point from which I observe the world. My world view to a large extent is the outcome of the impact my culture and values had on my perspective. In that context I may mention that my world view is not typically Western. Again this has a lot to do with the culture I belong to. 2. Race as we know has no biological basis, which means that we all are the same. However, race is such a powerful construct/concept that it can have life-or-death consequences. Discuss in your answer how race can be significant. Find an article/newspaper headline that demonstrates this occurrence. Please list the article/ newspaper references or attach article. Response- Race does happen to be an important concept in the discipline of sociology that has been studied deeply. Race may not be a biologically valid construct; still it is a fact that race does play a pivotal role in everyday life. The everyday human interactions even in the most liberal and multi-cultural societies are indeed influenced by the race of the people who interact. The thing is that not only the concept of race is real, but it is also a socially constructed concept. We do see in the society that many a times certain groups of people are treated as being distinct in the society owing to their race. Many a times this may have to do with the biological or cultural traits of the people of that racial group, which may be labeled to be inferior or secondary by the dominant racial or economic groups in a society. That is actually speaking the racial identity of a person could subject one to much prejudice and discrimination. It is this prejudice and discrimination that makes race a real concept. For instance as per The New York Times report, a white police officer shot dead an unarmed black man in the back, while the black man was trying to run away. This shows that how though race being so called flimsy institution could indeed act as a source of much discrimination and violence. 3. Why is it Important to have Conversation about race? In fact, why does race matter? Response- The strange thing is that even though an individual could avoid talking about race, one simply cannot help thinking about race. In fact how can one does not talk about race when racial discrimination is something that is pervasive in the social, economic and cultural framework of the societies that call themselves multiracial. Race was and will continue to play an important role as to how the opportunities for growth and human progress are distributed in the society. Not talking about race or even shying away from recognizing the concept of race amounts to recognizing and validating the racial biases and prejudices imminent in the socio-economic framework of our society. Race is something that has a great bearing on some of the most important decisions that people make in their personal, social and civic life as to the person one will marry, or the profession one will choose or for that matter the political candidate one will vote for. All these aspect of the human life are shadowed by considerations regarding race. Thereby, if race does happen to be such a potent aspect of our sociological and cultural life, how can one avoid even talking about it? If race is the basis of much social prejudice and biases, shying away from talking about race is simply naïve and silly. 4. What is white privilege and how does it contribute to the cause of inequality across our society? If you do not know the definition or understand the concept, please use a sociological reference. Response- White privilege pertains to the social privileges that are accessible to the white skinned people in the Western nations. These privileges way exceed the social privileges that are accessible to the people with colored skin in these nations. These privileges accrue many social, economic and cultural privileges to the white skinned people, which are readily declined to other racial groups or colored people in the white majority societies. The white privilege has given way to much inequality in our society in the sense that it assures that not only the white people have a better access to national wealth and allocation of resources, but also that they get more than their deserved share in the allocation of opportunities for growth and development. This has not only consolidated the strength and stature of the white people in our society, but has also made the white people a dominant social class. The fact is that whiteness has historical implications, concerning the way national resources have been allocated to the white people in an unfair and prejudiced manner since decades. This prevents the other social classes and racial groups to get a just share of the national resources and opportunities for growth. 5. Although the validity of “race” is debatable, why do sociologists study race as it relates, for example, to the likelihood of going to prison, obtaining wealth, healthcare practices and even longevity. What does it mean about what is “real” the way people understand the world and what sociologists should study. Response- The thing that needs to be understood is that racial discrimination is a bit difficult to understand for the people who are born in the privileged class or race. Yet, the fact is that in this nation since ages the allocations of opportunities for growth, prosperity, health, welfare and justice have been dominated by the people of a particular race. This has not only provided a dominant status to the members of a particular race in the national framework for growth, education, health, well being and justice, but has also marginalized the colored people to a great extent. This marginalization on the bases of color has also assured that the colored people remain amply vulnerable to the biases present in the system that prejudice against them so as to strengthen and consolidate their marginalized status over time. In that context sociologists need to study the concept of race as race is intimately related to as to how the system is biased against the colored people. Though America is a land of opportunity, yet it is also true that for young people belonging to certain races, it is relatively more difficult to access the opportunities for education and personal well being. Race is an institution that is deeply ingrained in the social structures and frameworks. Work Cited for Question 2 Schmidt, Michael S., & Matt Apuzzo. “South Carolina Officer is Charged with Murder of Walter Scott”. The New York Times7 April 2015. Web. 11 April 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/08/us/south-carolina-officer-is-charged-with-murder-in-black-mans-death.html?_r=0 Read More