Posts created by students in SOC 101 during the Fall 2022 semester.
The sport of distance running is inherently structured around quantifiable measures. Running times, personal records, hours, mileage, and days – these records, quantify and come to govern runners’ lives. When this repetition, organization, and these performance measures feed into athletes’ lifestyles beyond running, the intensive expectations and culture of distance running can perpetuate a culture […]
Before medical students in the United States can graduate, most are required to recite and abide by the Hippocratic Oath. By swearing upon this oath, doctors promise to uphold ethical standards expected of them and to do no harm. However, a study done by the Pew Research Center in 2019 found that Black patients are […]
It is a gusty rainy night on the streets of central Manhattan. Heat and steam rises up from the sewers. Subways howl with thousands of people traveling underground. Cuddled up in a corner, Ethan is soaked to the bone trying to catch a few winks of sleep without freezing to death. He sees the corner […]
In recent years the future has started to look grim. The fate of humanity is more uncertain with the presence of climate change, loss of biodiversity, fear of AI, and other existential threats (BBC News: 2019). Alongside the rise in existential threats is the rise of nostalgia. Nostalgic movies and shows from people’s childhood and […]
“Chitalianese!” My relatives exclaimed this term, attempting to come up with a word that could encapsulate my multifaceted identity as a Chinese female adopted by white, Euro-American parents. While their intentions were not malicious, internally, I was jarred. The different remnants of my Asian parents embedded in my DNA and my Italian-American upbringing tug at […]
When I was in fifth grade, my gifted class had about twenty boys and three girls. “Gifted” enrichment programs are supposed to give students with academic “superior performance” a separate curriculum to prepare them for future success (Shaunessy-Dedrick and Foley-Nicpon 2018:3). Often instituted in elementary and middle schools, they have long been criticized for prioritizing […]
A Symbolic Pas de Deux A pas de deux, directly translated to ‘step of two’, is a partnered dance in ballet, typically between a man and woman. The stereotypes for both male and female ballet dancers are translated symbolically into the traditional pas de deux. As Foster (1996) elaborates, “Pas de deux offered the female […]
It’s no secret that Broadway has long been rooted in a culture of sexism. Many beloved musicals contain sexist lyrics. “Why can’t a woman be more like a man?” from My Fair Lady is a classic case in point along with others depicted above. Plots often center around the typically aesthetic transformation of a woman […]
“So where are you from?” a customer asks as I ring up her goods. It is a quiet Sunday shift at Joann Fabrics in Burlington, MA. She is the only person in line. “Oh, I’m from Lexington, it’s a few towns over,” I reply nonchalantly, assuming it’s just some mandatory small talk. She pauses, “Where […]
Most mothers seem to have their go-to remedies for preventing and treating illness in their families, such as vitamin C pills, echinacea tea, or in my family’s case, elderberry. But do these things really work? It can be hard to tell, but the supplement manufacturers selling these products don’t care as long as the consumers […]
