Sociological inquiry at an African wedding ceremony
Sociological inquiry at an African wedding ceremony
Snapshot of what to do:
1- Pick a location/event to attend to observe social behaviors among people for at least 30 minutes. (Dog park, park, church, grocery store, pool, baseball game etc.) – ANY EVENT WHERE YOU CAN SIMPLY SIT BACK & OBSERVE SOCIAL BEHAVIORS AMONG PEOPLE.
2- At the location/event you should take notes. Look for common behaviors (what everyone does-Normal social behavior) and look for outliers or abnormal behaviors (things that seem odd or out of place-what we would thing is typically not normal behavior for that setting).
3- Write up your paper. To do this you need to follow the directions in the assignment description and rubric because those are the components I am looking for when I grade.
*First, start by writing a few sentences about the activity itself – what the event was, how long you observed, and why you chose it.
*Next, summarize your observations using sociological inquiry. Discuss your thoughts on the common social interaction patterns between the people.
*Describe any behaviors that stand out.
Note: Your writing should illustrate your understanding of the content from Units 1 and 2, and it should use 2-3 relevant concepts from those units. This means that I should see you referencing the OpenStax book and infusing that information with what you observed.
Your paper should be without grammar and spelling mistakes and have a references page at the end.
Purpose:
The purpose of this assignment is to identify common patterns of social behavior within a specific social event or a social setting. Your writing will illustrate your ability to interpret human interactions via a social lens, using the content from units one through four.
Activity:
Conduct a participant observation procedure by observation a group/social event. The event could be a trip to a theme park, enjoying a play at a theater, or a dinner with family at a restaurant. It could also be attending a religious gathering, hanging out with friends at a coffee shop, attending a sports event like a baseball or a basketball game, celebrating a cultural holiday, or attending a meeting at your workplace.
The paper should have a title page in APA format. First, start by writing a few sentences about the activity itself – what the event was, how long it was, and why you chose it. Next, summarize your observations using sociological inquiry. Discuss your thoughts on the common social interaction patterns between the people. Describe any behaviors that stand out. Your writing should illustrate your understanding of the content from Units 1-3, and it should use 2-3 relevant concepts from those units. Your paper should be without grammar and spelling mistakes and have a references page at the end.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Sociological inquiry at an African wedding ceremony in our community
The activity that was selected was a wedding ceremony that took place at the community center. The wedding was between two individuals of African ancestry. Their origin was determined by the different aspects such as the dressing code that was mainly African and the music that was played as well as the cuisine. Although there were other guests of other races including Whites and Indians, there was a heavy presence of Africans among the guests. The event involved the wedding itself, where the groom and bride took their vows and swore to be together through different circumstances and the people in the audience served as witnesses to the bond that was created. The exchange of vows was followed by a reception that took place at the same venue.
I chose the wedding mainly because weddings are diverse and also involve a wide range of people as compared to other events such as cooperate meetings that would have people of similar characteristics. Also, weddings are events that take so much effort in the preparations such as the decorations, food, music as well as the party and they would serve as a heightened example of front stage behavior. Weddings are also social performances and involve several aspects of performance. They include the guests who come to witness the marriage, and the wedding party made up of the couple getting married, their parents and bridal party. Also, there is the priest or person who officiates the marriage and the performance also has costumes that come out as differing based on the roles that people are playing. In addition to the host and the party, there are several other people such as the associates and friends who represent different things.
I attended the reception because by the time I arrived, the exchange of vows was over and the procession was heading towards the reception ceremony. This session of the event involved eating and drinking as well as music and dance as well as different presentations aimed at entertaining the newly married couple as well as the guests. I was at the event for about one hour and I was able to observe different behaviors among the people in the event.
There was a mix of different behaviors and included both normal and deviant behaviors. One of the norms of weddings is the attire that people wear to weddings. The majorities of the guests had decent attires and were all dressed to impress. There was clear evidence of elegance among the guests and especially the ladies. However, amid the guests was one lady that was putting on ripped jeans, T-shirt, and flip-flops. At any point that she passed, people stared and beckoned others to see her, indicating that the outfit that she was wearing was not suitable for the kind of event that she was in.
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During the ceremony, there were opportunities to offer congratulations to the bride and groom. Many people visited them at the point where they were standing and would spend a few minutes with them and pave way for others to take a turn to offer the congratulatory messages. One thing that struck my attention as a particular woman that visited the couple and seemed to hog them. She kept talking to them, and wiping the bride’s face and adjusting the groom’s tie and kept hugging them for longer than what others took. The people that were behind her in the line were getting agitated and some of them began going back to their seats. It took the intervention of the mother of the bride, who politely asked her to leave but a scuffle ensued as she was taken away from the couple creating an awkward moment.
Sociological inquiry at an African wedding ceremony
The ceremony involved dance and people took different turns to dance to their favorite tunes and also entertain the couple by joining them. Most of the people kept o the rhythm and engaged in graceful moves in line with the beats of the traditional songs that were playing. Out of the blues, there came a group of four youths who joined the dance and started showing their moves. They took turns outdoing each other as the rest of the audience cheered them on. This went on for a while until a point when the dance moves seemed to be inappropriate as was evidenced by the response from the audience. Many of the women started covering their eyes in shame and the cheering reduced. They danced in a manner that was explicit and involved moves made by throwing or thrusting their hips back or shaking their buttocks, often in a low squatting stance. This made the majority of the guests and especially the elderly to appear uncomfortable. One of them walked up to the deejay and asked him to switch off the music and play something “decent” and “appropriate” for the ceremony.
Another behavior that came out during the ceremony was the way people enjoyed the drinks. There was champagne around every corner and consequently, it was difficult to resist a celebratory cocktail. Some people were clam about it and were able to sit calmly, while others drank as they mingled with others happily. However, some got so drunk and they made fools of themselves. Some of them became too emotional and started shouting and crying and this made everyone uncomfortable.
Sociological inquiry at an African wedding ceremony
In conclusion, the exercise made me realize that weddings have various sociological meanings about how people should behave and the meanings of certain rituals. Some of the behaviors that were seen as deviant included, a wardrobe malfunction, excessively drunk relatives and friends, guests that hogged the time spent by the couple as well as the group that danced inappropriately. However, the majority of the guests conformed to the norms of a wedding and everyone was very happy for the couple.
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