Home Page
 Reference


Translations:

Italiano

                                        

Other Pages:
Key Words
Modules

Sociology:
Home Page
Lecture Notes
Discussions
Hub

Utilities:
Site Map
Contact
Utility Documents
Useful Links

DISCUSSIONS ON COURSE BENEFITS

What Can I get Out of This Course?

moderated by Phil Bartle, PhD

Web Discussions

Contributions will be added to the top of this collection as I receive them

Date: Tue, 13 Sep
From: "Phil D"

In response to Jennifer's question.
I think that the purpose of taking sociology, is to give us a better understanding of our social surroundings. I think because the medical and crimology professions deal with people, having a good grasp with understanding the mechanics of society, and understanding how society affects the people that live in it will help us do our jobs much better in the crime and medical fields.

However we've only had a very limited look into what sociology really is so what I'm saying could be absolute garbage.

Date: Tue, 13 Sep
From: "Jen K"

This emial is a response to the question Jennifer D had about what we can get out of this course. I believe that understanding how the people in our community are influenced by the society, we ourselves can understand how the society initially works. The reasons for the decisions that are made. Why people choose to make the decisions they do, such as crime. By learning how people act in society, we can repsond better to their needs whether it's by being a nurse or a police officer.

 As it is only the second week of classes now, I believe that most of us will have a better understanding of what we can get out of this course.

Date: Tue, 13 Sep
From: "Jennifer N"

This is a response to Jennifer D’s question about the reason why sociology is a prerequisite for the nursing.  Sociology opens communications and understanding between people of all walks of life.  It allows good nurses and other professionals that work with the public a better understanding about different ways people deal with everyday problems. Sociology helps nurses understand each individual person, so that they can understand patients better.

Date: Tue, 13 Sep
From: "Christina A"

 This is in response to Jennifer D’s question about what she thought she could get out of taking Sociology.

 I believe that Sociology can help us to better understand our society, and as such is relevant as it is the interactions, activities, beliefs, and values of people that make up society, and once we have a better grasp of the reactions and influences of these aspects, for everyone in the community, we will be more effective, functioning members of society. In addition, for those of us who are planning on a career, such as policing or nursing, that will put us in the midst of many different social interactions, it is helpful and advantageous to better understand where everyone is coming from. We will then be able to better sympathize, and rectify any issues that one might encounter in such a profession. I personally believe that by understanding how one person’s actions and activities will affect another person’s life, I will be a better police officer as I can offer guidance and support to those who need it and maybe be a more understanding person.

 That being said, I have no knowledge of what Sociology entails other than what we have done in class, and the little bit of reading that I have done in the text book. I could be totally off base…

~ Christina A

Date: Tue, 13 Sep
From: "Ben M"

 In response to Jennifer D's question: I believe that her doubts for the course were reasonable at the time, I mean if you want to be a Nurse why do you need to learn about society right?

 Sociology will widen one's understanding and tolerance of people and where they are coming from. In most Criminal Justice related fields (Parole Officer, Cop, Social Work) this is paramount. If one does not have a respect, tolerance, and even knowledge of other people's culture and circumstance only half the job is done.

Date: Mon, 12 Sep
From: David C

Dr Phil,
 In response to Jennifer D's question about relevance...I believe that Sociology is a tool* that will help us better understand the communities we live in and will make us more effective human beings, regardless of what you do for a living.  Being in touch with the social interactions of society will help us be more compassionate, more understanding, and more accepting of other people's ideas and situations (and the causes of their ideas and situations). I think it can also help us recognize areas and times that we can have a positive influece on/in society, when maybe without the sociological perspective we would choose not to act.  The sociological perspective may help you understanding why you have a malnourished child or a gunshot victim in front of you (and how one could lead to another) - and while it won't have an affect of the treatment you administer, understanding the social issues behind it will make you a more effective practitioner.

*  I believe that my perception of Sociology simply being a tool will change the deeper we get into this course.  The term "tool" seems to belittle the importance somehow, but that's the best I've got right now!

Date: Mon, 12 Sep
From: "Joe Jerk-Off"

What i could get our of this course is to learn the way society works and to learn the functions of society. I will help me in the future with my studies in Crimianl Justice so i get a clear understanding of the view of society as a whole.

Date: Sun, 11 Sep
From: "Nadine M"

 Here is a response to Jennifer's question.
 I think it will provide a larger prespective for our lives in general. In the past I always thought that people comitted crimes just because they are bad people. But theres more to it most of the time, and I believe this coarse is designed to expose us to these other areas. As mentioned before, at the end of the coarse I think some of us will recieve various benefits from others and be able to see what this coarse provided us with.

Date: Sat, 10 Sep
From: "tim h"

Simple. I think you can gain a better perspective of society. What makes it tick. Perhaps why a society does the things that they do. Why some people in a society would choose to act in crimial ways. If we are learning about other people, we will be able to better understand what to do with them, in both medical aid and serving and protecting.

Date: Sat, 10
From: "cam ."

 This email is in response to Jennifer D's question of how social sciences are relevent courses for those who are attending professional programs (such as nursing and criminology). I believe that social sciences will give students a much better understanding of how social issues take place, the relationships within a society, and how one can control these interactions. This meaning that a nurse, for example, will be faced with these interactions every day of her career, with her patients, co-workers, ect, and being able to interpret and contol these situations will be important. That being said, I think that we as students will be better equiped to answer this type of question at the end of the semester, when we have a better understanding of the course and how it will help us in the future.

Date: Fri., 09 Jul
From: "Jennifer D"


Subject: soc 100: Question

My question to you Dr. Phil and to anyone in the class who can answer it is:
How does or how can Sociological perspectives help me as a medical professional to understand the beliefs, desires, wishes and complaints of my patients?  Meaning what am I going to get out of this course and how am I to apply it to my career?

From Dr. Phil, Friday July 9, about ten thirty:
This is a good question, and a legitimate one.  I would invite all to ask if it can be useful to your career plans. Or should it be?  Also ── and this is important ── to suggest your own replies to this and other student queries.  (1) There is an important branch of Sociology called Medical Sociology, and it looks at such questions as the interaction between patients and medical professionals. It is not included in an introductory course such as this one, because we all must learn how to walk before we can run.  It may be in third and fourth year university courses, post graduate courses, and certainly on post graduate theses. (2) I would say that if the question interests you for the future, that you look more at symbolic interaction now when you are starting your sociology.  There are, of course many other questions in the field, but that might be a good start.  Many professional programmes include prerequisites in the social sciences (nursing, social work, criminology, education), and they are there for a purpose, not merely to make students jump through hoops just to be mean.  This is the place to consider those reasons.  My suggestion about the value of the sociological perspectives themselves is that it is not necessary to justify them for immediate practical value in professional programmes; they do help to make professionals more educated and aware of social issues, they allow for a more sophisticated and deeper analysis of illness by seeing the social factors in disease and wellness; they help professionals to learn that there are several contradictory ways of interpreting the same information, that we should scientifically ask why doctors are treated so much better than nurses in medical institutions (are our assumptions and common sense enough justification for this huge inequality?), and that even nurses should learn to have fun with a few things like learning.

I'd like to hear from other students.
Phil

──»«──
If you copy text from this site, please acknowledge the author(s)
and link it back to www.cec.vcn.bc.ca
This site is hosted by the Vancouver Community Network (VCN)

© Copyright 1967, 1987, 2007 Phil Bartle
Web Design by Lourdes Sada
––»«––
Last update: 2012.02.04

 Home page