Final Course Reflection- Sociology 001 Brandi Locke

Sociology 001 was a challenging and rewarding experience for me, personally and
academically. Having already received my bachelors in another discipline and being out of
school for about a year, I tried my best to once again become accustomed to learning and to
focusing on the conventions of strictly the sociological discipline. I find sociology interesting
and helpful because of my interest in social relationships and institutions, and their influence
over health outcomes. I enjoyed learning about family structure, sociologys take on the media,
healthcare, culture and deviance. I think these topics resonated with me because they all play
important roles is how we socially construct emotional, physical and social wellness,
contributing to how we define what is or is not healthy about our lifestyles, how we achieve or
fail to achieve health, and what it means to have particular health outcomes. For example, from
the institutions of family and education, particularly my parents and teacher, that physical
unhealthiness, like being overweight, is more socially unacceptable, whereas mental
unhealthiness, like being constantly stressed out, was acceptable as a sign of good work ethics.
From the media I learned that my society validates those who eat fast foods and appreciate that
food culture. And while becoming vegan I learned that deviance is often ascribed to the culture
and values of this group because of their rejection of mainstream practices and beliefs of eating
meat.
The sociological theories were interesting but challenging to learn because I needed to
take these broad somewhat vague claims and apply them accurately to social phenomenon. I
found conflict theory the easiest to understand and apply because it most resembled the theories I
learned in undergraduate studies, and reflected my worldview about the existing systems of
inequalities at work that profoundly affect everyone every day in America. I was interested in
learning about and applying symbolic interactionist theory because its focus on habitual
interactions between individuals and social forces is unique. Its focus on the individual
humanizes people, rejecting their often treatment as cogs in a larger wheel, and found their daily
experiences important to understanding society. The theory was also important to me because
understanding those interactions inform health choices that accumulate and overtime contribute
to overall health in a person. Focusing on the individual and their interactions and choices
enables health care providers to understand their patients and challenges, and more accurately
and creatively address health issues, rather than assuming certain things about their habits and
contributing to the challenges patients face rather than providing support. Functionalist theory
seemed to make the least sense to me because it focused so broadly on the system of society and
attributed everything to maintaining that systems function. Whereas conflict theory claims it is
for the maintenance of an oppressive, unequal social hierarchy, functionalist theory does not
speak on the nature of the functions- as being for a greater, collective good or something entirely
else.
My personal challenges in this course really determined the outcome of my grades, which
unfortunately was not as good as I wanted. My inexperience with online coursework and
simultaneously working full time to become independent for the first time in my life was
difficult. My time management was good, but not consistent enough to prevent lateness, missed
assignments, lack of sleep and high levels of stress. However, I am glad I experienced this
challenge and learned that in the future I must remain more committed to my education goals. I
intend to become more creative in finding solution, not being afraid to ask for help or support to
better manage my responsibilities, and better prioritizing what I have to do. Ultimately I attained
my goal of studying sociology to better understand society for the sake of helping people attain
their health goals, and I am thankful for the opportunity.