Society, Culture & Writing
For students and teachers of
Society & Culture
Chapter 9, Society & Culture (textbook) 2002, Howitt & Julian, Heinemann
Does Inequality have a function? p98- Introducing Sociology, 2004, Osborne & Loon, Icon Ltd
P146-162, Introducing Sociology, 2004, Osborne & Loon, Icon Ltd
170-173, Introducing Sociology, 2004, Osborne & Loon, Icon Ltd
Spiral of Silence, University of Twente website
Social Identity Theory, University of Twente website
Feminism: p108-9, 141-57, 162-3, Introducing Critical Theory, 2001, Sim & Loon, Icon Ltd
Image (right) Tony Albert's "We Could Be Heroes"'Telstra Award' winner at the National Aboriginal & Torres
Strait Islander Art Award 2014, presents the theme of polive violence against aboriginal youth
Jurgen Habermas argued in the 60s that while capitalism presented material realities that "nurtured"
a person to accept certain ideas and situations, he said individuals have the ability to rise above these
ideas through communication and morality. Does society agree on a definition and standard of equality?
Where do our own ideas about social justice come from?
Global Inequality: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4639vev1Rw&feature=player_embedded
Updated for 2010, this short clip paints a portrait of the earth based on if the world were comprised of a
100-person community
After Picketty: Does capitalism breed equality?
Does economic growth reduce inequality? It's been one the year's great debates, spurred by French Economist
Thomas Picketty's international best seller Capital in the 21st century. US neo-liberal economist Tyler Callan thinks
capitalism needs further deregulation, even if it continues social inequality.
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2014/08/sra_20140803_0845.mp3
"Hate the Poor"
Class inequality: "There is a cruel streak in contemporary politics, a meanness that has not often been so explicit.
Since the youth riots of summer 2011 in London and elsewhere, the parade of hateful and vitriolic media messages
have been amped up in many ways. Even strikers defending their pensions should, in the words of Jeremy Clarkson
on the early evening BBC One Show 'be taken outside and executed in front of their families'."http://www.open.edu/openlearn/society/politics-policy-people/politics/hate-the-poor-the-new-politics-loathing-vitriolic-britain
"Austerity bites – especially for women"
How government responses to the GFC around the world are especially hard for women:
http://www.newint.org/blog/2012/05/23/austerity-bites-for-women/
Articles relating to Inequality in Australia:
"According to a survey of 500 Australians conducted for the Australia Institute, the amount, when averaged, is $454 a week - about $65 a day..."
Indonesia and Australian relations:
Youtube clips:
Timor Leste occupation: __http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHW5N1cj4X8__
Balibo Five coverup:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMbdeUAzGZY
West Papuan asylum seekers accepted by Australia:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWivoLXvsIY
Police fire on (Australian-owned) gold-mine protesters:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBc4WSNhsO4
Things to look at before we start the unit: Go back over your Indonesia notes from Prelim. This will prepare you for the case study on Indonesian women.
Look out for media on gender inequality. Read sociological books on women and gender.
Wk 1: Just a little bit more on continuity & change... futures studies (See Cont'&Change page)
Wk 2: Introduction to topic EQUALITY & DIFFERENCE
Link from powerpoint on the construction of Australian national masculinity & the Anzac tradition: http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5001351125
Powerpoint intro to Equality & Difference:
Why look at both Australian and Indonesian societies in interrogating equality and difference? And why focus on gender roles and status?
Key terms:
Equality
Difference
Commonality
Consequences of unequal access
Socially valued resources
The ideal of equality
Discrimination
Perception
-Receive study booklets
-Recieve group task: aspects of equality and difference in Australian society
Wk 3:
-Groups informally report on their findings. Papers submitted and collated for whole class.
-Complete HSC practice essay A from booklet (2-3 pages) DUE wk 4
-Quiz on key concepts NEXT WEEK!
-Read “Women are Morally Superior” Emily McGuire. Class discussion.
Extra: Read over textbook pages 243-245, answer Qs.
Quotes on women and inequality:
"A 2011 UK study revealed that women who wear skirts to work are percieved to be more confident, earn a higher salary and be more flexible than their trouser wearing counterparts."
"A 1010 Universoty of QL study found that blondes earn 7% more than their brunette and redheaded peers, even when removing such factors as education." (Marie Claire Magazine, May 2012)
Wk 4: Essay A due
-Is the Internet Changing technology? Zimbardo RSA clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk8x3V-sUgU&feature=relmfu
While western commentators have been interested in digital information technology as an agent of democratization and social change, Zimbardo argues that it is also a tool for authority figures (world leaders, govts etc) to prevent social change. This is done through censorship, through surveillance of social media, and through promoting a false feeling of freedom of speech and thought. Fundamentally, information technology acts as an agent of Westernisation.
-Notes on answering HSC practice essay A. (20marks) Q"To what extent is the ideal of equality valued by all Australians"
-Is Feminism to blame for womens' woes? Emily Macguire defends feminism in Princesses and Pornstars. (Read and discuss chapter.)
Q: Can the womens' movement or "feminism" be blamed for the myriad of pressures women are under now? Would life have been simpler if women just accepted stereotypical roles?
Q: Is the view that women should not join the defernce force paternalistic? Does it reflect a view that women are "inferior species"? If not inferior, then "special"? Are men not "special" and needy of protection?
-Finish Gender in Australia article in booklet. Complete questions at end of article.
-Group discussion: Booklet Qs 2-5
-HSC practice essay from booklet EITHER B or C (2-3 pages) DUE: wk 5
-Gender in Indonesia: Textbook p257-277
Wk 5:
Extra stuff for you!
Men, boys and rites of passage in Australia - this could be interesting viewing: http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/2230583817/About-Men-Coming-of-Age
Masculinity and violence:
Tough Guise
Feminism, mass culture, stereotypes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnJxqRLg9x0&
In this video from Feminist Frequency, the trope of the "Straw Feminist" is discussed and deconstructed using examples from a variety of films and TV shows. The video explains the Straw Feminist by pointing out the recurring introduction of a character who is identified as a "feminist" but which exists primarily to propagate and reinforce broad and frequently offensive stereotypes of feminists/feminism, and thereby to undermine the issues that feminism seeks to address. www.thesociologicalcinema.com
Education and class difference: private schools/public schools/ selective schools... Insight program: http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/2219156045/Insight:-Class-Struggle
Feature Artice from SMH:
"Bettina Arndt's ''**Why women lose the dating game**'' was a 1000-word pie in the face to all women who have foolishly assumed that self-esteem is a good thing... she diagnoses successful women in their 30s as having “ego-tripped” their way past their peak desirability (when they were in their 20s) and leap-frogged over all the men they're eventually going to want: kind, loyal, beta males. Instead, on their “search for a partner”, they “aim too high” by only dating the “alphas”, who are in actual fact, nose deep in 20-year-olds."
Start HSC essay B or C
GENDER IN AUSTRALIA. Is there a problem with masculinity in Australian culture?
Mysogeny - why some men HATE women? Tripple J's Hack program
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hack/stories/s3063873.htm
Friday: Starting Indonesia case study:
Acheh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTQHD2p7CfA
Recycling plant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hFzpZEQaJM&feature=endscreen
working overseas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3o3FuPy1sU&feature=related
What barriers exist for women in Acheh, far west, rural Indonesia?
How do the women suggest equality can be obtained?
How does the quest for equality between genders differ between Indonesia and Australia?
-Notes on answering HSC practice essays B & C.
-Note: Up-coming “open book exam": Wk 7
“analyse change in the status of women in Indonesia over time.”
-Research: students find your own secondary source to support your answer to the above question.
-PIPs where are you at? How can you get the most out of next week?
In groups discuss:
-My PIP is about...
-The topic has evolved over time... (explain how and what influenced this evolution)
-I used he holidays to... (explain what you did)
-What I need to do next is...
Wk 6:
HSC essay B or C due
PIP WEEK
PIP DRAFT DUE FRIDAY
Gender in Indonesia:
Religious fundamentalists have forced pop diva Lady Gaga to cancel her Jakarta concert for "security reasons".
web comment: devine12:31pm May 27, 2012 "And what have we learnt? Do the concert in Bali next time!"
Young men say they'll kill Lady Gaga...
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xr41xu_go-to-hell-lady-gaga-say-jakarta-protesters_news
Wk 7:
Genderin Indonesia Qs
role of women
1. Outline social differenciation amongst women in Indonesia (class, religion, employment, education)
Qs:
Gender in Indonesia (p258 text book)
Social Differentiation
How does the official position of women in law and policy differ from the lived experience of Indonesian women? How does this relate to social differentiation as discussed in the previous question?
Factors that Influence com & diff.
factors
How they affect Indonesian women
Comparison with Australian women
Enculturation
Education
Economic factors/globalisation
Gov: Policies, programs and legislation
Evidence of discrimination:
-cultural attitudes…
-gov legislation...
-violence against women…
-religion…
-women in low skilled/low pay work…
-women in public life…
Cultural Attitudes
Changes brought from modernisation… (outline)
