Frazier

Sarah Frazier
Professor Paul Price
Sociology 001
December 11, 2016
Reflection Project 1 Video Analysis
For project 1, where we analyzed a video based a sociological paradigm, I wrote about
institutional racism. The video I chose gave a brief history of the prison industrial complex and
what social and economic factors contributed to the current prison system in the U.S. That
project helped me exercise my critical thinking skills and my analytical skills as I applied what
Ive learned about sociology to a major institution. I feel that one way I could have pushed
myself further with the video analysis project was to apply a sociological paradigm to the
institution of prison other than the obvious, which to me was the conflict perspective. One very
important thing I have learned so far about sociology is that different perspectives exist because
there is never one answer to a problem, a phenomenon, a history, as vast a society. Skepticism is
an area I feel I could work on as well. Beyond considering multiple perspectives, another thing
Ive learned about the study of individuals and interaction and society is that nothing happens in
a vacuum. Our culture, our beliefs, our knowledge has always been affected by history and those
who have come before us. So, to ask questions is to practice critical thinking; and to challenge
the narrative that we as individuals have developed about the world around us is key to
understanding the how and the why. I could have approached my analysis of The Racket of
Racism with a more cynical perspective but my initial inclination was to agree with the narrative
because its a narrative I am familiar with and have an emotional connection to.

Frazier

Throughout this course I feel as though I have been continuously challenged to challenge
the status quo; that is my response to sociology as a whole. I am hard-wired to appeal to conflict
theory as a result of my personal history and world view and interaction with society as a whole.
However now, I am aware of my perspective and aim to open myself to new perspectives,
especially concerning my work in this course and the work I create in the future.