When we are talking about people, usually those who differ from us, we commonly offer our own assumptions and opinions more readily than when we are discussing some other area, such as statistics or biology. But if we are to undertake a sociological study of ethnicity, we must question our assumptions and opinions-everything we have always believed without question. How can we scientifically investigate a problem if we have already reached a conclusion?
Sociologists attempt to examine group relationships objectively, but it is impossible to exclude their own subjectivity altogether. All human beings have values-socially shared conceptions of what is good, desirable, and proper, or bad, undesirable, and improper. Because we are human, we cannot be completely objective, since these values influence our orientations, actions, reactions and interpretations. For example, selecting intergroup relations as an area of interest and concern, emphasizing the sociological perspective of this subject, and organizing the material in this book thematically all represent value judgements regarding priorities.
In fact, value neutrality may be impossible to attain, since we are all members of groups and have been infulenced by many others in our perceptions and experiences. It is nevertheless important to try conscientiously to maintain an open mind in order to examine this subject as objectively as possible. You must be aware of your own strong feelings about these matters and be willing to examine new concepts, even if they challenge previously held beliefs. To study this subject properly, you should attempt to be a stranger in your familiar world. Look at everything as if you were seeing it for the first time, trying to understnad how and why it is rather than just taking it for granted. In addition, you should recognize that all of us are members of groups; consequently, the debate about and study of inter-group relations is itself part of what we are studying. As part of an ingroup, we find all other outgroup members unlike our reference group; for this reason, our judgements about these "outsiders" are not as fully informed as the ones we make about known "insiders." Because many individuals have a strong tendency to tune out disagreeable information, you must make a continual effort to remain open-minded and receptive to new data.
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I think you have made a lot of good points here. (Of course, I am biased as someone who also has a sociology background.) I agree with what you say about subjectivity and bias. Sometimes I think it is hard for us to recognize our biases AND then get beyond them. It is easy to get stuck in owning up to the bias, and not move forward. I think the key is reflexivity. It is similar to owning up to our own role in perpetuating oppression. Once we acknowledge it, we can move past it and effect change. I was happy to read your post after a lot of other posts that seemed to critique Kumashiro and miss some of his points.
ReplyDeleteWe recently discussed the question of whether social sciences are "real" sciences in my EdPolicy class this week. Because of much of what you mentioned in the beginning of your post some people claimed things like sociology and teaching are too subjective and offer no concrete answers and are therefore not sciences. I however belive that is what makes teaching great. There isnt one answer, what works in your classroom, with your students, with your objectives is never going to be the only answer. And like you said, we need to remain open and engage in constant discussion to better ourselves as teachers.
ReplyDeleteI posted these paragraphs from Parillo because I found it very important when teaching something such as sociology to realize that we need to use an objective view. I believe this goes without saying, especially teaching a sociology class. Surprisingly, this was only paper on objectivity handed out in one class out of the many sociology classes I took. Geez, don't let Cheryl see that some people think social sciences are not REAL!!!! Other subjects can not be taught without the knowledge of social sciences! How can EXISTENCE continue without the knowledege of social sciences!?!?!? Sociology is an attempt to bring diversity to people's attention, allowing others to see the way other societies, and of course our own, exist. I can't even understand HOW anyone would think sociology is TOO subjective. I can't even remember a sociology class that ever was biased. Maybe I was just spoiled with good professors and great classes.
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