Gacaca Justice-Rwanda Video Clip-Paraphrastic Method
Another video which we watched was the Gacaca Justice System clip. This video discusses Rwanda’s community based gacaca
courts. These courts have helped communities confront the country;s 1994 genocide. The genocide violence killed more than half a
million people. The community courts are known as ‘gacaca’ which means grass, this refers to the place where communities
traditionally gathered to resolve disputes. This video showed an example of a live gacaca proceeding. Gacaca proceedings
encouraged community participation and oblige that people who have seen or who bear false witness, will themselves be prosecuted.
It is mandatory for the people of the community to confess what they saw; if they fail to do this they will face serious consequences. I
found this video to be informative and interesting because it shows us that no matter what environment they’re in these people still
are willing to participate in seeking justice. Even though they’re not in an air-conditioned building with comfortable benches or
chairs, they’re still willing to sit in the outdoors to seek justice and reparations. It was also interesting to see people make confessions
about the violence which they saw.
Power of Race Video Clip-Affective Reading Method
Another video clip which we watched in class was “The Power of Race” video. I thought this clip was interesting because it was
surprising to see the results of the experiment which the students performed. In this video clip, the students participated in an
experiment by testing their blood and saliva samples to compare and see if their DNA was the same as other students in the class.
Prior to the experiments, they predicted that their DNA would be similar to that of other students who look like them. An example of
this is that Gorgeous (the African American student) thought that she would share similar genes with the other male African
American student in their class. However, surprisingly enough, the results turned out to be opposite of what the students predicted.
Like Gorgeous, other students predicted that they would share similar DNA and genes with students who had the same skin colour as
them. Despite these predictions, the results turned out to be completely opposite. When comparing their DNA threads, the students
realized that skin colour and genes had nothing to do with each other. To their surprise, different colored students’ shared similar
genes with people with the opposite skin colour. In my opinion, this video clip was interesting to watch in class because it was
fascinating to see the results of the experiment. Like Gorgeous, I too predicted that skin color and genes would be linked, however,
this experiment clearly proved that it can also have the opposite effect.
“Single Story” video clip-Paraphrast Method
One of the first videos which we watched in class was the Oxford, England video clip. This video clip was a presentation a woman
was conducting on the “single story affect.” In this clip we discussed how single stories affect our thinking and judgment as human
beings in society. As children, reading books and stories have a huge affect on us, we believe what we read. One of the reasons for this
being that the majority of childrens knowledge and learning comes from reading stories. Reading these stories affects their thinking
because they believe the words and information which is presented is in these stories. Therefore, by learning things from stories, we
perceive things as “single stories” because we only see one side of it, and only see things from one perspective. She ended the video
clip by summarizing that “single stories rob people of dignity,” this is completely true because they show and emphasize how we are
different and not similar. These stories do not make us think outside of the box. The main affect that single stories have on a person is
that they narrow ones mind and make people have a judgmental/stereotypical view on things.
In-class Assignment #3-Paraphrast Method
Another in-class assignment which we did recently was when we watched “The Power of Race Video” and we had a class discussion about how people deal with racism in everyday life and in the workplace. In our group, we came up with the fact that racism is still present heavily in the workplace as well as everyday life. We discussed this topic and came up with the fact that people are still judged based on their skin color. People with different skin color get certain jobs and racism is still present in the workplace. In our group, we discussed how racism is still predominantly present in the United States. An example we came up with is the housing discrimination which is still present in society, this is unfortunate because we live in a multicultural society.
In-class Assignment #2-Affective Reading Method
In the first lecture, we did an in-class assignment which helped define and understand what exactly social justice is. The assignment was to “briefly describe what images/images conjure up your mind when you hear the words social justice.” While doing this assignment, when my group thought about the word ‘social justice,’ the law and legal system is what came into our minds first. Other things which conjured up our minds were: human rights, fairness, and equality. All these aspects fall under the definition of “social justice.” I thought this assignment was good because it got people involved in a class discussion. At the time, everybody was new in this class, it allowed people to share their ideas and connect with one another. It also taught us the meaning and definition of what social justice is and what we are going to learn in this class. In my opinion, this in-class assignment was a good way of introducing what this class is going to be about.
In-Class Assignment #1-Affective Reading Method
The first in-class assignment we did was when we wrote a 350-word essay on the sociological imagination. In this assignment, I described how the people in my life have helped shape me overall as a person. People such as: my family, friends and teachers. This assignment was interesting and affective because it helped me have a deeper understanding of what the ‘sociological imagination’ is. By doing this assignment I am able to see how the sociological imagination plays a role in my life. It allowed me to see how my life as an individual is influenced and affected by several other people in my life. Without my teachers, parents, grandparents, friends and relatives, I would not be the person I am today. My family has played an irreplaceable role in my life, from birth till this day. They have taught me values, manners and responsibilities which all have an effect on my life today. In summary, this assignment allowed me to have a deeper understanding of this concept and make connections to it in my life.
The Sociology of Human Rights and Social Justice-Chapter 4
Paraphrastic Reading Method
In society, there are many issues on human rights. Human rights can be defined as the rights and privileges that belong to all individuals by virtue of their membership of the human race. From birth to death, people have the privilege to access human rights which belong to them. These rights are on based on two premises. Firstly, all people irrespective of their race, gender, class etc. are entitled to the benefit of at least a core set of minimal rights, protections, and freedoms. Secondly, these rights reflect essential nature, and address basic and universal needs which support human dignity. Although human rights belong to individuals and create and independence, however, it is important to understand that from birth to death, we need others and depend on them for the purposes of survival. Others such as siblings, parents, relatives, friends spouses etc. These people are essential in our lives, and in the same respect, we are essential in theirs. An example of this dependency was illustrated in the “Cocoa Beans” story. This story educated us on how the food we consume is intertwined and interconnected to people who we do not know. In order for us to enjoy any kind of cocoa products, we rely on the planters of the cocoa beans which were planted halfway across the world. We depend on these planters because without their supplements of cocoa beans, our consumer needs would not be met.
