Assgnment 1 Soc 100 PDF

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Assgnment 1 Soc 100...

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Assignment 1 Sociology 100 September 10, 2015 Chapter Three: Subculture Analysis Subculture is defined as a segment of society that shares distinct pattern of customs, rules, and traditions that differ from the pattern of the larger society. Members of this society participate in the dominant culture and still remain engaged in the distinct forms of behavior unique to their subculture. A subculture at Purdue University in which I am not only familiar with, but also a member of is the the pre-medicine students on campus. The pre-med students above all identify as a Purdue student, the dominant culture. Yet, they not only flow between all types of major, but also between all of the colleges within Purdue University. Because of this, the pre-med culture has developed unique norms, values, argot, and sanctions to maintain a level of cohesiveness and unity within this small culture embedded at Purdue University. In sociological terms, values are a collective conception of what is considered good, desirable, and proper. For the pre-med subculture, the ideal outcome is to be accepted into a medical school and to eventually to become a doctor, thus all of the values within this subculture are based around achieving that goal. Medical schools look for the perfect candidate who would embody a perfect GPA, display compassion, and a passion for sciences. Therefore pre-med values are based on excelling in academics, which above all are expected to be the number one priority. A member of the pre-med subculture is expected to be a good student above all. In any culture, to put values into action you need norm. Norms are an established standard maintained by a society that are usually widely shared and understood. They tend to reflect the dominant ideology of the subculture. These norms can be divided into two types:

formal and informal. Formal norms are usually written down and usually related to a strict punishment if broken. These consequences, whether they are penalties or rewards for adhering or breaking the norms, are referred to as sanctions. For the pre-med subculture, a formal norm would be the course completion required to fulfill the pre-med track. It is a track of courses created by Purdue University that must be completed in order for the student to apply to any medical school. If not competed sanctions could include, not being able to apply to medical school and being forced to complete an additional year at Purdue. Another formal normal premed students have to follow is the MCAT testing. It is a standardized test, which all students must complete in order to even be considered an applicant for medical schools. By not completing the test, not only would you not be allowed to apply to medical school, but you most probably be set back a year before you could take the test and apply to medical school again. The pre-med subculture also has a set of informal norms, which are norms that are subconsciously generally understood, but not precisely recorded. An informal norm for the pre-med subculture would be the emphasis most members are expected to place on their education. Because of how competitive it is to get accepted into medical school, to be considered a competitive applicant, students must have a minimum of 3.6 GPA. Taking this into consideration, when a pre-med student doesn’t place a priority on their education, their sanction is that they are automatically perceived as incompetent and often unsuccessful in comparison to their peers. Furthermore, another informal norm is to restrain from partaking in any illegal substance. While this is a norm that transcends into the norms of the dominant society, it is more so obvious in pre-med because as a future doctor you will have access to infinite mounts of medical drugs which can be easily abused. If there is any indication of a tarnished reputation when it comes to your honesty and

willpower, your creed as a doctor will be completely eradicated and your chances of getting into medical school will be almost non-existent. To further unify among the pre-med sub culture we also have an argot, which is a specialized language that distinguishes people within the subculture group from outsiders. Because most students who are pre-meds tend to have extremely similar experiences when it comes to education, members tend to condense names of certain courses when talking amongst each other. For example instead of referring to organic chemistry, pre-med students tend to refer to it as “orgo”. Also pre-meds also condense clinical jargons such as “Peds” which would refer to the pediatric departments, but can also be extended to include pediatric physicians as well. While these small alterations in their spoken language do not make it incomprehensible for an outsider to grasp what the pre-meds are talking about, it makes a conversation more efficient and gives a sense of connection amongst pre-med students....