Unit 4 Cultural Capital Inventory Quiz and Reflection Paper PDF

Preview

Summary

Notes...

Description

Monica D Piper SO141:Introduction to Sociology Park University Professor Patrick McGinty Cultural Capital Inventory Quiz and Reflection Paper

I found the survey very challenging. I often second guessed my own answers and

changed them. Both sides of the survey were challenging but it was obvious that side blue was more challenging. I had only got 4 answers right on the blue side. The blue side seemed to be suited for societies upper class. It was clear my cultural capital on the blue side was low. The red side I got 7 answers right. I was much stronger and more positive with my answers on the red side. The red side seemed to be layman’s terms. Middle class. Even though I had got most of red sides answers right I was still surprised by how many I didn’t get right. I felt stupid missing answers from the group I had got more correct in. I felt like I should have known most of those answers so when I missed one it was worse than missing more from the blue side. The blue side made me feel small. I understood quickly that I was not part of this group. I was surprised to see how many I had got right. I thought I wasn’t going to get any of them correct. The blue side was for a class of people above me. I felt unequal and out of place. Like showing up to a friend’s house but he didn’t tell you it was his uncles’ birthday and his family was there celebrating and you’re the only one who showed up without a gift. This year, on the 4 th of July, I went with my family to visit some close friends of ours on their lake cottage. The lake is called Mill lake near Gobles Michigan. We spent the day on the water and having fun. My husband gets really depressed around this time because it's the anniversary of his brother's death, so get out and have fun. While we were jet skiing and floating around on water crafts, we noticed all of the homes on the lake. Most are summer cottages that people enjoy a few times a year. I started thinking, wow, what kind of job do I need to afford this type of home. That lifestyle is expensive. Our friends told us that most of these homes were passed on to their children from a few generations before. It started to make sense. These people grew up in this social class, so they didn’t view the lake how we did. I felt out of place. $30,000-dollar speed boats and jet skis are out of my budget.

As we swam and had made our way around the giant lake, we noticed some new home construction on the water. Our friends had pointed a home out. It was 11 times the size of any other cottage on the lake. The cottage was valued over 1 million and blocked more sun from its neighbors’ homes than the trees did. Most people were upset that they built that size of a place on the lake because it takes away from everyone else’s beautiful homes. The place screams “I am better than you”. This was a class above upper class. The people who made us feel less than suddenly shared the same feeling. When we left we felt neutral and on par with others around us. We understood why. I thought this survey put things into perspective on how I was raised. I grew up in dance and if you aren’t aware, dance competition is a little expensive. The cost of dance equipment alone can run a family a few thousand dollars. I knew kids who could barely afford new clothes for school. I think the different sports children grew up playing could determine their social class as well. If someone grew up playing disc golf compared to real golf, the costs between both sports could determine what social class you fit into. I thought this survey opened my awareness to other cultural capital that different social classes have. I didn’t cheat on the survey and by not cheating and looking at the answers it made me realize just how little I knew about each side and made me question which group I thought I was in. I thought I was more upper class growing up but maybe I was middle to lower class and the lower classes around me made me feel more upper class? Cultural capital was a great part of this sociology class....