Running head: A DAY IN THE LIFE

A Day in the Life

Craig Loughlin
American Military University

Running head: A DAY IN THE LIFE

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A Day in the Life

Instructions
Specific details about instructions/guidelines for the paper may be found under
Resources>Homework Assignments.
The Week 7 Homework 3 Assignment meets the following course objectives:
Apply a sociological perspective to the social world.
Analyze contemporary social issues using the sociological imagination and use
sociological theories and concepts to analyze everyday life.
Recognize and define social structure and social interaction
Explain the reciprocal relationship in the influence between societal and structural
factors, individual behavior and the selfs development
Develop written communication skills and critical thinking skills.
Apply American Psychological Association formatting and citation style when
completing course assignments.
General description: The purpose of this assignment is to record your life for one day and
critically discuss how you are an actor in society; how you affect your social surroundings; and,
how your daily life is shaped and constrained by society. This will allow you engage with many
of the sociological concepts reviewed to-date including newer concepts such as impression
management, stage theory and emotional labor.

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A Day in the Life

According to author James Henslin, sociologist Erving Goffman coined the sociological
term dramaturgy which refers to how social life is like a drama or a stage play: Birth ushers us
onto the stage of everyday life, and our socialization consists of learning to perform on that
stage (Henslin, 2010). Furthermore, Goffman suggests that we are the center of our own daily
performance. What he states by this is that everyone has their own idea of how they want to
be perceived by others, and those ideas often dictate how we live our lives.

http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/goffma

2. conflict theory: uses the concepts:

-structural relations of inequality: class/.gender/ racism
-alienation (from: our sense of humanity;our work mates;control over our working
conditons;control over what it is we are producing at work)
-false consciousness
-contradiction (this is very useful in connecting the stresses of everyday life with the broader
social structures - so have a go at seeng whether it's useful in critically discussing your daily life)
-exploitation of labour
-unpaid labour of caring (usually refers to the hidden, unrewarded work that's involved in caring
for the family, the aged, the disabled)

Functionalism
socialiisation

Running head: A DAY IN THE LIFE

social construction of the self .....and society
culture, norms, mores, values,
anomie (a sense of disquiet because of the fast pace of social change)
dysfunctions (or functions) of the insitituions family/work/i/eduction we engage with every day
strain (where the goals and values of the institution or the culture clash)

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References

Henslin, J. M. (2012). Essentials of sociology: a down-to-earth approach (10th ed.). Boston:

Allyn and Bacon.