Discussion on Global Population Growth and Deviance, Crime, and Social Control
Sociology is most powerful when applied in the context of what real people do and how they live. Students taking this course typically choose it as an elective for a very specialized degree, from Business Administration to Information Systems to Interior Design. This final assignment will ask students to draw both upon those sociological topics they found most interesting throughout the course, but also to reflect on how their acquired appreciation of those topics have or might affect and inform their core studies and personal and professional interests.
Objectives
By successfully completing this assignment, students will demonstrate:
the ability to draw connections between formal sociological theory and concepts and real-world personal experience; the acquisition of their ‘sociological imagination’ by indicating an awareness of the relationship between personal experience and the wider society; and a proficiency in integrating sociological concepts and perspectives into a personal narrative.
Sociology
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Sociology
The topic that piqued my interest the most was global population growth. The main issue discussed on this topic is how the population rapidly increased shortly after 1800 (Anson, 2019). Before this time, there had always been minimal population growth due to plagues and uncontrolled diseases. Despite the high rate of fertility, the mortality rate was also high. However, after the Great Depression, the number of people on earth sharply increased and has continued to increase to date. Using the demographic transition theory, the world's population growth is effectively explained (Ahmad, 2019). According to the theory, the mortality rate has decreased in a modern world where a lot of medical innovation has been made. People are able to live longer because various diseases that could kill them are controlled (Blanc, 2021). Individuals have also learned to adopt various measures to protect them from multiple harms that could cost their lives. Thus, in most places in the modern world, there is a reduced mortality rate, but no measures have been effectively put in place to ensure reduced fertility, which has caused an increase in population growth.
Learning about population growth has influenced my perspective on fertility and mortality. I feel that despite people putting so much effort into ensuring that there is a reduction in the infertility rate, the same effort should be placed on reducing fertility. Individuals need to learn about the harm that comes with being overpopulated (Reher, 2021). With this in mind, the mortality rate will continue to reduce, and the fertility rate will be controlled. I am also inclined to learn more about what environmental sociologists think about the increase in population. From what was discussed, it is clear that when people have an increased awareness of environmental issues, cases of environmental pollution are reduced. People become more conscious of their actions as a way of enhancing sustainability. Thus, I feel disposed to learn more about why people may not be ready to reduce infertility despite knowing the implications of overpopulation
The other topic that I found intriguing from this course is "deviance, crime, and social control." An act is therefore considered deviant if it defies a given societal norm or if it is offensive but technically does not violate the law (Akers, 2019).On the other hand, crime is specific because it entails getting engaged in acts that are against the law. Using Howard Becker, a new perspective on crime and deviant behavior is well explained. I found this theory interesting because the perspective is that an act that is regarded as deviant in modern society is not always based on social consensus. In the sam...