nilecampbell

[nilecampbell]

Chapter 13 Fieldwork: Migration

For this interview on an immigrant, I was able to interview someone who migrated from the United States to Japan. For privacy purposes names have been changed and personal details have been altered.

A 13 hour time difference from friends and family to a new atmosphere and world. This is the life that was awaiting Sarah and this is some of her story that she graciously shared with me. The main reason that Sarah took this opportunity is due to the fact that she has always wanted to travel. She even mentioned how she “wanted to go to a different country every year”. The interview began with me asking Sarah why she decided to immigrate from the United States to Japan. She answered by saying that she has always wanted to travel and visit as many countries as she could. The way that she was able to travel was for her job. In this case we would refer to Sarah as a professional immigrant. Due to her expertise in working with children she was granted the opportunity to work in Japan and have these travels while still working and having her career. In regards to the different barriers faced in getting from the United States to Japan it wasn’t anything super outstanding. The biggest obstacle for her was the paperwork and visas. Especially when the coronavirus started there were added issues and deadlines that made the process a lot harder. She first moved to Japan in 2019 prior to the start of the pandemic. She did come home in the summer months to spend time with family and friends and of course ended up having to stay due to the spread of the virus. Because of this she ended up not having enough clothes, using more money than expected, and having more paperwork and testing to get through in order to make it back to her new found home. She also experienced some issues in regards to handling her home back in the states. Luckily a family member was able to move into her home and take care of it while she’s away. There was also a language barrier that we discussed in our conversation. Of course in Japan people speak a plethora of different languages but mostly Japanese. She mentioned in our interview how there was a “big language barrier”. However she does do her work on the military base so she has that sense of home and easiness to conduct conversations with those around her. When she is out at restaurants the barrier is a lot more noticeable for her as many people have conversations in these areas in a language that is foreign to her. Once again, since she lives near the base there are signs and menus that are in both English and Japanese available to her which makes this transition much smoother. This could be showing language as a barrier and a pull to such a country. One other thing that was not so much as a barrier but something that took time to get used to was driving on the left side of the road. The next thing we started talking about was the safety comparison and how, as a black woman, she felt living alone in a new country. In response to the question of living there permanently she brought up how racism is definitely a factor. She discussed how there is “subtle racism” but nothing that you will openly see or hear. Things like getting food last even though you were seated first is one of the examples she explained to me. When it came to overall safety she said that she feels “safe enough to walk at night with music in my ears” which is not something that she would be able to do living here which is another pull factor she experienced. Not only that but she also stated how it’s so safe that she doesn’t need to lock her car door and even keeps her keys in the car at night. There is no fear that someone will harm her or steal from her which makes living in Japan better and more feasible for people, especially women. Overall she believed that while living inThis particular part of Japan, “you will never be concerned for your life”. To wrap up the interview I asked her if she would ever stay permanently in Japan or if she wanted to continue her travels even though she has been there for just about three years now. In response she said, “Japan is slowly becoming home”. She is thinking about staying for some more years or until another opportunity comes along but she does miss her home here in the west.

[nilecampbell]

Chapter 10 Fieldwork: Class and Inequality

Karl Marx:

Article-  https://www.vox.com/recode/22993509/starbucks-successful-union-drive

From the book we can gather the views that Karl Marx has on social class and inequality in the world. The proletariat and bourgeoise are some of the main components to his theory. The proletariat are those who work and the bourgeoise are the ones who they essentially work for. The disconnect and separation between the two is the one of the main pints for Karl Marx. The article attached discusses the current attempt and hike in Starbucks employees to create a union in their workplace. A union is a a group of workers who come together to gain a better work life and reach common goals in their workplace. Many of the worker in the article explain how although Starbucks may seem like a good company on he surface the workers are not getting compensated fairly for their work while also having instances of getting hours cut. With less hours the amount of hourly pay doesn’t really matter if they can’t work to support themselves. the creation of the union is to help amend these differences and fight as a group to create a better workplace and relationship with the higher ups at the company. This kind of separation and inequality between the workers and those they work for is exactly what Karl Marx's discusses in his social theory on class. 

Max Weber 

Article- https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/05/donald-trump-golf-club-scandal-military-coronavirus

Max Weber agreed with Marx’s on his ideas of social class but had some things he wanted to add. Prestige and social status are the components that Weber focused on and added to some of Marx’s ideas. Weber believed that having a certain social status allowed for you to have more influence and possibly get away with more things snice people see you highly. The article I used for this is an article discussing how Donald Trump was able to go to his own resort amid the coronavirus crisis as it began and yet stull had many supporters and much influence due to his title of being president and the prestige that such a title holds. Not only did his position of president allow him to still have supporters while there a global crisis going on, the prestige and wealth he was believed to have as a businessman could be said to be why he was elected at all. This kind of prestige and rank is what weber said should also be included as a way of economic stratification. 

Pierre Bourdieu 

Article- https://www.theroot.com/privilege-has-big-impact-on-college-admissions-study-s-1848175612

Like Marx and Weber, Pierre Bourdieu also had his theories on social class and inequality. The only difference is that Bourdieu believed that education was a major reason for this inequality. He believed that the education system was responsible for social reproduction and limiting those learning by the social class they are deemed to be in. The article I picked discusses how having someone with previous college experience and background can make the college admissions process much easier. The article says how social capital plays a big role on how easy or hard the admissions process is for students. When you come from a background of parents and family that has been to college and understand the ends and outs, applying and getting in wont be as draining as without those same connections. Bourdieu explained how social and cultural capital play a role in the inequality those in the education system face. This article explains and shows how this is happening in relation to the college admission aspect. 

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Chapter 6 Fieldwork: Ethnicity and Nationalism

For this assignment we were asked to take a, kind of, deep dive into our families history and ancestry. This assignment was a little hard to complete because of the limited amount of information that I have on the history of my family. 

1.  How long has your family lived in this country?

Like most African Americans, my family began here in the United States after slavery when tons of African Americans were taken to this country to be slaves. I am unsure what year my oldest family member arrived but it was definitely through out the years of slavery in this country. While this may be off topic, I feel it is worth mentioning. When asking my sister and other family members these questions, my sister said that this topic was triggering and at first I was like yea it can be but its not really triggering for me. That was until I started writing this out and realized I really can not expand any further on when my family came to this country because so much was erased and the fact that we are even here is because we were forced to be. 

2.  Where did they come from?

Of course my family has come from Africa but then what? When slavery ended where did my family go? Well my fathers side of the family is from South Carolina and has lived there his whole life, his mothers whole life, and so on. They lived on an island called Hilton Head Island. Me and my family lived there for most of my childhood. From 1st-6th grade Even though I only lived there for a couple years I have picked up and still use a lot of the terminology and way of life that they have there. I lived on the island surrounded by my fathers family. My fathers family is actually Gullah which is, I believe, an ethnic group in the Carolinas and down to some of Florida. My father and his family and my self refer to this, specifically where he is from, as the Low country. Slaves ships from different parts of Africa landed here and that is where my fathers side of the family planted their roots. Some countries noted are Angola, Sierra Leone, and others  While living there I was very young so I was not involved in learning about this side of my family and their history but now that I am older it is definitely something I want to know more about. My dads side of the family have (or had I haven't been in awhile) a Gullah tour bus that tourists can come to and learn about the different historical areas on the Island and even learn some of the language. I have taken the tour at least once but was so little I barely remember everything. Bur yes there is a lot of culture there and kind of explains where my family comes from.

3. Has your family embraced American Nationalism? 

I feel like my family has embraced American Nationalism quite a bit. For starters my grandfather fought in the Vietnam War and I had Uncles fight in the Korean War.  Fighting for this country and sustaining the wounds, seen and unseen, that come from that fight is a key element of nationalism. Not only that but my family participates in many American holidays and celebrations like Halloween, the fourth of July, Juneteenth and memorial Day. Also the pledge of allegiance is said everyday in elementary and middle school which shows the nationalism we have in our early childhood days. 

4.  If some of your family have migrated from other parts of the world, how do they integrate their American identity with their ethnic identity?

I think the best example of this would be how my fathers side has become more American. Similar to my last answer  feel like holidays are a major way they have taken in their American identity but also keeping their ethnic identity because they do still celebrate and participate in things that they do normally. Not only that but maybe the food and introducing different cooking techniques into the food that come from both America and Africa or the south specifically. Other than That i am not sure since my family is all from Africa and not anywhere else. 

[nilecampbell]

Chapter 5 Fieldwork: Race and Racism

 #1 Colonialism:

Colonialism is defined by the book as “The practice by which a nations-state extends political, economic, and military power beyond its own borders over an extended amount of time to secure access to raw materials, cheap labor, and markets in other countries or regions”. This picture from a tweet encompasses colonialism because colonialism was almost always done through force and fighting and not peaceful discussion, communication and collective agreement. Also colonialism by Europeans was done not only by force but also because they felt superior to other nations and felt as if other countries and nations needed to be learning from them instead of the other way around. 

#2 White Supremacy

The textbook defines white supremacy as “The belief that whites are biologically different from and superior to people of other races.” This photo comes from the raid at the United States Capitol on January 6th of 2021. This is after years of President Trump helping white supremacist gain confidence in their ideals and feel a need to overtake the government by force and rule out anyone who did not agree with their viewpoints on white people being superior and in power. 

#3 Microaggression

https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdAjXd4V/

the textbook defines a microaggression as “common everyday verbal or behavioral indignities and slights that communicate hostile, derogatory, and negative messages about someone's race, gender, sexual orientation or religion. This second video from TIKTOK shares an example of a microaggression that many black people may be susceptible to experiencing in their day to day life. Many people believe that people of a certain racial group are supposed to do things one way or not have access to certain things. This gives the good example of grocery stores and who the employees think should be shopping there and how the black people they may see in the store doing a job and shopping for someone else who may be white or of higher class.  

#4 Hypodescent 

The textbook defines Hypodescent as, “Sometimes called the ‘one drop rule’; the assignment of children of racially ‘mixed’ unions to the subordinate group.” this tweet shows how many people who are only a very small percentage of black claim that they are black person even though it is not heavily shown in their ancestry results. Many people feel as if the one drop rule is outdated and is not what should be used to decide who is black and who is not in certain cases. These cases being when the blackness is usually under 50-25 percent. 

#5 Institutional Racism

https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdAjuxxr/

Institutional Racism is defined as “Patterns by which racial inequality is structured through key cultural institutions, policies, and systems. The example given to show that is a tik tok about how man doctors and medical students think that black people have a naturally higher pain tolerance and do not believe their patients when they say they are in a certain amount of pain compared to White people. There are many ways that Black people are not hear din the medical field because it is thought that they are strong enough to deal with the pain and this leads to more deaths' in the black community that could easily be prevented if doctors listened to us as they do other patients. 

#6 Racism

https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdAjyRmx/

Racism is defined as “Individuals’ thoughts and actions and institutional patterns and policies that create or reproduce unequal access to power, privilege, resources, and opportunities based on imagined differences among groups.” This is a clip recorded in Ukraine during the evacuation of citizens amidst the invasion by Russia. In this clip and many others, the black people living in these areas who are also trying to escape to safety are being pushed to the back of waiting line sand not being allowed on transportation out due to racist ideals by white Ukrainians. Even at time where the country is at war they still feel the need to separate based on looks.  

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Discussion Assignment: Song Lyrics regarding gender and dominance

The song that I chose was Sugar Baby by Megan Thee Stallion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfgcVqf3c5I

The first lyric is: “oh, he want a bad b****? Well, I want a n**** with some money and a long d***” 

This lyric relates to gender and dominance because usually in rap songs men are discussing their control over women and in this song Megan is in a way reversing that and letting it be known that in order to get with someone like her and of her status and look you need to also be meeting certain standards and requirements.

The second lyric: “Call yourself not talking to me, I’m already callin’ my other n****”

This lyric is also exhibiting the signs of new dominance in the female community. Showing how she, just like men in rap, can have multiple partners and options and not worry. 

The third lyric: “I think all these n***** stupid, but I still want the head.

This lyric again is proving the dominance that the female gender is reclaiming in a way. instead of it being the usual/normal way of men just using women for sexual things, women are now using men simply for the sexual experiences and also showing that they have the power to do so sense men can, at times, be stupid and desperate. 

[nilecampbell]

Chapter 3 Fieldwork: Mapping a Block

The location that I chose for my assignment on observation was Waffle House. The reason I decided to use waffle house was because I had not been there in a long time and decided to go with my roommate and ended up loving the atmosphere that particular day and doing some observing whilst eating, also waffle house has a reputation for being a place of community and a home feeling. Waffle houses can also be a little crazy depending on the location and the time you go but overall I always have a good experience going there. I enjoy the food and the atmosphere and I thought it would be a good place to see how people interact with each other in a different establishment. The location of the waffle house was sort of boring and bland and not heavy witch traffic. The waffle house was right off an exit from a major highway and seemed like a place where people mostly pass through. However there were a lot of people at this location and that could be for many reasons. The first could be because they just got through doing a bunch of driving and needed breakfast and the other could be the same as me, craving what felt like a home cooked meal. 

While being at waffle house the first thing I noticed was all the people who were there and just enjoying each other's company. I also found that there were A LOT of people there which is not something I was expecting. Every single table was full and so was the bar-like seating. All I could hear was the chatter of other people's conversations and the music playing in the background. I also want to point out the smell. As soon as you walked in you were hit with the smell of waffle mix and eggs and toast and coffee and they all matched and mixed together perfectly and felt like how I feel when I am at home and my dad makes a big breakfast on the weekends for us. Everyone was having a nice time with their friends/family. It was like everyone was in their own happy place at their respective tables

The things I found that I was not expecting to find include the amount of people like I said earlier. That was the biggest thing that caught me off guard. I have been to many waffle houses including the one I went to on this day and it is rarely that packed unless it is midnight or later on a weekend after parties and festivities. I was actually happy that there were other people because it made it feel more like a happy place with all the voices coming together. I also noticed how hard the staff worked which is not something I really watched before. In case you have never been, when you go to a Waffle House you can see the cooks cooking the food and everything because there is no wall or door divider. The only divider is the bar that wraps around the kitchen. Since I am usually so involved in conversation with my friends I do not notice the people working and making my food. This day I made an effort to watch them and it was cool. The workers were lovely and had a lot of energy and were even singing the songs that would come on kind of loudly and made the environment even more welcoming. You could see them laughing and chatting with each other between tasks and just enjoying the time they were spending even though it was work. It made it so much more inviting. My waitress even offered to take a pic of me and my friend on our film camera and joined in on the slight dancing and singing me and my friend were doing when a good throwback song came on. 

Something That I would have expected to see and didn't were honestly the angry most hostile people. I also expected the workers to not be as nice and enjoyable as they were. Especially since Waffle House has the reputation of being a place where the customers are interesting. Other than that I do not think there was much else I was surprised to not see. 

There are a few ways this place was impacted by COVID-19. The first is the mask requirement in order to gain entrance. Everyone had a mask on and was encouraged to keep it on unless eating or drinking. The workers also had masks on during the whole time while all the food was being made and orders were being placed. The second way COVID impacted this place is because they were a little short staffed and had a little wait in cleaning tables and taking orders. I feel like many COVID regulations and people getting sick with COVID is a major reason why some people may have called out and/or quit. Supply shortages and other things the restaurant may be experiencing is also probably due to COVID.

[nilecampbell]

Fieldwork 2: Culture of Consumerism

*PLEASE IGNORE MY DIRTY ROOM LOL*

Reflection: To be honest at first I thought this assignment was not going to be very eye opening and I expected a lot of these prices to be lower. Once I started googling and thinking about how much I paid for some of these thing I was SHOCKED. when it came to my shirts and clothing articles I did not expect to have as many shirts specifically and for them to amount to that much. For the pricing of my shirts and clothing I used the average I remember paying for most of my clothes which is around  20 dollars per top and 25 for jeans and just calculated from how many items of each  I had. When it came down to hair products I figured it would be much more but it was under what I expected. I think that is because a lot of the little things are not that expensive. I was not sure if gifts should be counted but I decided to count them anyway. this made my price for purses increase and the fact that I only have 8 purses and the total is above 500 dollars is astounding. Another part that was interesting was the fact that a lot of these items seem to be more wants than needs. In my everyday life I do feel like I need them but after actually sitting down and thinking about them I do not need them the way I think I do. I feel like I need them in  a sense of the lifestyle I have but I do not need them to ultimately survive or anything. Another aspect was the desire of origin section. I originally thought that I was influencing myself but that does not make a lot of sense. Social Media plays the biggest part into what I am lured into wanting and the reasoning behind buying so many things. Trends and trendy clothing and items makes up for most items I own. Friends and peer pressure have also played a big part. After this assignment I am leaning towards donating some of the clothes I don't wear and not trying to give in to so many items that are one and done. I have learned that i give in to a lot of things I don't need and that ads do a really good job and so do influencers. this assignment definitely changed my outlook on consumerism. 

[nilecampbell]

Chapter 1 Fieldwork: Making Candles Unfamiliar

History: Candles have been around for years upon years upon years. Ancient Egyptians and Romans were some of the first people to use candles as a light source and paved the way for candles today. Originally candles were used as light and in religious ceremonies. Most of the early candles were mad using melted beeswax or tallow and rolled papyrus. Different civilizations used different formats and ingredients when making their first candles. For example in China they used paper tubes, rice paper, and the wax from insects that were native to their area. Around the mid 1980′s is when candles made a surge as being used more decoratively and in homes afro their scents and aesthetic. In todays age you can go almost anywhere and be able to find an array of candles in many scents, sizes, and shapes. Candles are now used for more than just a light source as t can signify celebration, relaxation, or even romance. (https://candles.org/history/#:~:text=Early%20Origins,reeds%20in%20melted%20animal%20fat.)

Where was it made: The candle pictured here was made in Vietnam and manufactured at a candle manufacturing company in Vietnam called Creative Lights Vietnam. Before looking at where it was made I originally thought it would be somewhere in the USA or maybe china, so to see it was from Vietnam was shocking. (https://internationalliving.com/countries/vietnam/cost-of-living-in-vietnam)

The impact: Overall candles have many different uses and in turn, many different impacts. For instance when originally created they were used as light which impacted travel and the amount of things possible of being accomplished once the sun goes down. This helped soldiers and families feel safe and be knowledgeable of their surroundings before lights and other technology. As for me and my life the candle gives me a sense of calm and relaxation, I use candles almost everyday of my life. I look forward to lighting my candles after deep cleaning my house so that there is a nice over scent flowing and I know its time to relax. Not only that but before getting in a shower I like to light a candle and come back to a lovely smelling room where I can be most comfortable. It is also still used a light source for me when I don't want he harsh lights from the lamp on but don't want to be in complete darkness. Candles make me feel more comfortable and can easily change the mood of any room and bring joy to those to are gifted them or get to blow them out for a birthday or celebration. 

Those involved: Like many things being mass produced, candles are made and manufactured in big warehouses all over the world. For this specific manufacturer they have many many workers. These workers are mostly young women from this same are and work in making the wax, the scents, and putting everything together. There is not too much information about these specific set of workers but due to our knowledge on many warehouses i assume that the hours are long and the work is not as east as it seems.  The average pay for most warehouse workers in Vietnam is around 63.239.928 per year in Vietnamese dong. Converted to USD that is about 2,792.05. The average cost of living per month in Vietnam in USD is around 1,500 dollars. As you can see they are not making much money since their yearly salary is not even twice that of monthly middle class average expenses. These are, of course, not exact details for this exact company as I could not find that information but it does help give a vague idea of what that jobs income would/could be. (https://www.salaryexpert.com/salary/job/warehouse-worker/vietnam. https://internationalliving.com/countries/vietnam/cost-of-living-in-vietnam/)

[nilecampbell]

4 Components of Globalization

Time Space Compression

This photo explains the time space compression because it depicts three people from three different parts of the world being able to communicate at the same time even with the time difference and mile distance.

Flexible Accumulation:

This picture shows flexible accumulation because it explains how big corporations use things like outsourcing and offshoring to help pay for certain things for less since they are reaching out to people who work in low income or underdeveloped places. That way they can have a bigger chunk of profit for the same product just by relocating certain things.

Increasing Migration:

This picture shows people migrating from one place to another most likely in the hopes of having a better lively hood. This is exactly what increasing migration means as they are moving with all their things in search of a better life or protection. 

Uneven Development:

This picture shows uneven development by showing one side that has new high rises and tennis courts and a pool while the other side is rundown and with homes stacked and near each other for uncomfortable living. This shows how some people are benefiting while others are still not being helped in anyway.