One thing I love about sociology is the way it recognizes human creativity. It acknowledges our ability to create meaning and invent practices. Seeing the footage below, I couldn’t help but be amazed at the human ability to constantly innovate.
Via BoingBoing.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Comments 16
jones — February 18, 2012
Not just the human ability, but the specific creativity of African peoples. To deny the innovation in music, dance, street culture, sports, language, fashion, movement, etc. created out of a specific African-American history, traditions, cultural heritage, etc. is to work to deny the contributions of African peoples. This creativity comes from cultural pressures, from marginalization, from survival, through the way we have maintained African traditions through hundreds of years of oppression - to look at this and simply say it is human innovation - though of course it also is - ignores the immense contributions Black people have made to global culture. Those things that white people create are "classical" and are attributed to white intellect, white culture, white artistry, etc., while Black creativity is denied, minimized or appropriated. God forbid if Black people ever tried to claim authorship/creatorship of anything white people made, but Black artistry is constantly universalized to disguise its origins.
Quiet riot girl — February 18, 2012
if it had been women in the video maybe you'd have commented on gendered bodies Lisa?
Metro – Sexy New York « Metrosexy — February 19, 2012
[...] lads ‘flexing’ in the New York subway. Metro-Sexy indeed. The commentary about it on Sociological Images, which usually ‘analyses’ visual culture – from a feminist perspective – [...]
Anonymous — February 19, 2012
Are you my mummy?
Guest — February 19, 2012
"One thing I love about sociology is the way it recognizes human creativity." This is rather spurious.
Recognising human creativity is not unique to sociology/sociologists, nor exhibited by all sociology/sociologists, nor did you actually engage in any specifically sociological analysis of the clip. So what do you mean?
I agree that the clip is fascinating, and I wouldn't object if you had presented it just as "this is fun" (or, alternatively, had made some more relevant and specific comment, maybe on the topics hinted at elsewhere in the comment thread).
Linkspam, for those interested:
There is more awesome dance at http://www.ministryofmanipulation.com/
Cocojams Jambalayah — February 19, 2012
A step forward from what? From institutional racism and personal racism?
How can individuals move away from all that institutional and personal racism entails without really acknowledging and vigorously working through their views and attitudes about racism? And how can societies really move away from racist laws and institutional practices without recognizing and repealing those laws and replacing those societal practices with culturally competent ones?Quoting Bob Marley's song "War", instead of the word 'war", consider the idea that until those things mentioned in that song come to past, being "color-blind" and failing to credit Black people for Black creativity and Black accomplishments are detrimental to the goals of equality.
Bob Marley - War Until the philosophy which hold one raceSuperior and another inferiorIs
finally and permanently discredited and abandonedEverywhere is war, me say
warThat until there are no longer first classAnd second class
citizens of any nationUntil the colour of a man's skinIs of no more
significance than the colour of his eyesMe say warThat until the
basic human rights are equallyGuaranteed to all, without regard to
raceDis a warThat until that dayThe dream of lasting peace,
world citizenshipRule of international moralityWill remain in but a
fleeting illusionTo be
persued, but never attainedNow everywhere is war, war...[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/bob-marley-lyrics/war-lyrics.html ]