Finding Yonder

I'm currently listening to the emotionally charged music of Josh Groban. I can't kick the thought of "my mother listens to this" out of my head.

posted by Lisa @ 11:45 PM

Women and Sociology

There were several women that were extremely influencial in the establishment of sociology as a legitimate discipline. They wrote and published works around the same time, were extremely active both politically and socially, and were respected by other predominant social thinkers (men as well as women).

When talking about the history of sociology, however, most of these women are completely omitted. They are not even mentioned - completely erased. There could be many possible explinations for these exclusions. I think the main reason, however, is that sociology was trying to establish itself as a serious discipline. Educators therefore wanted to put their strongest thinkers forward. Socially, women were not regarded highly or taken seriously, and as a result were written out.

What's interesting are the differences between the early men and women sociologists. The women tended to be much more socially active, drawing society's attention to inequalities or injustices that that occured in every day life. Our current knowledge of spousal abuse situations, rape, wage inequalities between men and women, etc. are a result of public activism by women. The predominant form of study for men, however, was just that - study. Lots of reseach taken and papers written, lots of trained educators and professors. This caused a power struggle and eventual split within sociology. Most women went in the direction of social work, and most men went in the direction of social analysis.

The erasure of woman in the history of sociology brings to light how cricical we should be of what we're taught, and the way that we learn. Where did the information we're taught come from, and from what perspective? What impacts can the methods by which we are being taught impact our opinions and beliefs?

While I always knew that history was biased, I had never encountered such a dramatic example before. It really forces you to think...

posted by Lisa @ 1:44 PM

Every so often, waves of emotion will hit me. Happy or sad, most of them revolve around love. Sometimes I'm so overcome that I feel like my chest will burst if I don't do something.

This is one of those moments. One of my best friends from Manchester found me on facebook, and I'm hit with the realization of how much I miss her. Normally I block these things out of my mind, because it serves no purpose other than to make me sad, but this time I was caught off guard.

God is truly a God of love. It is through relationships that we can see that. If humans are capable of such intense emotion, how much deeper still is the love that he has for us? More than we can fathom.

I love and miss her so much it feels like my heart will break.

posted by Lisa @ 1:48 PM

My favourite day of the week is Thursday.

On Thursdays I don't have to do anything. I have no school, and no work. I manage to get a lot of schoolwork done (generally - it depends on how disciplined I'm feeling). I even get to sleep in.

My routine is that I lounge on the couch and get most of my reading, studying, and homework done. I put on cbc radio 2, and it plays from about 10am till about 6:30pm. Then I head out for tae kwon do.

It's Thursdays that help me keep my head on my shoulders. It helps me to relieve stress. A day to do nothing but my work.

I love it. I also love sweat pants.

posted by Lisa @ 3:34 PM

I've discovered a love for listening to classical music while I'm studying.

posted by Lisa @ 8:46 PM

So, for those of you who don't know, Trevor (the boy in the last entry) and I have recently become official. We have perfect timing. He left for eight months on Wednesday, three days ago.

There were a number of things that factored into this decision, none of which I'm going to get into right now.

I can't believe it's only been three days. It feels like it's been at least two weeks. I don't feel motivated to do anything at all. Even my Saturday night, which is normally reserved for dancing, has been overtaken by my desire to sit around and mope.

I remember this feeling. Long distance sucks. At least this is long distance with a set end date, and a few visits scheduled in between. I'm hoping to go up to visit in November. Along with him I'm wanting to see Sarah, Sherrie, Evan Daniel, dad, and the rest. He comes back in December to visit. He's back for good at the end of April.

It feels like half of me is missing. But I'd rather this than to have never met him. For him, I'm willing to wait.

posted by Lisa @ 8:42 PM