What makes you happy besides sociology?

[water_rabbit]

And do those things find their way into your academic studies?

[wmnshlthsoc]

indeed... DANCE is one of my joys in life.. And somehow it's managed to come into my medical soc writing as a healing modality.

[giacomo]

*dances with wmnshithsoc*

[ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid]

E-mails.

Particularly ones that have the word 'Accepted' in them. Those would make me pretty happy.

[giacomo]

*emails ThisSlum with the subject line of Accepted*

[ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid]

*emails ThisSlum with the subject line of Accepted*

haha this would be torture considering I recently turned on the desktop notifications for my gmail. The little icon would pop up saying Accepted and I'm sure my heart would stop for a minute or two.

[lovenhaight]

Well Sitara, you know that spicy food makes me happy. LOL, just kidding.

Really though, being around the people that I care about makes me happier than pretty much anything else, and the struggles that many of those people have had inform my research. So many of the women I know have survived sexual assault; therefore, I try to understand how I can make an impact on the problem, and so on and so forth.

This is also why I've only applied to two PhD programs. I know where I want to be and who I want to be with, and I'm not willing to sacrifice that for just any random program anywhere in the US. I love being a sociologist, but I also love being with people who make me happy, and I refuse to settle for one or the other. If I don't get in anywhere, I'm still a sociologist. I still have an MA. I can still teach and do research and write and affect positive social change...and I get to do those while being around my husband and some really great friends as we work together to navigate the road less traveled. Will I be disappointed if I'm not accepted to either program? Sure. Its always nice to feel wanted, and its always a bit hard to digest when someone says you're not wanted. Is it the end of the road for me? Not in the slightest. I've had to carve out my own path before, and I'm not afraid to do it again.

I think that if sociology was all I had to make me happy, I'd have to start reevaluating the other things in my life.

Edited February 10, 2012 by lovenhaight

[panasic]

second lovenhaight! i only applied to 2 programs. also because i love the bay area and am not ready to leave it. my SO is here, my friends... luckily, two schools here are amazing and fit my interests

[socquantgenderdemog]

I love to read, cook, and be outdoors. Haven't been able to read much because my mind is racing. But cooking and getting outside have been lifesavers, and so refreshing!

[quantitative]

My cat, my friends and traveling. Part of traveling is people-watching, which has always been a talent of mine. I'd like to say it's seeped into my research and enhanced my ability to be a sociologist.

Edited February 10, 2012 by quantitative

[undmich]

traveling, especially backpacking alone. had great experience couch surfing!

[SocHope]

I'm a real home-body, so reading, being a nuisance to my cat, and TV/movies are enough for me. I DO feel like I want to blow all my vacation days and a good chunk of my savings traveling to S. Korea and Japan for a couple of weeks before starting a program.

[Hege-Money]

Happiness is a social construct of modernity, which serves no functional purpose but to fulfill hegemonic consumer ideology and reinforce the Marcusian mechanisms of one-dimensionalization.

Having said that, I genuinely appreciate this forum. It's nice to know there are others like me who appreciate Sociology. It's unfortunate that this discipline is so marginalized and stigmatized within undergraduate education.

[giacomo]

Happiness is a social construct of modernity

what would you call the kind of "happiness" pre-modern people pursued?

[lovenhaight]

Happiness is a social construct of modernity, which serves no functional purpose but to fulfill hegemonic consumer ideology and reinforce the Marcusian mechanisms of one-dimensionalization.

Having said that, I genuinely appreciate this forum. It's nice to know there are others like me who appreciate Sociology. It's unfortunate that this discipline is so marginalized and stigmatized within undergraduate education.

I disagree. To assume that emotions are nothing more than social constructs that serve no purpose other than to "fulfill hegemonic consumer ideology" is extremely pessimistic, and in my opinion seems to be a shining example of why people are often turned off by academics. What purpose does it serve to try and rob people of feeling happy? There is a biological element to emotions. Perhaps emotions are often manipulated to promote consumerism, but that does not mean that emotions themselves are entirely socially constructed.

[kbirch]

Chocolate makes me VERY happy.

Also, babies.

I teach middle school, so I get shrugged shoulders, backtalk and rolled eyes all day. There's nothing like a little baby to smile and giggle and act impressed by anything I do/say.

[jenjenjen]

days without clouds and mountains on the horizon, the feeling after a long run, opening a bottle of wine, the people i meet while travelling, cooking without a recipe, debating politics with my dad, trivia nights at my local brewery, sex, pretty much any live music, my little brother, okay all my family, finishing a bottle of wine, thunderstorms, reading a good book, reading a really trashy romance novel, thinking about the future, painting my nails to look vaguely reminiscent of an acid trip, volunteering with mentally or physically handicapped children, working with homeless adults, pickup soccer, really easy hip-hop dance classes, yoga, my therapist, turning off my cell phone, fireworks and bonfires, being on boats, OKAY SOMEONE PLEASE STOP ME

[RefurbedScientist]

OKAY SOMEONE PLEASE STOP ME

We must stop @jenjenjen from being happy before s/he reinforces the Marcusian mechanisms of one-dimensionalization any more!!!

JK, I liked the Marcuse reference.

[kbirch]

days without clouds and mountains on the horizon, the feeling after a long run, opening a bottle of wine, the people i meet while travelling, cooking without a recipe, debating politics with my dad, trivia nights at my local brewery, sex, pretty much any live music, my little brother, okay all my family, finishing a bottle of wine, thunderstorms, reading a good book, reading a really trashy romance novel, thinking about the future, painting my nails to look vaguely reminiscent of an acid trip, volunteering with mentally or physically handicapped children, working with homeless adults, pickup soccer, really easy hip-hop dance classes, yoga, my therapist, turning off my cell phone, fireworks and bonfires, being on boats, OKAY SOMEONE PLEASE STOP ME

Impressive list!

[Hege-Money]

what would you call the kind of "happiness" pre-modern people pursued?

There can be elements of modernity in pre-modern civilizations. However, if we are to understood 'pre-modern' as pre-social and pre-institutional, then I would suggest that 'pre-modern' people were concerned with basic survival and not with socially constructed, institutionalized forms of consumer ideology.

I disagree. To assume that emotions are nothing more than social constructs that serve no purpose other than to "fulfill hegemonic consumer ideology" is extremely pessimistic, and in my opinion seems to be a shining example of why people are often turned off by academics. What purpose does it serve to try and rob people of feeling happy? There is a biological element to emotions. Perhaps emotions are often manipulated to promote consumerism, but that does not mean that emotions themselves are entirely socially constructed.

I suggest you re-read my statement; I did not - as you suggest - argue that "emotions are nothing more than social constructs". I was simply referring to the concept of "happiness" - an ideology that I believe is not essentially comparable to actual emotions. Next time, I suggest you actually read and comprehend my statements before interjecting your own knee-jerk reactionary perspective. I think we can all agree that there are psychological and neurochemical attributes associated with emoting. The contention is whether happiness is an emotion, not whether emotions are social constructs.

Hedgey just likes to stir the stew with his slippery self-aggrandizing solipsisms while sulking behind his soulless statistical software systems.

You know me too well.

[sleepycat]

I love playing Second Life, great place to study too. I really like reading and try to read everyday, but I haven't been reading in the past week for whatever reason. I love forums like GradCafe and I am currently writing an article on them. I like to watch CSI (all three) and sometimes Project runway. Sometimes I play the Sims 3. I also love love love sleeping, hence the username. lol Also going to the beach in the Santa Cruz area, although it wasn't the reason why I applied to UCSC.

[calamaria]

*refreshing thegradcafe.com*

[ohhello]

Going to cafes, a good latte, hanging with my family, reading outside, running for several hours, running on the coast, walking around, trying food with friends, listening to music, daydreaming about ways to destroy the achievement gap, having Skype sessions with friends, delicious ice cream... Sigh.

[abc123xtc]

Hanging out with friends, traveling, exploring the city, trying to guess who are locals and who are tourists in Seattle, pretending to be a tourist, coming up with film ideas, watching movies, cuddling with cats, petting cats, taking pictures of cats, watching International House Hunter, making lists, posting on Tumblr, a good cup of coffee, pizza... and it goes on and on.

[Darth.Vegan]

Anything in or near the ocean. I even loved just sitting on the beach when I lived in Oregon. I will miss that if I am in the midwest, but seeing as I am so busy with school now I hardly go anyway.