Sociological Images

Symbolism played a heavy role in our discussion during class today, and I wanted to share a blog I love that chronicles visually the ways that (primarily Western) society is permeated with symbols that reinforce norms wherever we go. The blog, Sociological Images, primarily posts images (usually photos/scans of found media or charts of interesting sociological trends) that demonstrate how things we take for granted—art, advertisements, popular culture, signs, political statements—reflect existing norms of gender roles, racial stereotypes, family constructions, class judgments, and more, forcing the reader to look more critically at the politics of her seemingly innocuous environs. Each image is accompanied by some minimal commentary that explains where the image is from and what it means to the poster, but because Sociological Images is written for an audience with similar instincts when it comes to the politics of everyday life, the images do most of the talking. I think that this very nicely demonstrates the power of symbols and is worth taking a look at for anyone interested in the interplay of politics and social structures.

Here is the link:

http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/

Jade Lamb