Field Trip
This afternoon, I’ve asked my introduction to sociology students at BMCC to join me at #occupywallstreet for a little field trip. We’ll be covering stratification, inequality, and political economy over the next few weeks, and I thought it’d be a great place to start the conversation. In advance, I’ve asked them to consider the following questions:
- Who is there at Zuccotti Park? What races, ethnicities, genders, sexualities, ages, social classes, etc. are represented? Take note of people inside the park, but also people on the outside, on the sidewalks or across the street. Be specific, if you can.
- How is this space organized? What are people doing, exactly, and where are they doing it? What roles are various individuals and groups playing? Is there any one person or group in charge? Again, think in terms of what’s happening inside the park, as well as outside.
- What is the larger message these people at Zuccotti Park want to share, and is it effective—either in content or delivery? In other words: what’s the point? Or is this just a bunch of “hippies” hanging out in a park wasting time, as some in the media want to suggest? Do you agree or disagree with what you see and hear among this crowd of people? What resonates for you? What doesn’t?
Let’s see what comes of it, and what comes of this nascent movement, more generally.
