Northwestern University

A couple of weeks ago, I visited Northwestern University’s main campus in Evanston, Chicago. It was my first time, and thus was curious to compare it to Qatar’s campus. I was extremely surprised with large number of students involved in extra curricular activities and clubs, and most importantly their respect towards Northwestern’s traditions and rituals. During today’s class, I thought the functionalist theory was extremely similar to the social structure in NUE. The campus is stable, orderly and systematic. Everybody has a specific role and are divided into groups; resulting with the lively and outspoken campus we have today. They all collaborate together and respect one another’s opinions, even though they may not agree with it. For example, there are many accapella groups, sororities and frat houses spread across campus, and although each group may have different personalities, they all acknowledge each other in a mature manner. I believe this campus also relates to the functionalist theory because without the help and organization of these students, professors and faculty, Northwestern university wouldn’t be moving forward. The campus would not be stable or as productive. Even social problems such as two clubs fighting over the historical Northwestern rock can make a positive contribution to the society. This will motivate them to stick to the rules to see if the other group will give up on guarding the treasured totem. It will also allow the Daily Northwestern to have a story to write about. Another concept that we covered in class today, which reminded me of Northwestern’s main campus, was the idea of collective effervescence. During my trip, there was a baseball game that is extremely popular amongst Northwestern students. There are a certain number of seats saved for students in NUE and usually there is an extremely large turn out. During this event, there is a shared feeling of identity in which each student experiences waves of similar emotions and a sense of togetherness. They are all rooting for Chicago and wear Northwestern jerseys and sweatshirts to support their team. This is also considered a ritual as it forces students from different groups and organizations to gather together and reinforce their collective identity. Why do we have students, professors and faculty in Northwestern University and what do they contribute to that specific community? Why do we have different organizations and clubs? Why is there a different positions and roles for every individual? Without this structure, Northwestern University would not be able to manage all of their students or provide everyone with an activity that meets their needs and expectations. Although many sociologists criticize this theory, I personally believe it is an excellent fit for this university. Photos: The first photo is one of the many acapella groups in Northwestern. They are called Purple Haze. The second photo is how the rock looked like after we painted it. The third and fourth photo are from online sources

Progress In Souq Waqif

Two types of progress are seen in souq waqif and sociology allows us to track these diverging behaviors in cultural behavior. One is cultural progress. Specifically, I am talking about the art exhibitions that are held in the galleries and some of the restaurants found there. The second kind of progress is that of westernization and globalization.

I have been to souq waqif many times and each time I go there, I am amazed at both of these types of progresses.

I remember the first time I ever went to souq waqif was with my school, and I remember telling one of my friends “Why is there a Baskin Robbins in the middle of souq waqif? Isn’t this supposed to be a cultural place?” What I had failed to realize then was that even though Baskin Robbins was not part of my culture, it is still part of culture- just not mine. Baskin Robbins’ motto is “Your Neighborhood Ice Cream Store” which shows how dominant it is in American society, or how dominant it wants to be. I can’t be the judge of that because I’ve never actually been to California- which is where Baskin Robbins first started out. The same goes to the restaurants in souq waqif, for example the Iranian, the Indian and the Italian restaurants.

Also, another form of cultural progress is the art exhibitions that can be seen in the galleries of souq waqif. One of the exhibitions that I went to focused on Qatari artists and I could actually see the artist painting his work onto the canvas. Not only was it interesting to see an artist at work, creating a cultural object, but it was interesting to see a Qatari one because it was the first time that I’ve seen this type of thing. I’ve also seen an exhibition where more than one person has worked on a piece of art, so it was a collective activity and there was a division of labor amongst the people. I also heard many people talking about their thoughts of the many artworks and each person had a different opinion, which proves that cultural objects are multivocal.

The other kind of progress is the westernization and globalization. The Baskin Robbins example could be put in this category as well. As I previously mentioned, Baskin Robbins started out in the United States of America, specifically the state of California. So the fact that it is located in Qatar means that Qatar is becoming westernized, even if it is through a simple thing like ice cream. Another example of westernization in souq waqif is the fact that many of the cafés have multiple television screens in them that usually play some sort of western sport, usually football. Once when I was walking around the souq, I heard a loud cheering noise coming from the cafés, I assumed a team had won and the people were cheering because of that and that they were experiencing collective effervescence. Another example is the parking lot surrounding the souq. This is part of westernization because the need for parking lots came from the west, which is where cars were invented. Traditionally parking lots were not needed because all people needed were posts to tie their camels to.

Emotions Are Made of This

One event, mixed emotions, permanent memories. That’s what two high students left before they killed 17 students and a teacher. In April 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold did this tremendous event in order to be heard. They stated in their diaries that they had trouble being heard when a jock bullied them, a girl played with their emotions, and couldn’t find someone who would simply just listen to them (except for their diaries). However, this isn’t about what motivated them, but what effect they left for the town, Columbine. The shared feelings, created by these two murderers, brought those people to a sense of unity and togetherness is called Collective Effervescence. (Picture on the right: Eric Harris and Dylan Kelbold)

It varied differently from one emotion to another, from one phase of the event to another, from one person to another. The emotions were definitely mixed and it caused sadness, anger, confusion and so on. The first phase I would probably say it was confusion as to what’s going on from all the students who first heard in the cafeteria on that day. Then it led to a basic human instinct, which is the need for survival; that instinct is also associated with fear.
In the video below, you will see what emotions you get during the event when the students start shooting in the cafeteria. Later on it will view what happened right after where all the people are confused, in fear, and weeping for their losses. (Possible emotions will be mentioned supporting the cultural effervescence theory.)

Not only that they’ve committed such hideous act, but these two murderers support sociologist Émile Durkheim’s theory from his book Suicide. The book states that there are three patterns of suicide most commonly referred to as egoistic suicide, altruistic suicide and anomic suicide in men only, as it also mentions that men have the highest rate of suicide than women, which is the important part.



Even by just viewing a film (such as Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine), the unity of shared emotions still lives on today. Not only to the ones that saw the event, but the ones who simply reliving the scene on the screen. It never seems to die because now it’s part of our history and a cultural aspect in the small town of Columbine.(Picture below: Michael Moore's comic for the documentary's promotion.)