Impact of social phenomenon on society : Cultural elements in society

Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................................1
Social structure of this society:....................................................................................................................1
Impact of social phenomenon on society:...................................................................................................2
Introduction on culture:............................................................................................................................3
Cultural elements in society:.......................................................................................................................3
Impact of cultural elements on social structure during the Pandemic:.......................................................5
Social control and Deviance in this society and its impact on the social life:..............................................6
Areas in social structure that got affected by the COVID 19 PANDEMIC and how? How did the Society
handle this situation?..................................................................................................................................6
Recommendations that would help the society:.........................................................................................7
sociology
final project
mariam mohamed hesham - 18104385
cardiff
Semester 6

Introduction:
United States of America is a country in North America, a federal republic of 50
states. Besides the 48 conterminous states that occupy the middle latitudes of the
continent, the United States includes the state of Alaska, at the northwestern
extreme of North America, and the island state of Hawaii, in the mid-Pacific
Ocean. The United States is the fourth largest country in the world in area (after
Russia, Canada, and China). The national capital is Washington, which is
coextensive with the District of Columbia, the federal capital region created in
1790. The United States contains a highly diverse population. Probably no other
country has a wider range of racial, ethnic, and cultural types than does the United
States. In addition to the presence of surviving Native Americans (including
American Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos) and the descendants of Africans taken as
enslaved persons to the New World, the national character has been enriched,
tested, and constantly redefined by the tens of millions of immigrants who by and
large have come to America hoping for greater social, political, and economic
opportunities than they had in the places they left. This is a society of high
technology and extremely intensive energy use. It is also a country that has
developed a tightly organized and elaborately interdependent economy and social
system, accompanied by vast increases in total economic productivity.
Social structure of this society:
Introduction on two social phenomenon in this society:
1. Racism:
Racism began in North America in 1619, when white European settlers
turned in the early 17th century from indentured servants (mostly poorer
Europeans) to a cheaper, more plentiful labor source: enslaved Africans.
Some historians have estimated that 6 to 7 million enslaved people were
imported to the New World during the 18th century alone, depriving the
African continent of its most valuable resource its healthiest and ablest men
and women. People of color have been fighting racism since then till
nowadays. The latest racism incident was on May 25, when Minneapolis
police officers arrested George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, after a
convenience store employee called 911 and told the police that Mr. Floyd

had bought cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. Seventeen minutes after the
first squad car arrived at the scene, Mr. Floyd was unconscious and pinned
beneath three police officers, showing no signs of life.
2. Domestic violence:
Family and domestic violence are abusive behaviors in which one individual
gains power over another individual. Examples: Intimate partner violence
typically includes sexual or physical violence, psychological aggression, and
stalking. Child abuse involves the emotional, sexual, physical, or neglect of
a child under 18 by a parent, custodian, or caregiver that results in potential
harm, harm, or a threat of harm. Elder abuse is a failure to act or an
intentional act by a caregiver that causes or creates a risk of harm to an
elder.
Family and domestic violence is a common problem in the United States,
affecting an estimated 10 million people every year; as many as one in four
women and one in nine men are victims of domestic violence. (Martin R.
Huecker; Kevin C. King; Gary A. Jordan; William Smock. (2021). Domestic
Violence. StatPearls [Internet].
Impact of social phenomenon on society:
1. Racism: Racism has been linked to higher levels of death in black men from
suicide, disease and homicide. On average, black youth face one major
discriminatory experience each year. As a result of racism, and associated
poverty and injustice, life expectancy at birth for black men is far below
white women, black women and white men. (S.A. (in press). This is the toll
that everyday racism takes on black men in America. World Economic
Forum.)
Throughout the 20th century, federal housing policy and practices excluded
Black families from opportunities to build home equity and accumulate
wealth, creating generational repercussions. In contrast, federal intervention
and investment has helped expand homeownership and affordable housing
for countless White families. (Amelia Costigan, Keshia Garnett, Emily
Troiano, The Impact of Structural Racism on Black Americans (Catalyst,
September 30, 2020).
2. Domestic violence: Children witnessing violence committed against their
parent can find it difficult to trust adults in the future. It compromises their

attachment to the person that should love and protect them, weakening the
family unit. Adult victims suffer from a host of long-term health problems
like heart disease, chronic pain, stress disorders, and arthritis, increasing
health care costs for everyone. The effects of domestic violence cut across a
wide range of issues and some studies estimate the total annual cost in the
U.S. exceeds $12 billion. This includes health care costs for the victim’s
body and mind for conditions such as depression, post-traumatic stress
disorder, and dissociation. Companies have started addressing domestic
violence within their policies and have encouraged human relations
departments to seek connections with agencies, like Su Casa, to address the
needs of their employees. A.E. (in press). THE IMPACT OF DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE ON OUR COMMUNITY. The Non Profit Partnership.
Introduction on culture:
The United States is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world.
Nearly every region of the world has influenced American culture, most notably
the English who colonized the country beginning in the early 1600s. U.S. culture
has been shaped by the cultures of Native Americans, Latin Americans, Africans
and Asians. The United States is sometimes described as a "melting pot" in which
different cultures have contributed their own distinct "flavors" to American culture.
Just as cultures from around the world have influenced American culture, today
American culture influences the world. The term Western culture often refers
broadly to the cultures of the United States and Europe.
Cultural elements in society:
 Language:
There is no official language of the United States, according to the U.S.
government. While almost every language in the world is spoken in the
United States, the most frequently spoken non-English languages are
Spanish, Chinese, French and German. Ninety percent of the U.S. population
speaks and understands at least some English, and most official business is
conducted in English.
 Religion:
Nearly every known religion is practiced in the United States, which was
founded on the basis of religious freedom. About 71% of Americans identify

themselves as Christians, according to information gathered by the Pew
Research Center, a nonpartisan research group, in 2017. The research also
found that about 23% had no religious affiliation at all and around 6% of the
population is made up non-Christian religions.
 American food:
American cuisine was influenced by Europeans and Native Americans in its
early history. Today, there are a number of foods that are commonly
identified as American, such as hamburgers, hot dogs, potato chips,
macaroni and cheese, and meat loaf. "As American as apple pie" has come
to mean something that is authentically American.
 Sports:
The United States is a sports-minded country, with millions of fans who
follow football, baseball, basketball and hockey, among other sports.
Baseball, which was developed in colonial America and became an
organized sport in the mid-1800s, is known as America's favorite pastime,
although its popularity has been eclipsed by football for the past three
decades, according to the Harris Poll.
 The arts:
The United States is widely known around the world as a leader in mass
media production, including television and movies. The United States also
has a vibrant movie industry, centered in Hollywood, California, and
American movies are popular worldwide.
The United States' arts culture extends beyond movies and television shows,
though. New York is home to Broadway, and Americans have a rich
theatrical history. American folk art is an artistic style and is identified with
quilts and other hand-crafted items. American music is very diverse with
many, many styles, including rhythm and blues, jazz, gospel, country and
western, bluegrass, rock 'n' roll and hip hop.
 American style:
Clothing styles vary by social status, region, occupation and climate. Jeans,
sneakers, baseball caps, cowboy hats and boots are some items of clothing
that are closely associated with Americans. Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein,
Michael Kors and Victoria Secret are some well-known American brands.
American fashion is widely influenced by celebrities and the media, and
fashion sales equal around $200 billion per year, according to a paper

published by Harvard University in 2007. More and more Americans are
buying fashion, electronics and more online. According to the Census
Bureau, U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the first quarter of 2017 totaled
around $98.1 billion.
Zimmermann, K. A. (2015). American culture: Traditions and customs of the
United States. Live Science.
Impact of cultural elements on social structure during the Pandemic:
 The arts:
Major concerts and festivals have been cancelled. Green Day are among the
musical artists who’ve moved to postpone tour dates. They were set to
perform in Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Hong Kong, South Korea
and Japan.
The television industry has been similarly affected. Netflix have announced
the suspension of all productions, while the BBC has put its dramas on hold,
including suspending EastEnders for the first time in the soap’s history.
In New York, all museums, including the legendary MOMA art gallery,
have closed indefinitely.
Met gala which is an annual fundraising gala for the benefit of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City. It marks
the opening of the Costume Institute's annual fashion exhibit. It was
cancelled.
 Sports:
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sporting world has had to adapt
to the situation and make some changes.
Due to the pandemic, casual viewers do not have the time to focus on sports
because they are not an important part of their lives right now. In addition to
that sports are fueled by social connection, and with the lack of social
interactions between people as a result of the pandemic, sports doesn't have
a unifying aspect that it normally has.
Safety guidelines that all athletes and teams should follow that include
reducing contact with others for an extended amount of time, wearing a
mask when not participating in physical activity, and maintaining practice
groups of small numbers. In order to make it easier to control an outbreak

from occurring because of the limited contact a person would have with
others.
Social control and Deviance in this society and its impact on the
social life:
During the time of COVID-19, normal meant carefully sanitizing your hands
before and after going to the pharmacy. Normal was wearing a mask every time
you left your house. Normal meant foregoing visits with your mother or
grandfather to avoid passing on the virus to a more at-risk person. But as time wore
on and only a few unlucky people caught the disease or experienced its direct
impact, Americans began to deviate from the strict standards. Mask wearing
became a matter of political opinion, rather than a simple but potentially life-
saving inconvenience. A visit to Grandma’s house is acceptable as long as nobody
has a sore throat or fever. These small deviations have the potential to end in
severe illness and potentially even death for people in the society. (Petruzzelli, E.
(2020). Normalization of Deviance in the Time of COVID-19. Chemical
Engineering Progress, 116(8), 3-3.)
Areas in social structure that got affected by the COVID 19
PANDEMIC and how? How did the Society handle this situation?
 Racism: As the number of coronavirus cases started to grow in the United
States, rampant ignorance and misinformation about the pandemic prompted
racist and xenophobic attacks against Americans or anyone in the US who
looked East Asian. President Donald Trump, who described Covid-19 as the
“China virus” or “Chinese virus,” later asked Americans to “protect our
Asian American community.” On April 19, New York City launches team to
fight anti-Asian discrimination. The city’s Commission on Human Rights
created the team after receiving hundreds of harassment and discrimination
reports related to Covid-19. More than 40% involved anti-Asian incidents,

the agency said. (N.C. (in press-b). 2020: The year America confronted
racism. CNN.)
Racial and ethnic minority populations are disproportionately represented
among essential workers and industries, which might be contributing to
COVID-19 racial and ethnic health disparities. Nationwide, Black people
have died at 1.4 times the rate of white people. (The COVID Racial Data
Tracker)
Coronavirus has widened America's vast racial wealth gap, 44 million
Americans lost their jobs and filed for unemployment insurance. The
numbers have declined from a one week peak of 6.6 million in April but are
still historically high. More than 3 million people have filed for
unemployment in the last two weeks alone. Latinx and African American
people have been hit hardest by the layoffs. The share of households of color
with zero or “negative” wealth, meaning their debts exceed the value of their
assets, is much higher than the share of white households. According to the
report, 37% of black families and 33% of Latino families have zero or
negative wealth, compared to just 15.5% of white families. Black Americans
have a homeownership rate of just 44%, compared to a white
homeownership rate over 70%. (Coronavirus has widened America’s vast
racial wealth gap. (2020). The Guardian.)
 Domestic violence: Domestic Violence Increased in the US by 8.1% During
the COVID-19 Pandemic according to analysis released by the National
Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice (NCCCJ) on Feb. 24.
Domestic violence often goes underreported due to shame and fear and is
not always taken seriously by law enforcement. Lockdowns have also
trapped more survivors with their abusers and made it more difficult to
report incidents or have others intervene, creating what the United Nations is
referring to as the “shadow pandemic” of violence against women.
Economic issues such as male unemployment, financial insecurity, and
stress from child care and homeschooling have exacerbated domestic
violence risk factors, according to NCCCJ. Unhealthy coping strategies,
including the increased use of alcohol and other substances, are also thought
to have raised the risk of abuse. (PIQUERO, A. R. (2021). Domestic
Violence During COVID-19 (Doctoral dissertation, University of Miami).

Recommendations that would help the society:
 Urge policymakers and researchers to prioritize understanding the impacts of
the pandemics and providing additional resources for domestic violence
prevention and services for survivors.
 Better collection of data on the economic health and racial consequences of
the pandemic, and a “racial wealth audit” of each stimulus bill and economic
recovery proposal. The gap must be addressed by expanding healthcare
access for all Americans.