Sociology Essays: Global Issues, Semiotics, and Religious Perspectives

This document presents three essays exploring key sociological topics. The first essay analyzes the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2016, highlighting the severity of human trafficking, its global reach, and the factors driving it, while also critiquing the report's omissions. The second essay delves into the semiotic analysis of advertising, defining the concept and examining how signs and symbols are used to convey meaning, particularly in relation to gender representation. The third essay examines the perspectives of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber on religion, summarizing their key ideas and contrasting their approaches to understanding religion's role in society and its impact on individuals and social structures. The essays provide a comprehensive overview of important sociological concepts and debates.

Running head: BECOMING SOCIOLOGIST
BECOMING SOCIOLOGIST
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1BECOMING SOCIOLOGIST
Table of Contents
Essay 1: Global report on trafficking in persons 2016....................................................................2
References:......................................................................................................................................4
Essay 2: Semiotic analysis of advertising........................................................................................5
References:......................................................................................................................................7
Essay 3: Perspective on religion......................................................................................................8
References:....................................................................................................................................10

2BECOMING SOCIOLOGIST
Essay 1: Global report on trafficking in persons 2016
The significance of the Global report on trafficking in person 2016 is the highlights of the
facts that are crucial to this social issue. Human trafficking is a social issue that is rapidly rising
in various countries, and the victims are along with several impacts on the victims (Global
Report on Trafficking in Persons, 2016). The article discusses the related aspects of trafficking
and provides a global report on the same. The essay aims to discuss the critical factors that are
covered in the report and the elements that the report have highlighted.
The report covers a wide range of issues associated with trafficking. According to the
Global report on trafficking in person 2016, there is no country immune from human trafficking.
The crime of human trafficking occurs across the world and victims are trafficked across the
globe (Shelley, 2013). It happens between neighbouring countries as well as the different
continent. The changes in trafficking patterns over the years is a growing concern of every
nation. The report discusses the ways trafficking in person has changed in recent years.
Undoubtedly most detected victims are women however in the last decades, children and men
have also makeup in no small share of the total number of victims. It has been observed that
traffickers and victims usually belong to the same background. The articles have sorted the list of
reasons for which trafficking occurs. Exploitative purpose such as forced labour, child soldiers,
forced begging, removal of organs, selling children, forced marriage, sexual exploitation are the
leading cause of trafficking of humans (Sarkar, 2014). Trafficking is not crossing of international
borders most of the times but within the territory of the countries. It is observed by the
investigators that cross-border trafficking flows often resembles migration flows. It is also noted
that conflicts are one of the factors that help drive trafficking in persons.

3BECOMING SOCIOLOGIST
The issues mentioned are of high concern as it is a growing problem in the countries.
Women and children are sexually abused along with men to some extent. Human trafficking is a
crime that exploits people who are helpless and tortured. It affects the nation’s well-being.
People rescued from the problem often become traumatized (Sanghera, 2017). The report has
successfully covered the entire issue and even provided insights into the issue. It has successfully
taken a stand against the problem along with the representation of the legislative progress.
The recommendation made by the report are several which includes strong law regarding
policymakers, increase awareness campaign, expand research project, alert local, state and
federal government, increase in anti-trafficking organisation and many more.
The design of the report communicates the importance of the issue. The relevance of the
report is the data presented by it which shows the acuteness of the problem and the need of it to
take actions of fighting the issue. The report when compared to other texts such as a novel,
textbook or newspaper, it can be stated that it was highly impactful that helped in creating
awareness regarding the issue. The article is presented in with data, precise points and in-details
information. The report has omitted the impact on mental health of the victims.

4BECOMING SOCIOLOGIST
References:
Global Report on Trafficking in Persons (2016), UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATION, retrieved
from:https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/2016_Global_Report_o
n_Trafficking_in_Persons.pdf
Sanghera, J. (2017). Unpacking the trafficking discourse. In Trafficking and prostitution
reconsidered (pp. 37-58). Routledge.
Sarkar, S. (2014). Rethinking human trafficking in India: Nature, extent and identification of
survivors. The Round Table, 103(5), 483-495.
Shelley, L. (2013). 6 Human trafficking as a form of transnational crime. In Human trafficking
(pp. 128-149). Willan.

5BECOMING SOCIOLOGIST
Essay 2: Semiotic analysis of advertising
Semiotic analysis can be defined as a broad theoretical hypothesis of signs and symbols,
which deals specifically with their meaning in both synthetically created and natural words
(Brier, 2015). It is under the broad aspect of discourse analysis. Semiotics identifies the ways
signs are utilised to represent certain things. The essay aims to discuss the semiotic analysis of
advertising.
Semiotic analysis of advertising is the interpretation of the advertisement and squeezing
the message in term of its signs and patterns of symbolism sign such as sound, words or visual
image. It mainly consists of two main components. The signifier and the signified are the two
components (Freire, 2014). The signifier includes the sound, the words and the visual images
while the signified consists of the concept or the meaning the signifier is trying to represent. The
relationship between the signifier and the signified are based on no thumb rule, and it is highly
arbitrary. As the meaning or the concept understood is depended as per the understating and
delivering capabilities of both the components the relationship is arbitrary. The meaning of the
advertisement can be anything that one agree to understand.
The meaning of the signs used in the advertisement is iconic, symbolic and indexical
iconic. It is precisely the signs that look like what it represents. The convention is the main
component for understanding the meaning of advertisement. Meanings can be connotative or
denotative. Signs are often used to indicate a certain concept without having to display the exact
thing. For example, smoke is a sign used for fire. Most of the times, the operation of sings are on
several levels which can be iconic or symbolic.

6BECOMING SOCIOLOGIST
Erving Goffman has presented his thoughts on the semiotic analyses mentioning gender
advertisement. He has given thoughtful information that helps in understanding the semiotic
interpretation. Relative size presents the social weight. Social weight includes power, rank,
position or authority. Social weight is echoed through the advertisement. The feminine touch is
another aspect that is observed mostly in the advertisement. Females are mostly pictured through
advertisement then men as t is considered pleasing to eyes. Even if it is about only tracing of an
object, it is mostly the female fingers that are used. Function ranking is when a man and woman
collaborate in the undertaking. It is mostly the man who performs the executive role in the
advertisement. The hierarchy displayed in the ad shows the unequal status of gender in the
society (Sun, 2015).
Therefore, the semiotic analysis is a process of reading the meaning that is not always
explicit. This meaning is represented by signs and symbols. Advertising is a vital source of mass
communication, therefore, it is essential for a sociologist to perform the semiotic analysis in
order to understand the genuine meaning.

7BECOMING SOCIOLOGIST
References:
Brier, S. (2015). Finding an information concept suited for a universal theory of information.
Progress in biophysics and molecular biology, 119(3), 622-633.
Freire, N. A. (2014). When luxury advertising adds the identitary values of luxury: A semiotic
analysis. Journal of Business Research, 67(12), 2666-2675.
Sun, Z. (2015). How advertising elicits desire and provides role models: Insights from
colonialism. Consumption Markets & Culture, 18(4), 365-385.

8BECOMING SOCIOLOGIST
Essay 3: Perspective on religion
Karl Marx: Religion is the opium of the people
One of the most commonly used quoted statement of the German philosopher is
“Religion is the opium of the people”. The quote is translated from the German statement “DIE
Religion…ist das Opium des Volkes” (Jost et al., 2014). The statement of Marx on religion is
taken as a plain and simple condemnation of religion by many. However, the meaning that Marx
wanted to convey through this statement is much more subtle. Marx believed people had to give
up superstitious beliefs in order to understand the real world. According to Marx religion is a
general theory of this world and people turn towards to in search of relief from pain. However, it
is false, and the believers are deluded. People are only inclined to become nearly spiritual.
Although he knew religion served a purpose in the society, he did not agree to consider it as the
primary function. Religion teaches values and morals however people should be led by reasons
and believe the truth which is often masked by religion.
Durkheim: If religion has given birth to all that is essential in society, it is because the idea of
society is the soul of religion.
According to Durkheim, religion was a unified system of belief and practices that were
related to sacred things such as the things which are set apart and forbidden. For example, the
church is a component of religion (Dawson, 2013). It has several rituals, norms and values.
People belonging to Christianity are unified together with this values and custom. Durkheim
called religion only a method of creating order in the society. He also said if society is
considered as god then the god or the deities are the representation of human beings. The beliefs

9BECOMING SOCIOLOGIST
human have about God are in reality are the things humans want to believe. Human try to see
God the way people want to look at themselves.
Weber: The fate of our times is characterised by rationalisation and intellectualisation and,
above all, by the disenchantment of the world.
The concern of max weber was the everyday sociology of religion that deals with daily
life such as administrative, political, economic and moral behaviour in historical situations
(Main, 2013). These aspects of different historical situations in order to understand and reduce
things in order. According to his studies religion that is based on cultural needs of man have
made the addition of new dimensions to human life and human development. Weber was in the
opinion that the Protestant institutions and its ethics play an essential role in human
development’s economic. His perception of religion was different than the spiritual belief on
which Marx and Durkheim have provided theories. For Weber it was only about economic,
politic and administration.

10BECOMING SOCIOLOGIST
References:
Dawson, L. L. (2013). Religion and the quest for virtual community. In Religion Online (pp. 83-
98). Routledge.
Jost, J. T., Hawkins, C. B., Nosek, B. A., Hennes, E. P., Stern, C., Gosling, S. D., & Graham, J.
(2014). Belief in a just God (and a just society): A system justification perspective on
religious ideology. Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, 34(1), 56.
Main, R. (2013). In a secular age: Weber, Taylor, Jung. Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society,
18(3), 277-294.