Introduction

For this project, I was unable to go outside of Morgantown to compare sociological concepts. However, I was still able to come up with some comparisons and examples while working, which takes me all around the Morgantown area. The pictures ranged anywhere from Westover to Downtown and Sunnyside. While working, I looked for examples of things we had talked about in class, and how they can relate, compare, or contrast to life here in Morgantown. It definitely took a lot of thinking to get started. I wasn't all sure of what exactly I would come across, how it would visually define a concept we touched on in class, and how I could eventually tie them together within this project. However, I feel as if I had come to at least a reasonable start in bringing some issues to light through different sociological concepts. 

The first concept I chose to illustrate is the cultural universal. The cultural universal is a concept that depicts patterns, traits, behaviors, etc., that share a common meaning in places all around the world. The first picture shows several pairs of shoes thrown over a powerline. This picture was taken in downtown Morgantown around a bunch of off-campus student housing. While this cultural universal might have multiple meanings, it still serves the same purpose. Generally, these shoes serve as a representation of gang activity in that area. The shoes symbolize territory where a gang claims to control. However, they also serve as trophies of the modern sex culture. The shoes are quite literally a keepsake of people with which someone nearby has most likely slept. I took this picture to show the common behavior among residents in the area. Based on the assumption, one can infer that the shoes, in this specific scenario, are more likely trophies of the modern sex culture. This is because the surrounding housing is for college students who move in and out frequently. Those who live there by an easy assumption would say that they are not gang affiliated claiming territory. 

The second concept I chose to evaluate was strain theory. By definition, strain theory is the idea that underlying factors such as a lack of income or education, can lead to crime. The picture itself shows an entire abandoned storefront. While this is by no means a crime, it shows the effects that pertain to individuals committing crimes, as described in strain theory. This picture was taken in Westover in an area that has a moderate drug use problem. The connection here is that the storefront shows a lack of income and an unstable economy. Through the lense of strain theory, these surroundings cause a societal shift to more crime, such as the previously mentioned drug use. I took this picture specifically because this location would be a great area for a full market or store, what its original design was. However, since it is abandoned, it depicts the bridge between social factor and outcome. 

Functionalism is defined as all aspects of society having a bigger purpose for the survival of that very society. This is the concept that I chose to describe using the picture of a stop sign with graffiti on it. While the graffiti, the artist, as well as the reasoning behind that specific stop sign could all have various meanings, functionalism shows us that all of those aspects still play a greater role in society. This picture was taken at an intersection in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Morgantown where off-campus student housing meets everyday regular Morgantown natives. I took this picture because I believed that functionalism can be connected to even the smallest of details within a society. Somthing as small as graffiti on a random stop sign. What does it say? What is the significance of what it says? Who painted it? Why did they paint it? All of these questions and more have a greater purpose in the role of society. This picture offers more questions than answers, however I still feel it was interesting to share. It does not tell much about the neighborhood nor the residents that live there. However what is interesting about it is that it leaves it open to interpretation by the viewer, which itself plays a role in the functionalism theory.