Introduction
Socialization is a sociological aspect involving social interactions, in which cultural continuity is achieved. Human beings belong to societies that are further split to smaller social entities. Society is a system with different actors, with different roles and contributing in various ways to the cohesiveness of the system (Hebert, 1956). It is in this approach that a society is perceived as an entity divided into other smaller entities.
According to Pabjan (2005) and White (1986), there are social forces that give guidance, rule the system, and thus hold it together. I belong to an association that provides oversees students with help in their studies, work and general social life. The group provides members with an avenue to express themselves and connect with other social groups while promoting their culture.
This is a research paper based on sociological analysis of this association composed of Chinese students and scholars in the United States called the Chinese Support Group. It seeks to reveal the culture, sub culture, norms, traditions, values and general social interactions of the group.
Culture of the Group
The main aim of this group is to help Chinese students and scholars solve problems afflicting them, create social bonds among members and with other groups in the wider society and enhance the Chinese culture through the pluralism of shared traditions, norms, values, language, and social roles.
As a group, we predominantly engage in Chinese activities that promote the goals and objectives of the association. These activities include the celebration of Grand Moon Festival, together with Lunar New Year of the Chinese, among others. The group also holds parties from time to time to welcome new members especially students coming in from China. The group adopts and embraces the new members and makes them feel wanted and at a homely environment.
In addition, members hold sports contests, group hikes and tours. All these activities provide an avenue that enables members to interact, share ideas, mentor and help each other in professional and social life, and other aspects of life. Like any other society, association or social group, members find comfort and satisfaction in the group that in turn enables them to grow at both personal and societal level.
Values of the group are molded by the Chinese culture, which stresses that family is very important. With most members being immigrants from China and living in a foreign land, they welcome the opportunity to create a family away from home. This in turn creates cohesiveness amongst members and makes the group stronger. As a fact, so much value is attached to hierarchical structures in social life. The group has elected leaders chosen from members.
Older members of the group are mostly elected as leaders of the group as they are believed to be wiser and more experienced, and are thus accorded a lot of respect. This makes operations of the group easy because in as much as members are obliged to respect their leaders, the leaders in turn understand their responsibilities and undertake them to the satisfaction of members. Leaders per se, are very iconic in this group, and represent what the group stands for all the time.
Morality is a big issue with the group and as such, it is expected that each member uphold moral values to the highest level possible. This is borrowed from the larger Chinese society, and seeks to promote harmony among members and with other groups. In addition, group members are expected to practice self-restraint at all times just like Chinese culture dictates. These are not values that are written down per se, but are derivatives of Chinese culture to which all members belong.
As earlier stated, among the major activities of the group is to promote Chinese culture within the society. This is because of the value attached to Chinese culture by all that are Chinese, just like any other social group with identity. Generally, the Chinese have a lot of pride in their culture and that is why it has withstood the test of time. Even after being colonized, the Chinese were able to preserve and advance their cultural values, norms and traditions.
A lot of emphasis is also put on hard work and the importance of achievement in education. Notably, the group takes the task of helping others in their social and academic life very seriously, because support to each other allows members to grow and achieve better results. Social interactions among members are very vital as every member is considered family. The trust and confidence members of the group have towards each other make it easier to approach other members in case of challenges with social or academic life.
Linkage between the Group’s Subculture and its Objectives
While the preceding discussion defines the culture of the group as far as its association with the larger Chinese society is concerned, the group has developed a subculture that also differs from that of the larger one. This subculture is referred to as American Chinese Subculture. Through exposure and choice, many members of the group have become more liberal about other social groups than the average ethnic Chinese does (Akrypti, 2008).
Quite clearly, one of the main reasons of forming such a group that brings people having the same origin together in a place far from what they call home is to help each other adapt to the new environment. This means that activities carried out, and the mentorship provided helps members embrace the larger social groups. This cannot be easy without members first having to accept the local culture and fitting into it (Boisnier, 2011).
Most members have embraced the American culture, where they speak English, eat American food, and attend their festivals, sports and hikes, among other activities. These actions help them a lot in integrating into the social groupings of the American people, and learning their ways, traditions, norms, values and customs.
Conclusion
Concisely, Chinese Support Group borrows a lot from the overall Chinese culture and this drives its goals and activities. However, being in a different environment with a different culture from theirs, the group is forced to adopt a subculture that in turn helps them integrate and embrace a new people and their culture in pursuit of its goals and objectives.
As one of the major functions of the group is to help members fit in the new environment by providing social and academic support, this group hopes to achieve success with their lives in foreign land. They hope to encourage socialization and social interactions to people of all races from different parts of the world.
References
Akrypti, B. (2008). A sub culture of pride: why the Chinese are so patriotic. Web.
Boisnier, A. et al. (2011). The role of sub cultures in agile organizations. Web.
Herbert, B. (1956). Sociological analysis and the variable. American sociological review 21: 683-690.
Pabjan, B. (2005). Researching prison – a sociological analysis of social system. Web.
White, M. (1986). Sociological analysis of early christian groups: a social historian’s response. Sociology of religion (1986) 47 (3): 249-266.