Auburn University’s Natalia Ruiz-Junco, assistant professor of sociology, has a fire that burns for theory.
Under the umbrella term of sociology, her research interests include social theory, social psychology, sociology of emotions,
With over 10 publications dating back to 2003, Ruiz-Junco remained persistent in her pursuit of truth.
During a lecture, Ruiz-Junco specifically broke down the theory of pragmatic interactionism.
Ruiz-Junco defined pragmatic to mean dealing with things realistically, in a way based on practical versus theoretical and interactionism as the theory that there are two entities, the
Ruiz-Junco has had a long-standing interest in pragmatist and interactionist theories.
Ruiz-Junco said age, sex and job title help to make up one’s identity. While they can change and can be fragmented, Ruiz-Junco said, “These features build a shrine around yourself and make you see yourself a certain way."
According to Ruiz-Junco, everyday tendencies directly correlate with societal norms, as well as one’s personal core of traits.
“Small-scale interactionism explains large-scale social order,” Ruiz-Junco said. “We give meaning to things based on social interaction.”
Ruiz-Junco said societal norms can force individuals to compromise potential in order to remain equivalent to the status quo.
“This gives the individual the same importance as our society as a whole, and when the people are taken care of on an individual level, the civilization will sustain itself effortlessly,” Ruiz-Junco said.
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