Question

Use the social science perspective to propose a few explanations as to why you might find graffiti in a society. Choose a social science principle (norms, roles, institutions, and beliefs and values) and describe how these might influence the appearance of graffiti in a society. Describe how the appearance of graffiti in a society might influence the people living there.

Answer 1

Graffiti can be an expression of subcultures, a form of dissent, and affects social norms. It influences society's discussions on public space and art, and is associated with theories like broken windows theory, indicating its potential impact on crime and community perceptions.

Step-by-step explanation:

From a social science perspective, graffiti can be linked to various sociological principles like norms, roles, institutions, and beliefs and values. For instance, graffiti as a social phenomenon might emerge due to the exertion of identities or as a form of resistance by certain subcultures within a society. It can serve as a medium for individuals or groups to express their disenfranchisement or dissent towards dominant cultural expectations or political situations, often visible during political uprisings.

Graffiti can shape social norms and influence people living in society, as it may lead to a discourse on topics like public space usage, art, and expression versus vandalism. As an act that often opposes legal norms, graffiti can lead to a greater presence of law enforcement or community efforts to 'clean up' neighborhoods, which ties back to the broken windows theory. This theory postulates that visible signs of disorder and neglect, such as graffiti, can lead to more vandalism and an increase in crime, shaping the behavior and perceptions of a community.

Therefore, the appearance of graffiti in a society has significant implications. It might promote communal discussion, influence cultural expressions, or affect perspectives on crime and community maintenance. The social sciences explore how these influences are perpetuated through cultural transmission and socialization in institutions like schools and the media.

Answer 2

In the book "The Gift", by the sociologist Marcel Mauss, we can see helpful theory start to answer this question. "The Gift" theory came to put lot society’s phenomena in fluxes perspective; these fluxes are built in two ways, and, firstly, explain some material exchange. Works of art, images, and religious objects and the construction - or destruction - of temples and other big investments can found in that fluxes. The graffiti can show up in that how a mark, some indication from a different social class, some indication of protection. The graffiti, in that way can be a mark from a different group in to some big "gift" way, inserting different social classes - separated by resources or by time - in the "gift" fluxes.

Step-by-step explanation: