Sociologyspeaking topic
In a city, thousands of strangers pass one another without a glance, and this is not rudeness but a form of politeness. How does ignoring each other become the hidden rule of living together?
— civil inattention / Goffman
practice with this topic
Set the timer (5-30 min), take 20 seconds of prep if you like, start talking. Jot your thoughts onto the sticky-note board.
similar topics
- McCombs and Shaw's agenda-setting theory: does the media tell us what to think, or what to think about? Does an issue stop mattering the moment it drops out of the news?
- Habermas's concept of the public sphere: the shared reason once forged in coffeehouse debate, why is it fragmenting on social media? In a place where everyone talks at once, is common ground still possible?
- Weber's Protestant ethic thesis: how did a religious mindset give birth to the spirit of capitalism, the obsession with work and accumulation?
- Manuel Castells's concept of the network society: how power and relationships are built through networks in the information age.
- Once people commit to an opinion publicly, backing away from it hurts even when the evidence says they should. Why does changing your mind become a matter of honor instead of a matter of information?