Appropriation in sociology

Sociology

Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

 is, according to James J. Sosnoski, "the assimilation

Cultural assimilation

Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...

 of concepts into a governing framework...[the] arrogation, confiscation, [or] seizure of concept

Concept

The word concept is used in ordinary language as well as in almost all academic disciplines. Particularly in philosophy, psychology and cognitive sciences the term is much used and much discussed. WordNet defines concept: "conception, construct ". However, the meaning of the term concept is much...

s." According to Tracy B Strong it contains the Latin root proprius, which, "carries the connotations not only of property

Property

Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...

, but also of proper, stable

Economic stability

Economic stability refers to an absence of excessive fluctuations in the macroeconomy. An economy with fairly constant output growth and low and stable inflation would be considered economically stable. An economy with frequent large recessions, a pronounced business cycle, very high or variable...

, assured and indeed of common or ordinary." He elaborates: "I have appropriated something when I have made it mine, in a manner that I feel comfortable with, that is in a manner to which the challenges of others will carry little or no significance. A text

Writing

Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...

, we might then say, is appropriated when its reader does not find himself or herself called into question by it, but does find him or herself associated with it. A successfully appropriated text no longer troubles the appropriator that it has become a part of his or her understanding, and it is recognized by others as 'owned,' not openly available for interpretation

Interpretation (logic)

An interpretation is an assignment of meaning to the symbols of a formal language. Many formal languages used in mathematics, logic, and theoretical computer science are defined in solely syntactic terms, and as such do not have any meaning until they are given some interpretation...

." According to Gloria Anzaldúa, "the difference between appropriation and proliferation is that the first steals and harms; the second helps heal breaches of knowledge."

See also

• Appropriation
  Appropriation
  Appropriation is the act of taking possession of or assigning purpose to properties or ideas. The word appropriation was first used by a Russian theorist named Bakhtin to describe a holistic language theory. The Russian word for appropriation is prisvoenie, which directly translated means ‘to make...
  
  
• Appropriation (art)
  Appropriation (art)
  Appropriation is a fundamental aspect in the history of the arts . Appropriation can be understood as "the use of borrowed elements in the creation of a new work."...
  
  
  • Appropriation (music)
    Appropriation (music)
    In music, appropriation is the use of borrowed elements in the creation of a new piece, and is an example of cultural appropriation....
    
    
• Cultural appropriation
  Cultural appropriation
  Cultural appropriation is the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group. It describes acculturation or assimilation, but can imply a negative view towards acculturation from a minority culture by a dominant culture. It can include the introduction of forms of...
  
  
• Reappropriation
  Reappropriation
  Reappropriation is the cultural process by which a group reclaims—re-appropriates—terms or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group. For example, since the early 1970s, much terminology referring to homosexuality—such as gay, queer, and faggot—has been reappropriated...
  
  

Source

• Thomas, Calvin, ed. (2000). "Introduction: Identification, Appropriation, Proliferation", Straight with a Twist: Queer Theory and the Subject of Heterosexuality. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06813-0.
  • Sosnoski, James J. (1993). "A Mindless Man-Driven Theory Machine: Intellectuality, Sexuality, and the Institution of Criticism", Feminisms: An Anthology of Literary Theory and Criticism, p. 50. Eds. Robyn Warhol and Diane L. Herndl. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.
  • Strong, Tracy B. (1996). "Nietzsche's Political Misappropriation", The Cambridge Companion to Nietzsche, p. 125. Eds. Bernd Magnus and Kathleen M. Higgins. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Anzaldúa, Gloria (1990). "Haciendo cara, una entrada", Making Face, Making Soul/Haciendo Caras: Creative and Critical Perspectives by Feminists of Color, p.xxi. Ed. Gloria Anzaldúa. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Books.
• Middleton, Richard (1990/2002). Studying Popular Music. Philadelphia: Open University Press. ISBN 0-335-15275-9.
  • Maróthy (1981).
  • Stefani (1987).