Many students of Assistant Professor Wenjie Liao’s Foundations of Sociology created an artwork showing a prison created from denim and discarded Starbucks and McDonald’s boxes. This was to show how companies use prison labor to manufacture for them. Students, namely Leo Mai, Patrick Souza, Nat McClure, and Gael Islas, were involved in the making of the project. The Sociological Imagination Art Fair was held on 7th December.
The students were asked to create their understanding of sociological concepts and the workings of social life. They had to choose one social problem and then use their creativity to bring out the project.
Several topics were prison reform, gender, environmental problems, discrimination, and the legalization of marijuana. The prisoners were used to making packages and processing of ingredients of McDonald’s happy meals. Jeans were mostly made in prisons, along with Starbucks cups. Using such materials created curiosity among students who wanted to learn more.
Some groups created a project on how women are represented in video games and showed the pop culture of today’s time. Most of the games are male-centric, and women should be included positively in games. Women are seen wearing dresses that sexualize their bodies. This creates a negative impact of women on the minds of the users and shows a negative portrayal of them. This issue has been overlooked in society, and people ignore the sexism in the gaming industry.
The Foundations of Sociology students created this unique final project with research and art.
