Thanks our students Jacky 5066 and Ekat 5009 led the discussion in Mr. Richard’s Sociology class. The topic of Jacky’s discussion is SHOULD WE REJECT THE BELIEF THAT MIGHT IS RIGHT? A discussion about the belief ‘Might is right’ which introduced the historical development of this idea, from Pindar’s naturalistic principle to Social Darwinism coined by Spencer. The applications of the belief, including Nazi eugenics, were also mentioned. He continued by arguing against the belief by adopting a consequentialist approach. The class then applied different schools of thought to the topic, arguing for and against the belief.
The discussion about Ethnic Minorities and Positive Discrimination in China led by Ekat. She gave an overview on the composition of Chinese ethnicity which is 55 minorities with 1 majority, Han. She discussed concepts such as cultural pluralism and the anthropological acculturation theory. Historical approaches were brought out, including Keju, an imperial examination being held in feudalistic China. Then she introduced the Affirmative Action regarding ethnic minorities in Chinese state policies and its high level of controversy, raising awareness of issues such as the essence of ethnic and class equality. She also talked about Gaokao, of which was claimed as having become more unequal because of the ethnic bonus. At the end, she explored cultural explanations in ethnic relations with a few examples, such as ethnic intermarriages and communications.
