Sociology 3701: Worksheet--"Anybody's Son Will Do"

Today's video is part of a series on war produced for the National Film Board of Canada beginning in 1980 by Gwynne Dyer. Dyer received his Ph.D. in military and middle eastern history from the University of London, seved in the Canadian, American, and British navies, and for a time taught military and war studies at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto. The video depicts Marine Corps basic training as it existed in the early 1980s at Parris Island, South Carolina (the home page for the Marines at Parris Island is: http://www.parrisisland.com/index-ie.html.

Dyer's contention is that military basic training is much the same all around the world, because it has the same goals of transforming a civilian into a trained fighter, who is prepared to kill for his/her country. We will be interested from the perspective of the change process itself.

1. Describe how the Marine recruits arrive at Parris Island and how they are treated upon arrival.

2. Who is in charge of the training process, and what gives them credibility with the new Marines?

3. What is the treatment of deviants (those who fall short of standards being set in the training process)?

4. Describe the graduation ceremony.

Sociology 3701: Groups--"Anybody's Son Will Do"

1. Part of any deep process of change involves the breakdown or destruction of the old self. How is this accomplished during military basic training?

2. How would you analyze the change process using symbolic interactionism? (Pay attention both to the symbols and to the interactions)

3. How would you analyze the change process using cognitive dissonance theory?