My enthusiasm for studying society as a collective body has only grown at SKDKnickerbocker. As a student of sociology at the University of Michigan, I enjoy reading the classic texts of sociological theory and applying those soft laws to politics and media behavior. Each time I see a new and exotic news story, I think of how society as a whole has contributed to the likelihood of that event. I’m constantly wondering “What went right? What went wrong? How are we, as a body, fairing in today’s social and political climate?” But scholars don’t always have the answers.
That’s why communities like the one at SKDK are necessary. It’s important to have a group of people who are not only personable and engaging, but fluent in the language of media, politics and society. Undoubtedly, these workers are adept in their understandings of the news cycle and press, and this symbiotic relationship. But perhaps more importantly, they understand people–they understand people on an individual level, and people as a whole body. In many ways, each person at SKDK has a unique understanding of society, and uses this aptitude to impact the first and most current drafts of history.
I tend to take what some would consider trivial matters into an intellectual sphere. For example, I’m obsessed with social media etiquette and rhetoric, and the way these factors manifest themselves in peoples’ social behavior and decisions: how can 140 characters influence society? And at SKDK, I’m surrounded by people who entertain these topics: they water them and feed them and encourage me to apply this thinking to my everyday work, because they too think in a way that is inherently sociological. They encourage me to think critically–even if it is just pining over the language of an Instagram caption.