Ian Russell

…I first took an anthropology class and it was there that I was led into sociology. In sociology I connected with the whole idea of the holistic view and seeing everything, every culture, every person, and every custom as a whole thing, a grand symphony of the world forcing me to view myself as just a being that was not right or wrong. I felt then that sociology was real and it was where I wanted to go. Even in the Introduction to Sociology class, my mind became excited about things I thought I’d already figured out, or ideas I had never had about humans, the society we’ve created, and how the two worked together to yield life as I knew it….

…Learning about the theories of C. Wright Mills, Emile Durkheim, Auguste Comte and Karl Marx ignited in me an actual pursuit of knowledge for the first time in my young life. I felt engrossed in the kind of pursuit where the chase invigorates you and drives you with an almost feverish passion for more simply because you have not yet had enough…

…In taking sociology courses I became acquainted with a few of the writings of W.E.B. DuBois and Frederick Douglas and this caused me to connect with my identity as a black man. I came to realize that I lived as a man with a double consciousness. These readings essentially changed me, to know that decades ago someone pondered the same things I thought about as a young adult today. I was also exposed to readings from prominent women in sociology who shed light on some of the short comings of humanity and society. Seeing that these brilliant people had concentrated their efforts on understanding and fixing problems they saw in the 19^th and 20^th centuries became a source of inspiration for me. It was then that I defined myself as a young black man tasked with the duty to spread the knowledge I had gained for the betterment of everyone….

…Being a student in sociology at Clayton State University, I have been given something far greater than a mere head start in society. It became fundamental to my understanding that I was to lead and serve those who live in situations they cannot change and to strive every day to change and right these wrongs….

…Empathy and the ability to feel as another feels is quintessential to the process of the study of sociology I believe. How can we truly fight for the oppressed or change wrong doing if it not in our heart to feel these struggles as if they were our own? Sociology has taught me this…..

…Prior to coming to the sociology major I felt that I could change nothing, for I believed that one person couldn’t possibly change the daunting injustices I’d read about in my classes. Only a great chosen person with a dream could possibly alter the fate of the world, I felt. As I continued to study in this major I began to see not only how I fit into the big machine of society, but how I as the small piece I am can perform better to improve the overall function of this machine. This became the first step in debunking what I had thought all these years. I actually CAN make a difference; I actually CAN change something...In this awakening, sociology has been responsible for greatly expanding my viewpoints….

…Having become a sociology major at Clayton State University I now believe in reaching into the homes of those who are disadvantaged, starting at the core in working with them, and enlightening them with the knowledge I have come to possess. The powers that be count on us being too busy to care so the show goes on. I would like to help change things for those who cannot change things for themselves because this is what happened to me through this major. I have developed into a more responsible person in that I am now tasked with lighting this fire within me in every one that I encounter hoping that my small contribution will ignite or fuel change. I am dedicated to doing my part in trying to achieve a change in the thinking of others that will ultimately serve to make our world better. Who am I? I am Ian Russell-Redman, agent of social change and an agent of truth for the oppressed and mistreated leagues of the society of which I am a part…..