Assignment

1. Using the symbolic interaction theory, explain what beauty is for men and women in the media in U.S. society.

2. If race is socially constructed, how are you involved in the social construction of your race?

3. During the Great Recession of 2008-2011, people lost their homes and their jobs. How did the recession affect you and your family?

4. Cohabitation (living together and sharing a bed) is happening at a greater rate in people over 65 years of age. What are the possible reasons (sociologically) for this increase and how do you feel about this new trend?

5. Rituals are in present in every religion. Think about the rituals that you are familiar with from your own or someone else's religion; explain the function for these rituals.

6. Education has functional perspectives other than upward mobility. What are some of the functional perspectives of education for the U.S. society?

7. Medicalization of illness is becoming more common. Some conditions that have become medicalized are childbirth, depression, and fibromyalgia. Using one of the mentioned problems that have become medicalized, explain how they have become medicalized and what the manifest and latent functions are.

8. As the Babyboomers go through the aging process, they use many of societiy's resources. What solution would you offer to society if it took one working person to support two retired babyboomers?