•Apply a sociological perspective to the social world
•Analyze contemporary social issues using the sociological imagination and use sociological theories and concepts to analyze everyday life.
•Discuss global stratification and explain social class and the impact of stratification in the United States.
•Describe sex and gender, race and ethnicity, and the elderly in the United States as well as how inequality, prejudice, and discrimination impacts certain groups of people in society
•Develop written communication skills and critical thinking skills.
•Apply American Psychological Association formatting and citation style when completing course assignments.
Initial forum postings should be a minimum of 250 words. Each student must also respond to a minimum of 1 fellow students' postings; each response must be at least 100 words in length.
Choose ONE of the following questions:
1. How is power wielded in the social world? Do agree more with functionalist or conflict theorists regarding the concept of power in a democracy? Be sure to describe both the functionalist and conflict perspectives on power in society and provide evidence or examples to support your position.
2. Describe the functionalist view of social stratification, and the conflict theory's view of social stratification. Then take a pro or con position on each of the following three points: first, social stratification is necessary for societies to exist and prosper; second, the United States functions, overall, as a meritocracy; and third, human beings-driven as they are by human nature-are incapable of ever creating and/or living in a classless society. Provide detail about 'why' you are taking the pro or con position for each point.
3. Will there ever be complete equality between males and females in the United States? Should there be? What would constitute complete equality? Do you think the women's movement is stronger or weaker today than it was in the 1970s? In what ways? In challenging gender stratification, do you think that feminists sometimes over-exaggerate the problem of sexual inequality in the United States? If so, how? The text offers a few explanations for the origins of patriarchy while ignoring religion. Given that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all patriarchal religions, do you think that the feminist movement is an attack against religion? Finally, what is a feminist? Are you a feminist? If so, why? If not, why? Be sure to use examples from the text in your discussion.
1b) Social Inequality
The Week 4 WSMP meets the following course objectives:
•Apply a sociological perspective to the social world
•Analyze contemporary social issues using the sociological imagination and use sociological theories and concepts to analyze everyday life.
•Demonstrate the ability to identify, locate, and retrieve information related to the topics in the course.
•Develop written communication skills and critical thinking skills.
•Apply American Psychological Association formatting and citation style when completing course assignments.
Weekly Supplemental Material Post
1) Find and post 1 piece of supplemental material (i.e. website, article, book, video, etc - NOT wikipedia) relevant to this week's readings (see below for more detail).
2) Post a substantive forum discussion and comment to at least ONE other student's supplemental material post, in this thread (by clicking reply)
Supplemental Material post must include:
1) a link or attachment for the supplemental material,
2) an APA formatted citation for the source of the material,
3) a brief description of the material, and
4) a discussion about why it is relevant to the week's assigned reading - include at least 1 sociological concept (this should include identifying, defining (using the text) and then applying the sociological concept)
2a) Race and Ethnicity/The Elderly
The Week 5 Instructor Question meets the following course objectives:
•Apply a sociological perspective to the social world
•Analyze contemporary social issues using the sociological imagination and use sociological theories and concepts to analyze everyday life.
•Describe sex and gender, race and ethnicity, and the elderly in the United States as well as how inequality, prejudice, and discrimination impacts certain groups of people in society.
•Dvelop written communication skills and critical thinking skills.
•Apply American Psychological Association formatting and citation style when completing course assignments.
Initial forum postings should be a minimum of 250 words. Each student must also respond to a minimum of 1 fellow students' postings; each response must be at least 100 words in length.
Choose ONE of the following questions:
1. Discuss how race is more a sociological classification than a biological one. Provide situations in which an individual's race may be mistaken or taken for granted. In the United States the key stratifying variable is race; in Europe it is SES (socioeconomic status). Why do you think there is this difference?
2. How does Henslin define 'elderly?' As you see it, at what age are people no longer young? What is it, specifically, about this age that makes a person "old"? What are some of the social factors in the United States that have shaped your ideas about the elderly? How often do you think about growing old and, when you do, do you think about it in a positive or negative light? Finally, if aging were eliminated tomorrow by advances in technology, what do you think would be the perfect age to be, and remain at, for the rest of your life? Why?
2b) Social Inequality
The Week 5 WSMP meets the following course objectives:
•Apply a sociological perspective to the social world
•Analyze contemporary social issues using the sociological imagination and use sociological theories and concepts to analyze everyday life.
•Demonstrate the ability to identify, locate, and retrieve information related to the topics in the course.
•Develop written communication skills and critical thinking skills.
•Apply American Psychological Association formatting and citation style when completing course assignments.
Weekly Supplemental Material Post
1) Find and post 1 piece of supplemental material (i.e. website, article, book, video, etc - NOT wikipedia) relevant to this week's readings (see below for more detail).
2) Post a substantive forum discussion and comment to at least ONE other student's supplemental material post, in this thread (by clicking reply)
Supplemental Material post must include:
1) a link or attachment for the supplemental material,
2) an APA formatted citation for the source of the material,
3) a brief description of the material, and
4) a discussion about why it is relevant to the week's assigned reading - include at least 1 sociological concept (this should include identifying, defining (using the text) and then applying the sociological concept)
Initial forum postings should be a minimum of 150 words. Each student must also respond to a minimum of 1 fellow students' postings; each response must be at least 100 words in length.
3a) Social Institutions
The Week 6 Instructor Question meets the following course objectives:
•Apply a sociological perspective to the social world
•Analyze contemporary social issues using the sociological imagination and use sociological theories and concepts to analyze everyday life.
•Interpret the United States economy and politics.
•Describe the family, education, and religion from a sociological perspective.
•Develop written communication skills and critical thinking skills.
•Apply American Psychological Association formatting and citation style when completing course assignments.
Initial forum postings should be a minimum of 250 words. Each student must also respond to a minimum of 1 fellow students' postings; each response must be at least 100 words in length.
Please choose ONE of the following questions:
1. Describe your vision of a model economic system - is it capitalist, socialist, or somewhere in between? In your answer be sure to compare and contrast the two major economic systems (capitalism and socialism).
2. Since the 1970s, the traditional family has been changing as we have experienced steady trends with growing numbers of divorces and more children born out of wedlock. Should the legal system make it more difficult for married couples to obtain a divorce, and harder for people to cohabit outside of marriage, especially when children are involved? What can the United States government do to strengthen families and marriages in American society? How can the people change the culture to strengthen families and marriages? Refer to examples from the text to support your answer. Now, critique your answer from the point of view of a functionalist or a conflict theorist.
3. What is dehumanization? How would functionalists and conflict theorist critique dehumanization? Do some research on the internet to find depictions of dehumanization in previous wars that the United States has fought. Choose two of the following for your research: a) depictions from World War II that dehumanize Germans; b) another depictions from the Vietnam War that dehumanize North Vietnamese and/or communists; and finally, c) depictions from the Persian Gulf War that dehumanize Iraqis. First, what similarities and/or differences exist in the ways that the Germans, North Vietnamese, and/or Iraqis were depicted during World War II, the Vietnam War, and/or the Persian Gulf War, respectively? Second, while the nationalities of combatants may change from one war to another, how much does the "language of dehumanization" change, if at all, from one war to another?
3b) Social Institutions
The Week 6 WSMP meets the following course objectives:
•Apply a sociological perspective to the social world
•Analyze contemporary social issues using the sociological imagination and use sociological theories and concepts to analyze everyday life.
•Demonstrate the ability to identify, locate, and retrieve information related to the topics in the course.
•Develop written communication skills and critical thinking skills.
•Apply American Psychological Association formatting and citation style when completing course assignments.
Weekly Supplemental Material Post
1) Find and post 1 piece of supplemental material (i.e. website, article, book, video, etc - NOT wikipedia) relevant to this week's readings (see below for more detail).
2) Post a substantive forum discussion and comment to at least ONE other student's supplemental material post, in this thread (by clicking reply)
Supplemental Material post must include:
1) a link or attachment for the supplemental material,
2) an APA formatted citation for the source of the material,
3) a brief description of the material, and
4) a discussion about why it is relevant to the week's assigned reading - include at least 1 sociological concept (this should include identifying, defining (using the text) and then applying the sociological concept)
Initial forum postings should be a minimum of 150 words. Each student must also respond to a minimum of 1 fellow students' postings; each response must be at least 100 words in length.
4a) Social Institutions
The Week 7 Instructor Question meets the following course objectives:
•Apply a sociological perspective to the social world.
•Analyze contemporary social issues using the sociological imagination and use sociological theories and concepts to analyze everyday life.
•Describe the family, education, and religion from a sociological perspective.
•Discuss the sociological study of health and medicine in society.
•Develop written communication skills and critical thinking skills.
•Apply American Psychological Association formatting and citation style when completing course assignments.
Initial forum postings should be a minimum of 250 words. Each student must also respond to a minimum of 1 fellow students' postings; each response must be at least 100 words in length.
Please choose ONE of the following questions:
1. What is a "credential society?" Is there too much of an emphasis on credentials in the United States? If so, how might this be harmful? To whom? Have you ever personally benefited from or been victimized by gatekeeping? How? Overall, do you find yourself agreeing more with the functionalist position (gatekeeping exists because society and its members benefit from it) or with the conflict position (gatekeeping exists for the benefit of powerful interests who use it to protect their privileged place in the American social class system)? Why? Use examples from the text in your answer.
2. Look at Figure 18.5, using concepts from the text, discuss some possible reasons why Jewish people have the highest incomes, levels of education, and occupational prestige of any religion in the United States; also discuss why Jehovah's witnesses have the lowest? The book suggests that as social class changes, people change religions. Do you agree with the direction of this sociological finding/assumption? Why/Why not?
3. 1) Write a brief position paper about whether or not medically assisted suicide (i.e. euthanasia) should be legalized in the United State. 2) Conduct research online to find evidence for a brief position paper of BOTH sides of the argument; refer to your text for examples also. (be sure to note if your sources are heavily biased one direction or the other) 3) Write out position paper for each side of the argument. Note: This means more than just listing pros and cons - you need to critically discuss the pros and cons 4) Remember to include in-text citations and full references in APA format.
4b) Social Institutions
The Week 7 WSMP meets the following course objectives:
•Apply a sociological perspective to the social world
•Analyze contemporary social issues using the sociological imagination and use sociological theories and concepts to analyze everyday life.
•Demonstrate the ability to identify, locate, and retrieve information related to the topics in the course.
•Develop written communication skills and critical thinking skills.
•Apply American Psychological Association formatting and citation style when completing course assignments.
Weekly Supplemental Material Post
1) Find and post 1 piece of supplemental material (i.e. website, article, book, video, etc - NOT wikipedia) relevant to this week's readings (see below for more detail).
2) Post a substantive forum discussion and comment to at least ONE other student's supplemental material post, in this thread (by clicking reply)
Supplemental Material post must include:
1) a link or attachment for the supplemental material,
2) an APA formatted citation for the source of the material,
3) a brief description of the material, and
4) a discussion about why it is relevant to the week's assigned reading - include at least 1 sociological concept (this should include identifying, defining (using the text) and then applying the sociological concept)
Initial forum postings should be a minimum of 150 words. Each student must also respond to a minimum of 1 fellow students' postings; each response must be at least 100 words in length.
5a) Social Change
The Week 8 Instructor Question meets the following course objectives:
•Apply a sociological perspective to the social world.
•Analyze contemporary social issues using the sociological imagination and use sociological theories and concepts to analyze everyday life.
•Explain collective behavior, social movements, and social change.
•Develop written communication skills and critical thinking skills.
•Apply American Psychological Association formatting and citation style when completing course assignments.
Initial forum postings should be a minimum of 250 words. Each student must also respond to a minimum of 1 fellow students' postings; each response must be at least 100 words in length.
Please choose ONE of the following questions:
1. If you grew up in the city or currently live in the city, discuss Henslin's (2014) description of the norm of non-involvement, the sense of alienation, and personalization of activities. Also, discuss the types of people who live in the city according to the typology presented by Herbert Gans. Based on your experiences growing up in the city and/or living there now, do you find these descriptions of city life accurate? Provide examples in your explanation.
2. In what ways, if any, are riots rational acts of collective behavior? In what ways, if any, are riots productive? Counterproductive? With all of the social inequality and social injustice that exist in the United States, why do you think there aren't more riots? If there were more riots, do you think these would lead to serious efforts to improve social conditions for minorities in the United States? Or would these, instead, create a backlash against the rioters that would only make things worse for minorities in the United States? Be sure to refer to the text in your answer.
3. After reading The Coming Star Wars, discuss the following suggestion that "it is one thing to fight an enemy that uses outdated technology, but quite another to face an enemy that possesses similar technology." Debate the idea of mutual deterrence, which is the idea that both nations with high technology fear an attack from the other, so neither of the two attacks for fear of annihilation. Also, discuss the idea that the nations with "outdated technology" are more willing to commit suicide for their cause and are more likely to pose a serious threat. Finally, discuss former President Reagan's dream of Star Wars as a reality. Use examples from the text in your answer.
5b) Social Change
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The Week 8 WSMP meets the following course objectives:
•Apply a sociological perspective to the social world
•Analyze contemporary social issues using the sociological imagination and use sociological theories and concepts to analyze everyday life.
•Demonstrate the ability to identify, locate, and retrieve information related to the topics in the course.
•Develop written communication skills and critical thinking skills.
•Apply American Psychological Association formatting and citation style when completing course assignments.
Weekly Supplemental Material Post
1) Find and post 1 piece of supplemental material (i.e. website, article, book, video, etc - NOT wikipedia) relevant to this week's readings (see below for more detail).
2) Post a substantive forum discussion and comment to at least ONE other student's supplemental material post, in this thread (by clicking reply)
Supplemental Material post must include:
1) a link or attachment for the supplemental material,
2) an APA formatted citation for the source of the material,
3) a brief description of the material, and
4) a discussion about why it is relevant to the week's assigned reading - include at least 1 sociological concept (this should include identifying, defining (using the text) and then applying the sociological concept)