Sociology 1113 (Spring 2014) Essay Questions Assignment.

This assignment is chance for you to explore diverse areas of sociology by writing a response to the prompts provided. In total, you will be writing one response to five of the prompts below. Therefore, your final product should have five miniessays (no more than 600-700 words each). Each of the five essays is designed to address a different area of sociology. Carefully read through all of them and select one prompt from each section and craft your response. This assignment is due in class by May 5, 2014. No email submissions will be accepted. Late assignments will incur a five-point deduction per day late. 1. Sociological Theory. Choose one of the following: a. Macrosociologists draw on two broad theories of society: conflict theory and structural functionalism. First, describe both of these theories in terms of how they conceptualize society, what they suggest organize society, and the core tenets of each perspective. Next, compare and contrast these theories analysis of gender and gender stratification. b. The symbolic interactionist perspective is the microsociological approach to society. A core concept in this perspective is the looking glass self. Describe the looking glass self concept by describing how it can be used to explain body image issues and eating disorders in American society. 2. Sociological Methods. First, review the following table of data. Median income (in dollars) for race and gender, 2009. Source: DeNavas-Walt, Carmen, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith. 2010. Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009. Pg. 60-238 in Current Population Survey. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Race/Gender Male Female White $52,273 $40,219 Black $40,219 $32,829 Asian $52,408 $44,823 Native American $37,925 $31,217 Hispanic $32,348 $28,627 After you have reviewed the data, write one paragraph that explains the relationship between race-gender and annual income. In your paragraph, be sure to draw on at least two numbers from the table to back-up your claim about the relationship between racegender and annual income. 3. Social Stratification. Choose one of the following: a. Some sociologists view race as an interactional accomplishment. Discuss what this statement means by comparing and analyzing the concepts of passing, embodied identities, and doing race. b. Poverty tends to impact the lives of folks in a variety of ways. Describe how poverty impacts the political power of the poor, visibility of homelessness, and residential segregation.

c. Gender inequality is still present in statistics in earnings, education, and occupations. However, it is also present in everyday culture. In particular, the normalization of violence in what is called the rape culture. Describe what the rape culture looks. Then, gather your own examples of the rape culture from the internet (not Blurred Lines) and use these examples to back up your description of the rape culture. 4. Social Institutions. Choose one of the following: a. Education is a social institution that we all pass through. Conflict theorists tend to argue that education only reproduces the inequalities prevalent in society, as opposed to being the great equalizer. Describe how school differences and classroom politics maintain race, class, and/or gender inequalities in society. b. Voter turnout and political involvement of American citizens. Conflict theorists suggest that politics is largely controlled by elites. Describe the power-elite perspective and the evidence in support or contradiction to a power elite model of politics. c. How has religion and religiosity in America changed over the past century? 5. Social Change. Choose one of the following: a. Social movements tend to have four phases: incipient, coalescence, bureaucratization, and decline. Pick one of the following social movements and describe how that movement has gone through each of these phases: gay rights movement, labor movement, environmental movement, Tea Party movement, or Occupy Walls Street Movement. Your analysis should clearly define each of these phases and rely on more examples than the ones listed in your textbook. b. All institutions go through phases of social change. One institution that has had rapid change in the 20th and 21st centuries is the American family. Briefly describe how the American family has changed in terms of structure and definition during this period. Be sure to also talk about how changes in the labor market and politics have contributed to these changes.
Area Sociological Theory. Demonstrates creative mastery of core perspectives. Does not rely completely on textbook definitions. Clear explanation of definitions. Sociological Methods. Strategic use of data. Does not simply describe each number without comparisons. The way data is described clearly supports claims. Social Stratification. Creative analysis of one area of social inequality. Relies on sociological theory and studies to make claims and not personal stories to make claims. Possible 10 Earned

10

10

Social Institutions. Demonstrates clear understanding of what makes a social institution and how changes in one social institution impact changes in a different social institution. Social Change. Creative use of social movement and social change theory to explain example chosen. Links historical/data events with social theory to make claims. Deductions. Lateness (5 points per day); recurring grammatical errors. Total

10

10

N/A 50