Homework answers / question archive / Unit 1 Journaling Previous Next Instructions This is a space for writing and reflecting on the application of material (readings or video) in this unit

Unit 1 Journaling Previous Next Instructions This is a space for writing and reflecting on the application of material (readings or video) in this unit

Sociology

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Unit 1 Journaling Previous Next Instructions This is a space for writing and reflecting on the application of material (readings or video) in this unit. This is a low stakes writing assignment and you may write freely in your own voice and style. (Nothing threatening or hateful, please!) Read the instructions and write your post in the space provided below.

Instructions: 

• What concept or issue stood out to you from this unit? 
• Does it help you understand something about your life, your community, or maybe something you've seen in the news? Explain.
• Can you use this knowledge? Is it useful? How could you use what you've learned to make a change in your life/community/world?
• Anything else you would like to add?

Here's how you will be graded:

 

Unit 1 Discussion - Foundations of Sociology

 

 

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To answer these questions please use your FREE online textbook, Sociology 2e from OpenStax. Click here. Please also read the discussion requirements below. 

Chapter 1: Think about Mills's concept of the sociological imagination. Define the sociological imagination in your own words. Watch this video on Family, Inequality, and Sociology in Pandemic Times (12 minutes). Using your sociological imagination, is a person's decision to marry an individual decision or one shaped by society? Explain your answer citing evidence from the video. 

 

Chapter 2: Imagine that you are social researcher. What important social issue would you like to study and why? Develop a research question for the issue you would study. What kind of data do you need to answer your question? What research method(s) would you choose to collect that data?

 

Chapter 3: In your own words, compare and contrast ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. Then, provide a specific examples you've experienced encountering or learning about another culture (it could be a different culture within your own town). What was different? What was your reaction to encountering that difference? Discuss whether you took an ethnocentric or cultural relativistic view and why.

Chapter 4: Describe Erving Goffman's dramaturgical approach to understanding social interactions. Imagine a server in a restaurant serving a table of costumers. Explain who has the power that context. Using Goffman's ideas, explain how can the server play the server role in such a way to control the situation. 

Chapter 5: Why is socialization important for us to understand? Discuss at least TWO concepts related to socialization and how they can help us understand the influence society has on the individual. Try to use personal examples from your own experience of socialization.

Creative Application Question: Robert Wuthnow writes that, "If cultural products do not articulate closely enough with their social settings, they are likely to be regarded . . . as irrelevant, unrealistic, artificial, and overly abstract." In that sense we can learn a lot about a society by looking at its monsters. Click here to watch this 5 minute clip from The Twilight Zone, "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" (1960). Who are the monsters in this clip? What does it say about the fears of Americans in 1960? What are some popular scary movies or shows today? What real world underlying fears might these shows tap into?

Here is how you will be graded: 

Display an understanding of concepts: 50 points

Reference specific arguments/data in the text: 25 points

Apply concepts to personal or current social issues: 15 points

Reply to classmate posts at least 2 times on 2 separate dates: 10 points

 

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• Ashley Thompson Unit 1
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• Ashley Thompson posted Oct 14, 2020 6:52 PM
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• Unit 1 Discussion Foundations of Sociology
•            
• Chapter 1 - Sociological imagination is when a person can step back and view an issue from multiple angles without our own lives and social views altering our decisions or understanding of a situation. We essentially become an outsider looking in even though we may not be. Given that people do not tend to marry another person unless they have stability or security in their lives, I would say that marriage is more often a decision that is assessed through our own societal views and beliefs. Anxiety and depression are both motivators and hindrances in our views of marriage and whether it is a good decision to pursue at the time. These two common things prioritize the need for financial independence and stability without a second individual providing support. If we cannot provide for ourselves, how would we be able to provide for a second human being, or possibly more if there are children involved. During the rise of feminism, women stepped out of the home and started making more money than men, which altered their view on marriage. Their view went from marriage being a way to be provided for financially and became more of a choice instead of a necessity.
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• Chapter 2 - If I were a social researcher, I would want to study the issue of domestic violence because I believe if we had a better understanding of why it happens, we may be able to reduce how often it occurs. What are the main causes for domestic violence and how can we reduce this? I know personalized case studies may be dangerous in this field of choice so I believe the best option would be to conduct anonymous surveys of households. Short surveys of just a few questions would be provided to every house in certain cities. Considering every rural and urban area have different social standards, I would need to disperse my surveys throughout multiple areas to get a more complete understanding of this issue. Therefore, my main research data would be qualitative data with surveys being the main form of research because these may be the safest option for every person involved.
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• Chapter 3 - Ethnocentrism assesses another culture based on our own personal cultural values. Cultural relativism does not compare cultures by other cultures, it is assessed by its own cultural views. I have been exposed to many cultures in my lifetime, however, the one culture that stood out to me was the wiccan culture. It was not what I expected based on what I had heard about it. The wiccan community is very open about their emotional states, healing, and express a love for their community through traditional rituals and gatherings. They are typically very kind people and I believe people who do not understand their beliefs and refuse to learn due to their own personal fears of the unknown are the reason behind the negativity surrounding this culture. I do not presume to know everything about their culture, however, from what I have learned throughout the years, they seem to share many similarities to my culture. They enjoy social gatherings and come together when a member of their community needs help, much like mine. A difference I saw was that when they gathered for their ill, they did not have to be strictly sick with a disease. They focused not solely on disease but also on the mind and spiritual side o themselves which allows for a more open mentality. In my personal cultural, there are set guidelines and rules that create a closed mindedness throughout the community. I preferred to view the wiccan culture by ethnocentrism because it was easier for me to compare the culture directly to my own so better understand their lifestyle choices.
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• Chapter 4 - Erving Goffman believed that people maintain specific characteristics and appearance standards around different people. Just like you would not dress in pajamas for a job interview because you would not want to create the impression that you do not care about that job opportunity. We all mirror what we believe someone else sees if we like how they view us. If a waitress is serving a group of customers, the waitress has the power in this context because the customers have come to the restaurant in a neutral manner seeking service. Whereas the waitress has played this role many times, is in her costume, and has perfected her mannerisms to maintain the positive experience that the customers are seeking. She ultimately can decide whether this experience will be pleasant or unpleasant for the customers based on her actions.
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• Chapter 5 - Understanding socialization is the key to knowing how you should behave in specific social interactions and situations. Having the ability to read what people expect from you in specific scenarios and cultures will provide you with opportunities for success in these social situations. Family and school are both agents of socialization where people learn how to behave in these specific circumstances. My family has taught me through primary socialization to listen attentively when another person is speaking because it shows respect to the speaker. My schools I have attended throughout my lifetime have taught me through secondary socialization how to maintain composure during times of boredom such as when a teacher is monotone and I have to try my best to not nod off during their lectures. If I were to fall asleep during the lecture, I may fail a test or be reprimanded due to my inability to focus. My husband and I participated in anticipatory socialization before we were married because we wanted to see if we could handle each other's idiosyncrasies before we tied the knot.
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• Creative Application Question - In the Twilight zone episode clip provided, the monsters are the people in the neighborhood who do not understand what is happening. Fear of the unknown is the main cause of these people's hatred and accusations. Prejudices were easily created because they allowed their imaginations to run wild creating fear. Their fear was the cause of their own demises. The walking dead is an example of a scary tv show that plays off a fear of other human's actions. The zombies are not the monsters in this show, the people are. The fear of losing control is what binds these people to groups where leaders control their actions which ultimately they lose their freedom in the process.