SOCS185 Full Course Latest 2018 November

SOCS185 Culture and Society

Week 1 Discussion

DQ1 DEVELOPING A SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION

Sociologist C. Wright Mills preferred to call the sociological perspective “the sociological imagination” and he saw it transforming personal troubles into public issues. Let’s begin our discussion this week by considering homelessness. Why are a high percentage of the homeless veterans? What situations might be a cause in someone being homeless? Use the sociological imagination to explain your observations, and how the sociological imagination helps us consider the causes and possible solutions to homelessness.

DQ2 STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT

In 1971, Philip Zimbardo’s experiment demonstrated the power of the situation and the interaction between social interaction and social structure. There are many videos of the experiment, search two or three videos on internet to see different perspectives about this experiment. After viewing the videos, if you had been a guard, do you think you would have been more likely to go along with the other guards or would you have resisted or spoken up about treating the prisoners the way you would have wanted to be treated if the roles had been reversed?

 

SOCS185 Culture and Society

Week 2 Discussion

DQ1 THE CHANGING MEANING OF SYMBOLS

Symbols can have more than one meaning.

The battle flag of the Confederate States of America is viewed by some as the rebel flag and is a symbol for individualism against authority. To others, it is a powerful symbol of repression, hate, and slavery.

Someone wearing the hat or jersey of their favorite team might be perceived as a gang member (friend or foe) because of the symbolic meaning of the colors to another group.

What examples can you think of where symbols can have more than one meaning?

DQ2 THE GAMES CHILDREN PLAY…

In the article, “Games Children Play: An Exercise Illustrating Agents of Socialization” (Teaching Sociology, 26, April, 1998: 130-139). Davita Silfen Glasberg, Florence Maatita, Barbara Nangle, and Tracy Schauer pointed out that most introductory sociology textbooks identify the main socialization agents as family, peers, schools, media, work, and religion. “…what is far less often acknowledged is the contribution that children’s toys and games play in representing and reinforcing dominant conceptions of ‘appropriate’ social identities found in social discourse and in institutional arrangements.” Toys and games can allow us to experience the subtleties of race, class, gender, and political socialization that are embedded in play. Sometimes players may challenge and subvert these images and messages at the delight or disgust of other players.

What toys did you have as a child that you think of as agents of socialization? How did you use toys to understand relationships or prepare for new ones?

 

SOCS185 Culture and Society

Week 3 Discussion

DQ1 THE MILGRAM EXPERIMENTS

The Milgram experiments on obedience to authority, discussed in chapter five were conducted with groups of subjects who had not met before the experimental session. Here is a brief video from the original experiment:

Milgram Experiment (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Do you think that groups of people who already knew each other would demonstrate more or less conformity if placed in these experimental situations? What if the teachers were men and the learners were women? Would teenagers conform the same as adults?

DQ2 SEXUALITY AND SOCIAL INEQUALITY

How could sexuality play a part in social inequality? Watch the following video:

Girl’s Self-Esteem (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Does society hold women to a different set of expectations than they do for men?

 

SOCS185 Culture and Society

Week 4 Discussion

DQ1 SOCIAL MOBILITY

Has your family experienced significant upward or downward mobility over the past three or four generations? How do you think your values and behavior might differ had you experienced the opposite pattern of mobility? How might it have been different had your family been of a different ethnic or racial origin?

DQ2 PERCEPTIONS OF DEVIANCE

One of the more interesting topics of study is the area of deviance and social control. Choose a form of deviance with which you are familiar (not necessarily something you’ve done, but something someone you know did) and discuss why society views that behavior as deviant and whether perceptions of that behavior have changed over time. Explain which theory of deviance you think works best for understanding the deviant behavior you’ve chosen to discuss.

 

 

 

SOCS185 Culture and Society

Week 5 Discussion

DQ1 DEFINITIONS OF RACE AND ETHNICITY

What is meant by the social construction of race? Take a look at the this video link:

Kiri Davis: A Girl Like Me (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Is your race more a matter of how you view yourself or of how others view you? In what ways is how you view yourself influenced by our society and culture?

DQ2 MAN’S WORK VERSUS WOMAN’S WORK

How are household chores (cooking, cleaning, laundry, child care, auto maintenance, yard work, home repair, etc.) divided up along gender lines in your current residence? How were chores divided up in the home where you grew up? Is the time spent each week on the total about evenly divided or skewed one way or the other?

 

SOCS185 Culture and Society

Week 6 Discussion

DQ1 WE ARE FAMILY. GET ONLINE AND POST WITH ME

Sociologists stress that family life is not just a reflection of individual decisions but also the social structure of the broader society. Using concepts from this week’s reading to support your points, discuss how society shapes family life.

DQ2 WHAT IS RELIGION?

How would you define a religion? What characteristics must a belief system have in order for it to be considered a religion? If a belief system did not include faith, a God, heaven, or hell, would it still be a religion? How much of a belief system do you have to believe in order to be considered a member of a religion, 100%, 90%, less?

 

SOCS185 Culture and Society

Week 7 Discussion

DQ1 THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY

What steps do you or your families take to lessen your impact on the environment? What items do you reduce your usage of, recycle back into other products, or reuse for another purpose?

DQ2 COMING BACK TO RESEARCH

Research is fundamental in the social sciences. A common data collection method is the survey. Let’s look at the survey as a social scientist.

Click the EVALUATIONS located in your course module on the right hand lower corner of the page. Now, let’s discuss the merits and flaws of this survey instrument. Which questions would you add? Which would you delete? What questions would you change? What questions would you keep the same?

 

 

SOCS185 Culture and Society

Week 1 Assignment

SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION ASSIGNMENT

Our decisions do not simply result from what philosophers call “free will.” Sociology teaches us that the social world guides our life choices in much the same way that the physical world guides influence our choice of clothing or the type of food we feel like eating. C. Wright Mills pointed to the power of what he called the sociological imagination to help us understand everyday events. As he saw it, society—not people’s personal failings—is the main cause of poverty and other social problems.

For this essay writing assignment with a minimum of two (2) pages or more, explain how a personal problem can be caused by a larger social issue.  It can be a problem that you, a friend or family member, or someone you have read about has experienced. Describe the situation, putting both the personal problem and the larger social issue in boldface, then explain the relationship in terms of cause and effect.  Provide example or examples to support your arguments.

Cite your scholarly sources in APA formatPreview the document. The presentation of this essay writing assignment must include introduction of the topic, body of contents – problem, argument, cause and effect, conclusion and reference page following APA Reference Format. Use the TemplatePreview the document provided for this assignment (see preview), and can also be accessed/downloaded via File under professor’s name. Read the RubricPreview the document criteria to meet expectation for this assignment.

Academic Integrity is pertinent so avoid PlagiarismLinks to an external site. as it will result to a 0-Zero grade and/or course failure.

The assignment will be scanned by Turnitin for originality purposes. If the overall Turnitin result is more than 20%, redo your assignment.

Remember to submit your essay writing assignment for grading before the due date and time. A 10% penalty will apply for any late submission.

 

 

 

 

 

SOCS185 Culture and Society

WEEK 2 COURSE PROJECT – PART 1

Part 1: Identification of Person to be Interviewed from Another Culture and Culture Overview

Assignment Topic:

Identify a person from another culture (to be interviewed in Part 2) and then provide a overview of their culture by reading about that culture.

Directions:

Identify a person from a culture that is different from yours.

You could identify a person from your course, previous courses, workplace, family, and/or neighborhood.

Research various sources (DeVry library) to gain some background knowledge about this person’s culture. You should read material from at least three (3) different credible sources.

Go to DeVry Library Library Services | DeVry University for help on this assignment.

General reference works such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, Wikipedia will not be considered as sources meeting this requirement.

The list could include books, journal articles, industry reports, authoritative websites, manufacturer’s sites, or sites from research groups.

Remember, all quotations, paraphrased material, images, graphics, and statistics must be referenced in your report, so make note of all sources while compiling your research!

Summarize key findings from these readings (approximately one page, using bulleted format) citing sources appropriately and listing full references at the end of your summary.

APA format: Three (3) pages total (cover page, 1 page summary in bulleted form, and reference page)

General reference works such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, Wikipedia will not be considered as sources meeting this requirement.

Double spaced

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOCS185 Culture and Society

WEEK 3 YOU DECIDE ACTIVITY

Scenario/Summary

This scenario takes place at a college campus among a group of student employees. We take a look at the interaction among a few employees and the proper approach to take when the behavior of some employees is deemed inappropriate by another employee.

Your Assignment

You are a student employee who overhears conversations among your coworkers. While on break, two of your male coworkers usually go off by themselves and smoke a cigarette. These recently hired coworkers are in their first semester and have just graduated from high school. Sometimes you overhear bits and pieces of their conversations. You are concerned that they regularly have conversations that are inappropriate for the workplace. You have overheard these coworkers making crude sexual references about other employees, telling sexist jokes, and sharing images and graphics of a sexist nature on their cell phones. You seek advice on how to handle the situation from others at your workplace.

KEY PLAYERS

You need to decide if you want to file a formal complaint. If you do, the matter will be investigated. If what you say can be substantiated then the young men will be reprimanded. That usually results in their employment being terminated and their student loans/financial aid may be in put in jeopardy.

Shirley Wright

Manager of Student Employees

I don’t care what your boss says; this is inappropriate behavior for the workplace, even if they are on break. They should learn to stop this kind of behavior before they graduate. It’s the sort of thing that could get you fired in the real world. If I were you, I would, informally, have a word with them and tell them that I was offended. Once they have been informed that they offended someone, they may decide to change their behavior on their own.

Ron DesVue

30-year-old veteran, student and classmate

Hey, you got a smart phone, don’t you? First thing I’d do is record their conversation on my phone. Don’t let them know you’re recording it. The next time they have one of those conversations tell them that you find it offensive and ask them to stop it. If they refuse or give you a hard time, tell them that you have a recording of their sexist comments and you’ll take it to the boss. They don’t need to know how the boss feels; the threat should be good enough to get them to stop, at least when you are around.

Hugh Jim Bissell

Close friend since high school and current classmate

Let’s not turn this into a federal case. I’d say as long as they’re having these conversations in private, among themselves then it’s not any of your business. After all, boys will be boys. These are young, single men, and this is a way that they bond, work out frustrations, and blow off steam. Look, it’s not like they’re making racist remarks. In that case, I definitely go straight to the boss, even higher up the chain of command, if I needed to. After all, who hasn’t told a dirty joke now and then? As long as they keep it on the down low, it’s no big deal.

Frieda Choose

Close friend and classmate

Activity or Assignment

This assignment covers CO 6 in terms of interaction among groups and CO 4 in terms of the meaning of culture within society.

In a 500-word (minimum) essay, using the concepts that you learned from this week’s readings analyze the different ways that sexist behavior is handled in the formal and informal bureaucracy. The following questions should answered in the essay.

The following questions should be answered in the essay.

Does Shirley Wright’s comment make you more or less likely to file a formal complaint? Do you agree with the likely punishment? If not, what alternative punishment would you suggest?

Do you agree with Ron DesVue’s perspective where he says you should speak to the individuals? Why or why not?

Do you agree or disagree with Hugh Jim Bissell on using your smart phone to make a recording? Why or why not?

Should you take Frieda Choose’s advice that “boys will be boys,” and that there is a general expectation that men will occasionally behave badly, and so long as the behavior is kept between privately, it should be ignored? Why do you think she distinguishes between sexist remarks and racist remarks? Explain your answer.

Is there a problem with the organization in the scenario above? If so, what should be done to provide a long-term solution to the problem?

 

SOCS185 Culture and Society

WEEK 4 COURSE PROJECT – PART 2

Part 2: Interview Questions and Transcript

Assignment Topic:

Develop a set of questions (open-ended) to interview the person from another culture you identified in Week 2 and provide a transcript (written responses) from this interview.

Note: The transcript of the interview will also enable completion of Course Project – Part 3 that is due in Week 7.

Directions:

Interview Question Selection:

Develop a written set of interview questions that you plan to use in your interview.

Review the section below containing Sample Questions: Questions to Ask a Person from Another Culture.

Select 10-12 of these questions (more if you want, but choose at least 10), plus add any other questions that you would like to ask.

You do not need to ask all these questions or ask them in the order you have them listed, as you will find that if you use open-ended questions they naturally lead to other questions based on the person’s responses.

Conduct the Interview:

Interview the person identified earlier using the questions you have prepared and drawing on your background knowledge from your research in Week 2.

Although it is very useful to take notes in the interview and/or tape record the interview, you need to be sensitive to how the person may react if you do this as well as to how it will influence you if you are taking notes as you do the interview.

If appropriate and with permission, you may take photos of the person and where they live, pictures of the person’s home/workplace/environment/artifacts from the person’s story; you may scan in pictures the person has shared with you, or you may draw your own pictures to illustrate points in your story. For this purpose, kindly get Informed Consent. See Sample under Section on Informed Consent.

If the person you conduct the interview with does not want to answer a question, you cannot make them do so.

Keep in mind the code of ethics employed by sociologists. The three main ethical principles that must guide fieldwork are:

acquiring informed consent,

respecting one’s informant’s privacy and dignity, and

doing no harm (protecting them from risk).

Capturing the Interview Information

After the interview, it will be helpful preparation for Week 7’s Part 3 of the Course Project if you take a moment now to note specific sociological concepts being learned in this class that may be related to responses received from your interviewee – especially while the interview is still fresh in your mind!

How to cite an interview:

As a personal interview is not published or “findable,” it should not be included in an APA reference list. Instead, a personal interview should be referenced as a parenthetical citation. For example: (First Name Initial, Last Name, personal communication, Date of Interview).

Sample Questions – Questions to Ask a Person from another Culture

What is your history? What is your home of origin? Why did you/your family settle in _____?

How much do you feel a part of your culture of origin? Do you participate in your cultural community? How?

How closely do you identify with and affiliate with your culture? What are some of your family customs and roles of members within your family? What is your role in your family?

What are the five (5) most important values of your culture (of origin)?

How do people express these values? What would you see someone in your culture do that would let you know that these are their values?

How are people taught these values?

How were you taught your values?

What do you think are the most positive things about being a member of your culture/ethnic group?

Are there any negative things?

What are your family beliefs about around child rearing and discipline?

What are the gender roles in your culture? And in your family?

What is your concept of personal space? What is considered appropriate touch between people of various relationships? (Consider how people greet each other when they are first introduced, when they greet friends, when they greet relatives)

What are the power structures in your family? Is age a factor in who has power? How are decisions made at the family and community level?

Who holds positions of formal power in your culture? Who are the most powerful informal leaders in your community? Who held positions of power in the past?

What religious or spiritual beliefs are influential in your culture and for your family?

What is your concept of health? What are customary health practices and beliefs? Who is responsible for and influences health care? Do you use home or folk remedies, a healer, shaman or some other traditional or spiritual healer?

How can you communicate effectively in your culture? Consider the meaning of tone of voice, gestures, eye-contact, overall body language, terminology used to describe health, face-saving behaviors.

How assimilated into the mainstream culture are members of your family and how well is that accepted by the rest of the family?

How much a part of American culture or society do you feel?

Are these cultural values that are the same or similar to American cultural values or values that help you “fit” or succeed in American culture?

How are your culture’s values different from “American” cultural values?

Has this caused any problems for you or people you know? (ask for examples)

How do you/did you deal with this?

Were there or are there difficulties in participating in mainstream American culture/society?

Have you or your family or friends experienced discrimination or negative experiences based on treatment due to your cultural/ethnic group? (Examples).

Identify and verify customs, beliefs, and practices that might be misinterpreted by established institutions within your community e.g. schools, law enforcement, social services, health care providers (this includes beliefs around certain body parts, such as the head, male and female circumcision, cutting or puncturing the skin, transfusions, autopsies)

What do you think are the most important needs of your cultural/ethnic community?

[Adapted from E. Lynch & M. Hanson (1998) Developing Cross-Cultural Competence.]

Informed Consent:

See samples of Informed Consent and Photo Release: Informed Consent._Samples.docx (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Deliverables (what to submit at the end of Week 4):

Written assignment which includes:

Cover Page in APA style

Provide a copy of questions with transcript (answers).

It should be typed, double-spaced, size 12 font: Times New Roman or Arial font

Length of paper (excluding cover and reference page): 2-3 pages

Reference Page: As a personal interview is not published or “findable,” it should not be included in an APA reference list.

 

 

SOCS185 Culture and Society

WEEK 5 SOCIOAUTOBIOGRAPHY ASSIGNMENT

Your Socioautobiography assignment is due this week.

The purpose of this assignment is to give you the opportunity to apply the sociological imagination to your everyday life: To make connections between your everyday life and the life of a historical or current social leader whose life and actions has had a broad impact on the sociocultural structures within which you live.

In this assignment, you will reference appropriate Course ObjectivesPreview the document (COs) that relate to your Socioautobiography. You can find the COs in this course listed in the Syllabus and in the weekly objectives. This assignment can be related to any and/or all of the COs.

Use the proper TemplatePreview the document for this assignment accessible via File under professor’s name. Cite your COs, textbook, lecture or lesson and outside scholarly sources following APA Reference Format. Read the instruction and RubricPreview the document criteria carefully to meet expectation.

The Socioautobiography is a reflective paper that allows you the opportunity to explore the interconnections between biography (a slice of someone’s life), the social structure, and culture. In preparation for this paper, please read the Socioautobiography GuidelinesPreview the document posted in the Files section under professor’s name – DRosado for detailed assignment instructions including the overview of the grading rubric.

The assignment will be scanned by Turnitin for originality purposes. Be mindful of DeVry’s Academic Integrity Policy regarding Plagiarism. Avoid Plagiarism as it will result to a 0-Zero grade and/or course failure. Cite any scholarly sources. If your overall Turnitin result exceeds 20%, redo your assignment.

Remember to submit the assignment for grading before the due date and time. A 10% penalty will apply for any late submission.

 

SOCS185 Culture and Society

WEEK 5 SOCIOAUTOBIOGRAPHY AUDIO POWERPOINT ONSITE PRESENTATION

Socioautobiography Assignment: (Part 2) – Onsite Presentation

In addition to the paper in the Part 1 assignment, students are required to create an Audio PowerPoint (minimum 7-8 slides), which highlights the personal experiences shared in the Socioautobiography paper.

Read the instruction carefully and the RubricPreview the document criteria to meet expectation. Cite your outside sourcesPreview the document such as graphics, pictures, videos, scholarly sources, etc., following APA reference format.

See Instructions for Audio PowerPoint in Introduction and Resources > Course Resources

Overview of the Grading Rubric for Audio PowerPoint:

 

SOCS185 Culture and Society

WEEK 7 COURSE PROJECT – PART 3

Part 3: Course Project Culture Summary

Assignment Topic:

Present a summary about another culture based on previous readings and the responses from your interview of a person from that culture.

Directions:

Analyze the responses from the interview and present a summary of your findings on the culture of the person you interviewed. This may be in any one of the following formats:

A Written Essay (3-4 pages double spaced, not counting the cover page and reference page).

An Illustrated Essay with photographs/pictures/drawings (images must be cited, the written portion must still be equivalent to the length of the Written Essay option not counting the images).

An illustrated Blog – submit the URL and a printout (PDF) of the blog post

An Adobe Spark Page – submit the URL and a printout (PDF) of the web page

A Video Presentation (record a screen capture video, with audio of you speaking about the content of your PowerPoint slides displayed on your screen (or use similar visual references)) – submit any slides or graphics used along with an .mp4 file for the video.

Podcast-type Audio recording (record a 3-5 minute audio presentation, similar to a podcast, on the subject of your interview and culture summary, addressing all of the points required for this assignment). Submit an outline of your speaking notes, and an .mp3 file for the audio portion.

An audio-narrated PowerPoint file (a set of 10-12 slides with notes and with your voice recorded on each slide to present the material.) See Instructions for Audio PowerPoint in Introduction and Resources > Course Resources.

Select fifteen (15) sociological concepts learned in the course (more if you want, but choose at least 15).

Suggested sociological concepts covered in the course may include: socialization, customs and roles, cultural values, personal space, beliefs, gender roles, religious or spiritual beliefs, power structure, informal leaders in that community, cultural assimilation, cultural adaptation, cultural diffusion, culture shock, discrimination.

Notes about the Format Options

All formats other than the Written Essay must essentially be equivalent to the Written Essay format in the amount of content presented.  By allowing you several choices you can be as creative as you like and may choose the format you most prefer.  Remember to cite sources, too, regardless of the format of your Week 7 Culture Summary submission. 

It is recommended to compose the essay first, and then design your creative-format version using the essay as the basis for the other format option’s content. That way, if you happen to run short on time, you can still submit the assignment in the Written Essay format.

For example, after you write the essay first you can then add graphics afterwards to transform the essay into an illustrated essay, blog, or Adobe Spark web page.  Similarly, writing the essay first will also expedite creation of PowerPoint slides if you’ve chosen that format.

Deliverables (what to submit at the end of Week 7):

Summary of your findings on the culture of the person you interviewed.  For details on each format, see the Directions section above. This Culture Summary may be completed in any one of the following forms:

A Written Essay (3-4 pages double spaced, exclusive of cover page and reference page).

An Illustrated Essay (with photographs/pictures/drawings).

An illustrated Blog

An Adobe Spark Page

A Video Presentation

Podcast-type Audio recording

An audio-narrated PowerPoint file – a set of 10-12 slides with notes.

 

 

SOCS185 Culture and Society

Week 2 quiz

Question 1

 (TCO 1) The systematic study of human society is known as _____.

  psychology

  science

  anthropology

  sociology

  social psychology

 

Question 2

 (TCO 1) Social sciences includes all of the following EXCEPT _____.

  sociology

  political science

  economics

  statistics

  anthropology

Lecture

 

Question 3

 (TCO 1) When Peter Berger characterized the sociological perspective as “seeing the general in the particular,” he meant that sociology allows us to _____.

  recognize that society has the same effect on all categories of people

  see that people in general are rather particular about their behaviors

  make generalizations about individuals’ particular habits

  see McArthur in his Jeep, Patton in his tank, or Bradley in his personnel carrier

  look for general patterns in the behavior of particular people

 

Question 4

 (TCO 3) Of the major theoretical theories in sociology, which one views society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability?

  Social-solidarity theory

  Social-conflict theory

  Symbolic-interaction paradigm

  Structural-functional theory

  Fournickles-equalsa paradigm

 

Question 5

 (TCO 3) Functions of an institution that unrecognized and unintended consequences of any social pattern, are known as _____.

  indirect

  manifest

  latent

  implicit

  implied

 

Question 6

 (TCO 2) Gambling researcher Althea Andrasia runs repeated tests on her measure of addiction to check for consistency in measurement. Her goal is to ensure that the measure has _____.

  precision

  reliability

  validity

  congruence

  replicability

 

Question 7

 (TCO 2) Independent variable is to dependent variable as _____.

  blood is to water

  effect is to cause

  cause is to effect

  variable is to constant

  logic is to intuition

 

Question 8

 (TCO 2) A statement of a possible relationship between two (or