Category: Soci 1010

This week’s topic focuses on the widening gap between the haves and the haves not. The idea of meritocracy consumes America. Meritocracy is a system in which rewards are distributed based on merit. This idea transcends race, class, and gender. Karl Marx, the economist, states that there are two classes of people: those who own the goods and production, the bourgeoisie, and those who sell that labor for wages, the proletariat. Your reading states that mobility depends on several variables, such as ethnicity, class status, gender, and location, rather than merit. The “good life” comes with a price. People chase the “good life,” yet many leave feeling less secure and satisfied.

Write a 500-600 word paper based on the selected reading for Parts III and IV. You may refer to other readings in the book. Please use your text only. This is worth 100 points. Use APA citation for your references. Your title and reference pages are not included in the word count.

Base your writing on the following questions:

• How has the culture of elites transformed over time?
• How does the cultural transformation of elite society impact the resistance of inequality?
• What obstacles make escaping poverty challenging?
• In your opinion, do poor and working-class families display different value systems than other segments of society? Why or why not?

Submit your paper in this space for grading.

Part III: The One Percent/Part IV: Poverty and the Underclass

Feb 15-22 (Paper Due Mar 01)

The Power Elite/Mills, p.79

Low-Income Urban Fathers/Edin, Nelson, Reed, p. 114

The Rise of Extreme Poverty in the United States/Shaefer and Edin, p. 126

Being Poor, Black, and American/Wilson, p. 133

Incarceration and Social Inequality/Western and Pettit,p.163

Purpose

The purpose of this discussion is to lay a foundation so that we may better understand deviance, who is deviant, and why they are deviant. The chapter goes on to explore how deviance can be beneficial to society.

Tasks

1. In a new post, use the Reply button at the bottom of this page to respond to the following questions:

• Discuss primary and secondary deviance in depth and summarize examples of both.

1. Read and reply to the posts of two of your classmates.
2. To begin your initial post, use the Reply button at the bottom of this page.

Time Frame

To complete this discussion, your initial posting is due as soon as possible (preferably the first day of the week). Then, respond to 2 classmates by Friday of this same week.

Discussion Etiquette (Netiquette) Guidelines

Respond to your classmates in a respectful manner, keeping in mind the following:

• Treat others as you wish to be treated.
• Use supportive and constructive language.
• Use full sentences and proper grammar.
• Don’t use too much jargon.
• Substantiate your opinion or claim by citing evidence from a reputable and trusted source.
• You may not try to gain access to discussions prior to replying, doing so may elicit one warning, and if it happens again, you will receive a zero. Trust yourself, and move forward.

For more information on Netiquette, please see the

ONLINE INFO : https://youtu.be/YXYKE59Y0Uk

You have noticed that the prices of things are going up. Will it stay this way? Are the concepts of Organic and Mechanical Solidarity useful for understanding some of the things happening around you, regarding the impacts of inflation, in your life or the lives of others you know? What of Anomie?

The purpose of this assignment is to help you gain a greater understanding of socialization and how it impacts each individual in society, and ultimately society overall.

In doing this assignment, you will apply the concepts of what you have learned from all of the resources available to you for Chapter Four. The examination of these materials will be essential to your success in this course / in school / in this field / in professional life beyond school:

• Module objective for Chapter Four: Explain the development of sociology, and the key role that scientific research has in it.

Knowledge

This assignment is intended for you to gain a greater understanding of sociology as an Interdisciplinary Topic:

• Content knowledge item 1-Chapter Four
• Content knowledge item 2-Videos and Other Sources

Tasks

Please complete the steps listed below in order, to complete this assignment with the most success.

Step 1: Read Chapter Four, watch any videos associated with Chapter Four (if applicable), examine any other references or resources I have provided for Chapter Four, or other information you may find outside of our course materials.

Step 2: Answer the following question(s):

• Describe how we develop a self through interacting with others.

Step 3: Click Submit Assignment to complete the submission.

Submission Format

• Please type your assignment directly into Canvas using the online text option.

Time Frame

You will have multiple days to complete this individual assignment. The assignment is due on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. of the week the assignment is made available for you.

Criteria for Success

Please ensure your assignment meets the guidelines below, to obtain the maximum amount of points for this assignment.

• Please include the question/prompts(s) before each answer.
• Be sure you have used all of the materials available to you and any outside sources for this week to complete this assignment.
• The finished assignment should be detailed and thorough.
• The finished assignment should be free of any spelling or grammar errors. Use full sentences and proper grammar.
• The finished assignment should have a minimum of two paragraphs (for reference, each paragraph should have 5-10 sentences minimum) for each question(s) and/or prompt. In other words, if there are two questions, you should have a minimum of four paragraphs.
• Do not expect to receive full credit for only doing the bare minimum.
• The finished assignment should be more than *350 words.
• You will not receive credit for this assignment if more than 20% of the assignment is being flagged by ‘Turn it In.’
• Substantiate your opinion or claim by citing evidence from a reputable and trusted source.
• You may not use quotes, everything must be in your own words.
• You may NOT use artificial intelligence (i.e., ChatGPT, OpenAI…) to complete your work. Your work will be examined through a feature embedded in the Canvas software to recognize when AI is being used. If the assignment shows more than a 5% use of AI, you will receive a zero. Period.
• This assignment is worth 100 points.

Discussion Module 6: Scott, Domination and the Arts of Resistance

Are you familiar with Domination and the Arts of Resistance from your everyday life?

Or maybe you just, you know, saw someone do it. It wasn’t you. Honest. Use terms to tell us about what you know.

Fun fact, when I created this picture using ChatGPT, I was not allowed to have the illustration show my worker actually throwing the wrench into the gears, the guardrails installed by Open AI would not allow it. We “negotiated” this picture, instead. The explanation was that it is not permitted to illustrate “harm.” These corporations are very scared of us, very scared.

Discussion Module 4: Methods, a deviance research project that I might like to undertake, and what the issues might be

Keep in mind, our topic is deviance research. Consider researching a particular deviant group, or activity that might be of interest to you. How would you go about it? What methodology would you choose? What could the nature of the risks or issues be that came with researching your particular topic and population? What are some things that you could do to reduce the risks or drawbacks?

Chapter 2 – Pick a Prompt – Option 1 – How Private Should Family Life Be?

How much privacy should families have? At what point do other families and/or the state have the right to intervene?

Chapter 2 – Weekly Readings Discussion Post (Required)

This discussion board is for questions about or reactions to the concepts and information presented in this chapter’s reading. You may post things you learned, things you found particularly interesting, questions about things you didn’t understand and any other reaction you have to the material. I encourage you to read and respond to each other’s posts.