DISCUSSION 1 Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words: How does your pursuit of a c

DISCUSSION 1

Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

• How does your pursuit of a college education affect society in general?
• What are the social effects of your decision to become a student, both now and after graduation?
• How would the functionalist, conflict, and interactionist perspectives of sociology each interpret your decision to earn a degree?  

DISCUSSION 2

Last week we explored the basic concepts and theories of sociology. This week we examine how groups form the basic fabric of contemporary society. We explore the basic elements of social structure, the mechanisms of social control essential to encouraging conformity, and the structured ranking of entire groups of people in a society.

Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

Think about groups you belong to.

• What primary and secondary groups do you belong to?
• How did you become associated with these groups?
• How do those groups affect how you behave?
• What differences exist among the groups in which you belong and other groups in your community?
• How do sociologists explain these differences?

DISCUSSION 3

This week we explore the concepts of ethnicity, race, and gender. All people residing in the United States are either Native Americans, immigrants, descendants of immigrants, descendants of slaves, or a combination of these. Looking closely at your own family’s stories can help you to understand immigration, ethnicity, and race in the United States better.

Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

• What is your family's path, over one or many generations, to becoming an American?
• Does it include Black (slaves or freemen) people and/or Native Americans? How so?
• How do current immigrants assimilate into American culture?
• Should more of an effort be made to assimilate? Why?

DISCUSSION 4

Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

Describe the health of the people in your community.

• Do you think it is better than average, average, or worse than average?
• Is access to healthcare something you feel requires a change at a societal level?
• If so, how can you leverage what you have learned over the last five weeks to enact that type of change?
• If not, how can you leverage what you have learned over the last five weeks to explain why the change is unnecessary?

DISCUSSION 5

Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

• Which social institutions do you think are most in need of change in the United States?
• Consider families, religious institutions, the education system, as well as local and national governments when selecting your institutions.
• Why do you think these institutions need reform and how would you work to change it?