01 Oct What is the sociological imagination? Discuss how sociological imagination can help understand social behavior
SOCI1301 Introduction to Sociology
Week 1 Discussion
What is the sociological imagination? Discuss how sociological imagination can help understand social behavior.
SOCI1301 Introduction to Sociology
Week 2 Discussion
What are the advantages and limitations of the major research designs? Provide an example of a social group situation that you believe would be best studied by each type of design. Explain your selection.
SOCI1301 Introduction to Sociology
Week 3 Discussion
Have you ever experienced culture shock when visiting (or moving to) a different culture? If so, describe the differences in nonverbal communication, norms, and values of which you were aware. How did your experience help you to understand your own culture better?
SOCI1301 Introduction to Sociology
Week 4 Discussion
What are some of the major agents of socialization? Which do you think most influenced you? Why?
SOCI1301 Introduction to Sociology
Week 5 Discussion
How would you define a group? Explain the difference between primary group and secondary group. Explain the difference between in-group and out-group.
SOCI1301 Introduction to Sociology
Week 6 Discussion
Why do we define some acts as deviant? What makes an act deviant? Who determines whether an act is deviant? How do conflict and functional theories explain how an act becomes defined as deviance?
SOCI1301 Introduction to Sociology
Week 7 Discussion
Using the sociological perspective of your choice, how might you explain the widening income inequality gap in the United States and around the world?
SOCI1301 Introduction to Sociology
Week 8 Discussion
Imagine what life would be like if you had been born as another race, ethnicity, or gender, but with the same skills and knowledge that you now have. Would you have the same friends? What would your job prospects be like? What other differences would you expect simply because of a change in race/ethnicity? Why would you expect anything to change?
SOCI1301 Introduction to Sociology
Week 9 Discussion
The United States has never had a female president. Nations throughout the world have had powerful queens and elected leaders. How might you explain the fact that the United States has never elected a woman to be president?
SOCI1301 Introduction to Sociology
Week 10 Discussion
We think of the “traditional family” as husband, wife, and two kids, with the wife staying home to raise the kids. Yet, this family pattern has not been the norm for most societies or for most of U.S. history. Why do we call this the traditional family? What benefits and costs are associated with this type of family?
SOCI1301 Introduction to Sociology
Week 11 Discussion
What is the hidden curriculum in education? What is credentialism? How does credentialism impact us?
SOCI1301 Introduction to Sociology
Week 12 Discussion
Contrast the views of religion taken by Emile Durkheim and Karl Marx. Clarify the distinction Emile Durkheim made between the sacred and the profane.
SOCI1301 Introduction to Sociology
Week 13 Discussion
Think about laissez-faire capitalism and communism as opposite end points on a continuum. Why are these opposites? What economic systems are somewhere in between these two extremes? What kind of economy does the United States have? How does this affect our way of life?
SOCI1301 Introduction to Sociology
Week 14 Discussion
Why is the environment considered a part of sociology? What effects does the environment have on societies?
SOCI1301 Introduction to Sociology
Week 15 Discussion
New social movements are defined as movements that address values, social identities, and improvements in the quality of life. If you had the ability to mobilize resources to create a new social movement to promote or oppose social change, what social change would your movement address? Why and how?
