Explain the difference between mechanical and organic solidarity, according to Durkheim. Include an example of each form of solidarity to demonstrate your knowledge.
Explain Marx’s critique of capitalism. How does capitalism promote inequality?
After the recent school shooting in Parkland, FL there has been an increased discussion around gun violence, gun policy, and school safety. Describe this debate from one of the three sociological perspectives (Structural Functionalism, Conflict Theory, Symbolic Interaction) and analysis the current debate using the key terms and concerns of the chosen perspective.
Define cultural capital and give an example of cultural capital.
What is the invisible knapsack of privilege? How does privilege reproduce inequality? Provide an example of one form of privilege.
What is the Power Elite according to C. Wright Mills? What is an example of the power elite? Have the components of the power elite changed over time? If so, in what ways?
Define institutional racism, color blind racism, and microaggressions. How does each of these forms of racism reproduce racial inequality?
How do media representations reinforce race relations and racial stereotypes? Provide a specific example of this form of prejudice. How can this problem of representation be addressed?
What is the process and outcome of gender socialization? What are the agents of gender socialization?
Define intersectionality. Why is an intersectional approach a useful way to address oppression and inequality?
According to Durkheim, mechanical solidarity refers to the social unification of community members who share the same values and beliefs. In contrast, organic solidarity is the social integration that emerges out of the interrelations of members in the society.
Marx defines capitalism as a form of production run by private entities who own the means of production. According to Marx, capitalism causes inequality as the concept is engineered to benefit investors and suppress workers.
Gun violence is an unrelenting problem affecting society. In this light, gun violence affects schools that play a crucial role in society, such as mass shootings. Therefore is crucial for policymakers to devise gun policies to ensure school safety.
Cultural capital refers to high cultural knowledge that reflects the people’s financial and social privileges such as “dress for success.”
The invisible knapsack of privilege is individual acts of meanness concealed in systems to hover dominance on a certain group. This concept causes inequality as these invisible systems cannot weaken their status to accommodate the weaker group. For example, the whites have been taught about racism from a disadvantaged perspective which enacts them on the positive side (Peggy, 1989).
According to Mills, Power elites rise to serve and command bureaucratic resources in the prestigious institution of a dominant country such as the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Over the last decade, power elites have changed as they network with people outside their financial, power, and status scope.
Institutional racism refers to bias anchored on system social structures designed to serve the people equally. Colour-blind racism is a racial ideology focused on eliminating racism by treating individuals equally without judging them based on culture, ethnicity, or race. Microaggression is every day, sensitive, normal unfiltered, intentional and sometimes accidental interactions or behavior that show prejudice towards the minority. All these forms of racism communicate the extent to discrimination is rooted in the systemic
Media in Hollywood often portray black men and girls as sex objects, sidekicks and villains. To change the narrative, the media can film both black boys and girls as heroes.
Gender socialization is the school of thought where children study the social attitude, behaviors and expectations normally associated with boys and girls. Agent of gender socialization includes family, peer groups and mass media.
Intersectionality is the common nature of social groupings such as race, gender and class as they appeal to a given individual or group framed as designing interdependent and overlapping systems.
An intersectional approach solidifies the conversations that there is nuance and diversity in the distinct ways people dominate. It encourages conceptual understanding of identity.
