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1

The American Sociological Association (ASA) (http://www.asanet.org) is a nonprofit organization with about 13,000 members, including faculty, researchers, practitioners, and students. This site contains some useful information about the field of sociology, society and social life, and careers in sociology. Go to the homepage and link to "Students", then link to "Careers in Sociology." Click on "Society and Social Life," and answer the following questions:
  1. Why is the scope of sociology so broad?
  2. Why is sociology a rapidly expanding field?
    Click on your Refresh or Back button. Link to "Sociological Specialties: Many Paths to Understanding the Society."
  3. Why is the study of racial and ethnic minorities important?
  4. Why do you think a sociologist would be interested in age discrimination?
    Return to the ASA homepage and click on "Public." Link to one of the "Publications for the Public."
  5. Which publication did you read? Briefly, what did you learn?
2

Sociologists in the twenty-first century owe a debt of intellectual gratitude to early thinkers and pioneers such as Émile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber. To learn about many of the thinkers listed in Chapter 1, visit SocioRealm (http://www.digeratiweb.com/sociorealm), a site constructed by Jessica Champlin. Click on "Jump to Subject" and select "Social Theory". Choose two of the theorists offered and visit the links associated with them; read some of their original works and biographies. For each theorist, answer the following:
  1. When did the thinker live? What important historical events were occurring during this time? Did any of these historical events shape his or her sociological imagination and views on society?
  2. After reading some of the original works, how would you summarize this person's perspectives?
    Which of the three main sociological perspectives-functionalism, conflict, or interactionism-would you say this thinker is most associated with? Why?
  3. What facts did you find most interesting about this person in his or her life story or sociological contributions?
  4. How do the ideas of this thinker compare and contrast with your other selection? Which of the two thinkers' ideas did you like the most? Why?
3

Sociologists use three main theoretical perspectives when analyzing the social world, including events both historical and current. Log onto Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.com) and choose one of the breaking stories from the "In the News" section. Follow the links given, reading articles and viewing pictures from online newspapers and networks on your chosen story. Next, apply functionalist, conflict, and interactionist perspectives to the story.
  1. How would Karl Marx and conflict thinkers view such an event? Is there tension and struggle between groups? Which groups?
  2. How would Emile Durkheim and functionalist thinkers examine the story? Can you apply concepts such as manifest functions, latent functions, and dysfunctions?
  3. What would be the perspective of George Herbert Mead and other interactionists? What symbols are being used to describe the story by the media? Can you apply dramaturgy to the events? Are players in the story trying to project a certain image using symbols?
  4. Which perspective did you find to be the most interesting? Is one perspective better suited than the others to analyze the story? Why or why not?





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