Internet Connection


1			Many Americans view wine drinkers as a sophisticated reference group to be admired and imitated. Look around on the Tasting Wine website (www.tasting-wine.com) to learn about the knowledge and behavior associated with being a wine drinker. Read through the first few paragraphs of the main page. What is the distinction between "drinking wine" and "tasting wine?" How would you interpret this difference in light of what you know about in-groups, out-groups, and reference groups? Why does the website give information on proper behavior at a wine tasting? How is this information related to in-groups, out-groups, and reference groups? Click on the link to "Tasting Etiquette," and read through the list of basic rules. In your view, to what degree do these practices serve to bring out the best taste in a wine, and to what extent do they serve to mark a person as an authentic wine taster? What would a sociologist say? Imagine yourself at a party where beer is being served. How would these rules change, if at all? What changes might be of interest to a sociologist, and why? Click on "Wine Terms" and browse through the definitions you see there. As you can see, there are a number of specialized terms related to wine tasting. What comments might a sociologist make about this list of terms, as they relate to group identification? How many terms can you think of that are specifically associated with the tasting of beer, water, soda, or milk? What is the sociological significance of the number of terms you come up with, compared to the number of terms on the Tasting Wine website?




2			The website of the Illinois Labor History Society (http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/index.html) contains extensive information on labor unions, strikes, and disasters past and present in that state. Visit the site for an overview of labor history in Illinois. Click on "Illinois Labor History Sites," and select "Union Miner's Cemetery" from the map. Why is this cemetery important to labor-minded persons? Explain how the Union Miner's Cemetery is linked to an episode known as "The Virden Riot." Return to the homepage and click on "Labor History Articles." Scroll down the page and select "When Women Were Knights." Why was the preamble to the constitution for the Knights of Labor quite radical for its time? Who was Elizabeth Rogers and why is she important in the history of Knights?

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