How does global stratification impact local culture? What are the positive and negative effects? How does global stratification impact the United States? What are the positive and negative effects?

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“Outsourcing” to third world countries

Target a multinational corporation/international company and the practice of “outsourcing” to third world countries. Some examples of MNCs (multinational corporations) would be Nike, General Motors, Ford, Qwest, and Fender Music. Research its effects on local culture. Write a summary and analysis of 500-750 words and include the following:

How does global stratification impact local culture? What are the positive and negative effects?
How does global stratification impact the United States? What are the positive and negative effects?
Who is the biggest “winner” in this situation? Explain.

Is there a “resurgence of religion” in the world as some now argue, or is the current focus on religion and Writer’s Choice simply a temporary reaction to 9/11 and subsequent events?

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Writer’s Choice

Using two real world examples from course readings, answer the following question: (THIS WOULD BE COVID AND JIHAD)
:
Is there a “resurgence of religion” in the world as some now argue, or is the current focus on religion and Writer’s Choice simply a temporary reaction to 9/11 and subsequent events? In other words, do the arguments that there is a global resurgence of religion reflect actual trends in the world, or is this so-called “resurgence” simply a bump along the road to the secularized world forecast by secularization theorists several decades ago?

Write a 1-page paper on how food fits into the Social, Cultural, Symbolic, Spiritual aspects of your life. What foods are most symbolic and meaningful to you?

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Food and symbolism

For the rest of your assignment, write a 1-page paper. Focus is how food fits into the Social, Cultural, Symbolic, Spiritual aspects of your life. What foods are most symbolic and meaningful to you?

Write a one-paragraph professional email to a potential employer. Describe how understanding sociology is useful for working in a diverse society.

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Working in a diverse society

Write a one-paragraph professional email to a potential employer. Describe how understanding sociology is useful for working in a diverse society.

What big ideas or big technological changes do you see in the years ahead? Is change something we manage well? What happens when we resist change?

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Social Change

Chapter 20 deals with the issue of social change. Sociologists tell us that social change is created by a) new technologies and or b) new or shifting ideas or beliefs. Maybe it’s both, but we have to understand it is generally one or the other that leads the way. For example – from the 1940’s until the 1990’s China did not accept the idea that Capitalism was or could be a useful way to organize their economy. In the 1990’s, China got rid of its Soviet-style, state run, planned economy. In less than 3 decades, the nation was transformed from a impoverished third-world nation to the number 2 economy in the world. It was an idea that made this happen, not a particular technology.

 

So here we are in 2021, we are always on the threshold of change in America. What big ideas or big technological changes do you see in the years ahead? Is change something we manage well? What happens when we resist change?

How did you view social class and how has that changed over time and recently after reading the course materials? How did you view social class and how has that changed over time and recently after reading the course materials?

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Thoughts of Social Stratification

Sociologists talk a lot about wealth, poverty, social class, upward and downward mobility, social status…we are quite fixated on these topics, they are at the core of our discipline to some extent.

Prior to this class, how did you view social class and how has that changed over time and recently after reading the course materials? How did you view social class and how has that changed over time and recently after reading the course materials?

Discuss a leader that you admire and what has made that person effective within this context.

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Leadership and Authority

The topic of great or not so great leaders is the stuff that floods newspapers, best selling book lists, the History Channel, social media, college courses… we talk about it alot. According to the text, authority or leadership comes down to this:

1) Authority refers to power that people accept as legitimate rather than coercive.
2) Traditional authority is power that is legitimized on the basis of long-standing custom.
3) Charismatic authority is power legitimized on the basis of a leader’s exceptional personal qualities or the demonstration of extraordinary insight and accomplishment that inspire loyalty and obedience from followers.
4) Rational–legal authority is power legitimized by law or written rules and regulations.

Discuss a leader that you admire and what has made that person effective within this context.

Write a 1-page assignment summarizing and giving your reactions to the following article.

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The Amish as both a Religious and Ethnic Minority

Write a 1-page assignment summarizing and giving your reactions to the following article

The group tolerance.org has prepared materials relating to the history, beliefs, observances and customs of the Amish, a religious minority based largely in the United States

http://www.religioustolerance.org/amish.htm

http://www.religioustolerance.org/amish.htm

The Amish represent a minority group that is both a religious and ethnic in nature – much like Ultra Orthodox Jews or perhaps Mormons (Latter Day Saints) or observant Muslim Americans.

What insights does sociology have to offer about what is happening in America relative to these issues? Can sociology make us healthier?

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Health and Wellness

While the United States is a wealthy nation and spends vast resources on healthcare services, Americans overall are not so healthy and in fact, our life expectancy is decreasing. Chapter 18 in the text discusses Health, Healthcare and Disability. While the covid crisis has created a health crisis, we have to understand that we are also experiencing a record number of drug overdose deaths and very high rates of suicide.

What insights does sociology have to offer about what is happening in America relative to these issues? Can sociology make us healthier?

Discuss how two sociological theories can be applied. In doing so, you should make clear that you understand how the core perspectives of the theory can connect to and offer insight into the real-world example you have chosen. In other words, how would this theory interpret your topic?

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Identify a sociologically relevant topic or problem of your choosing. For your final project, you must link that topic/problem to the wide range of tools of sociological thought you have learned this semester in a presentation (e.g., PowerPoint) or written review. Your project must substantially fulfill the following requirements:

Give a background of the topic or problem you have chosen and discuss why it would benefit from being understood through a sociological lens. What assumptions do people make about it that sociology can inform (or change)? What does sociology bring to the table that differs from people’s everyday social and cultural assumptions?

Discuss how two sociological theories can be applied. In doing so, you should make clear that you understand how the core perspectives of the theory can connect to and offer insight into the real-world example you have chosen. In other words, how would this theory interpret your topic?

It may be easiest to choose from the major theories (Structural-Functionalism, Symbolic Interactionism, and Conflict Theory*), but recall that there are some other theories presented in your readings.

Discuss how two sociological concepts can be applied. In doing so, you should show how these concepts can be seen at work inside the topic/problem you’ve identified. Use them to zero in on aspects of your example and interpret them. You may choose from the following list of concepts:
Social Structure
Culture
Socialization
Social inequality*
Social identity
Including groups and categories
Power and authority (counts as one)
Deviance
Social change