Category: Social Sciences : Sociology

The purpose of this essay is to apply C. W. Mills’s Sociological Imagination concept to explain a personal situation. The essay will demonstrate the student’s ability to use sociological concepts & theories learned in the course, to describe a personal situation. The topic is left to the student’s discretion.
The Essay paper should have the following 5 content areas:
1. Introduction: In this first content area, write a paragraph introducing C. W. Mills’s concept of sociological imagination, and give a general overview of how you will be applying it to the personal situation that you will discuss in your paper.
2. Personal Explanation: In this second content area, describe your personal situation/topic. Based on whether the situation is a current one or a past one, describe how you dealt or are dealing with it. You can also pick a situation from a person’s life who is closely related to you or whose experience affected you. You should know the person well enough to write the essay.
Describe what caused the problem, who were involved, what were others’ and your roles in the situation, and if a resolution was reached. This section is all about your account of your situation and should be no longer than four paragraphs (3/4 – 1 page).
3. Sociological Imagination: In this third content area, analyze your personal situation by applying sociological imagination, i.e., examine how society and social forces affected your situation. This section should be the most substantial portion of your essay. You should use terms and concepts from at least 3 different chapters from the textbook, and one sociological theory.
4. Data/Stats: Utilize at least 2 statistics or research studies from the textbook or outside sources such as the Galen College online library. The references should be scholarly and should be relevant to your situation (E.g., Inclusion of divorce rates in the US if the topic is on Divorce; inclusion of poverty rates, crime and victimization rates, or suicide rates if the topic is either on Poverty or Crime). Citing at least one outside source is required.
5. Conclusion: Write a wrap-up conclusion summarizing the major finding/themes in your paper. This should be no more than a paragraph.
 
Your essay should be 4-6 pages in length (excluding the title page and the references page) and should be double-spaced. You will lose points if your essay is shorter than 4 full pages of content. The font should be 12-point Calibri or Times New Roman. Use APA format for your entire essay, including for references and in-text citations and edit your work carefully for spelling and grammar.
Your essay should be 4-6 pages in length (excluding the title page and the references page). It should be double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5” x 11”) with a 1” margin on all sides. The font should be 12-point Times New Roman or Calibri. Use APA formatting throughout your essay and cite any sources you use.

Respond to two (2) of the following prompts:
Explain what stigmatization of illness means. Choose a common illness and explain how it might be stigmatized for people of different cultures or social classes? (USLO 10.1) 
Why do you think the United States has high obesity-related illnesses in comparison to lower-income nations? Within our society, what contributes to health inequities between people of varying socioeconomic statuses? (USLO 10.2) 
What are the differences between Medicare and Medicaid? What do you think are some of the downfalls of government funded healthcare in our society? (USLO 10.3) 
Describe the theoretical perspective that you think best explains the healthcare in our society? (USLO 10.4) 
Reply

The purpose of this essay is to apply C. W. Mills’s Sociological Imagination concept to explain a personal situation. The essay will demonstrate the student’s ability to use sociological concepts & theories learned in the course, to describe a personal situation. The topic is left to the student’s discretion.
The Essay paper should have the following 5 content areas:
1. Introduction: In this first content area, write a paragraph introducing C. W. Mills’s concept of sociological imagination, and give a general overview of how you will be applying it to the personal situation that you will discuss in your paper.
2. Personal Explanation: In this second content area, describe your personal situation/topic. Based on whether the situation is a current one or a past one, describe how you dealt or are dealing with it. You can also pick a situation from a person’s life who is closely related to you or whose experience affected you. You should know the person well enough to write the essay.
Describe what caused the problem, who were involved, what were others’ and your roles in the situation, and if a resolution was reached. This section is all about your account of your situation and should be no longer than four paragraphs (3/4 – 1 page).
3. Sociological Imagination: In this third content area, analyze your personal situation by applying sociological imagination, i.e., examine how society and social forces affected your situation. This section should be the most substantial portion of your essay. You should use terms and concepts from at least 3 different chapters from the textbook, and one sociological theory.
4. Data/Stats: Utilize at least 2 statistics or research studies from the textbook or outside sources such as the Galen College online library. The references should be scholarly and should be relevant to your situation (E.g., Inclusion of divorce rates in the US if the topic is on Divorce; inclusion of poverty rates, crime and victimization rates, or suicide rates if the topic is either on Poverty or Crime). Citing at least one outside source is required.
5. Conclusion: Write a wrap-up conclusion summarizing the major finding/themes in your paper. This should be no more than a paragraph.
 
Your essay should be 4-6 pages in length (excluding the title page and the references page) and should be double-spaced. You will lose points if your essay is shorter than 4 full pages of content. The font should be 12-point Calibri or Times New Roman. Use APA format for your entire essay, including for references and in-text citations and edit your work carefully for spelling and grammar.
Your essay should be 4-6 pages in length (excluding the title page and the references page). It should be double-spaced on standard-sized paper (8.5” x 11”) with a 1” margin on all sides. The font should be 12-point Times New Roman or Calibri. Use APA formatting throughout your essay and cite any sources you use.

Sources:
Part One
“The illusionists” (video, episodes 1 & 2, 97 minutes; FIU Library “Search for anything” box)
Part Two
“The bomb under the world” (each video, 55 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkeU4Xojc_sLinks to an external site.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ_BB7VEDyQLinks to an external site.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0r0Wj-ZI9kLinks to an external site.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ObVN4BASxILinks to an external site.
Part Three
“How Kim Kardashian killed the term ‘empowerment’”
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/a55017/kim-kardashian-naked-selfie-empowerment/Links to an external site.
“Feminism’s greatest obstacle in the digital age is the commodification of women’s bodies”
https://qz.com/658036/feminisms-greatest-obstacle-in-the-digital-age/Links to an external site.
“The commodification and capitalization of the anti-racism industry”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2021/08/09/the-commodification-and-capitalization-of-the-anti-racism-industry/?sh=28ebdbc14b1eLinks to an external site. 
“Pride for sale”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/opinions/pride-for-sale/Links to an external site.
Part Four
“4 marketing tactics e-cigarette companies use to target youths”
https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/tobacco-industry-marketing/4-marketing-tactics-e-cigarette-companies-use-targetLinks to an external site.
“Advertising targets the young in poor countries—with deadly consequences”
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/dec/01/big-tobacco-industry-targets-young-people-poor-countries-smokingLinks to an external site.
“How big business got Brazil hooked on junk food”
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/16/health/brazil-obesity-nestle.htmlLinks to an external site.
Part Five
GPCC, chapter 1, “Constructing the consumer”
Discussion post – answer the questions with in-text citation sources
According to GPCC, what have been the four components of the creation of the consumer economy and society since the mid-1800s? Give three examples of each component. According to “The Bomb under the World,” how has consumerism been created in India?
According to “The Illusionists,” how have gender and beauty been commodified globally in recent decades?
According to “How Kim Kardashian …” and “Feminism’s greatest obstacle …,” what is the difference between “feeling empowered,” on the one hand, and having actual power in society, on the other?
What are arguably the social repercussions of the “commodification and capitalization of the anti-racism industry”?
What are arguably the social repercussions of “Pride for sale”?
Discuss three examples of how businesses have businesses marketed unhealthy commodities in poor countries.
How have you yourself been created as a consumer in terms of your social class, sexuality/gender, race/ethnicity, age, education, national citizenship, and geographic location in the world? Discuss this process in terms of the four components of the creation of a consumer economy and society.

Respond to two (2) of the following prompts:
Explain what stigmatization of illness means. Choose a common illness and explain how it might be stigmatized for people of different cultures or social classes? (USLO 10.1) 
Why do you think the United States has high obesity-related illnesses in comparison to lower-income nations? Within our society, what contributes to health inequities between people of varying socioeconomic statuses? (USLO 10.2) 
What are the differences between Medicare and Medicaid? What do you think are some of the downfalls of government funded healthcare in our society? (USLO 10.3) 
Describe the theoretical perspective that you think best explains the healthcare in our society? (USLO 10.4) 
Reply

Given the definitions and examples of various societal components, as explained in the “Concepts” reading, how would you describe a model of how societies are put together and work? How do the key elements of social life relate to and shape each other? What is your idea or model of a “structure” of society based on these numerous parts? Which element do you see as most foundational or crucial to holding a society together and why is this so?
Your writing should begin with an overview of your opinion and summary of data supporting it and rely or evidence from this unit’s readings and any other pertinent course materials (e.g. lecture video) from this unit, stated in a clear and organized manner. The writing should be approximately the equivalent of one page double-spaced with citations of our relevant sources to provide evidence for your argument.

After you’ve read the Introduction chapter of the book, discuss:(A) one thing that was COMPLETELY NEW to you from the chapter (i.e., you’d never heard or thought of it before)
 and(B) one way in which your thinking was  EXPANDED by something in the chapter

Assignment:
Do an Internet search for information on prescription drug abuse. Report the extent of prescription drug abuse and the kinds of prescription drugs that are most likely to be abused. In a short essay of 600-800 words, discuss the social factors that might contribute to prescription drug abuse and its effects.
Use APA format when developing. You can find the rubric hereLinks to an external site. to assist in expectations. 

The textbook discusses immigration and the effects on the U.S. society. In the reading the authors argue that on the contrary of popular belief, immigrants don’t cost U.S. citizens jobs as a whole but does affect low-wage workers. Additionally immigrants pay more in taxes and are disproportionately dispersed throughout the country. 
Do you agree with the authors? Why or Why not? 
 
Use APA when citing the textbook and additional sources to support your answer

Conduct a simple Google search for TWO (2) recent / current events for EACH topic you chose in the Introductory Discussion on Cognitive Dissonance.
In a Word document and organized by topic – copy/paste the source links for each topic’s recent events.
Under your source links (in the same Word doc) fully and properly answer the following:
A. Discuss generally how you suspect scientific and media literacy can influence (proliferate or assuage) the larger public’s collective cognitive dissonance surrounding each of your current / recent events (in 4-6 sentences per event).
B. Discuss generally how you suspect a lack of scientific and/ or media literacy within a larger society might affect the lived experiences and life chances (political, cultural, and social) for the people affected by each of your recent events (in 4-6 sentences per event).
C. Consider which of these events you’d like to learn more about when it comes to the people affected by the event /topic and the media and scientific literacy surrounding it.
D. Select and then state (type) which ONE of these recent / current event you will use for your Analysis in this course.