Part A
In this lesson, we learned about the social class structure in the United States. We learned about the components of social class and perceptions of social class. We looked at the differences in consumption, work, and leisure activities between people from different social classes.
• What are some things you thought signified that someone was rich when you were a child? How are these things related to wealth, power, and prestige, the components of social class as described by theorist Max Weber? How do you think your list would compare to a list from someone growing up in a different social class than yours? How might that list change now that you are in college?
It may be helpful to reference/cite the assigned material in your response demonstrating connections between your thoughts and the course resources.
Part B
Social institutions are enduring and established patterns of relationships. They are the structure that holds society together. In lesson 7, we looked at three universal institutions. Universal institutions are institutions that appear in some form in all societies. These institutions are influenced by culture and society and take different forms in different societies. Regardless, they serve the same basic functions for most societies.
Structural Functionalist theorists focus on how institutions serve the smooth functioning of society. Sometimes, however, an institution can have dysfunctional elements or ways in which the institution does not serve society or even harms individuals or society.
• Choose one of the social institutions from this lesson and discuss a few ways the institution might be dysfunctional. What if the institution fails its function as intended? What aspect of the institution might even be harmful to individuals, groups, or society?
It may be helpful to reference/cite the assigned material in your response demonstrating connections between your thoughts and the course resources.
Part C
Resources You Need to Complete the Assignment: (Found in Lesson 5)
• Lesson 5 Video: Deviance and Society (https://go.view.usg.edu/d2l/common/dialogs/quickLink/quickLink.d2l?ou=2866634&type=content&rcode=usgx-32707141)
• Chapter 7 Deviance, Crime, and Social Control (https://go.view.usg.edu/d2l/common/dialogs/quickLink/quickLink.d2l?ou=2866634&type=content&rcode=USGXProd-8921372)
• Chapter 21 Social Movements and Social Change (https://go.view.usg.edu/d2l/common/dialogs/quickLink/quickLink.d2l?ou=2866634&type=content&rcode=usgx-32679298)
• Video: Social Control and Sanctions (https://go.view.usg.edu/d2l/common/dialogs/quickLink/quickLink.d2l?ou=2866634&type=content&rcode=usgx-32627954)
• Webpage on Theory (https://go.view.usg.edu/d2l/common/dialogs/quickLink/quickLink.d2l?ou=2866634&type=content&rcode=usgx-32616412)
• Webpage on Deviance (https://go.view.usg.edu/d2l/common/dialogs/quickLink/quickLink.d2l?ou=2866634&type=content&rcode=usgx-32616332)
Purpose of the Assignment:
• The purpose of this assignment is for you to examine relationships in society, why people conform to or break social norms, and how deviance can lead to social change through social movements or collective behavior.
• Through this assignment, you will develop skills needed to critically think about and evaluate past, current, and future social movements and social change. You will also develop an understanding of how deviance can lead to social change or collective behavior
Additional Information:
• As we learned in Lesson 5, deviance, which in simple terms is a violation of norms, serves several important functions for society. One of those functions is that deviance can lead to positive social change. Often this occurs through collective behavior or social movements.
• Once the initial movement starts, it will either grow or die out. For a movement to grow, more people must get involved. Sometimes, joining in collective behavior or social movements goes against the societal norm and is a form of deviance. Collective deviance of this sort can lead to social change. What makes people join when it goes against social expectations?
• For social movements to succeed, people must stay involved. In this lesson, we also learned about the role of strong ties and weak ties in participation in collective behavior and social movements. For example, our text talked about how important strong ties were in keeping individuals heavily involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Those with strong ties in the movement were more likely to stay involved.
What to Do to Complete this Assignment:
For this assignment, you will investigate/Research a social movement or collective behavior that has led to social change.
• You will choose an example of a social movement. You may choose one referenced in the text, or you may pick your own example. (Examples range from worldwide social movements to smaller types of collective behavior, such as the recent ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.)
• This assignment should be at least 1000 words. You must use the resources listed above to address all the following questions in essay format.
• In addition, you MUST have at least three reliable sources. At least two of the sources need to be from course resources listed above and at least one from an outside scholarly work (scholarly sources include peer-reviewed journal articles, academic books, and reputable news sources such as New York Times, Newsweek, Time Magazine, Forbes, or Wall Street Journal).
• Only cite sources you use
• Paraphrase (write in your own words) any materials you use.
• You MUST include properly formatted in-text citations throughout the paper and end-of-paper references/bibliography to connect to the required resources used for support. As a reminder, this is a graded part of the paper. Failure to include these elements in your paper will result in a loss of points.
• For more information on how to properly format in-text and end-of-paper references/bibliography, please refer to the Citations (https://go.view.usg.edu/d2l/common/dialogs/quickLink/quickLink.d2l?ou=2866634&type=content&rcode=USGXProd-7679850) section found in the course resources tab.
Formatting your Writing Assignment:
• Paragraph 1: Briefly describe the social movement or collective behavior that you selected, what it is or was, and when it took place.
• Paragraph 2: How did this social movement or collective behavi
or start? Describe a specific event of an individual or group deviating from the norm to make a stand or spread awareness of their social issue. How and why did people join the movement in your example?
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Paragraph 3: In what way was their behavior deviant? What social norm were they breaking? What kind of sanctions, if any, did they receive for their deviance?
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Paragraph 4: Define strong and weak ties and describe their role in the social movement or collective behavior you are discussing. How do these ties get and keep people involved? How do they contribute to people dropping out or losing interest?
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Paragraph 5: Summarize the success or failure of the social movement or collective behavior you selected in leading to social change. What is the current state of the movement?
