SOC101: Introduction to Sociology

Read this text, which explains the central concepts of sociology. It explores the development of different sociological concepts, such as the three components of culture – a group's shared practices, values, and beliefs. What are some cultural facts, according to sociologists?

Read this text for an overview of sociology as a way of thinking and academic discipline. Pay attention to the impact of positivism on sociology and the importance of scientific research methods. Why is it important that sociology is based on science and not opinion?

Watch this video for a brief explanation of sociology. According to the American Sociological Association, sociologists study society, individual behaviors, and interactions. This includes family, education, and economics. How do social institutions affect our decision-making?

This video briefly explains the sociological imagination, the connection, and the distinction between personal troubles and public issues. This video examines examples of shifting perspectives from the personal to the public regarding being overweight and obese. Try envisioning a challenge you have experienced through a sociological perspective.

In this video, Sam Richards explains how he introduces his students to the sociological perspective. This practice begins with empathy – where you can sympathize with and understand another person's perspective by "putting yourself in their shoes". Richards uses a radical exercise to help individuals pursue empathy through perspective-taking. Challenge yourself to view the world from someone else's perspective. Try putting yourself into the shoes of someone who has a different cultural or ethnic background.

Watch this video on the benefits of using sociological imagination to view opportunities and life constraints. Pay attention to how the groups we belong to shape our experiences and outcomes. Can you see how everyone's life is influenced by the social categories we belong to, such as social class, gender, race, and ethnicity?

Read this text, which introduces classical European and contemporary American sociological thinkers.

Read this text on Auguste Comte (1798–1857), a French philosopher who founded the concept of positivism, which articulated that sociology follows the principles of the natural sciences. Many call Comte "the father of sociology."

Read this text on Karl Marx (1818–1883), a German philosopher who argued that economic history is filled with examples of conflicts over scarce resources between business owners (the bourgeois) and the working class (the proletariat). Marx was a revolutionary activist who founded critical theory. Pay attention to the main arguments of his most famous work, The Communist Manifesto.

Read this text on Herbert Spencer (1820–1903), an English philosopher who applied Darwin's evolutionary theory to study society which he called Social Darwinism. Spencer coined the term "survival of the fittest" and applied it to societal inequality.

Read this text on Georg Simmel (1858–1918), the German sociologist who rejected simple materialism and interactionism. He believed society comprises complex interactions that create more than the sum of its parts. His work was influential in philosophy and sociology.

Read this text on Émile Durkheim (1858–1817), a French sociologist who pioneered the functionalist approach, which looks at how different parts of society function to keep the society healthy and balanced. Durkheim is famous for his early studies on suicide and insights into the power of social facts.

Read this text on Max Weber (1864–1920), a German sociologist who was an anti-positivist who believed ideas fuel modern society. His work was influential in economics and religion. Pay attention to his most famous work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.

According to this resource, "symbolic interactionism theory, the third of the three most recognized theories of sociology, is based on Weber's early ideas that emphasize the viewpoint of the individual and how that individual relates to society. For Weber, the culmination of industrialization, rationalization, and the like results in what he referred to as the iron cage, in which the individual is trapped by institutions and bureaucracy. This leads to a sense of 'disenchantment of the world,' a phrase Weber used to describe the final condition of humanity."

Read this text on Harriet Martineau (1802–1876), an English sociologist who translated Comte's work and was one of the early influential feminists. She advocated for equal education and pay between men and women and was an early abolitionist.

Read this text on W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963), an American sociologist who was the first Black man who had the opportunity to earn a doctorate at Harvard University. He wrote about the double consciousness of being a Black man in America. He founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909 and had a tremendous influence on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American civil rights movement.

Read this text on George Herbert Mead (1863–1931), an American philosopher and social theorist who is an early thinker in the symbolic interaction approach. He was interested in how we use symbols to make meanings. Pay attention to his explanation of the "I" (internal self) and the "me" (social or external self).

Read this text, which provides a micro explanation of society. According to the social construction of reality, society is created by our daily interactions. Pay attention to the impact of roles and statuses and our presentation of self in everyday life.

Read this text on functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Notice how functionalists focus on order and stability while conflict theorists and symbolic interactionists focus on how the economy and power shape societies.

Watch this video, which summarizes functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism and discusses the basic tenets of macro versus micro perspectives. How does using multiple perspectives help us understand society better?

Watch this video on the classic macro paradigm functionalism. Pay attention to the goal of stability and order through societal institutions and social facts. Consider the social institution of education. How does education contribute to order and stability in society?

Watch this video on the classic macro paradigm conflict theory. Pay attention to its focus on inequality and social conflict based on who are the owners and the workers. Pay attention to the development of class consciousness. How does class consciousness encourage social change?

Watch this video on Karl Marx's conflict theory. Make sure you can define the terms bourgeois, proletariat, and alienation. What are the four types of alienation?

Watch this video on symbolic interactionism. Pay attention to the interaction among individuals to explain the creation of society and the three tenets of symbolic interactionism. What is a meaning that has changed over time for you?

Read this text on the characteristics of preindustrial, industrial, and postindustrial societies. Make sure you can describe the difference between them.

Read this text, which describes the scientific method and how sociologists use it in their research. Pay attention to the six steps of the scientific method and the importance of reliability and validity in scientific research. Why is it important for sociologists to use the scientific method to learn about our social world?

Watch this video for a real-world application of the scientific method in sociological research. Notice how scientists carefully progress through the steps of the scientific method when conducting research.

This text introduces four commonly used data collection methods in sociology: survey, field research, experiments, and secondary source analysis. Pay attention to the advantages and disadvantages of each method. How does your research question shape your data collection methods?

Read this text, which explains why we need to employ principles of ethics in research. Pay attention to the American Sociological Association (ASA) guidelines for ethics and the infamous examples of the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male conducted from 1932–1972, Stanley Milgram's obedience experiment in 1961, and Philp Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment in 1971. Why is it essential for sociologists to practice the ASA ethical guidelines when conducting research?

Read this brief article on the importance of ethics in research. Pay attention to the history of ethics boards and the principles on which ethical research is based. Why did these standards need to be created?

Read this text, which explains the difference between culture and society. Pay attention to the terms ethnocentrism and cultural relativism. Notice how cultural relativism relates to the sociological imagination and the practice of empathy. Why is cultural relativism an essential mindset to have in sociology practice?

Watch this video for examples of culture and why it is important to practice cultural relativism. Pay attention to the four points of culture. Why is it sometimes difficult to be culturally relative?

This text highlights common components of nonmaterial culture – symbols, values, beliefs, and norms. Notice that these common components exist in every culture in various forms. Discover the Sapir-Whorf thesis and the concept of social control. What are some methods of social control your parents used with you?

Read this text distinguishing between different cultural groups – high, popular, sub, and counterculture. What is an example of a subculture you have belonged to?

Watch this lecture on popular culture. Pay attention to the definition of popular culture and how it is explored through this brief case study. Note that social media has increased our access to popular culture and has facilitated the speed at which trends turnover and change. Why is it important to consider popular culture?

Read this text to learn how functionalists, conflict theorists, and symbolic interactionists view culture. Notice the difference between the macro lens of functionalists and conflict theorists and the microlens of symbolic interactionists. Why is it important to examine culture through many theoretical perspectives?

Read this text on the difference between psychological and sociological theories of self-development. Be sure you can explain the similarities and differences between these approaches. Consider your own experiences through each theoretical lens.

Read this text to discover why socialization and the nature vs. nurture debate matter. Pay attention to the discussion about Chris Langan. It also describes the impact of social isolation on development.

Watch this video on the impact of nature and nurture. How has the debate changed over time?

Read this text on the major agents of socialization. Think about your experiences with each of the institutions it explores. How has your family shaped your socialization? How has your social class, race, ethnicity, and language impacted you?

Watch this video to learn about agents of socialization. We go through socialization and resocialization as we grow up, get married, have children, experience the death of a loved one, and retire from work. Most of us rely on our family and friends to help orient us through these stages, guide us and give advice on how to respond, adjust, and behave. Which agents of socialization helped you understand social norms during these life stages?

Many of our experiences with resocialization are age-related. Read this text to learn about socialization over the life course as it relates to age-related transitions and formal resocialization through institutions. Notice how some cultural expectations are forced through laws and others are learned through interactions with groups and institutions.

Read this text to learn the basics of group size and function. Pay attention to the goals and purposes of each type of group.

Read this text. Groups can have darker consequences on individual action through conformity and diffusion of responsibility. Have you been in a bystander situation? Was your reaction what the research would have predicted?

Watch these two videos on the Stanford Prison Experiment. Philip Zimbardo, an American social psychologist, created an experiment in 1971 to research group conformity and the effects of power structures and labeling in a prison setting. He invited students from Stanford University to participate in a prison-like experience. What does this experiment tell us about power and authority? What does it tell us about obedience and conformity?

Watch this example of the infamous Robbers Cave experiment. Pay attention to the three stages of ingroup formation, friction, and conflict resolution. What are four things researchers learned about group conflict?

Read this text on how formal organizations function. Compare the characteristics of bureaucratic institutions and McDonaldization.

Watch this video, which summarizes George Ritzer's book McDonaldization of Society. Pay attention to the four elements of McDonalization: efficiency, predictability, calculability, and control through technology. Do you belong to an institution that has been McDonaldized? What are some of the costs and benefits of this model?

Read this text to learn about the definition of deviance and why it is more encompassing than crime. Societies use positive and negative various sanctions to enforce social control (Table 7.1).

Read this text, which explores crime and deviance from the perspectives of functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interaction. Functionalists focus on the inevitability of deviance and how it impacts society. Conflict theorists discuss how deviance is related to power and inequality in society. Symbolic interactionists explore how society identifies individual experiences as deviant. Table 7.2 compares the cause and function of deviance according to these three theories. Make sure you can define labeling theory and secondary deviance. Can you recall a situation when a label others gave you may have affected your behavior?

Watch this video on the labeling theory. It uses medical marijuana laws to demonstrate primary and secondary deviance. Creating and assigning the label involves social power. Note that the reaction to the behavior often matters more than the behavior itself.

Watch this video on differential association theory, which states deviance is a learned behavior through interaction with intimate groups. According to this approach, individuals commit crimes when the benefits of breaking the law outweigh their rationale for obeying it. The video outlines nine rules for becoming a criminal.

Watch this video on deviance, labeling theory, strain theory, and differential association. It offers examples of deviance, its relativity, and its connection to social power.

Read this text on government and self-report sources for statistics on crime. It summarizes the criminal justice system process – from policing to the courts and corrections. See how race impacts an individual's experience in the American criminal justice system. Figure 7.9 shows that the United States and other parts of the world have experienced a steep increase in hate crimes. Why do you think this is?

Read this section to learn about open versus closed systems of inequality.

Read this section on the upper, middle, and lower classes in the United States.

Watch this discussion of the new American Dream. Notice how definitions of the good life and success have changed over time.

Read this text. The Davis and Moore Thesis (1945) articulates a functionalist view that the market dictates income inequality by attracting the best-qualified people to the most important jobs in society. Conflict theorists believe stratification perpetuates inequality and conflict according to Karl Marx's theories on power and access. A conflict theorist would question the high wages of bankers, CEOs, and entertainers as a criticism of functionalist theory. Symbolic interactionists focus on the experience of social class through conspicuous consumption. Can you think of things you buy or wear to communicate your social status?

Watch this video on the theory of intersectionality, where an individual has several dimensions of inequality that impact their life chances. The speaker uses the example of the level of discrimination a Black female who practices Buddhism faces due to overlapping areas of societal oppression.

Watch this video on Karl Marx's beliefs on social inequality. According to his theory, a class divide exists between the owners of the means of production and the working class, which is being exploited and oppressed. The workers who recognize this exploitation can develop class consciousness and join together in solidarity to overthrow the owners of the means of production. However, the owners can promote false consciousness, where the workers are subdued because they cannot see their exploitation and oppression.

This text explores how technological development impacts a country's economic level. Pay attention to the different models we use to compute global inequality: the Gross National Product (GNP) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The GNP is the value of goods and services produced by a nation, and the GDP is a country's national wealth and often represents the standard of living. What is the standard of living in your location?

Read this text on the extent and consequences of global stratification. Table 10.1 examines extreme poverty rates in different nations as a measure of inequality. Notice how we classify nations as members of the first, second, and third world. What do these labels imply about these countries and the theorists who created them? Table 10.3 looks at income by country. What is the income level of the country you live in?

Read this text on global poverty. Consider the different experiences of relative, extreme, and subjective poverty. Where does the most extreme poverty exist in the world? Why do we call poverty a cycle? What types of slavery still exist globally?

Watch this video on global inequality with examples of how inequality impacts every aspect of life, from birth to death. How does inequality impact access to water? Consider the privileges available to you where you live.

Read this text, which compares modernization and dependency theory. Modernization argues lack of industrialization causes global inequality. Dependency theory argues that high-income nations have exploited poor countries and made them dependent. What evidence is there for each theory?

Read this article on global inequality data. Which theoretical perspectives discussed in the textbook best apply to this data? Consider how inequality impacts everyday living conditions.

Read this text, which explains the difference between race, ethnicity, and minority groups. What are some examples of groups with less power in your society?

Read about theoretical perspectives on race and ethnicity. Functionalists view race and racism as a function of society. This controversial view examines how racism has historically served the dominant group. Conflict theorists examine how the majority created beliefs about race to exploit minority groups. Figure 11.3 introduces intersection theory.

Read this text on the difference between prejudice, which is an attitude, and discrimination, which is a behavior. Many argue that racism is more despicable than prejudice because individuals use it to justify unequal treatment based on ideas they fabricate about racial inferiority. Figure 11.5 describes how implicit bias and structural racism feed on each other.

Read this text on the interaction between minority and majority groups. Notice the broad range of acceptance – from pluralism (complete acceptance) to genocide, the systematic killing of a group of people. Many expect immigrants to assimilate quickly into their culture, but they are often segregated and prevented from participating in mainstream society.

Read this summary of minority groups in America and their path to assimilation. This section focuses on current issues of race and ethnicity. Figure 11.9 discusses the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, which protested police violence against Black and Brown individuals and led to mass protests worldwide after the murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis.

Watch this lecture. The speaker explains the social construction of race and how it has changed over time and by location. She discusses the differences between race, ethnicity, prejudice, and discrimination.

Watch this video, which features Tammy Hodo, a biracial woman who describes her experiences in America from a Black and White perspective. She explains the social construction of race in America through various practices of institutional discrimination that still function today.

Watch this video on White privilege, the rights and unearned privileges White people enjoy in our society due to their skin color. Examples of discriminatory practices included the Jim Crow laws Southern states enacted during Reconstruction to promote inequalities and restrict voting rights. Redlining refers to the practice local governments, banks, and real estate agents practiced to exclude Blacks from buying houses or renting apartments in certain neighborhoods.

Read this section which explains the social construction of sex, gender, and sexual orientation. Notice that American culture presents all of these concepts on a binary model, yet evidence argues they exist on a spectrum. Why are these factors not as simplistic as male or female from a biological, psychological, and sociological lens?

Watch this video, which challenges the notion of a simple binary model of sex (male or female). Notice the biological arguments against the gender binary, such as intersex, trans, and chromosomal variation. How does limiting our options impact society? What are the benefits of viewing sex on a spectrum?

Read this text on the difference between gender socialization and gender stratification. Gender stratification focuses on how gender is learned throughout life. Can you think of examples of how you were taught gender? Gender stratification examines how societies create and maintain gender inequality. Figure 12.10 depicts the pay gap between men and women. How has feminism sought to challenge these inequities?

Watch this video where Laura Bates explains her daily experiences with sexism. The Everyday Sexism Project is a global forum where women share examples of sexism that are treated as normal.

Watch this video, which explains that gender identity is assigned at birth and socialized throughout our lives. What is the experience of transgender individuals? How are certain groups stigmatized for being outside the norm based on their identities?

Read this text on attitudes toward sex and sexuality across time and culture. What was your experience with sex education in school? What are some different theoretical understandings of sex and sexuality?

Watch these lectures on the differences between sex, gender, sexuality, and gender identity. The speaker articulates how sex, gender, and sexual orientation exist on a spectrum. What populations of people fall under the trans umbrella? What are the pros and cons of using a binary versus a fluid model for understanding these concepts and behaviors?

As you watch the second video, notice how these representations influence how society sees and treats individuals. Have you noticed any positive changes in media representation in these areas?

Read this text on gerontology, the scientific study of aging in society. What are the differences between the young-old, middle-old, and old-old? Figure 13.4 explores the prevalence of these groups in the United States. Notice how the male and female populations differ as we age. Figure 13.6 offers a visual representation of this gender disparity.

Watch this video on the changing demographics in the United States. Old-old is the fastest-growing group in America. How will this elderly population impact jobs, healthcare, and our economic system?

Read this section on the biological, social, and psychological changes throughout our lifetimes. How do health, healthcare, and social interaction change as we age and retire from the workforce? The text also explores issues related to dying, death, and the different stages of grief.

Read this text on challenges the elderly face, such as poverty, ageism, and abuse. What is ageism? Americans have seen a recent increase in poverty rates – this trend slowed when Congress signed the U.S. Social Security program into law in 1935. Figure 13.2 offers an overview of elder abuse, an extreme form of ageism.

Read this research paper on ageism in the media. How has the media's depiction of older people changed? How has it remained the same?

Read this analysis of aging from a functionalist, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionist perspective. Functionalists focus on how an aging population benefits society. Conflict theorists see their loss of power and inevitable competition over resources. Symbolic interactionists concentrate on everyday interactions and the experience of aging. How does the aging process impact the sense of self in an ageist society? How do older people cope with their loss of status and a declining sense of self-worth?

Read this section on different family forms. What is a family? Does our definition only include the nuclear family, or do we count the extended family? How have marriage and cohabitation changed? Notice that cultures have different comfort levels for residential patterns and the number of partners individuals have.

This video provides an overview of the functionalist perspectives on major social institutions such as the family. It explains the important roles traditions play in maintaining order in society.

Read this text on how families are changing in our society. Families have become more diverse with an increasing social acceptance of same-sex marriage, blended families, cohabitating couples, and individuals who prefer to remain single. Figure 14.5 presents a visual representation of this change in status. Pay attention to the different theoretical perspectives according to functionalists, conflict theorists, and symbolic interactionism. How do you view these changes in the family?

Read this article on the definition and classification of the family. How do these views intersect with other social institutions? How do they influence societies and individuals? Why does the definition of family change?

Read this section on the serious problems of domestic violence and child abuse. Domestic violence is the single greatest cause of injury to women in the United States. Figure 14.8 summarizes some of these statistics. Child abuse also touches families of all backgrounds and ranges from neglect to physical, verbal, and sexual abuse. How does child abuse impact our society?

Read this section on the sociological view of religion as an institution. Pay attention to the different religious organizations and religious beliefs such as; animism, polytheism, monotheism, and atheism. Can you point to some differences between various religious organizations?

Watch this video on the value of religion to atheism. What is the benefit of religion from a functionalist perspective? How do other social groups fulfill these benefits? Are there societal functions that only religion can realize?

Watch this video on sociological theories of religion. The presenter discusses Max Weber's idea of social facts. How does religion change how we see ourselves, our world, and others?

Read this text on different religious beliefs, such as animism, monotheism, polytheism, totemism, and atheism. Table 15.1 provides an example of this classification system.

Read this text on religion's impact on social change. For example, religious institutions promoted the mass production of religious materials with the invention of the printing press and encouraged social activism based on religious teachings. Many countries have experienced an increase in secularization and a decline in religious influence. Individuals view this change positively and negatively.

Read this text on education. Pay attention to different school systems. What makes the education system in Finland so excellent? Notice the historical and current issues in American schools.

Read this text for a theoretical analysis of education. Figure 16.2 lists the manifest and latent functions of education. Functionalists discuss the functions of schooling. Conflict theories focus on how schools transform privilege into merit through practices such as tracking. Symbolic interactionism examines how the labels children receive in school can be difficult to shake. Did your teachers give you a label that may have helped or hurt your progress?

Watch this video on the latent and manifest functions of education and formal hidden curriculum. Compare this with the conflict theory view, which believes education perpetuates the status quo by teaching the lower class to accept their position as workers.

Read this text on historical issues in education, such as equal access, mainstreaming, and school choice. Did you experience these issues in school? How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact students?

Read this text on how governments exert their power and authority. Figure 17.1 elaborates on three types of authority: traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal.

Read this text, which evaluates theoretical and real-life examples of monarchies, oligarchies, dictatorships, and democracies. Notice the similarities and differences in each type of system in theory and practice.

Read this article, which presents voting statistics from the 2016 presidential election. How do social class and other social factors affect voting practices? How does voter participation influence politics? How can Americans influence the political processes and outcomes in addition to voting?

This text explores politics from the functionalist, conflict theory, and symbolic interaction perspectives. Functionalists study the four positive functions of government, while conflict theorists examine how the power elite control society and government. The micro-symbolic interaction approach focuses on face-to-face interaction and back-door deals that impact our government and policies.

Read this text on economic systems and the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Notice how technological innovations drove economic change in the agricultural, industrial, and post-industrial revolutions. What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of capitalism and socialism? How does each system operate in practice?

Watch this video on economic inequality. What are some major criticisms of capitalism and socialism? Where does the United States fall on this economic spectrum?

Read this article and infographic, which expand on Piketty's talk in the previous video. What does his insight that wealth is inherited and not earned through work imply about our capitalist economy?

Read this text on the increasing globalization of our culture, economy, work, and technology. Consider how the internet has changed global communication and the ability to work anywhere in the world remotely. What are some other factors that drive globalization? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages?

Read this text on the increasing polarization of jobs at the high and low end of the market. Notice the role of women and immigrants in these jobs. Figure 18.4 examines poverty rates in the United States. What trends do you notice in this infographic?

Watch this video for a sociological examination of the economy. More specifically, it explores what we mean by the economy being a social construction. What is life and work like in a capitalist economy? Pay attention to the pay gap and the college premium. What are the main reasons you chose to attend college?

Read this text on different types of collective or noninstitutional voluntary behavior. Table 21.1 describes types of crowds and their varying purposes. What types of crowds have you experienced? Read about the emergent norm theory and value-added theory.

Read this text on types of social movements, including reform, religious, revolutionary, alternative, and resistance. What kinds of social movements impact the local and global stages? Learn about the theoretical perspectives on social movements: resource mobilization, frame analysis, and new social movement theory. What social movements are you interested in?

Watch this video on social movements and the characteristics that make them successful. The most lasting movements are bold but also able to negotiate. What are the three P's for successful movements?

Read this text on social change and common causal factors such as technology, institutions, population, and the environment. Pay attention to the excerpt which uses the lens of these causal factors to examine the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans community. How has modernization benefitted and harmed our local and global communities?

Watch this video on creating social change from within an organization. How can individuals help promote an organization's best qualities? How did Kate use her position to advocate change? How can you do the same at your job, school, or religious institution?

Read this text on three demographic factors: fertility rate, mortality rate, and migration patterns. Figure 20.4 documents the mass migration crisis in the United States. Table 20.1 highlights fertility and mortality rates in different countries. Pay attention to the theories on population: Malthusian, cornucopian, zero population growth, and demographic transition theories. How have attitudes in the United States changed on immigration?

Read this text on the study of relations in cities. What is a city, and why do they grow? What has led to the increasing urbanization of the United States? Notice that rural to urban exists on a spectrum. What factors led to the increasing suburbanization? Do you live in an urban, rural, or suburban area?

Read this section on environmental sociology and issues related to humans and the environment, such as climate change and pollution. Pay attention to Figure 20.15 on E-Waste. How should we address these issues, such as environmental racism and the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on vulnerable populations?

Watch this video on environmental racism and the higher exposures poor and minority neighborhoods have to toxic environmental hazards. Local and global corporations dump their toxic waste and other pollutants in poorer areas because they face less political opposition. Research shows that people who live in these communities experience higher levels of cancer and respiratory diseases.

Watch this video, which explains the concept of the tragedy of the commons, when people tend to act according to their self-interest at the expense of the community, environment, and social good. What three solutions does the video offer? How can we work together to protect the commons?

This text describes various social epidemiology theories regarding global health issues. Make sure you can define healthcare issues from the perspective of conflict, interactionist, and functionalist theories. What do we mean by stigma and medicalization?

Read this section on social epidemiology and variations in rates of health and illness among high- and low-income nations. How is illness connected to larger social challenges? What are the major health concerns where you live?

Read this section on health disparities in the United States based on social class, race, sex, mental health, and disability status. Why do medical professionals treat individuals from other social groups differently?

Read this article from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What contributions have sociologists made to the study of health inequalities?

Watch this video on healthcare disparities connected to socioeconomic status, race, gender, and sexual orientation. What are food deserts? How do they impact certain jobs and health? How are African Americans and women disadvantaged in their access to healthcare?

Read this text on the difference between public and private healthcare. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? What are the biggest problems in the privatized system in the United States?

Read this text on functionalist, conflict theory, and symbolic interaction perspectives on health and medicine. Which recent drug has been medicalized in many states in the United States?

Read this text on how we use science and technology to address the complications of human life. Notice all the social issues connected to unequal access to media and technology. Consider your daily interaction with technology and social media for work and your private life. How has technology impacted your life for better or worse?

Read this section about different ways to categorize technology and innovation. Notice the different media types, such as newspapers, television, film, and social media. We are bombarded with advertising which shapes our values and consumption practices. Figure 8.5 points to the ever-present issue of violence in the media and gaming. Distinguish between homogenization and fragmentation of media. Do you see more similar or different perspectives in the news reports?

Watch this video on the media's role in society based on a series of metaphors. Pay attention to the mirror, window, gatekeeper, filter, and magic bullet metaphors that explain how we access information in modern society. How does the media shape our beliefs through each of these metaphors?

Read this text, which explains that technology access is not distributed equally in different parts of the world and within our communities. Media globalization refers to how only a handful of multinational corporations distribute information worldwide. What perspective would these large for-profit companies like to distribute?

Read this text on how functionalism, conflict, and symbolic interactionism view the media and technology. Functionalists focus on the structure and positive functions of both mass media and technology. Conflict theorists study how media and technology create conflict and advantages for some populations. Symbolic interactionists focus on how the media constructs reality or perception.

Watch this video on how groups consume different media types. How does each sociological perspective view the role of media in society? How does the media socialize values? Consider how the media represents ideal beauty and how these images impact us individually.