Unit 4: Institutions
In Unit 4 we study our primary sociological institutions: family, religion, education, and government.
Sociologists have seen dramatic changes in the structure of the American family. The number of unmarried couples grew from fewer than one million in the 1970s, to 6.4 million in 2008. Cohabiting couples account for 10 percent of all opposite-sex couples.
We'll also take a look at religious institutions, a second significant social and cultural indicator, from a sociological rather than religious perspective. Émile Durkheim, the French sociologist, found that people use religion in several different ways: for healing and faith, as a communal bond, and to understand "the meaning of life." All of these social functions affect a community's structure, balance, and social fabric.
Education is our third example of an institution that can be a social solution and a challenge. For example, schools can serve as change agents (as tools to break poverty and racism) or create barriers (such as when they foster large drop-out rates and institutional disorganization). Schools can sow political discord when community members protest a chosen curriculum, such as sex education and scientific evolution. Sociologists consider all of these trends when studying schools and education.
We conclude by exploring government institutions, in terms of their political and economic structure from a sociological perspective. How do you define power? Do you inherit your social status at birth or earn it in the workplace? We explore how various economic systems affect how societies function.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 10 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- explain what sociologists mean by a social institution;
- describe how the social concept of family is understood differently in different cultures;
- recognize variations in family life;
- describe the prevalence of single parents, cohabitation, same-sex couples, and unmarried individuals;
- discuss the social impact of changing family structures;
- explain how the major sociological paradigms view religion;
- describe how the education system is a social institution;
- define and differentiate between power, authority, and different types of authority;
- define and compare common forms of government, such as monarchy, oligarchy, dictatorship, and democracy;
- explain how functionalists, conflict theorists, and interactionists view government and politics;
- identify the basic elements of poverty in the U.S. today;
- differentiate between agrarian, capitalist, and socialist economic systems; and
- explain the concept of globalization as it pertains to work and the economy.
4.1: Marriage and Family
Read this chapter for a review of marriage and family. As you read each section, consider the following topics:
- Read about Christina and James as an introduction to the topic of marriage and family. When reading about Christina and James, consider their mothers' reactions to living together or getting married. How are their reactions different, and how might these attitudinal responses indicate social ideas about living together or being married?
- Take note of society's current understanding of the family. Recognize changes in marriage and family patterns, paying close attention to cohabitation.
- Read about variations in family structure, acknowledging and understanding the prevalence of single parents, cohabitation, same-sex couples, and unmarried individuals. Think critically about how the politicization of sexuality has affected the family structure as well as our social construction of the family.
- Take note of the social and interpersonal impacts of divorce, focusing also on children of divorce and remarriage. Also take notes on the problems of violence and abuse in the family.
Read this article on the definition and classification of family. Consider how the family is an important institution that intersects with other social institutions and influences both societies and individuals.
- Receive a grade
Use this quiz to help you check your understanding of subunit 4.1. Once your score has been calculated, review your class notes and resource materials to better understand any questions you answered incorrectly.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.
4.2: Religion
Read this chapter for a review of religion. As you read each section, consider the following topics:
- Read the "Introduction to Religion" section, paying close attention to the sociological definition of religion.
- Take note of the sociological view of religion and attempt to understand how each of the major sociological perspectives consider religion.
- List the differences between various types of religious organizations. Take note of classifications of religion, such as animism, polytheism, monotheism, and atheism.
- Take note of how religion can be used as an agent of social change. In addition, focus on trends in secularization and the significance of secularization on a fundamental social institution.
Watch the video on the value of "religion" to atheism. From a functionalist perspective, consider the social benefits of religion. How might these benefits also be fulfilled in other social groups? Are there functions in society that only religion can fulfill?
- Receive a grade
Use this quiz to help you check your understanding of subunit 4.2. Once your score has been calculated, review your class notes and resource materials to better understand any questions you answered incorrectly.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.
4.3: Education
Read this chapter for a review of education. As you read each section, consider the following topics:
- Take note of the expectations and norms taught in American schools outside of the mandated curriculum. Can you identify any norms you've been taught through your schooling and education? How do they affect your actions and world view?
- Identify the differences in educational resources around the world. On a separate piece of paper, take note of the concept of universal access to education.
- Take note of the manifest and latent functions of education. Focus on how functionalism, conflict theory, feminism, and interactionism view issues of education.
- Take note of historical and contemporary issues in education. How do sociologists typically view "No Child Left Behind", and why?
Watch the video on inequality related to educational achievement. How does this study relate to the conflict perspective on education? How do social class and education interact in affluent societies?
- Receive a grade
Use this quiz to help you check your understanding of subunit 4.3. Once your score has been calculated, review your class notes and resource materials to better understand any questions you answered incorrectly.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.
4.4: Government and Politics
Read this chapter for a review of government and politics. As you read each section, consider the following topics:
- After reading about Prince William and Kate, make a list of how their political power differs from that of the President of the United States.
- Take note of the differences between power and authority. Identify and describe, on a separate piece of paper, the three types of authority.
- Take note of the common forms of government, including monarchy, oligarchy, dictatorship, and democracy. Cite examples of each.
- Take note of the significance of "one person, one vote” in determining American policy. How does voter participation affect politics in the United States? Explore the influence of race, gender, and class issues on the voting process.
- Focus on how functionalists, conflict theorists, and interactionists view government and politics.
Read through the statistics in this article. How might a voter's social class and other social factors affect their voting practices? How does voter participation affect politics in the United States? Besides voting, how can US citizens influence political processes and outcomes?
- Receive a grade
Use this quiz to help you check your understanding of subunit 4.4. Once your score has been calculated, review your class notes and resource materials to better understand any questions you answered incorrectly.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.
4.5: Work and the Economy
Read this chapter for a review of work and the economy. As you read each section, consider the following topics:
- Take note of the bold terms found in this section. What kinds of goods and services do you rely on to function in life?
- Take note of the types of economic systems and their historical development. Explore how functionalists, conflict theorists, and symbolic interactionists view the economy and work.
- Focus on globalization and its manifestation in modern society. Take note of the pros and cons of globalization from an economic standpoint.
- Take note of the current United States' workforce and the trend of polarization. Concentrate on how women and immigrants have impacted the modern American workforce. Lastly, focus on the basic elements of poverty in the U.S. today.
Watch this video on economic inequality. Also take a look at the infographic in an article that explains Piketty's talk further: https://ideas.ted.com/thomas-pikettys-capital-in-the-twenty-first-century-explained/.
Consider capitalism and socialism as opposite ends of the economic system spectrum. If one of the main critiques of capitalism is inequality, what is the main critique of socialism? Where does the US economic system fall on the spectrum?- Receive a grade
Use this quiz to help you check your understanding of subunit 4.5. Once your score has been calculated, review your class notes and resource materials to better understand any questions you answered incorrectly.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.
4.6: Health and Medicine
Read this chapter for a review of health and medicine. As you read each section, consider the following topics:
- Should parents be forced to immunize their children?
- What might sociologists make of the fact that most of the families who chose not to vaccinate were of a higher socioeconomic group?
- How does this story of vaccines in a high-income region compare to that in a low-income region, like sub-Saharan Africa, where populations are often eagerly seeking vaccines rather than refusing them?
- Take note of the term medical sociology as well as the difference between the cultural meaning of illness, the social construction of illness, and the social construction of medical knowledge
- Take notes of social epidemiology and various theories of social epidemiology used to understand global health issues. What are some of the differences between high-income and low-income nations?
- Take note of the application of social epidemiology to health in the United States. Also focus on the disparities of health based on gender, socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity. Lastly, be able to define the terms stigma and medicalization.
- Take note of the different types of health care in the United States. How do these health care systems compare with those of other countries?
- Explore health care issues through conflict, interactionist, and functionalist perspectives.
Read this article, which focuses on the role of theory in health sociology in the United States.
Read this article. What contributions have sociologists made to the study of health inequalities? Why is this topic important for both individuals and society?
- Receive a grade
Use this quiz to help you check your understanding of subunit 5.1. Once your score has been calculated, review your class notes and resource materials to better understand any questions you answered incorrectly.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.
Unit 4 Discussion and Assessment
- Make forum posts: 1
- Receive a grade
Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.