1. As the saying goes, some people have more than others. However, we now see that some people have way more than others!
(a) What are the definitions of social stratification and poverty?
(b) What are the arguments for the justification of inequality?
(c) The fact that inequality is higher and has risen in the United States than in other countries suggest that something different is going on in the United States. What are the reasons for the widening gap, and the rise in inequality, in the United States?
2. Sociologists make clear distinctions between race and ethnicity and use the terms to describe different kinds of categories and identities. These consequences are real for persons who are assigned to these concepts.
(a) What does race mean?
(b) What does ethnicity mean?
(c) What are the differences between the two concepts?
(d) What does racism mean and why does racism occur?
(e) Does racism still exist in the United States?
3. As it stands, "researchers, educators and parents alike are challenging the binary concepts of sex and gender..."
(a) What does sex mean and what does gender mean?
(b) What is meant by the social construction of gender and how is gender socialization linked to the construction of gender?
(c) Finally, how do sociologists help us to understand the gender inequalities that exist in sex and relationships?
4. A "one size fits all" model cannot describe the many shapes that today's families take nor the quality of the interactions among their members.
(a) How do sociologists define the term family, and explain the evolution of the ideas surrounding the definition of the term family.
(b) How do race, ethnicity and gender intersect with class to create inequality among families?
5. A key religious pattern among today's youth is described as "A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life" (Smith et al. 2009).
(a) How do sociologists define religion?
(b) Why do sociologists regard religion as fluid and variable?
(c) Why is it difficult to distinguish religious conflict from racial/ethnic or class conflict?