Part 1:
1. Do the media reflect societal attitudes on gen-der, or do the media determine and teach gender behavior? (As a related activity, watch television for several hours, and list the roles for women and men depicted in programs and those represented in advertising.)
2. Examine the various academic departments at your college. What is the gender breakdown of the faculty in selected departments? What is the gender breakdown of undergraduates and graduate students in those departments? Are there major differences among various academic areas of teaching and study? What hypothesis can you come up with to explain your observations?
Part 2:
1. In your opinion, what constitutes an ideal family? How might functionalist, conflict, feminist, and symbolic interactionist perspectives describe this family?
2. Suppose that you wanted to find out about women's and men's perceptions about love and marriage. What specific issues might you examine? What would be the best way to conduct your research?
3. You have been appointed to a presidential commission on child- care problems in the United States. How to provide high- quality child care at affordable prices is a key issue for the first meeting. What kinds of suggestions would you take to the meeting? How do you think your suggestions should be funded? How does the future look for children in high-, middle-, and low- income families in the United States?
Part 3:
1. Why does so much controversy exist over what should be taught in U. S. public schools?
2. How are the values and attitudes you learned from your family reflected in your beliefs about education and religion?
3. How would you design a research project to study the effects of civil religion on everydaylife? What kind of data would be most accessible?
4. If Durkheim, Marx, and Weber were engaged in a discussion about education and religion, on what topics might they agree? On what topics would they disagree?