SOCIOLOGY
Complete given assigned readings from Practical Skeptic - Core Concepts, and view the multimedia in this module's key points.
Then answer the questions associated with each of the four assigned readings.
Reading 31 - The Land of Opportunity
Reading 33 - The Job Ghetto
Reading 34 - Racism in America
Reading 38 - Gender Equity in Undergraduate Medical Education: A Status Report
Reading 39 - Afterword: The Sociological Eye and its Blinders
QUESTIONS
1. Reading 31 - The author of this article argues that high school history books systematically and routinely misinform students about social class and inequality in America. What pressures does he cite to explain this misinformation? What are the implications of such misinformation for high school students from poorer families? What are the implications of such misinformation for high school students from wealthier families?
2. Reading 33 - Newman and Lennon take exception with the conventional "wisdom" that anyone who wants to can get a job, make something of oneself, and avoid being poor. What evidence or arguments do the authors advance to support their perception that conventional wisdom is wrong?
3. Reading 34 - A variety of blatant acts of racism - in the workplace, in housing, in education, in public transportation - have been illegal since 1964. Does this mean that anti-black racism is gone from America? Explain why the author answers this question the way he does.
4. Reading 38 - How does the author explain the lower numbers of women medical students entering surgery and other sub specialties? What are gender schemas and what are some examples of how gender schemas may contribute to bias in evaluation of medical student's performances?
5. Reading 39 - Collins identifies two "recruitment paths" (elsewhere identified as "core commitments") into sociology; what are they? Discuss how each can contribute to - as well as provide blinders against - the other, according to Collins.