Sociology Module 4



Sociology Module 5

Culture and Discrimination

(Chapter 11 )

As always, type or neatly hand-write your responses.

Answers should be in your own words, and if not, they should be quoted and referenced.

Hand-in Assignment 1

1. Define and explain using an example:

• Society

• Social Institution

• Segregation

• Assimilation

• Multiculturalism

• Prejudice

• Discrimination

• Systemic discrimination

• Racism

• Sexism

2. How do various sociological perspectives (social learning theories, social-economic theories and psychological theories) each explain the causes of prejudice and racism? .

Culture

Hand-in Assignment #2

Complete the chart “Culture Within A Society: Assimilation and Multiculturalism” (attached)

Prejudice and Discrimination

Hand-in Assignment #3

1. Complete the “Stereotypes” Assignment Sheet. (attached). The term consequence means “What is the result when someone reacts to a person on the basis of this stereotype?”

2. Do the questionnaire on page 229, “What Do Jokes Say about Prejudice?” Review your questionnaire; reflect upon you answers and decide whether you should adjust your own thinking. Write a paragraph about one or two of the statements that gave you most to think about.

3. A group of students is sitting round at lunch when one of them tells a racist joke. Some people laugh; others look embarrassed. No one makes any critical comments. What should you do? Discuss this with a fellow student and list at least four options. Decide which option would be the best and explain why.

Assignment #4 – 2 parts

Ask Eileen about the documentary for this part of the unit.

Brown Eyes/Blue eyes: A Class Divided

Part 1

With the class, watch “A Class Divided”. The time for this will be announced by your instructor, and will be offered once in the fall and once in the spring. After watching the documentary and hearing the class discussion, answer the following questions.

a. Considering the seven ethical guidelines for Sociology, was what the teacher did with this class ethical?

b. If you were a parent of a child in this class, would you have stopped the activity if you had known about it before hand?

c. What might you have done differently?

d. Briefly explain your personal reaction to the documentary. Did it upset you? Did you find it interesting/valuable/boring? Why?

Part 2

Racism:

Some people argue that racism is primarily a belief or attitude and that anyone who unfairly judges another based on race is racist. Others argue that racism is about action and systemic discrimination, so only those with the power to act, and not those who are the targets of discrimination, can be racist.

1. Which argument do you find convincing, and why?

2. Is there a difference between racism and prejudice? If so, what is it?

Consider the following definitions.

“racism couples the false assumption that race determines psychological and cultural traits with the belief that one race is superior to another” – A World of Difference project of the Anti-defamation League of B’nai Brith

“Racism is any attitude, action or institutional structure which subordinates a person or group because of skin colour.” - US Commission on Civil Rights, 1970

“We define racism as an institutionalized system of economic, political, social and cultural relations that ensures that one racial group has and maintains power and priviledge over all others in all aspects of life. Individual participation in racism occurs when the objective outcomes of behavior reinforces these relations, regardless of the subjective intent” - Carol Brunson Phillips and Louise Derman-Sparks in Teaching/Learning Anit-racism: A Developmental Approach, (Teachers College Press, 1997)

3. How are they different from each other?

4. How do they compare to a dictionary definition of “racism”?

5. How might some people benefit and others be hurt from the use of one definition over another

Privilege:

One of the goals of the civil rights movement was to ensure equal opportunity for every US citizen, irrespective of race. When the movement began, the legal system in the US did not grant the same rights to black African Americans as it did to whites. Today, those laws have been changed, leading some to argue that the US has achieved a level playing field for all.

1. Do you think thIs is true? In the US, is success based exclusively on merit and luck, or is race-based “privilege” still a factor?

2. Find a dictionary definition of “privilege”.

Consider the following definitions of privilege:

“unearned power conferred systemically” (Source: Peggy McIntosh, 1995)

“White Privilege: a. a bill or law in favour of or against an individual.

b. A right, advantage or immunity granted to or enjoyed by the class of white persons beyond the common advantage of all others: an exemption from certain burdens or liabilities.

c. A social expression of a whiote person or persons demanding to be treated as a member or members of the socially privileges class. (Source: The MonkeyFist Colelctive)

3. What are the differences between these definitions?

4. How do they compare to your dictionary definition of privilege?

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