Sociology  cultural norms

Answer the questions below in essay form numbering each one.  Your answers are limited to a one-paragraph maximum for each.  Quality is more important than quantity.  I suggest that you spend some time thinking about each question, outlining your answer, writing your answer, and editing and rewriting your answer.

Please read the Grading Rubric BEFORE starting this assignment.  ALL ANSWERS MUST BE ORIGINAL AND INDEPENDENT WORK. Please do the questions in order as they appear and number your responses accordingly. Late assignments will not be accepted and the grade for this portion of the course will be zero without exception.

Questions will be graded based on the degree to which (1) your answer reflects an understanding of the correct use of sociological concepts and how well you relate these concepts to textbook material, (2) your ability to provide a clear and succinct answer, and (3) your ability to use correct English grammar and spelling.

1.    Can cultural norms and values be deliberately changed? If so, how might that happen? Give an example. If not, why not?

2.    Discuss the significance of written language for the development of human society.

3.    Is gender innate or learned? Cite specific research to support your position.

4.    In relation to changes discussed in this chapter, how do you envision your own life when you are sixty-five? Seventy-five? Eighty-five?

5.    Your textbook says: In many minority schools, students afraid of being accused of ‘acting white’ will adopt a more oppositional stance. Yet, the appearance may not be an accurate sense of what is going on inside. A student who takes on the demeanor of the ‘street’ may be studying just as hard as someone who acts in accordance with old-fashioned propriety. How would a sociologist explain what is going on?

6.    How would you explain the strong group cohesion of the cadets at West Point? Be sure to use sociological concepts and theories dealing with groups, conformity, and values in formulating your essay.

7.    What is groupthink? Why does it occur? What are its likely results? How can it be avoided?

8.    Compare and contrast slavery, caste, and class as systems of stratification. What is the basis of inequality in each? How much social mobility exists in each? How do trends in economic developmentspecifically technology and globalizationaffect each of these systems?

9.    Discuss the differences in average income and wealth between whites, African Americans, and Latinos. Are the gaps shrinking or getting larger? Why?

10.    Discuss the process and forms of social exclusion that affect social stratification. Explain the significance of this statement from the text: In considering the phenomenon of social exclusion we must once again be conscious of the interaction between human agency and responsibility on the one hand, and the role of social forces in shaping people’s circumstances on the other hand.