The purpose of this critical review is to summarize what we have learned throughout the quarter. Most importantly, you will be utilizing your sociological imaginations and research skills to “collect data” to ground your response.
By utilizing the readings as well as the discussions had in class during the quarter, construct a thorough analysis about how social stratification and structural inequalities manifest in your and/or other societies (locally, nationally, and/or globally).
You will do so by providing three examples from the social world (your examples must be unique angles and perspectives from outside of class). Think of you examples as actual concrete “data” to describe what these concepts are and how they manifest in societies.
Steps to follow
Before observing/expressing how social stratification and structural inequalities manifest in your society today, make sure to clearly define these concepts for yourself. It is expected that you thoroughly express what both of these concepts mean in your paper (i.e., I imagine that the beginning paragraph/s of you paper will unpack these concepts for your reader).
“Collect data” (three clear, concrete examples from outside of class lesson’s, unique although could align) to ground your discussion by looking at the society in which you live. Because most everything is, sociologically speaking, data, this means you can use everyday observations (income inequality is quite clear here in the PNW), personal experiences (i.e., surely some of you/r communities have experienced being marked/categorized and oppressed in different ways), social media discourses, poetry, lyrics (I have an inkling people have been singing about these things for some time…. Indeed, there are genres that focus specifically on such a topic), historical documentations (e.g., the Wright and Fidel autobiographies we read are great examples), even fiction (Orwell or Atwood are arguably relevant here), local policies, etc., etc., etc., to ground your response. Again, you must utilize creative and new examples, albeit you will likely be talking about stratifications we have explored–think new angles, perspectives, ways inequalities manifest through different social institutions we did not have time to explore in this class (e.g., the criminal legal system, healthcare institutions, etc.).
Keep in mind, that you do not have to focus on any/all of the stratifications we have covered this quarter (e.g., class, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, dis/ability, etc.), but, rather, you can focus on one, two and/or the intersections of several, including those we did not cover. My suggestion: be wise about what you choose (e.g., if you talk about race, it is obviously important that you talk about class and thus intersectionality as well). You are also welcome to talk about any stratifications/structural inequalities you are aware of that we did not cover this quarter.
Related Completed Projects
Explain Plato’s, Aristotle’s, and Augustine’s views of God
Identify a major communicable or non-communicable disease/condition in a specific population
Write a cover letter to a Prospective Sponsor that makes sense for the event you created.
In Claude M. Steeles text, Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do, he makes an assertive/direct argument that students have to endure stereotype threat, which interferes with academic performance.