1. Which social class do you and your family belong to? Are you in a different social class than your grandparents and great-grandparents? Does your class differ from your social standing, and, if so, how? What aspects of your societal situation establish you in a social class?
2. Compare and contrast the modernization theory and dependency theory. Which do you think is more useful for explaining global inequality? Explain, using examples.
SECTION 6
Respond to ONE of the following:
1. How do you describe your ethnicity? Do you include your family’s country of origin? Do you consider yourself multiethnic? How does your ethnicity compare to that of the people you spend most of your time with?
2. Which lifestyle do you think is healthiest for aging people—activity, continuity, or disengagement theories? What are the pros and cons of each theory? Find examples of real people who illustrate the theories, either from your own experience or your friends’ relationships with older people. Do your examples show positive or negative aspects of the theory they illustrate?
SECTION 7
RESPOND TO ONE
1. Think of an older person you know well, perhaps a grandparent, other relative, or neighbor. How does this person defy certain stereotypes of aging?
2. Explain why more than half of IPV goes unreported? Why are those who are abused unlikely to report the abuse?
SECTION 8
Respond to ONE of the following:
1. Which sociological theory best describes your view of education? Explain why.
2. Based on what you know about symbolic interactionism and feminist theory, what do you think proponents of those theories see as the role of the school?