WELCOME
TO
INTRODUCTION TO
SOCIOLOGY
“First of all,,” he said, “if you can learn a simple trick,
Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of
folks. You never really understand a person until you
consider things from his point of view…”
“Sir?”
“…Until you climb into his skin and walk around in
it.”
Lee Harper, To Kill a Mockingbird
HOW MANY OF YOU
HONESTLY BELIEVE THE US
IS THE GREATEST NATION
IN THE WORLD – A
COUNTRY THAT PROVIDES
THE REST OF THE WORLD A
“GOOD MODEL”?
QUESTIONS
• How does the US rank in per-capita
giving? (Are we the top “giver” in the
world? 3rd? 10th?)
• What per cent of the US budget goes
toward foreign aid?
ANSWERS
• While the US gives the greatest
amount of money, it ranks 22nd out of
the top 22 major foreign aid donor
nations in per capita giving. Yet, we
think of ourselves as “magnanimous,”
yes?
• Most Americans think 24% of our
budget goes to foreign aid – 24 times
the actual amount!
FAMILY FEUD:
What do you think the top
100 answers were?
LIST THE EIGHT
“HIPPEST” CITIES IN
THE WORLD
(Family Feud, Summer,
2006)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
New York
Los Angeles
Chicago
New Orleans
Atlantic City
Seattle
Las Vegas
Miami
SOCIAL
INEQUALITY
POVERTY IN THE US
• Who’s most likely
to experience
poverty in the US?
• How does the
“social structure”
strengthen social
class placement?
POVERTY IN THE US
• Why do other Most
Industrialized
Nations have lower
poverty rates than
the US?
• What does the
“Welfare State”
look like?
SOCIAL INEQUALITY
• View video “Holding
Ground”:
Dudley Street
Neighborhood
Initiative
Performance Assessment
Website Analysis:
Social Justice
SHIFT FROM
U.S. STRATIFICATION
TO
GLOBAL
STRATIFICATION
SOCIOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVES
• GLOBALIZATION
OF THE WORLD’S
CORPORATION S
“A CRIMINAL IS A
PERSON WITH
PREDATORY INSTINCTS
WHO HAS NOT
SUFFICIENT CAPITAL TO
FORM A CORPORATION.”
HOWARD SCOTT, 1920
GLOBAL INEQUALITY
Consider:
Why are food shortages
growing if there’s enough
food in the world to feed
everyone?
GLOBAL INEQUALITY
Why is there so much illegal immigration
from Mexico and the “Global South”?
PERFORMANCE
ASSESSMENT
Immigration
Project
SOCIAL
INSTITUTIONS
(p. 86)
WHY STUDY REMOTE
COUNTRIES SUCH AS
THOSE IN AFRICA?
PERFORMANCE
ASSESSMENT
Develop “Creative” Activity
to Teach about
Institutional Development
in Southern Africa
HISTORIC
SOCIAL
CHANGE
Historic Social Change
Drawings:
Sociocultural Evolution
•
•
•
•
•
Hunting and Gathering
Pastoral/Horticultural
Agricultural
Industrial
Post-Industrial
NORWAY
MODERN
SOCIAL
CHANGES
MODERN SOCIAL
CHANGES
• Population
• Urbanization
• Environment
• Technology
• Social Movements
Population Growth / Corporate
Dominance / Urbanization
Increased
Needs
Increased
Consumption
Environmental
Destruction
Declining
Resources
Scarcity and Poverty
Discrimination
/ Migration
/ Conflict
STUFF
PERFORMANCE
ASSESSMENT
Map the Consequences of
Increased Globalization,
Population Growth and
Urbanization
CULTURE
A human being is a part of the whole
called by us “universe,” a part limited in
time and space. You experience yourself,
your thoughts and feelings as something
separated from the rest, a kind of optical
delusion of your consciousness. This
delusion is a kind of prison for us,
restricting us to our personal desires and
to affection for a few persons nearest to
us. Our task must be to free ourselves
from this prison by widening our circle of
compassion to embrace all living creatures
and the whole of nature in its beauty.
Albert Einstein
COMPARISONS:
GERMANY, JAPAN
AND US
IMMIGRATION
• History of immigration
to US
• Examine influx of
newest immigrants to
WI: Mexicans,
Hmongs, Arabs, East
Indians
PERFORMANCE
ASSESSMENT
Develop
Immigrant
“Web
Quests”
CONFORMANCE
OR DEVIANCE?
• Japanese
Case Study
“First of all,,” he said, “if you can learn a simple trick,
Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of
folks. You never really understand a person until you
consider things from his point of view…”
“Sir?”
“…Until you climb into his skin and walk around in
it.”
Lee Harper, To Kill a Mockingbird
International Focus