Randell Sociology NSCC
SOCIOLOGY UNIT 4 – RACE, GENDER & AGE
READ CHAPTER 9, 10, 11, THINK Sociology
Assignment #1
Part A
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 B
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
privilege over all others in all aspects of life. Individual participation in racism
occurs when the objective outcomes of behavior reinforces these relations,
Randell Sociology 2015/16
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regardless of the subjective intent” - Carol Brunson Phillips and Louise DermanSparks 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:
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 white person or persons demanding to be
treated as a member or members of the socially privileged class. (Source:
The Monkey Fist Collective)
3. What are the differences between these definitions?
4. How do they compare to your dictionary definition of privilege?
Randell Sociology 2015/16
Randell Sociology NSCC
Assignment #2
1. Explain the difference between sex and gender.
2. What are the perspectives on gender and gender inequality?
3. Write half of a page describing how the following four agents of
socialization contributed to your own gender socialization: family, school,
peers, and media.
4. Watch the documentary Nova Scotia Gender Project
www.novascotiagenderproject.wordpress.com and type a 1 page
reflection.
Assignment #3
1. What are Mikkonen and Raphael’s 14 social factors of health? Do you
agree with their research? Why or why not?
2. What theories exist about the aging process?
3. How do we take care of retired Canadians?
Randell Sociology 2015/16