SOC 101 | Spring 2014
Joshua Yorkshire
Sociology 101
Current Events- Social Change
Social change is a trending topic lately in the United States. Whether norms are being changed or riots
and protests are breaking out, social change is the root of much discussion today. Social change is the change in
the social structure, social institutions, social behavior or the social relations of a society and or community of
people. There are many different examples of social change today. One example, is the recent legalization of
gay marriage in several states. The most recent state being Hawaii.
Mary Wisniewski states in her Chicago Tribune article, “Hawaii stops defending law banning same-sex
marriage”, “Hawaii will no longer defend a law that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman”.
Attorney General David M. Louie, states “The state will stop defending against a lawsuit filed in 2011 by a
same-sex couple who sought to declare Hawaii's old marriage law unconstitutional.” This is five months after
the state legalized same-sex marriage. Last November, Governor Neil Abercrombie, had signed a bill that gave
marriage rights to same-sex couples. Louie said, "The law, policy and public sentiment in Hawaii has clearly
and dramatically changed in favor of marriage equality."
In response to the 2011 lawsuit, the state had filed two separate responses, one representing thenDirector of Health Loretta Fuddy and the other Abercrombie. Fuddy and her team deemed the law as
constitutional, while Abercrombie had agreed with the plaintiffs. Abercrombie supported the decision to stop
defending the law. Rosen, the current health director said, “The health department has helped more than 1,400
same-sex couples obtain marriage licenses over the past five months”. Expansion of marriage rights for samesex couples has increased since the U.S. Supreme ruled that married gay couples were eligible for federal
benefits. Seventeen states, plus the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriage.
SOC 101 | Spring 2014
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Part III: Analyze the real world event presented in the news article sociologically.
This section should be longer and more detailed than the other sections. In Part III, you will clearly establish the
relationship between the sociological topic area and the news event. For instance, if your topic area is
sociological theory, then you need to explain how knowledge of a particular theory provides insight into the real
world phenomenon described in your article. To further establish a link between class materials and real world
events, you must apply two (and only two) sociological keywords to the article contents. You must use keywords
that are different from the sociological concept you discussed in Part I. For instance, if theory is your overarching
sociological concept, you are not permitted to use theory as a keyword in Part III. Be sure to define the keywords
that you are using to analyze the news article. Definitions must be written in your own words. (Do not directly
quote class materials when defining sociological terms. In addition, do not use online or other outside resources,
such as Dictionary.com, to define the keywords in your analysis.) When writing this section, assume that your
reader has no background in sociology. Be explicit. Simplify complex terms. Make connections and
associations. Give examples.
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Part IV: Conclude with a paragraph that explains how this assignment has s t r e t c h e d your sociological
imagination.
The conclusion should serve two purposes – summary and reflection. First, summarize the contents of your
paper. Minimally, you should a) redefine the sociological concept you used to analyze the news article and b)
explain how the sociological concept sheds light on the real world event discussed in the news article. Second,
personalize the essay by reflecting on what you have learned as a result of completing this assignment. You
might consider answering the following questions: Has studying sociology improved your understanding of the
real world event discussed in the news article? If yes, how has it improved your understanding? If no, why not?
Now that you have completed this assignment, do you see the benefit of a sociological perspective? Why or why
not? In what other areas of your life might exercising your sociological imagination be useful?