Final Exam Questions

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Sociology

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Apr 3, 2024

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1. What is the relationship between poverty/inequality and mass incarceration? In your answer, be sure to discuss both (1) how societal inequalities may influence mass incarceration, and (2) how mass incarceration can contribute to reinforcing social inequalities. The relationship between poverty and inequality are directly linked to mass incarceration because lack of access to education, redlining, and increased stigmatization. Education and Redlining combined lead people of color to the life of crime. Poverty → the state of not having enough resources mainly money and other goods and resources Inequality → the existence of unequal opportunities and rewards Mass incarceration → Situation where vastly greater numbers of people are held in prison in history in comparison to other countries 1) * Education → lack of education and inadequate access to education can cause kids to receive improper support and find alternative paths to survival; (Live to See the Day) drug dealing - Ryan is an example of an individual who was born into poverty with economic and housing instability, was affected by negative environmental factors, most prominently lack of access to adequate education, and therefore was pushed into the incarceration system. He was also surrounded by a lot of crime and lack of resources so he turned to crime as a way to survive and support himself. * Redlining → certain neighborhoods are more susceptible to crime than other neighborhoods because of the opportunities available which makes it hard for people to make it out of the neighborhood which creates a cycle → the definition of lack of social mobility; majority of people living in redlined neighborhoods are people of color so this makes POC have a significant disadvantage. 2) Consequences of mass incarceration in terms of reinforcing social inequalities: - Individual: stigma of a criminal record, unable to get jobs and unable to vote - Community: families face stigma by association; families are torn apart - Racist ideology as a whole - Felon disenfranchisement → incarcerated individuals are unable to vote; continues cycle of poverty and crime with people of color which reinforces social inequality of racism because of stereotypes harming them

This reinforces social inequalities because it continues the cycle of poverty and crime when there are not enough resources which negatively impacts people of color. Reinforces social inequalities because negatively impacts people of color which leads to increased stigmatization . - Mention both poverty AND inequality - Dropping out of school and turning to crime - Education, social mobility, disciplinary practices Concepts/theories: - Social norms - Poverty drives people to extreme measures - Having a criminal record ruins reputation creating a stigma: goffman reading - Stigma relates to education which relates to incarceration Readings: - Live to see the day - Crook County 2. What is the relationship between social status and cultural change? People of a higher social status are able to enact cultural change that impacts larger populations because they have more power in society. This can be see through the legalization of same sex marriage in america in 2015. Social status → the position an individual holds in society Cultural change → values, beliefs, practices, ideas, what's in the media, practice that we all do - This can be seen with politicians because they have a higher social status and wealthier so therefore, they have the ability to impact more people - Same sex Marriage legalization in 2015: ● Monumental cultural change ● Society was moving towards normalizing and accepting gay couples because of movements and lots of people advocating for change ● Politicians in particular who have power are able to create more change and persuade more people to adhere to what they want because they potentially have a higher socioeconomic status and higher place in the hierarchy

Linking same sex marriage to LGBTQ rights and representation in politics and society. As the movement grew and gained traction, the movement became more normalized. As the movement gained further media popularity and attention, cultural change was enacted and society's overall views became more accepting. Conflict theory → cultural change driven by status where some groups will not agree with the change because it will not benefit them - Ex: influencers, celebrities taking control over media - Pick concrete examples and elaborating on them - Social status (social class, power, hierarchy) - Use example from reading or personal experience - Provide examples of these things and talk about relationship - Cultural change: gay marriage legalized in 2015, monumental cultural change, people of a higher social status Thesis: Concepts/theories: - Socioeconomic status - Opportunities Examples: Marxr reading: from status and culture - Showing the difference between those in poverty, they don't have the option of what trends to follow - Opportunities available - Who is able to enact cultural change in the first place On a smaller scale, parents are able to enact a smaller scale amount of cultural change because they have more power in a family structure. - Role of parents: on a smaller scale, smaller cultural change - Celebrities: top 1 % has power to enact cultural change - Politics: gay marriage in 2016 - How norms and institutions evolve 3. Identify a current social issue in the news recently. Analyze that issue using at least two or more of the social theories or research findings we discussed this semester to give a better answer than you might read in your local newspaper.

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The Me Too movement is a social issue that involves cultural change, counterculture, and formation of an organization. Me Too movement → a movement in 2017 to advocate for victims of sexual abuse speaking up and vocalizing so that more individuals are able to come forward Cultural change: ● Normalizing talking about sexual assault and making women feel safe talking about their traumatic experiences ● Able to thrive because of a platform to gain traction: twitter with the #MeToo, more individuals were able to come forward; positive impact of the media and social media because it helped the movement gain popularity ● Discussing sexual assault openly became encouraged and normalized which helped large populations conttribute to this idea and movement ● - Mainstream culture vs. counterculture: ● The me too movement became a counterculture in response to the silence and repression of voices advocating for discussing sexual assault open ● Counterculture → a group whose ideas, attitudes, and behaviors are in direct conflict with mainstream culture ( Mainstream culture → the most widely shared system of meaning and cultural tool kits in a society) ● ) and who actively contest the dominant cultural practices in the societies of which they are a part ● It is counterculture because it is rejecting the mainstream culture where individuals are not recommended to speak up about their sexual assault ● Counterculture → radical rejection of mainstream culture ● From here, normalization of speaking up began which began a new cultural norm ● Creates an organization → which is a group engaged in a specific activity that has an identifiable purpose or goal and an enduring form of association independent of the people involved. Can still exist and persist over time even without founding members. 4. How does Goyal's work contribute to our understanding of poverty in America? Analyze the factors that contribute to the perpetuation of poverty in this context, and discuss the implications for the affected individuals and society as a whole.

Goyal’s novel, “Live to See the Day”, shines a light on inadequate access to quality education and unstable family structures that contribute to the perpetuation of poverty in disadvantaged low income communities. - Wealth hoarding → wealthy individuals have more resource to gain more opportunities for themselves to get weather while individuals in poor communities are deprived of those opportunities pushing them to get stuck on the cycle of poverty, this can be seen in Ryan’s story where he was unable to get a personalized education despite his mental disabilities and was instead put on medication that made him further disadvantaged - Unstable family structures → housing and economic instability ● Mass incarceration divides families ● Economic and housing instability affects children's education because of increased stress - Mental health and stress → lack of support from family members contribute - Social mobility → opportunities are limited which - Property ownershi p → puts people of color at a disadvantage and they face housing instability, this can be seen through Emmanual’s story living in different houses with poor conditions distracted him and made him unable to continue his study in a productive way - Children feel the burden of their parents, turn to selling drugs as a form of survival - Education → Ryan was pushed out of alternative schools because of improper disciplinary practices - Institutions not built to support students of disadvantaged backgrounds - Poverty is institutional, imbedded in our education systems - Give certain examples from the book, ryan was pushed out of an alternative school example of disciplinary practices 5. Your high school principal, aware that you have taken an outstanding (!) introductory course in sociology at NYU, invites you back to your school to give a short lecture to the current students to explain to them what a “sociological imagination” is, and how they might use it in their everyday lives. She specifically suggests “How can sociology help our students lead more productive and successful lives as they leave high school – what is most important for them to know about the social world?”

The sociological imagination is the ability to see the context which governs our individual and group decision making. It refers to the macro forces that impact our behavior and society. Socialization, social structures, and social constructs are important examples of the sociological imagination which are used in our everyday lives The sociological imagination → the ability to see the context which shapes your individual decision making and the decisions of others; the ability to perceive things in the world not as individuals things but as macro forces Socialization → the process through which we learn how we’re expected to behave in society; how we understand expectations and norms; how we learn how to behave in society ● Starts at a young age as play structures help children learn how to fulfill a role ● We learn how people respond to situations in different ways ● Looking glass self → self understandings depend on how others view us through interactions ● We are all actors in a play and use impression management to control others impressions of us: offstage is by yourself (no expectations on how to behave), backstage (getting ready to behave), frontstage (how you behave in front of others) Race and gender as a social construct → this concrete idea can help students lead more productive and successful live as they leave highs school - Race is not genetically determined or embedded within an individual but rather a social construct created by society - Same with gender, created by societal and cultural norms: gender socialization Social structures → all elements of society that provide the regular patterns and routines for everyday life; last over time if designed well ● Social norms → unwritten rules that govern our behavior

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- What is sociological imagination, who came up with it - How can it be implemented in everyday lives - The ability to perceive things not as individual things, but as macro forces - - Have thesis statement/ theories/ examples for all of these - No right answer, provide solid evidence, solid argument, use readings from class to support - Advice from Michelle for final - think about macro level, broad structural and institutional forces, define structure and institutions - Be clear and concise: clear thesis - Shorter focused paragraphs - More critical analysis, applying concepts in different places, more analysis less summary - Anticipate counterarguments -

Final Exam Questions

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