Sociology Matters

You can reflect on the results from the reading and activities this week to inform your answers. Review the Sociology Matters prompt at the end of Ch. 6. Write a 700-word response to one bullet at the end of the chapter. Sociology matters because it makes us think about why some people in our society are treated better than others. Do you hold any prejudices against subordinate racial or ethnic groups? If so, has your reading of this chapter helped you to see those groups from a different perspective? How would your life change if you yourself were a member of one of those groups? Are you White? If so, what privileges, perhaps because of your race or citizenship, do you enjoy that you have always taken for granted? Can you think of a way to reduce one or more of those privileges so that others can be more equal—and would you cooperate with such an effort? Sociology matters because it makes us more aware of prejudice and discrimination against members of certain racial and ethnic groups. Are you non-White? If so, what kinds of stereotyping and discrimination have you seen non-Whites experience? Do you think racial discrimination can be reduced through cooperative contact among people of different races? Are you or your parents recent immigrants to the United States? If so, what is the primary basis on which others react to you—your ethnic group, race, or country of origin? Do you think you or your children will someday blend into mainstream society in the United States, and if so, what might hasten that process?