Multimedia and Discussion Questions

Chapter 2: Seeing and Thinking Sociologically

- Video Links

- Jessica Simpson- The Price of Beauty Excerpt from Paris (Episode 102)
  Jessica Simpson interviews former model Isabelle Caro (now deceased) about her anorexia, the reactions to her thinness in the fashion industry, and her controversial anti-anorexia campaign.

Discussion Questions:
1. Caro says that the people at modeling agencies were not alarmed by her weight as they were accustomed to seeing very thin bodies. Do you think that fashion industry standards encourage disordered eating in models? Do you believe that the thinness of models encourages disordered eating in women? Do you believe those in the fashion industry have an obligation to attempt to prevent disordered eating?

2. What was your reaction to the billboards showing Isabelle Caro’s nude body?

3. Can we consider anorexia as just an individual problem? Why or why not?

4. If we come to understand anorexia in sociological—rather than wholly individualistic—terms, how might this require us to change our approach to addressing disordered eating?

- Revealed…Manorexia (From Switch)
  A look at the phenomenon of “manorexia,”—male self-starvation. A young rugby player who is recovering from anorexia discusses the pressure on males, particularly within the context of sport, to have lean, muscular bodies.

Discussion Questions:
1. The activities—self-starvation and/or excessive exercise—are largely the same for both males and females. But are the social influences that shape disordered eating different for males and females?

2. How are the cultural expectations for male bodies and female bodies different?

- The Storm
  This report examines the chain of decisions that slowed federal response to the calamity of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, government's failure to protect thousands of Americans from a natural disaster that long had been predicted, and the state of America's disaster-response system four years after 9/11.

Discussion Questions:
1. What are the inefficiencies highlighted in this story?

2. What part did organizational structure play in this story?

3. How could changes to the organizational structures prevent this from happening in the future?

- Rules of Engagement
  In 2006, eight the U.S. Marine Corps brought criminal charges against eight Marines. The charges stemmed from actions they had taken during combat and ranged from murder to dereliction of duty. The Marines maintained that they were simply following the standard rules of engagement.

Discussion Questions:
1. What elements of the larger social structure can be observed in this program? Think in terms of statuses, roles, groups, organizations and social institutions. Can you find examples of role conflict?

2. How did following established institutional protocol hinder a successful outcome?

3. Explain the problem from each of the three major sociological perspectives.

- Audio Links

- Radiolab: Season 4 Episode 1: Laughter
  This program explores laughter as a biological and sociological phenomenon. Scientists discuss laughter as a means of communicating important social information and observe that we are unlikely to laugh when alone. Also examined is laughter as something that is “contagious.”

Discussion Questions:
1. We often think of laughter as spontaneous, something that we simply do because we find a joke or event humorous. Is this actually the case?

2. What important social information is being communicated when we laugh? What functions does laughter serve in interaction?

3. Have you ever acted as if you found something amusing and, in order to communicate this to another person, made yourself “laugh”? Describe the circumstances. (Who were you with? What was the thing you pretended to find humorous?) We often engage in this kind of acting. Why? What does it accomplish?

- This American Life 318: With Great Power
  This episode is focused on stories of power and responsibility. The first act is a story of a woman who possessed information that could free an innocent man from prison. The second act is the story of a mother and daughter in a family who wished for years they could do something to stop their neighbor from all kinds of shocking behavior. Suddenly they get the power to decisively change things forever and then they have to decide whether they will.

Discussion Questions:
1. How was the behavior of the women in these stories influenced by the people around them?

2. How did statuses and roles factor into these situations?

3. Can you explain the stories in terms of one or more of the major sociological perspectives presented in the chapter? Be specific and provide details.

- This American Life 378: This I used to believe
  This program is a compilation of stories about people forced to let go of their firmly held beliefs. For example, when the daughter of a pro-choice activist concludes that abortion is murder, her mother goes to extraordinary lengths to persuade her daughter to switch sides. An additional example shows us that after a woman loses her faith, a football coach—who she's never met—tries to restore it.

Discussion Questions:
1. How does society play a role in each of the stories presented?

2. Identify the social statues of the people involved in each of the stories and furthermore how might these statues have influenced each member?

3. Identify how one social institution mentioned in the episode played a part in how the story played out.

- Web Resources
  Professional Resources
  The American Sociological Association (ASA) has a number of sections organized that bring together sociologists who have interests in theoretical issues, including:

- Theory Section

- Section on Marxist Sociology
- Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction (SSSI)
  Sociologists who work from the symbolic interactionist perspective have long had their own professional association, the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction (SSSI).
- Sociological Theory
  Theoretical work in sociology is advanced, in part, through the publication of an official journal of the ASA, Sociological Theory. The journal publishes work in all areas of social thought, including new substantive theories, history of theory, metatheory, formal theory construction, and syntheses of existing bodies of theory.
- American Anthropology Association (AAA)
  Anthropology is a social science related to Sociology and is defined as the study of humankind, from its beginnings millions of years ago to the present day. The American Anthropology Association (AAA) has two purposes including to advance anthropology as a science that studies humankind in all its aspects, through archeological, biological, ethnological, and linguistic research and to further the professional interests of American anthropologists, including the dissemination of anthropological knowledge and its use to solve human problems.

> Other Resources

- The Stanford Prison Experiment
  The Stanford Prison Experiment Web site features an extensive slide show and information about this classic psychology experiment. What happens when you put good people in an evil place? Does humanity win over evil, or does evil triumph? These are some of the questions the researchers posed in a dramatic simulation of prison life conducted in the summer of 1971 at Stanford University [self-characterization].

- Stanley Milgram
  Dr. Thomas Blass, Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, maintains a website dedicated to providing accurate information about the life and work of one of the most outstanding social scientists of our time, Stanley Milgram [self-characterization].
  There is no shortage of sites on the World Wide Web that provide more general information about the sociological enterprise. The following are meta-sites that attempt to organize sociology on the Web:
- “Julian Dierkes’ SocioLog”
- Open Directory Project: Sociology.
  The Open Directory Project is the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web, constructed and maintained by a vast, global army of volunteer editors [self-characterization].
- The SocioSite
  The SocioSite was designed to provide access to information and resources which are relevant for sociologists and other social scientists. It was designed from a global point of view, as it offers access to the worldwide scene of social sciences. The intention is to provide a comprehensive listing of all sociology resources on the Internet. The SocioSite is a project based at the faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Amsterdam [self-characterization].
- WWW Virtual Library: Sociology
  Great Social Theorists, by Frank W. Elwell.In an attempt to promote greater understanding of classical macro-social theory, particularly its implications for social criticism and prediction, I have created an Internet Web Site on eight classical social theorists. I have included bibliographies, PowerPoint lectures, links to primary sources, and other worthwhile Internet materials. I developed these web sites as aides for myself and my students to further our studies of these theorists. They were developed because they offer incisive commentary on the contemporary world order and seeming chaos [self-characterization].