SOC 301 Week 1 Discussion

SOC 301 Week 1 Discussion | Ashford University

Week 1 - Discussion

Social identities are the categories we use to specify who we are, both to ourselves and to the world around us (Newman 2016). These identities include race, class, gender, sexual orientation, etc. For this discussion, you will explore how these identities are formed and maintained over time.

To help you complete this discussion, review the following resources:

·         A Girl Like Me (Links to an external site.) (Please note that A Girl Like Me uses language that is considered profane, vulgar, or offensive by some viewers. Please note that the video is included here due to its educational value in regards to understanding social construction).

·         RACE: Are We So Different? (Links to an external site.),

·         The ‘pink vs blue’ gender myth (Links to an external site.).

·         I Am NOT Black, You are NOT White (Links to an external site.)

There are also additional resources listed under Recommended Resources that you can review if you would like additional information.

Using the resources above as evidence to support your ideas, address the following:

·         Explain what sociologists mean when they say that identities are socially constructed. Select a particular racial or gender identity, and give an example of a characteristic of that identity that is socially constructed (rather than based on any biological truth).

·         Stratification refers to the hierarchical ranking of individuals within a given group (Newman 2016). Describe the stratification system of either race or gender (use the identity you selected above) and explain how this hierarchical ranking is a social construction rather than based on biology.

·         Chapter 1 in your text argues that what is at stake with these social identities is power and privilege. Using either race or gender, describe how one of the theories of inequality discussed in Chapter 1 (structural-functionalism or conflict theory) would explain why some groups within the identity experience inequalities.

Reference:
Newman, D.M. (2016). Identities and inequalities: Exploring the intersections of race, class, gender, & sexuality (3rd ed.). Retrieved from https://www.vitalsource.com/

Your initial post should be at least 500 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required material(s) and/or scholarly resources, and properly cite any references both in text (Links to an external site.) and in a references list (Links to an external site.) at the end of the post. The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.