Respond to two (2) of the following prompts:
- Consider the social stratification of your family tree. Compare your social standing to that of your parents and grandparents. If you are unfamiliar with these people, feel free to substitute other family members or acquaintances from other generations. (USLO 3.1)
- What social traits did your forebears pass down to you? Is there consistency or inconsistency in your family’s status? Which theoretical approach best describes your family’s social stratification? What changes do you anticipate for your family’s future generation? (USLO 3.1)
- Consider your own experiences with social mobility. How do rules, laws, and societal structures promote wealth and poverty? Do you believe that rules, laws, and societal structure have a greater impact on social mobility than individual traits such as a strong work ethic? Do you believe social mobility has decreased or risen in recent years? How could rules, laws, and societal structures impact your future social mobility? What are some strategies for dealing with this future possibility? (USLO 3.2)
- What is the relationship between subjective, absolute, and relative poverty and inequality/inequity? Who benefits from poverty, inequality, and inequity? Can policies be enacted to eliminate various forms of poverty and break the cycle of poverty? What are the advantages and disadvantages of enacting such policies? What role does the cycle of poverty play in maintaining social stratification, especially for women through the global feminization of poverty? (USLO 3.3)
- Which of the three theoretical approaches (functionalist, conflict, or symbolic interactionist) would you use to explain why healthcare injustice and inequity occurs and what to do about it? (USLO 3.4)
- What role does healthcare injustice play in perpetuating the system of stratification? How does the healthcare system maintain social stratification? Is healthcare injustice harming our society as a whole? (USLO 3.4)
