Sociology Homework
File 1
Review Max Weber’s idea of bureaucracy.Think of a bureaucracy that you are familiar with — your school, your corporation, the post office, DMV, etc. In the discussion board post for bureaucracy, describe how this bureaucracy is similar or different from Weber’s bureaucracy. Would Weber see this as positive or negative?
File 2
Watch George Ritzer talk about the McDonaldization of Society on MySocLab and refer to your text for this assignment.
Optional reading: You can read “The McDonaldization of Society” by Ritzer. This is located in the SocLab library.
George Ritzer has identified four major characteristics of what he terms the McDonaldization of society (Macionis, pp 178-180). For this assignment you are going to do some observational research at a McDonald’s restaurant and another fast food restaurant of your choice. At each location you are to observe and record examples of each of the three characteristics identified by Ritzer.
Write a 1-2 page response paper not only telling me what you saw, but analyzing how you see it referring to Ritzer’s theory. This assignment is worth up to 15 points. I will grade it based on the thoughtfulness of your ANALYSIS
and response, including the quality of your sociological insights and usage of the material you’ve learned so far.
File3
Using your sociological imagination, what you know about stratification, and the sociology of education to bring examples, summarize how the structural-functional and social-conflict approaches direct our attention toward different aspects of the U.S. institution of education.
What role does the concept of the hidden curriculum play in American’s education system?
Is education “the great equalizer?” Why or why not?
This paper should be three pages or more. Your paper will be graded based on the thoughtfulness of your ANALYSIS and usage of course material. You may want to cite an article from the optional reading. Kozol’s Savage Inequalities has a lot to say. The assignment is worth 20 points.
file 4
Analyze carefully and make judgments about your own educational experiences. “Focus” your attention on some specific issue that has been important in terms of your education, such as class, race, ethnicity, or gender. The emphasis here is on the “critical” part of “critical autobiography”: You are encouraged to attempt to understand your educational experiences rather than to simply tell your story.
