Application Day 1: Making Global Warming a Sociological Issue

In class, we discussed how knowledge is often reduced to dichotomies and how the social construction of reality is often denied, leaving us with many, many contradictions in our thinking. Let’s think of Global Warming and its relationship to these issues.

1) Ask yourself: How is Global Warming reduced to a dichotomy? How does this dichotomy relate to work in today’s US society. For instance, Discuss the debate about whether GW is important. Now, ask yourself how “work” in the US is affected by both sides.

2) How are both sides of the debate affected by the social construction of knowledge? In other words, how do people in power use “knowledge” to convince people of their side. Why do people reject some information and embrace others.

3) If you haven’t already done so above, name some contradictions the emerge on each side of the debate. If GW is unimportant then..... If GW is important then why......

APPLICATION DAY 2: Moving Beyond Economocentrism.

1) Reiterate the major examples of how we organize the present U.S. society around supply-side economics.

2) Now, I want you to discuss what structurally would have to change in order to organize society around the needs of the majority of every day people. EXPLAIN IN DETAIL. (one group gets one institution).

Think about what would have to change:

School
Government
Family
Paid Work
Religion

3). Why do you think the U.S. is more opposed to demand side economics than other countries?

APPLICATION DAY 3: TO SKILL OR NOT TO SKILL – THAT IS THE QUESTION

1) Chapter 9 discusses how technology could be used to better our society or worsen our society.

GROUP 1
2) Let’s say you are a scholar who believes that technology is making things better. What theory can you apply to help you understand how technology will help:
Increase skills
Increase wages
Decrease unemployment
Decrease hierarchy

Come up with arguments, using your theory, refuting scholars who would argue the opposite.

GROUP 2
Let’s say you are a scholar who believes that technology is making things worse. What theory can you apply to help you understand how technology will:
Decrease skills
Decrease wages
Increase unemployment
Increase hierarchy

Come up with arguments, using your theory, refuting scholars who would argue the opposite.

APPLICATION DAY4 : Affluenza

1) What’s the difference between consumption and over-consumption?

2) What cultural beliefs exist that make it difficult to follow simplified living?

3) What structural and institutional elements exist that make it difficult to follow simplified living?

4) What would have to change so that people were less over-consumptive?