Assignment:
A. Questions for weekly discussions and conversations (not part of the required Discussion Board assignment)
These questions can serve as the starting point for your discussions during the week. They are "thought starters," so that you can explore some ideas associated with the Discussion Board and unit topics. Answers are not required, and they should not be submitted with your required assignment. Answers are not graded.
1. What is the definition of social change? What does social change mean to you in your daily life? Do you think about social change on a daily basis? How can an understanding and awareness of social change impact your daily life?
2. Can social change directly impact or change a culture? Can you provide an example of how social change in the United States brought about large-scale social changes? Can you provide an example of how social change in the United States brought about a change in your life?
B. Required Discussion Board assignment.
Answer the following questions regarding social change:
• How do you think life in the United States will change in the next 10 years?
• How might technology be involved or effect social change in American culture?
• How do you think sociologists might use the Internet to study culture and social change in the United States?
Individual Project -4
Topic: Elements of Work and Change
Sociologists cite the weakening of the family as one of the causes for some of the problems that American society faces today. Do you agree? In your paper, include the following information:
• Identify important or significant changes in families since 1960. What factors are responsible for this change?
• On the balance, are families becoming weaker or simply different in society? What evidence can you cite?
• If you agree that the family has become weaker in American society, what proposals do you have to strengthen the family?
• If you disagree and believe that the family has become stronger in American culture in recent decades, please explain why.