America's middle-class
Essay - 2 pages - Sociology & social sciences
We have examined throughout the length of this course the fact that America's lower class does not have the ability to voice their political concerns that the wealthier classes have and thus, when focusing on the issue of welfare it is important to realize that most of the policies enacted...
Ashley B, Hollows J, Jones S. and B. Taylor : The food, the body and label (p.41-57), extract of Cultural Studies and Food
Book review - 2 pages - Sociology & social sciences
This chapter is taken from Food and Cultural Studies. The aim to give an introduction to "Cultural Studies" through the examination of food and culture. What, how, when, where we eat indicate who we are and where we come from, are the questions which are linked with an identification process...
What do the foreigners think about the French and France?
Worksheets - 2 pages - Sociology & social sciences
Everybody has a perception (mostly sterotype) about a different culture or a country. Even if one has not been to a country, we always have a first impression through movies or word of mouth. France is a famous country due to its historical heritage, food, wines and fashion. Furthermore, the...
One is not born, but rather becomes a woman' (de Beauvoir). Discuss with references to determinist, constructionist and deconstructionist theories of gender.
Essay - 4 pages - Sociology & social sciences
‘One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.' This famous assertion, excerpted from Simone de Beauvoir's Deuxième Sexe, concentrates the idea that sexual identity is an identity that one acquires, and whose acquiring is influenced by socialization, education, ideology and cultural...
Understanding the effects of Asperger's syndrome on the parents
Thesis - 4 pages - Sociology & social sciences
The diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome is often indistinguishable, using current standards, from high-functioning autism. Despite this, techniques tailored to individual cases appear show the most promise. Recent studies are too small in scale and subjective in measurements to be conclusive,...
An evaluation of the strengths and limitations of a rational and strategic approach to organizational change
Thesis - 7 pages - Sociology & social sciences
Following the brief introduction of a model-ideal conceptualization of Organizational Goal-Directed-Activity, and the definition within the perspective defined by this model of such terms like ‘rational (organizational) action system', ‘strategy', and ‘organizational change', the...
An analysis of the claim that the social welfare response to HIV/AIDS was, and remains, fundamentally inadequate
Thesis - 6 pages - Sociology & social sciences
The first official case of AIDS in Britain was recorded in 1983 but nurses said they were caring for unofficial cases before [Ferlie and Pettigrew 1990:195]. Similar to America early reports were confined to the homosexual population. When looking at initial attitudes to the disease if we look at...
An evaluation of the contribution made by feminist and post-structuralist perspectives to the view of gender as socially constructed
Thesis - 5 pages - Sociology & social sciences
A number of fundamental changes have occurred this century in relation to what it means to be male or female. They emphasize the notion that femininity and masculinity are not necessarily innate categorise which pre-exist in each person and focus more on the idea that they are historically and...
Is there a significant difference in child-raising practices between married couples and single mothers?
Thesis - 8 pages - Sociology & social sciences
In 1990, American academic Charles Murray came to England, at the invitation of The Sunday Times, to observe and discover whether the underclass phenomenon he had identified in the United States had spread to the UK. His findings were first published in The Sunday Times Magazine on 26 November...
An evaluation of the claim that we live in a 'risk society' as well as a 'regulatory state'
Thesis - 6 pages - Sociology & social sciences
The aim of this paper is to assess why it is argued that we live in a 'risk society' as well as a 'regulatory state'. By the end of this paper it should be clear that we do indeed live in a 'risk society' and a 'regulatory state' despite what others like Margaret...
The role of the state in contemporary liberal democracies
Thesis - 8 pages - Sociology & social sciences
The role of the state within contemporary liberal democracies is an issue that perhaps more than any other has attracted the attentions of the social and political sciences. The concept itself is not accorded universal acceptance and there are a plethora of theoretical and ideological...
An analysis concerning stereotyping people in connection with their dialect
Thesis - 6 pages - Sociology & social sciences
Language is primarily considered to perform two major functions in society. It is designed to convey information to those around us as well as establish and maintain relationships. However, linguistically (albeit from social stereotypes) certain paradigms relating to class, social and financial...
The inner-city problem is one of both growth and decline
Thesis - 5 pages - Sociology & social sciences
The city is undeniably the centre of much of our social action. It is the arena in which most of our economic, political and commercial activity tends to occur, and it has become the most popular place to socialise, and to experience the cultural aspects of the modern world. Its evolution has...
Why do many British families of South Asian background prefer arranged marriages?
Thesis - 6 pages - Sociology & social sciences
The tradition of Arranged Marriages was practiced by kinship groups in the South Asian sub-continent centuries before migration to Britain took place during the 1950's. Initially, migrants came to Britain to earn wages (Shaw; 2000;13), However, the tradition of arranged marriages has remained...
Extracts from Race and History (1952) and Race and Culture (1971) : Claude Levi-Strauss
Text commentary - 1 pages - Sociology & social sciences
Claude Lévi-Strauss (born 1928) is a French anthropologist who introduced the Strucuralism in anthropology. He taught at the New School for Social Research in New York and obtained a chair of Social Anthropology at the College de France (1959-1982). In 1960, he founded the Laboratoire...
The power of hidden differences, Edward T. Hall
Book review - 1 pages - Sociology & social sciences
Edward T. Hall (born May 16, 1914) is an anthropologist and cross-cultural researcher. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1942. He has taught at the University of Denver, Bennington College, the Harvard Business School, the Illinois Institute of Technology, and North-western...
The current trend of artificial tan in the USA : "instant bronze = gold" (2007)
Worksheets - 1 pages - Sociology & social sciences
In a culture with a continuously growing obsession with physical perfection, the hard, tan, beach body is the most coveted. Yet the days of sunbonnets, parasols, and giant floppy hats are not so long past. So why has the trend moved so strongly to the opposite direction since the latter half of...
Old age and death are taboo subjects in contemporary western culture
Thesis - 5 pages - Sociology & social sciences
It may be useful to first define the two main terms that will be studied. The first term is death; the Collins Dictionary defines death as the 'end of life'. Clinically this defined as there is a lack of heartbeat and breathing along with lack of central nervous system function which...
What is 'Postmodernism'?
Thesis - 6 pages - Sociology & social sciences
The term 'postmodernism' is a somewhat elusive one for it does not constitute an ideology, such as Marxism or liberalism, nor, as Callum Brown argues, is it a 'state of government or economy?[or even] a coherent set of beliefs' . However, instead it has been suggested that...
A feminist perspective on climate change issues
Thesis - 5 pages - Sociology & social sciences
Climate change has emerged over the last thirty years as one of the major issues in international politics. It is now generally accepted that greenhouse gases emissions are contributing to a process of global warming which is leading to an increased incidence of natural disasters. The IPCC...
The future of race
Thesis - 7 pages - Sociology & social sciences
To claim that race does not exist sounds shocking at first. So many decisions and views of the world are made taking the idea of race into account. Yet the genetic claims of race, as such claims usually perceived and discussed, are not grounded in genetics because race, aside from being a social...
The melting pot revisited: Supporting research into the genetic diversity of the American population
Thesis - 14 pages - Sociology & social sciences
The advent of the genomic era has brought with it a host of opinions regarding to what ends genetic tools ought to be applied. There is a growing interest in research that will illustrate the genetic diversity of populations. Advocates suggest that research detailing unique features of...
Pounding the concrete or entering the pool: Efforts to reduce driving
Thesis - 5 pages - Sociology & social sciences
The cool, clean air blows right on my face. The radio is as loud as I want it. There is minimal lurching, and no smelly strangers sitting right next to me. My shoes are not wet, I did not have to leave a half hour early to get where I need to go, and there is no need to leave before it gets too...
A discussion and evaluation of Marx and Weber's views on capitalist society
Thesis - 5 pages - Sociology & social sciences
Capitalism is defined as an economic "system of wage-labour and commodity production for sale, exchange, and profit, rather than for the immediate need of the producers" (Marshall, 1998: 53). As observed by Karl Marx, capitalism transformed a small proportion of a society's population into...
Marx and Weber on the rise of capitalism in the West
Thesis - 5 pages - Sociology & social sciences
Both Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Max Weber (1864-1920) are great contributors to sociological theory. At the time of their writings, Germany was still almost in the Middle Ages compared to the most advanced capitalist country, England. Both economic development and political liberalization were...
Conceptions of the relationship between mind and body vary across cultures: Discuss with detailed reference to ethnographic examples
Essay - 4 pages - Sociology & social sciences
Having an insight on our personal perception of the body and mind, relationship is often revealing. Since I was a child, I strongly felt ‘something' in my body. While practicing dance, I had the feeling that 'I' controlled my body, that 'I' decided the movements 'I'...
Behind enemy lines: The account of a conservative living in eastern Massachusetts
Thesis - 6 pages - Sociology & social sciences
According to sociologist Travis Hirschi in his article Control Theory of Delinquency, the act of deviating from the norms in a given society is caused mainly, not by the social structure, but by the deviant himself and the strength of his connection to that society. In this paper I will try to...
Being a Jew after World War II: What it means to be Jewish in America today
Essay - 7 pages - Sociology & social sciences
Judaism as an identity has become a different concept than Judaism as a religion. Skepticism has formed as a result of advances in science and industrialization, and religion has changed. Judaism is unique in its definition of what makes one Jewish: rather than being based on belief and practice,...
The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life by E. Durkheim
Book review - 5 pages - Sociology & social sciences
The subject of this essay is Emile Durkheim's book ?The Elementary Forms of the religious life'. Hence we will explain why and how E. Durkheim tries to find such elementary forms of religious life. We will first underline that this aim is not limited to Emile Durkheim's theory, as we...
Symbols reflect social values and relationships
Essay - 5 pages - Sociology & social sciences
We can define symbols as ''something that stands for something else'' and that would mean that symbols are always a reflection of something. Given that definition, we can say that the aim of the anthropological studies of symbols is to find the meaning of symbols and what they...
