This learning activity spans the information learned in Lesson One and Lesson Two. Make a copy of this into your own Google Drive or download this as a Word Document, you can then answer the questions directly on this document and submit it in Blackboard in the assignment submission. I suggest you read this assignment all the way through prior to starting.
We will be examining Islamophobia this week. First, we need to define:
Islam (noun) the religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah (God in Arabic). The origin of the word from Arabic isl?m submission, from aslama submit (to God). (Source: Oxford Languages)
Islamophobia (noun) irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against Islam or people who practice Islam. (Source: Merriam Webster Dictionary)
What do you think you know about Islam? List three things, if you dont know just say I dont know you do not need to go searching on the Internet for information.
Highlight your answer and then explain your choice
Islam is:
Part of mainstream culture in American society? Explain
A subculture in American society? Explain
A counterculture in American society? Explain
You will complete the following:
Watch: American Muslims: Facts vs. Fiction 11:16
As you watch the film, write down at least 2 to 3 specific pieces of data that you found surprising, compelling, or disturbing.
As you watch American Muslims: Facts vs. Fiction, notice the wide gap revealed in the data between what Americans think about Muslims and reality. Why might this be so? Write down any evidence from the film.
Watch the following Ted Talk: Islamophobia killed my brother. Lets end the hate | Suzanne Barakat 14:49
Have you ever been stereotyped or pre-judged? Describe the situation? How did you feel? How did you deal with it?
In our last lesson, you defined the term ethnocentrism. Describe how ethnocentrism contributed to Barakats experience.
Discuss the human agency exhibited in the talk?
You will think about the issue of Islamophobia and attempt to understand this through the application of ONE of the sociological paradigms. To help you get started with this I am providing some core questions from each theory. You can answer these directly or review them as a guide to your application. (Below I provide an example of applying functionalism to a news article/current issue you are applying theory to the issue of Islamophobia.)
Conflict Theory Core Questions
How is society divided into groups?
What is the scarce resource?
Which group has power in society?
Does one of the groups experience alienation? Explain.
Structural Functionalism
What institutions are involved?
What are the manifest and latent functions?
Are there dysfunctions, what are they?
Symbolic Interactionism
What symbols are present?
Do the symbols mean the same thing to all individuals in society? Explain.
How does Islamophobia affect human relationships?
Antonio Gramsci (18911937) defined hegemony as the ability of a group in power to create consent and agreement within a population by unconsciously shaping what people think is normal, natural, and possible.
How does Islamophobia relate
to hegemony in the United States and how does Islamophobia relate to power more generally?
You will then turn this assignment in for me to read in its entirety.
You will post your response to QUESTION FIVE ONLY in the discussion post for this week with the theory that you chose as the SUBJECT LINE for your post. You will then read TWO other classmates posts that apply the two theories that you did not apply.
Finally, you will reply to your original posts addressing the following:
Stating each students name and theory in your post how did their application of the theory help you critically examine this social issue from a different perspective. This is valued at ten points of the total 30 points for this assignment.
Student example:
First the student summarizes the issue and then analyzes it through the application of conflict theory.
This is the BLM home page. The BLM (Black Lives Matter) organization is a national support group that has gained a lot of momentum over the past few years. Alicia Garza created the online network for BLM. Black Lives Matter aims to highlight racism and discrimination in society as it is still going on to this day. Black Lives Matter raises money for colored individuals who are facing hard times and brings awareness nationally about injustices that occur towards People of Color (POC). This is the website that I reviewed for this assignment https://blacklivesmatter.com/
I will analyze this through conflict theory.
The conflict theory was developed by Karl Marx and is known as society being in conflict due to limited resources and power. In the conflict theory, social status, wealth, and power play a marginally large role in the way people are seen in society. One of the largest missions of Black Lives Matter is to give Black Americans equal power and representation in their respective communities. From a conflict perspective the movement is a result of the alienation that Black Americans experience and the movement is the class consciousness. The BLM community also helps lift fellow POC out of what we consider to be lower class, so the organization benefits individuals and communities. The BLM home article also has several articles that help support black women. BLM really does as much as they can to help empower and distribute resources to individuals.
Additional Stark State College Resources
If youre interested in learning more about the theory, SSC offers several courses. The first is SOC121 Sociology which Introduces the general theories of the field, and research methods. Students will examine the impact of culture, social interaction, social structure, socialization, and social institutions on social behavior. The second is SOC228 Social Structure and the Individual. This course examines the reciprocal relationship between the individual and society. Topics covered include: the nature and scope of sociological social psychology, symbols and symbolic communication, the structure of social interaction, the development of self and identity, small group processes and collective behavior, and the production of social structure and culture.
Required Textbook: Stark State College. 2020. Cultural Diversity. Norton.