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MODULE 1 ESSAY ASSIGNMENTFirst, based on the assigned textbook readings, please answer the following questions:1. Define sociology and describe its’ approach to studying social life. What are the key long-term research interests of sociology? What did sociologists concentrate on in the XVIII, the XIX and the XX century? What do they focus on now? Why? Briefly describe the key challenges/issues that sociologists focus on today, as presented in the textbook. (Your answer should be 250-300 words long).2. Define the concept of the social construction of reality. How do humans construct social reality? What does it mean that this reality “has a life on its own” or becomes “autonomous”? How do the socially constructed structures/realities influence people’s behavior? Illustrate your explanation with the relevant example from the textbook. (Your answer should be 250-300 words long).Second, based on the assigned Applied Learning Tasks, please answer the following questions:3. Why do humans dominate the world? What is so uniquely human that makes our domination possible? Specifically, how do we differ from other animals when it comes the way we cooperate with each other? Support your answer with two examples from the TED Talk. (Your answer should be 150-200 words long and should be based on the assigned TED Talk only).4. What role does imagination play in various forms of human cooperation? How do we humans convince numerous strangers to cooperate with us? Briefly describe the key fields of human cooperation and what makes each of them possible (as presented in the TED Talk). Which of these fields of cooperation is the most

successful one from a global perspective? Please explain why? (Your answer should be 200-250 words long).5. Based on Introduction in Harari (2019), briefly describe the most important challenges/choices that we humans face today (in the XXI century). Were you aware of these challenges? Which of these challenges would you consider to most important (e.g., the ecological crisis or the epidemic of fake news) ? Please explain why? (Your answer should be 250-300 words long).6. Based on Chapter 1 in Harari (2019), briefly describe the three stories that humans (socially) constructed “to explain the whole past and to predict the future of the entire world”? What are the key assumptions/beliefs in each story? In particular, what are the key components of the liberal story? Why is the liberal story being discredited now? Please elaborate. How did the readings in Harari enhance your understanding of the concept of the social construction of reality? (Your answer should be 350-400 words long). REQUIRED FORMAT: This essay assignment should be 1450 – 1750 words long, typed single-spaced with normal font size (11-12 points). Your answers to the posed questions should be numbered (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6), structured into paragraphs, and based on the assigned readings and Applied Learning Tasks ONLY. Essays that include references to (or are based on) other irrelevant sources will be rejected. Turnitin is enabled for this assignment. For your essay to be original, avoid using direct quotations (i.e., 10% or less). Submit your essay as a Microsoft Word file. Be sure to answer all questions and correct all spelling and grammatical errors.