sociology report

MOVIE A BEAUTIFUL MIND ( THIS IS MOVIE YOULL DO REPORT ON )

Report Outline

Because this is a report and not an essay, you can simply write your
responses in the order of the questions. Each question can be a separate
paragraph. Include the underlined concepts in your responses.

A. Introduction (half page, 20 points)

Please
write the introduction AFTER you have answered the questions in the
other sections. Then, come back and write one sentence that describes
what you will be saying in each section.

1. What is the title of the movie and why did you choose it?
2. Sentence about interpretive paradigm in section B.
3. Sentence about positivist paradigm in section C.
4. Sentence about conclusion.

B. Apply an Interpretive Paradigm to Make Inferences about Relationships between People (1-2 pages, 30 points)

Self-reflection: Describe your subjective experience of the movie. Please be specific and provide explanations or examples.

1. Overall, did you enjoy the movie? Explain what you did and did not enjoy.
2. What emotional reactions (laughter, boredom, anxiety, satisfaction) did you have during the movie?
   • Explain the characters’ experiences or actions that influenced your emotions.
3. Which of the characters in the movie did you sympathize or empathize with, or understood their feelings and thoughts? Why?
4. Which of the characters in the movie did you dislike or have difficulty understanding their feelings and thoughts? Why?

Weber and Verstehen:
Choose ONE character in the movie whom you believe you understand
(choose from #3 above) and imagine yourself experiencing the situations
which s/he encountered in the movie.

Answer these questions to guide your interpretation. Include the underlined concepts in your responses. Give specific examples from your observations to support your answers.

1. What is the name of a character in the movie whom you understand?
   What do you understand about the character? Social status, personality,
   emotional reactions, motivations, beliefs, behaviors…?
2. Who was an agent of socialization for this character in the movie? What statuses did these two characters have in their relationship with each other?
3. How did these two people interact in one conversation or argument?
   • What did they say to each other and how did they act and react toward each other?
   • What symbols were important in this interaction? Words? Facial expressions? Body language?
   • What meanings did the symbols have for each of the characters? Did they share the same meanings?
4. Did these individuals interact differently when they were on the front-stage (in public) than they did on the back-stage (in private)? Explain what they did differently.
5. Who changed their sense of self when these two people interacted? What changed or what did they learn from each other?

C. Apply ONE Positivist Paradigm to Make Deductions about the Society (1-2 pages, 30 points)

Identify the macro-level aspects of the society in the movie. Include the underlined concepts in your responses to these questions:

1. Where does the movie take place? Name the community of people or city, and nation?
   • Where do you see evidence of the location in the movie?
2. During which time period does the movie occur: present day, 1900s, 1800s, what decades?
   • Where do you see evidence of the time period in the movie?
3. What large-scale (historical) events or trends
   does the movie show or mention? (i.e. war, economic changes, changes in
   culture, technological inventions, social movements, etc.)
   • Where do you see evidence?
4. Which theoretical perspective is most helpful for making deductions about the movie, Durkheim or Marx?Examine
   the two positivist perspectives below: Durkheim and Functionalism, Marx
   and Conflict Perspective. CHOOSE ONE of these and answer the questions
   about the society in the movie. Include the underlined concepts in your responses to the questions.

Durkheim and Functionalism:

1. What social institutions were important in the movie? Social institutions are listed on the Functionalist chart.
   • Name and give a brief description of at least 2 institutions in the movie: family, education, religion…
2. Which institution is most important? Why?
   • What are the manifest functions of the institution which is most important? Discuss 2-3 manifest functions.
   • In this movie, is this institution functional or dysfunctional? Explain your thinking and give evidence from the movie.
3. How did individual people in the movie function within the institution?
   • Which individuals performed their role (duties) adequately and which did not? Describe 2 individuals and how they performed their roles.
4. What social forces were important in the movie? Social forces may include the division of labor, social solidarity, social regulation, social integration, routines within institutions, anomie (little social regulation or low predictability in life)…
   • Name and give a brief description of the most important social force in the movie.
   • How did this social force affect 2 or more individuals in the movie?

Marx and Conflict Perspective:

1. What aspects of economy or politics (government) were important in the movie? See the chart of social institutions for ideas.
   • Name and give a brief description of the businesses and the technologies used at work that you see in the movie.
   • How did businesses, technology or work affect individuals in the movie? Describe.
   • Name and give a brief description of the government agencies, policies or laws that you see in the movie.
   • How did the government agencies, policies or laws affect individuals in the movie?
2. What groups of people formed around social statuses (i.e. categories such as class, race, gender) in the movie?
   • What names or labels did people use for themselves and others in these groups?
   • Did the groups with common interests treat “others” unequally? How?
   • Did these groups compete with each other or engage in conflict? Describe a situation in which this occurred.
3. How did individuals in the movie react to the competition or conflict between groups?
   • Describe examples of individuals who participated in the competition or conflict and others who avoided it.

D. Conclusion (half page, 15 points)

The ability to make inferences and
deductions about social situations are important critical thinking
skills. Review the inferences and deductions you made using sociological
perspectives in the previous sections of this report. Then, answer the
questions about your own thinking.

• Which perspective makes the most sense to you? Why?
• Which perspective is most confusing to you? Why?
• Can you apply any of the concepts or perspectives to actual social situations (not movies)? Explain which you can apply.
• How did this report help you to develop a sociological imagination?
  • Give an example which shows how you connected the
    personal experiences of an individual with social changes that occurred
    in the movie.