Challenges Ahead and Activism Week 10 Collective Behavior What is it? Non-institutionalized activity in which several people voluntarily engage. Examples? Theoretical Perspectives Emergent-Norm Perspective People perceive and respond to circumstances based on their own set of norms but when a situation arises that is unfamiliar, people act in groups to develop new norms What does this sound like? (which classical theory?) Value-Added Theory A set of conditions must be in pace for collective behavior to occur – structural conduciveness, structural strain, generalized belief, precipitating factors, mobilization, and social control Which classical theory does this sound like? Assembling Perspective Focus on collective action based on shared interest Individuals are rational beings Social Movements What are they? Purposeful, organized groups working toward a common social goal Local, state, national, and global levels Examples? Stages of social movements Preliminary stage, coalescence, institutionalization, decline Theoretical Perspectives Resource mobilization: Ability to acquire resources and mobilize individuals Framing/Frame Analysis: Diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational framing Frame alignment process New Social Movement Theory: Understands social movements as they relate to politics, identity, culture, and social change Examples: Ecofeminism, transgender rights movement, black lives matter movement Social Change How does it happen? Changes in technology, social institutions, population, and the environment How might these things cause change, spur collective action, or open the door for new social movements? Activism Vigorous direct action used to catalyze changes in social policies, institutions, and structures. Protests, petitions, strikes, lobbying, public displays, political artwork, community education What are some unique challenges to activism that have come up during the pandemic? Discussion Have any topics or social problems discussed this quarter prompted you to become involved in activism, if you weren’t involved already? If yes, what have you become involved in and why? What challenges do you foresee for the future of solving social problems? Can we overcome those challenges? What would it take to overcome them? Family & Marriage Week 6 Key Take Aways Opinions on family and marriage as well as trends in marriage and divorce have changed drastically over the years Nuclear families are not the only type of family Marriage can create advantages for couples and their children, but it can also be a source of inequality both within and between families Research and discussions on marriage and family in the US tend to leave out lots of things (which we’ll discuss) Overview Textbook Definition Family: “a group of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or a mutual commitment and who care for one another” Families throughout history & the status of the nuclear family ...

1. Challenges Ahead and Activism
Week 10
Collective Behavior
What is it?
Non-institutionalized activity in which several people
voluntarily engage.
Examples?
Theoretical Perspectives
Emergent-Norm Perspective
People perceive and respond to circumstances based on their
own set of norms but when a situation arises that is unfamiliar,
people act in groups to develop new norms
What does this sound like? (which classical theory?)
Value-Added Theory
A set of conditions must be in pace for collective behavior to
occur – structural conduciveness, structural strain, generalized
belief, precipitating factors, mobilization, and social control
Which classical theory does this sound like?
Assembling Perspective
Focus on collective action based on shared interest
Individuals are rational beings

2. Social Movements
What are they?
Purposeful, organized groups working toward a common social
goal
Local, state, national, and global levels
Examples?
Stages of social movements
Preliminary stage, coalescence, institutionalization, decline
Theoretical Perspectives
Resource mobilization: Ability to acquire resources and
mobilize individuals
Framing/Frame Analysis: Diagnostic, prognostic, and
motivational framing
Frame alignment process
New Social Movement Theory: Understands social movements
as they relate to politics, identity, culture, and social change
Examples: Ecofeminism, transgender rights movement, black
lives matter movement
Social Change
How does it happen?
Changes in technology, social institutions, population, and the
environment
How might these things cause change, spur collective action, or
open the door for new social movements?
Activism
Vigorous direct action used to catalyze changes in social

3. policies, institutions, and structures.
Protests, petitions, strikes, lobbying, public displays, political
artwork, community education
What are some unique challenges to activism that have come up
during the pandemic?
Discussion
Have any topics or social problems discussed this quarter
prompted you to become involved in activism, if you weren’t
involved already?
If yes, what have you become involved in and why?
What challenges do you foresee for the future of solving social
problems?
Can we overcome those challenges? What would it take to
overcome them?
Family & Marriage
Week 6
Key Take Aways
Opinions on family and marriage as well as trends in marriage
and divorce have changed drastically over the years

4. Nuclear families are not the only type of family
Marriage can create advantages for couples and their children,
but it can also be a source of inequality both within and
between families
Research and discussions on marriage and family in the US tend
to leave out lots of things (which we’ll discuss)
Overview
Textbook Definition
Family: “a group of two or more people who are related by
blood, marriage, adoption, or a mutual commitment and who
care for one another”
Families throughout history & the status of the nuclear family
Nuclear families are the most universal now, but have not
always been
For most of human history life expectancies were much shorter
than today, meaning that most children grew up with one or no
parents
Divorce rates began to rise in the 1960s and 70s
Major marriage and family arrangements in the US
In 2019, about 6.1 per 1,000 Americans got married
About 2.7 per 1,000 Americans got divorced
As of 2019, approx. 48.2% of all Americans ages 15+ were
married
THE FAMILY
Definitions from Social Problems: Continuity and Change
Changes in Marriage and Cohabitation

5. THE FAMILY
Source: Pew Research Center
Trust and Satisfaction within Marriage and Cohabitation
THE FAMILY
Source: Pew Research Center
Reasons for Marriage and Cohabitation and Opinions on Legal
Rights
THE FAMILY
Source: Pew Research Center
Sociological Perspectives on the Family
THE FAMILYTheoretical PerspectiveMajor
AssumptionsFunctionalismThe family performs several essential
functions for society. It socializes children, it provides
emotional and practical support, it helps regulate sexual activity
and reproduction, and it provides its members with a social
identity. Family problems stem from sudden or far-reaching
changes in the family’s structure or processes; these problems
threaten the family’s stability and weaken society.ConflictThe
family contributes to social inequality by reinforcing economic

6. inequality and patriarchy. Family problems stem from economic
inequality and from patriarchal ideology. The family can also be
a source of conflict, including physical and emotional
violence.Symbolic InteractionismThe interaction of family
members and couples involves shared understandings of their
situations. Individuals within partnerships have different styles
of communication, and social class affects expectations that
partners have of their marriages/partnerships and of each other.
Family problems stem from difference understandings and
expectations that spouses have of their
marriage.IntersectionalityMarriage and family life are
differently experienced and viewed based on class, race, gender,
nationality and other differentiating factors; any inequalities
that arise are based in racial, gender, and/or economic
inequalities
The divorce rate today is only slightly higher than at the end of
WW2
Reasons for divorce
Women’s increasing economic independence
Divorce is no longer extremely taboo
Easier to legally obtain
Effects of divorce
Women often fall into poverty
Mental health and well-being gets worse for some but gets
better for others
Worsened financial situations for children
Parental conflict affects children more than the actual divorce
Children often become estranged from their fathers
Changes and Problems in American Families

7. Working mothers
Effect on children is mixed – depends largely on income and
education levels of parents
Family violence
Violence against intimate partners
Very common; about 80% consists of violence by men against
women
Violence against children
Difficult to know how prevalent it is
Families in the Future
Implications of social science theory & research
Most families that live in poverty are headed by women, and
most of these households are the result of divorce – very little
social support for these types of families
Much of family violence is rooted in the stress of poverty and
gender inequalities – reducing poverty and gender inequality
would reduce violence
Low-conflict marriages that end in divorce are usually spurred
by financial difficulties – government efforts to reduce poverty
would help
1. Since so many marriages end in divorce, why do you think
that so many people continue to marry?
2. Why do you think the United States lags behind other
democracies in efforts to help families?
3. We just discussed marriage and family in current US society.
What is missing from this discussion? What don’t we have data
on?
Whose experiences are we not considering?

8. Think - Pair - Share
Indigenous Perspectives
Not all tribes have “wedding ceremonies” as we commonly take
part in today
There is infinite variety in defining marriage and family
Communal responsibility
Involvement of grandparents and other community/tribal
members
“One of the major destructive forces to American Indian
peoples were the assimilation-based policies that destroyed
traditional kinship systems and family units. This destruction
contributed to the cycle of dysfunction that continues to plague
families and homes in Indian country. A second major
destructive blow occurred when colonial forces, through law
and policy, reinforced white male patriarchal kinship and family
systems” (Killsback 2019)
The impact of boarding/assimilation schools
Traditional kinship systems
Example: “The traditional Cheyenne kinship system emphasized
familial relationships for the sake of childrearing and imparting
traditional values of respect, reciprocity, and balance”
(Killsback 2019)
Source: Killsback, Leo Kevin. 2019. “A nation of families:
traditional kinship, the foundation for Cheyenne sovereignty.”
AlterNative15(1):34-43. DOI: 10.1177/1177180118822833

9. Population and Environment
Week 8
Learning Objectives
Understand the basics of demography and be able to describe its
central concepts
Explain why experts argue that world hunger does not resort
from overpopulation
Understand and provide examples of arguments surrounding the
threat of overpopulation in the US and how they have been
marked by anti-immigrant prejudice
Explain the concepts of environmental inequality and
environmental racism
Understand the various environmental problems that exist today
Theoretical PerspectiveMajor
AssumptionsFunctionalismPopulation and the environment
affect each other. Normal pop. growth is essential for any
society, but pop. growth that is too great or too little leads to
various problems. Environmental problems are to be expected in
an industrial society, but severe environmental problems are
dysfunctional.Conflict TheoryPopulation growth is not a serious
problem because the world has sufficient food and other
resources, all of which must be more equitably distributed. The
practices of multinational corporations and weak regulation of
these practices account for many environmental
problems.Symbolic InteractionismPeople have certain
perceptions and understandings of population and environmental
issues. Their social backgrounds affect these perceptions, which

10. are important to appreciate if population and environmental
problems are to be addressed.IntersectionalityThe world may
have sufficient resources, but depending on one’s class, race,
gender, etc., access to those resources may be limited.
Corporations and deregulation cause many environmental
problems, but they have particularly severe consequences for
poor communities and people of color.
Population
Central concepts of demography
The study of population change
Fertility and birth rates, mortality and death rates, and
migration
Demographic transition theory
Links population growth to the level of technological
development across 3 stages of social evolution
1. Preindustrial societies; birth and death rate both high
2. Development of industrial societies; birth rate fairly high,
death rate drops
3. Death rate remains low, birth rate finally drops
Source: https://www.gktoday.in/gk/demographic-transition-
theory/
Population Growth and Decline
Population growth remains a problem in poor nations
Population decline is a problem in some industrial nations
For a country to maintain its population, the average child-
bearing person needs to have 2.1 children, the replacement level
for population stability

11. People in many industrial nations are living longer while bir th
rates drop, creating a higher proportion of older people and
smaller proportion of younger people.
To deal with these types of population problems, governments
have initiated pronatalist policies aimed at encouraging people
to have more children
Other Population Growth Issues
Environmental concerns – examples?
Interpersonal conflict – examples?
Armed conflict
As populations grow, they need more food, water, and other
resources. When these resources have become too scarce over
the centuries, many societies have decided to take resources
from other societies, “by any means necessary,” meaning, the
use of force (Gleditsch & Theisen 2010)
Efforts to limit immigration have led to
Deportation
Detention
Issues of domestic and state violence
Measuring Fertility & Birth
Fertility: number of live births
Crude birth rate: number of live births for every 1,000 people in
a population in a given year
General fertility rate: number of live births per 1,000 women
aged 15 – 44 (i.e., of childbearing age)
Total fertility rate: number of children an average woman is
expected to have in her lifetime (considering that some women
have more children, and some have fewer or none)
Completed fertility rate: number of lifetime births per woman

12. ages 40 – 44
Fertility Rates in the US Over Time
Fertility rate dropped during the Great Depression, from 1920 –
1935, before rising afterward until 1955
Sharp increase from 1945 – 1955: Boomers!
Fertility rate fell after 60s until 70s and has remained relative
steady since, with slight fluctuations throughout
It’s your turn to interpret these data and graphs!
Source: Vespa, Jonathan, Lauren Medina, and David M.
Armstrong, “Demographic Turning Points for the United States:
Population Projections for 2020 to 2060,” Current Population
Reports, P25-1144, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 2020.
Worldwide Population
Poor nations have predominantly agricultural economies and

13. children are an important economic resource
Infant and child mortality rates are high in poorer, more
agricultural nations (the US is an exception among other
industrialized, democratic nations)
Traditional gender roles are often still very strong in poor
nations
Contraception is inaccessible and uncommon in poor nations
Discussion
Do you think nations with low birth rates should provide
incentives for people to have more babies? Why or why not?
Source: https://www.independent.co.uk
Measuring Mortality & Migration
Mortality refers to the number of deaths
Demographers use a crude death rate, the number of deaths for
every 1,000 people in a population in a given year
Societies with higher proportions of older people should have a
higher crude death rate
Migration is the movement of people into and out of specific
regions
Domestic migration: happens within a country’s national
borders
International migration: happens across national borders
When people move into a region, we call it in-migration or

14. immigration
The in-migration rate is the number of people moving into a
region for every 1,000 people in the region
When people move out of a region, we call it out-migration or
emigration
The out-migration rate is the number of people moving from the
region for every 1,000 people
Overpopulation
During the 1970s, population growth became a major issue in
the US and some other nations
Zero Population Growth (ZPG): grassroots organization that
tried to raise awareness about the threat of overpopulation;
joined with environmental movement
ZPG argued that humans should stop having more babies than
they want, and that through education and contraception, birth
rates would go down
There was a lot of concern over the rapidly growing population
and fear that our “small planet” could not support massive
population increases (Ehrlich 1969)
Many experts today argue that overpopulation is directly
responsible for hunger and malnutrition across the globe (Gillis
2011)
Population
Thomas Malthus
Mass starvation, overpopulation as a threat
Population increases geometrically (2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128,
256, 512, 1024…)
Food production increases arithmetically (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…)
World hunger and overpopulation
Not highly correlated, instead world hunger is due to a lack of
affordable and accessible food
Anti-immigrant prejudice in the US

15. Not about personal economic concerns or state’s rights, instead,
related to racial bias and discrimination
Think – Pair – Share
Before taking part in this discussion, did you think that food
scarcity was the major reason for world hunger today? Why do
you think a belief in food scarcity is so common among people
in the US?
Source: https://fee.org/articles/3-common-immigration-myths-
debunked/
The Environment
The environment as a topic of sociological study
The most serious environmental problems are due to human
activity
Environmental problems have a significant impact on people,
the economy, and availability of resources
Change must happen through economic and environmental
policies
Environmental problems differentially affect the population
based on class, race & ethnicity, etc.
The environmental movement is a social movement
Source: Illustration by Ricardo Levins Morales,
https://www.capeandislands.org/post/massachusetts-has-
environmental-justice-problem#stream/0

16. The Environment
Environmental sociology: the study of the interaction between
human behavior and the natural and physical environment
Environmental sociology assumes, “that humans are part of the
environment and that the environment and society can only be
fully understood in relation to each other” (McCarthy &
King,2009, p. 1)
Because humans are responsible for the world’s environmental
problems, humans have both the ability and responsibility to
address these problems
Environmental sociologists emphasize two important
dimensions of the relationship between society and the
environment:
The impact of human activity and decision making
The existence and consequences of the environmental inequality
and environmental racism
The Environment
Environmental inequality: low-income populations and people
of color are disproportionately affected by environmental
problems
Environmental racism: people of color have a greater likelihood
of experiencing problems related to the environment
Environmental justice: the scholarship on environmental
inequality, public policy efforts, and activism aimed at reducing
these forms of inequality and racism
Environmental Problems
Air pollution, global climate change, water pollution and
inadequate sanitation, nuclear power, ground pollution and
hazardous waste, oceans, food

17. Source: https://eea-greens.eu/2018/06/01/15-major-global-
environmental-problems/
Two-Minute Write-Up
How much of the environmental racism that exists do you think
is intentional? Explain your answer.
Have you seen examples of environmental racism or classism in
your own life?
Source:
http://tonybardwrite.blogspot.com/2015/06/intergenerational -
environmental-racism.html
Addressing Population Problems and Improving the
Environment
Sociological-based strategies that could help address population
issues
To reduce world hunger, inequalities must be addressed – which
inequalities? On what scale?
Better education (especially for women); more effective
contraception
Sociological-based strategies that could help improve
environmental problems

18. Must change behaviors and decisions that harm the environment
Must lessen (and hopefully end) the environmental harm
experienced by the poor and people of color
Let’s think structurally
Aging and Ageism
Week 8
Learning Objectives
Define and explain social gerontology
Distinguish between the different types of aging
Understand and describe the major assumptions of
disengagement, activity, and conflict theories of aging, and
critically assess them
Describe differences in life expectancy around the world
List the potential problems associated with the growing
proportion of older individuals in poor nations
Explain evidence for inequality in US life expectancy
Discuss the several problems experienced by the US elderly
The concept and experience of aging
Identify traits, characteristics, and/or behaviors that would alert
you to an individual being elder.
Dimensions of Aging

19. Social gerontology: the study of the social aspects of aging
Chronological aging: the number of years since someone was
born
Biological aging: physical changes that tend to slow us down as
we get older
Psychological aging: changes in mental functioning and
personality
Social Aging: changes in roles and relationships within
families, friend groups, and formal organizations
Perspectives on AgingTheoretical perspectivesMajor
assumptionsDisengagement TheoryTo enable younger people to
assume important roles, a society must encourage its older
people to disengage from their previous roles and to take on
roles more appropriate to their physical and mental decline.
This theory is considered a functionalist explanation of the
aging process.Activity TheoryOlder people benefit themselves
and their society if they continue to be active. Their positive
perceptions of the aging process are crucial to their ability to
remain active. This theory is considered an interactionist
perspective of the aging process.Conflict TheoryOlder people
experience age-based prejudice and discrimination. Inequalities
among the aged exist along lines of gender, race/ethnicity, and
social class. This theory falls into the more general conflict
theory of society.
Perspectives on Aging
Critique of Disengagement Theory
Assumes older people are no longer capable of adequately
performing their previous roles
Many elders cannot afford to disengage from their previous
roles; if they leave their jobs, they are also leaving needed

20. sources of income
Critique of Activity Theory
Overestimates the ability of the elderly to maintain their level
of activity
Too much of an individualistic approach, as it overlooks the
barriers many societies place on successful aging.
Some elders are less able to remain active because of their
poverty, gender, and social class, as these and other structural
conditions may adversely affect their physical and mental
health.
Critique of Conflict Theory
Blames ageism on modern, capitalist economies. However,
negative views of the elderly also exist to some extent in
modern, socialist societies and in preindustrial societies
Perspectives on Aging
Looking at your own cultural background, which theory of
aging—disengagement, activity, or conflict theory, best
explains how your culture views older people? Why?
Life Expectancy and the “Graying of Society”
Differences in life expectancy globally varies drastically
Potential problems with growing proportion of older adults in
poor nations
Health care costs
Changing family patterns and weakening older adults’ influence
Average Life Expectancy Across the Globe (Years)
Life Expectancy and the Graying of Society
Major factors: wealth and/or poverty of a nation

21. Wealthier nations have much longer life expectancies than the
poorest ones
Low-income nations often suffer from hunger, AIDS, and other
deadly/more severe diseases; they often lack indoor plumbing
and other modern conveniences found in almost every home in
the wealthiest nations
Despite international disparities, life expectancy has been
increasing worldwide.
Avg. was 46 worldwide in the early 1950s but was 69 in 2009
Expected to reach 75 by 2050
Inequality in US Life Expectancy
Biological and Psychological Aspects of Aging
Biological changes associated with aging
External changes are easy to identify
Internal changes are more consequential and more difficult to
identify

22. Achieving successful aging
Exercise, good nutrition, stress reduction
Informal, personal networks
Religious involvement
Problems Facing Older Adults in the US
Sociodemographic profile
65 – 74 years of age, more than half are female, 80% are white,
8.6% are black or African-American, 7% are Latinx.
Problems experienced by older adults in the US
Poverty, mental health issues, physical health decline, limited
access to adequate care, lessened financial security, workplace
ageism, social isolation, elder abuse
Of all people aged 65 or older not living in a nursing home or
other institution
50% have arthritis
56% have high blood pressure
32% have heart disease
35% have hearing loss
18% have vision problems
19% have diabetes
Problems Facing Older Adults in the US
Older adults also suffer from dementia, including Alzheimer’s,
which affects almost 13% of people 65 or older

23. 15% of people 65+ suffer from depression
2/3 of people 65+ or older need help with at least one “daily
living” activity, such as preparing a meal
Problems Facing Older Adults in the US
Financial security and employment
If social security did not exist, the poverty rate among elderly
US residents would be 45%, or 5 times higher than the actual
rate (Kerby 2012)
Once they become poor, older people are more likely than
younger people to stay poor
Older women are more likely than older men to live in poverty
Older people of color are much more likely than older whites to
live in poverty
Social Security benefits are tied to people’s earnings before
retirement; the higher the earnings, the higher the monthly
benefit
What are the implications of this?
Nursing Home Care (as of 2016)
About 15,600 nursing homes, 1.3 million residents
69.3% of nursing homes are for-profit
Cost prohibitive (~ $100,000 per year)
Issues with quality of care
Workplace Ageism
Many workplaces do not permit part-time working arrangements
that many older adults favor
The rise in high-tech jobs means that older workers would need
to be retrained for many of today’s jobs, and few training
programs exist

24. Federal law prohibits age discrimination, but it still exists
Some employers do not think older people “up to” the job, even
though evidence indicates they are good, productive workers
More than half of older workers have experienced or observed
age discrimination in the workplace and more than 80% of
older workers have experiences or observed jokes, disrespect, or
other prejudicial comments about old age
Earnings above a certain level reduce Social Security benefits
before full retirement age, leading some older people to avoid
working at all or to at least limit their hours
Bereavement and Social Isolation
Women are more likely to live alone, because they tend to live
longer than men and most older adults in the US are/were in
heterosexual relationships
As baby boomers begin reaching their older years, more of them
will have no children because they were more likely than
previous generations to not marry and/or to not have children if
they did marry
The grief that usually follows bereavement can last several
years and, if it becomes extreme, can involve anxiety,
depression, guilt, loneliness, and other problems
Elder Abuse
Some seniors are abused by their own relatives
Physical or sexual violence
Psychological or emotional abuse
Neglect of care
Financial exploitation
At least 10% of older adults in the US have suffered at least one
form of abuse, amounting to hundreds of thousands of cases
annually (National Center on Elder Abuse 2010)

25. Reducing Ageism and Helping Older Adults in the US
Difficulty in predicting the future
Programs and policies
Discussion:
Will we run out of Social Security?
Can we rely on social security for our retirement?
What do you think is the most important action the United
States should take to help older adults?
Reducing Ageism and Helping Older Adults in the US
A sociological understanding of aging and ageism reminds us
that many of the problems that older adults in the US face are
ultimately rooted not in their chronological age but rather in the
stereotypes about them and in the lack of adequate social
programs like those found throughout other Western nations.
With this understanding, it becomes clear that efforts to
improve the lives of older adults in the US must focus on
providing them with more numerous and more extensive social
services and programming of many kinds and on reducing the
stereotypes and prejudicial attitudes that many US residents
hold of older people.
.MsftOfcThm_Accent1_Fill {
fill:#4472C4;
}
.MsftOfcThm_Accent1_Stroke {
stroke:#4472C4;

26. }
Alcohol and Other Drugs
Week 9
Drug Use in History
Ancient times
Mead, wine, opium/poppy seeds, cannabis, plants & herbs, coca
leaves, cohoba/mimosa beans, tobacco
Humans have been using “drugs” for thousands of years
US History (during and post-colonization)
Tobacco in colonial era
Alcohol – rum and beer in mass quantities, later even more
types and larger quantities
Coffee starting in the 19th century
Opium, cocaine, and marijuana
Illegality of Drugs
So, why did a lot of these drugs become illegal?
Racialization of drugs
Opium and Chinese immigrants
Cocaine and African Americans
Marijuana and Mexican immigrants
Drug Use Today
Drug: any substance other than food that affects the structure
and/or functioning of the body when ingested/used/take n

27. Prescription drugs – 10s of billions of dollars annually
Alcohol, tobacco, and coffee are also drugs, even though we
might not think of them as such
The distinction between legal and illegal drugs has no logical
basis
Alcohol and tobacco cause the most harm even though they are
legal
Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug (yes, it is
still federally illegal and illegal in most states)
Although other illegal drugs have a low prevalence of use,
millions still use annually
Annual Deaths from Legal and Illegal Drugs
Types of Drugs
Depressants: slow down the activity of the central nervous
system
Aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, alcohol, barbiturates, sleep
medicines
Hallucinogens: mind-altering drugs that cause delusions and
hallucinations
Ecstasy, LSD, mescaline, PCP, psilocybin
Narcotics: Sometimes classified as depressants because they
slow down the central nervous system, but still considered
they’re own category; pain relief, euphoria, relaxation,
drowsiness, addictive
All derived from opium; codeine, heroin, methadone, morphine
Stimulants: Opposite effect of depressants by speeding up the
central nervous system; increase alertness and energy; produce
euphoria or anxiety; addictive
Caffeine, cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine (tobacco), Ritalin
Marijuana is its own category

28. Alcohol
Moderate use is relatively safe for most people and may have
some health benefits, but people don’t always drink in
moderation
Consequences of alcohol abuse: 18 million Americans abuse it
Personal health effects, traffic fatalities, violent crime
College Students
Full time college students, ages 18 – 22, drink more often and
more heavily than their peers who are not in college
Binge drinking; poor academic performance, alcohol related
injuries and deaths, assaults
Tobacco and Nicotine
Kills four times as many people every year as those killed by
alcohol use
Because nicotine does not distort perception like alcohol or
other psychoactive drugs, someone using tobacco can safely
drive, operate machinery, etc.
About half of all cigarette smokers will one day die a premature
death caused by a smoking-related illness
Lung cancer and lung disease, coronary heart disease, stroke,
bladder cancer, cervical cancer, esophageal cancer, stomach
cancer, throat cancer; lower bone density and high risk for hip
fracture for women as they age
Americans spend $90 billion on tobacco products, annually

29. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,
Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (April 3,
2014). The TEDS Report: Gender Differences in Primary
Substance of Abuse across Age Groups. Rockville, MD.

30. Discussion
Why might these differences exist?
Does your own level of use or nonuse match the average for
your own demographic?
Explaining Drug Use
Biological Explanations
Some people are more vulnerable to the effects and addictive
properties of drugs; this is thought to be due to a biological or
genetic predisposition
Research on twins has found that identical twins are more likely
than fraternal twins to both have or not have alcohol problems
Still not well understood
Psychological Explanations
Predispositions based on personality differences including low
self-esteem and self-confidence, low trust in others, need for
thrills and stimulation
Sociological Explanations
Importance of social structure, social bonds to family & school,
social interaction, and culture

31. What do sociological theories say?
Intersectional theorists: Focus on inequalities across race, class,
gender, nationality, etc.
What would they say?
Drug Policy and “the War” on Illegal Drugs
Treatment: Intended for people who already use drugs and want
to reduce or eliminate their drug use
Prevention: Strategy that tries to prevent drug use before it
starts through education and drug testing
DARE: Police officers speak to middle-schoolers about drugs
Research shows that the DARE programs do not reduce
subsequent drug use among their audiences compared to
children who were not exposed
Harm Reduction: Strategy that attempts to minimize the harm
caused by drugs
The war on drugs
Philosophical considerations: To what extent should the
government in a free society outlaw behaviors that me be
harmful, even if people want to engage in them?
Social science considerations: How might laws against drugs do
mor harm than good?
Addressing the Drug Problem and Reducing Drug Use
Critics of current drug policies argue that because drugs will
always be around, then our society should do what it can to
minimize the harms that drugs cause instead of arresting and
imprisoning people for using drugs.
Possible next steps:
Provide legally prescribed drugs for addicts
Encourage health-care providers to screen more carefully for

32. drug use
Base drug sentencing on the level of violence in which some
drug sellers engage rather than the quantity sold
Abandon DARE
Provide addicts with small cash payments for clean drug tests
Integrate former drug dealers and recovering addicts back into
society
Raise alcohol taxes
Prohibit alcohol sales to anyone who has engaged in drunk
driving or committed violence while under the influence of
alcohol
Allow marijuana users to grow their own cannabis or buy from
small growers
Raise the cigarette tax
Schools and Education
Week 6
Overview
Education: “the social institution through which a society
teaches its members the skills, knowledge, norms, and values
they need to learn to become good, productive members of their
society”
Informal and formal education
The history of compulsory education
Began to develop in mid-1800s
Original intentions included unifying the nation and teaching
“American” values to immigrants
Industrialization required more people to read, write, and do
math

33. Definitions from Social Problems: Continuity and Change
2-minute Write-up
Should the government require that children receive a formal
education, as it now does, or should it be up to parents to decide
whether their children should receive a formal education?
What kind of education did you have growing up? Public,
private, homeschool, or something else? Was your school
district well-funded? Do you feel as though the curriculum was
helpful for children? Was the curriculum accurate (in terms of
history and other scientific facts)?
Overview (continued)
Differences in educational attainment
Social class: Students from high-income families are more
likely to go to and graduate from college
Gender: Older women have lower edu attainment than older
men, but the opposite is true of younger generations
Race and Ethnicity: Black and Latinx individuals tend to have
lower edu attainment than whites and Asians
US ranking: behind many other industrial nations on edu
attainment
ranked 21st out of 28 nations for high school graduation rates
(Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development)
Impact of education on income

34. Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Sociological Perspectives on EducationTheoretical
perspectiveMajor assumptionsFunctionalismEducation serves
several functions for society, including (a) socialization, (b)
social integration, (c) social placement, and (d) social &
cultural innovation. Latent functions include childcare,
establishing friendships, and lowering unemployment by
keeping HS students out of the full-time labor force. Problems
in the educational institution harm society because all these
functions cannot be completely fulfilled.ConflictEducation
promotes social inequality through tracking and standardized
testing and the impact of its “hidden curriculum.” Schools differ
widely in their funding and learning conditions, and this type of
inequality leads to learning disparities that reinforce social
inequality.Symbolic InteractionismFocuses on social interaction
in the classroom, on the playground, etc. Specific research finds
that social interaction in schools affects the development of
gender roles and that teachers’ expectations of students’
intellectual abilities affects how much they learn. Certain
educational problems have their basis in social interactions and
expectations.IntersectionalityInequality develops through

35. standardized testing, differing levels of resources, learning
conditions, etc. that manifest differently depending on
intersections of gender, race, class, nationality, etc.
Issues and Problems in Elementary and Secondary Education
Perpetuating social inequality
Schools in poor communities have fewer resources and less
funding than schools in wealthier communities
Segregation
De jure: segregated by law
De facto: segregation stemming from neighborhood residenti al
patterns
School violence
Violence on decline since 1990s; Less than 1% of homicides
involving children take place in or near school
Mass shootings
Bullying and cyberbullying: common and cause serious
psychological problems
Zero-tolerance policies
Studies show these policies actually have adverse effects
Social inequality in education levels
Issues and Problems in Higher Education
Struggling college students
Homesickness, feeling alone, academic difficulties, relationship
problems, family issues, serious illness or death of family
member, personal illness, financial troubles
Legacy admissions: students who are the children (or sometimes
otherwise related) of graduates of an institution are given
preference in admissions
College and university graduation rates

36. 6-year graduation rate for first-time, full-time undergraduates
seeking a bachelor’s in fall 2012: by 2018 62% of students
graduated
65% for females, 58% for males
Racial breakdown for 2012 starting cohort, graduating within 6-
years: 65.9% of whites, 42.4% of Black students, 56.7% of
Latinx students, 75.5% of Asian students, 49.1% of Pacific
Islander students, 40.6% of American Indian/Alaska Native
students, and 71.5% of undocumented students (race & ethnicity
not identified)
Physical and sexual assault on US campuses
Most common type of violence on college campuses: physical
assault, sexual assault, and rape
Sources: National Center for Education Statistics
Think-Pair-Share
If you were the director of admissions at a university, what
steps would you take to increase the number of applications
from low-income students?
Do you think alcohol use is to blame for most campus violence,
or are there other important factors at work? Explain your
answer.
Improving Schools and Education
Schooling as a tool to improve future opportunities for low-
income children
General social reform: poverty and racial inequality must be
addressed
Schooling can help students attain upward class mobility
Importance of good teachers
Good teachers in grade school have a lifelong impact on their
students
Strategies to improve education for low-income children
smaller schools and smaller classrooms; more funding; repair

37. decaying school buildings; increase number of teachers and
salaries; hold teachers more accountable for their students’
learning; recognize the obstacles that teachers must overcome;
expand early childhood (preschool) education.
Discussion
You are the principal of a middle school in a poor urban
neighborhood. Your classrooms lack basic supplies, your roof
often leaks, and an ominous odor often arises from your
school’s water system. You have appealed many times to the
school district for additional funds to deal with all these
problems, but these funds have not been provided. What, if
anything, do you do next?
Let’s look at Colorado
https://www.cde.state.co.us/code/graduationrate1920
Health, Illness, and Healthcare
Week 9

38. The Sociology of Health
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health “is
a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and
not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO 2014).
Types of questions examined in the sociology of health:
What does “health” mean to you?
How does the WHO definition relate to contemporary issues of
health?
Do you believe that there are too many people taking
medications in American society?
Can you think of anything that was historically considered a
disease, but is now considered within a range of normality?
Do you believe all children should receive vaccinations?
Medical Sociology
Systematic study of how humans manage issues of health and
illness, disease and disorders, and health care for both the sick
and the healthy
Social construction of health: sociocultural lens, cultural
meaning of illness, social construction of the experience of
being ill, social construction of medical knowledge
Cultural Meaning of Illness

39. The stigmatization of illness: Erving Goffman
Stigma is the relationship between an “attribute and a
stereotype”
Social stigmas keep individuals from fully integrating into
society
Stigmatizing an illness affects the kind of care a patient
receives and how the patient thinks of themself
The sick role: Talcott Parsons
Sick people should not be perceived as having caused their own
sickness
Sick people must want to get well
Sick people are expected to confirm their illness with a
physician
Contested Illnesses: illnesses that are questioned by or
questionable to some medical professionals (e.g., fibromyalgia,
chronic fatigue, etc.)
The Social Construction of Medical Knowledge
Example: pregnant women in the early 20th century were
discouraged from driving and dancing for fear of hurting the
fetus, as much as they are now discouraged from drinking or
smoking today
Some illnesses have been commodified – example: breast cancer

40. COVID-19
What changes (cultural, social, and scientific) have we
witnessed, within healthcare, that have been a direct result of
the pandemic?
How are people with disabilities differently affected by the
pandemic (especially in terms of receiving care, and avoiding
COVID-19)?
Theoretical Perspectives and Assumptions about Health
Intersectionality: For health systems, intersectionality analysis
can be woven into examining distributive justice (fairness in
inputs and outcomes), procedural justice (who is involved in
decision-making processes and in what way), and interactional
justice (the quality of relationships among people, including
aspects of status and dignity).
Draws attention to drivers of inequality
Global differences in health and illness
Social Epidemiology: the study of the causes and distributions
of diseases
Poorer nations suffer the most; high rates of infant and maternal
mortality; high death rates; shorter life spans
Poorer nations also have relatively little access to adequate
sanitation facilities

41. Health Care in Industrial Nations
All industrial nations, except for the US, provide some variation
of national health care and national health insurance.
Pros: Reduction in infant mortality, extends life expectancy,
enables residents to have good health, less expensive overall
Cons: There can be long wait times for elective surgeries,
specialists do not make as much income as in the US
Discussion
What do you think should be done to help improve the health of
poor nations? What role should the United States play in any
efforts in this regard?
Health Problems in the US
Overall health has improved steadily over the past 100 years –
innovations in sanitation and the discovery of antibiotics
Life expectancy has nearly doubled since the 1900s
Infant mortality, cigarette smoking, and lead levels in children’s
blood have all declined since the 1950s, 60s, and 70s
But…
The US lags far behind many other wealthy democracies even
though it is one of the wealthiest nations in the world

42. Big problems: Food insecurity, infant birth weight, asthma,
chronic conditions
Health Disparities: Physical Health
Social Class: Poor people have much worse health; greater risk
for heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, types of cancer, high blood
pressure
Causes: stress – higher for people with low incomes
Race & Ethnicity: Black and African American residents have a
life expectancy about 5 years fewer than white Americans;
Infants from BIPOC families have higher mortality rates than
white infants
Health Disparities: Physical Health
Gender: Women live longer than men (by more than six years),
across racial categories – however – women tend to have more
health problems throughout their lives
Men are more likely to have a life-threatening disease, some of
that is due to their likelihood to work in places that are filled
with environmental and safety hazards
Men are less likely than women to tell anyone that they have a
health problem or to seek help
Health Disparities: Mental Health

43. Social Class: Low-income populations exhibit more mental
health problems than wealthier people – poverty contributes to
mental illness
Race & Ethnicity: African Americans and Latinos are more
likely than whites to exhibit mental distress
Gender: Women are more likely than men to be seriously
depressed; men have higher rates of diagnosed antisocial
personality disorders
Health Care Problems in the US
Private health insurance: patients under 65 are expected to pay
for their own medical costs aided by insurance.
Although more than half of Americans have private insurance
and 29% have a form of public insurance, 16% (50 million) are
still uninsured because they don’t qualify for cost-free public
care, and they cannot afford private insurance. (as of 2015)
According to research, Black patients do not receive the same
care, as white patients, for the same health problems
Less research on other minoritized/underserved groups
Women are less likely than men to be given care/procedure
choices for their health issues
Other issues:
Sleep deprivation among health-care professionals
Shortage of physicians and nurses
Mistakes by hospitals
Racial and Gender Bias in Health Care

44. Discussion
What types of policies and reforms could we put in place to
create a better and more equitable healthcare system?
Transgender Health Disparities to Understand Stigma
Group Activity
Conceptualizing Stigma (Link & Phelan 2001)
5 Interrelated Components of Stigma
Distinguishing and labeling differences
Associating human differences with negative attributes
(stereotyping)
Separating “us” from “them”
Status loss
Discrimination
“For stigmatization to occur, power must be exercised.”
Social-ecological model of stigma
Societal norms/expectations and institutional policies that
constrain access to resources

45. Direct or enacted forms of stigma – verbal harassment, physical
violence, sexual assault – because of a person’s “differentness”
Feelings people hold about themselves or the beliefs they
perceive others hold about them – can shape future behavior
like avoidance or anticipation of discrimination
Transgender Stigma and Health (Hughto et al. 2015)
Examples of stigma experienced by trans individuals
Individual
Concealment, avoidance, and internalization of stigma
Interpersonal
Healthcare and workplace discrimination, family rejection, hate
crimes, sexual and/or physical assault
Structural
Gender conformity to natal sex norms, stigmatizing policies and
enforcement practices, lack of provider training & education,
healthcare access barriers, economic inequality, gender
inequality
Transgender Stigma and Health (Hughto et al. 2015)
Importance of interventions
Recent US non-discrimination policies might reflect greater
acceptance of trans people, but widespread interpersonal stigma
still exists and severely impacts the health of trans individuals
Interventions are needed at all levels – structural, interpersonal,
and individual – i.e., multi-level interventions
Interventions can reduce shame around one’s own identity, cope
with effects of stigma, reduce negative impacts on physical and

46. mental health, and create more general acceptance
Crime and Social Control
Week 7
The Problem of Crime
Crime: action or behavior prohibited by law
Who decides what is offensive or harmful?
Are some harmful behaviors not considered crimes, and are
some crimes not that harmful?
Are some people more likely than others to be considered
criminals because of their gender, race, ethnicity, social class,
age, or something else?
Types of Crime
Violent Crime
Homicide, assault, rape, robbery
Property Crime
Burglary, arson, larceny, motor vehicle theft
White-Collar Crime
Effects the largest amount of people and causes the most
economic damage
Organized Crime
Groups and/or organizations that exist to commit crime and
because of crime
Provides goods and services that the public demands, but that
are illegal
Concept of Consensual Crime
Considered “victimless”
illegal drug use, gambling, pornography, sex work

47. The Problem of Crime
Deviance: a behavior that violates social norms and sometimes
arouses strong social disapproval; any transgression of socially
established norms
Sociologically speaking… deviance is not a quality of a
behavior itself but rather the result of what other people think
about the behavior
“deviance is not a quality of the act the person commits, but
rather a consequence of the application by others of rules or
sanctions to an ‘offender.’ The deviant is one to whom that
label has been successfully applied; deviant behavior is
behavior that people so label” (Becker 1963)
The Problem of Crime
Public Concern about Crime (data from the 2014, 2016, or 2018
General Social Survey [GSS])
33% said they were afraid to walk alone in their neighborhood
at night
50% said that the government should spend more on law
enforcement
69% said that we are spending too little money on halting the
rising crime rate
20% said that they agree that immigrants increase crime rates
61% said that courts do not deal with criminals harshly enough
What do you think attributes to these recorded fears?

48. The Problem of Crime
Media Myths
Partially responsible for the public’s false ideas
Overdramatization and dominating coverage, “if it bleeds, it
leads”
Media attention to violent crime gives the public the false
impression that most crime is violent when in fact most crime
involves theft of some sort (property crime)
Highlighting crimes committed by people of color and youths
Highlighting crimes in which victims are white
Measuring Crime
FBI Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and the National Incident
Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
Both official statistics, sent to the FBI by local law enforcement
agencies
Police data – only crimes that have been reported
National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
Household and personal victimization administered every 6
months to about 49,000 households
Captures many crimes that are never reported because victims
are more likely to report to the NCVS than to the police
Self-Report Survey
Respondents report on their own crime through anonymous
surveys

49. Many of these surveys are given to children in schools
Who Commits Crime?
Men commit crime and are arrested more than women, but the
gap is narrowing
Social Class Differences
Poor people are arrested more often for street crime
Wealthy people are arrested more often for white collar and
organized crime
Racial and Ethnic Differences
Poverty and urban residence
Self-report data tells a much different story than the UCR, about
the relationship between crime and race.
Annual Prevalence of Illicit Drug Use by Race, 1974–2014
Explaining Crime

50. Theoretical Perspectives
The Criminal Justice System
Police Officers’ “Working Personality”
Authoritarian and suspicious
Corruption: low level is common, high level is rare
Police brutality: unjustified or excessive force
Legal Representation for Defendants
Lack of adequate counsel for the poor
Plea bargaining
Incarceration and Crime Reduction
Highest incarceration rate of any western democracy
High costs to taxpayers
Imprisonment does not reduce crime
Reducing Crime
Strategies
Get-tough approach
Public health approach
Reducing poverty and improving neighborhoods
Changing how Americans raise boys
Expanding early childhood intervention
Improving education
Overhauling the criminal justice system
Think-Pair-Share

51. If we say that men commit more crime than women, does that
imply that we are prejudiced against men? Why or why not?
If homicide is a relatively emotional, spontaneous crime, what
does that imply about efforts to use harsh legal punishment,
including the death penalty, to deter people from committing
homicide?
According to labeling theory, why are arrest and imprisonment
sometimes counterproductive?
Let’s Map Crime In Denver
Communitycrimemap.com