1. Sociology examines social issues through theoretical frameworks like conflict theory, functionalism, and symbolic interactionism. A sociologist might ask different questions about a news story on police brutality, poverty, or sexual assault depending on which framework they use. These differing approaches combined can build a deeper understanding of the issue. 2. For a personal problem like high tuition costs or unemployment, viewing it only as personal or as influenced by public issues would lead to different ways of making sense of and finding solutions to the problem. 3. Explanations for the high U.S. college dropout rate would differ depending on a micro, meso, or macro analysis. A study might focus on the micro level of individual experiences

1. 1. Sociology researches social issues through the use of theoretical
1. Sociology researches social issues through the use of theoretical frameworks. Examine
the news and pick a controversial news story about a big current social issue; this could be
police brutality, poverty, sexual assault, etc.). Consider what different questions a
sociologist researching this topic might ask if they were investigating this issue from a
conflict versus functionalist versus symbolic interactionist perspective; this is to say, how
would each of these theories examine this social issue? How might these differing
approaches work together to build a deeper sociological understanding of the issue?2. In
regards to the sociological imagination, think of a problem that impacts you personally (e.g.,
the high cost of tuition, unemployment, divorce, etc.) and explain how you would make
sense of it differently if you viewed it as (a) only a personal problem or (b) influenced by a
public issue. How do possible solutions to the problem differ depending on how you view
it?3. Imagine you would like to look at reasons behind the high college dropout rate in the
United States. How might your explanations differ based on whether your analysis was on
the micro, meso, or macro level? Why? Which level or levels would you focus on for your
study? Why?