Frontline: The Undertaking

This video examines a family who works in the funeral industry as a window into American feelings on death and dying.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/undertaking/view/

1. How do the rituals of the funerals that the Lynch family describes show our cultural values about death and dying?
2. How might a sociologist create a research question to systematically evaluate some of the claims that the Lynch family makes about death and dying?
3. The funeral industry arguably exists to serve micro-level relationships, consoling individuals who have just lost others central to their social existence. How is the funeral industry connected to institutions at the meso- and macro-levels?
4. Given that the funeral industry does seem to be very helpful and necessary, why do you think there is a stigma against it at the society level?

Frontline: The Meth Epidemic

This video tracks the rise of methamphetamine use across America and shows how it became a problem due to personal, community, state, and national changes.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/view/

1. How does society try to eliminate meth use at the micro-, meso-, and macro-level?
2. What are some impacts meth has at the micro-, meso-, and macro-level?
3. One key benefit of the sociological perspective is that it allows us to understand people's actions recognizing that there are things completely under our control and other things that are completely outside of our control. How does this apply to the use and distribution of meth?

Frontline: The Persuaders

This video examines the advertising industry and how they use branding and market research to make their products become part of culture. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/view/

1. To what extent are goods products we use to display who we are to others and to what extent are goods pushed on us based on our social characteristics?
2. Many scholars argue that shopping is social. What do you think they mean by that? How is that exemplified by the film?
3. Many applied social scientists do research that examines social behaviors for profit. Is this good business? Is this ethical? How so or how not?

YouTube: Sociology Search

1. Visit www.youtube.com and enter in "Sociology". See what pops up.

1. Many instructors require their students to make YouTube videos as part of their class assignments. Do you feel that creating media as part of a class is a useful exercise? Why or why not? What about consuming media?
2. Is the sociological perspective more effective when used to evaluate media? Or is it more effective when used to create media? How does this apply to what you see in the YouTube videos?

YouTube:Major in Sociology

This video was made by a university to show their students the opportunities available to them by studying sociology.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GwWTxEw3k8

1. What does the sociology examine? Where you surprised by any of the topics that sociology studies? Why or why not?
2. What opportunities open to people who major in sociology? Were you surprised by the any of the opportunities open to sociologists? Why or why not?
3. Examine the sociology classes offered at your college or university? Which of them see of interest to you?
4. Which topics are you most interested in learning about in your introductory course?

YouTube: Tough Guise: Violence, Media & the Crisis in Masculinity

This is the introduction to the documentary by Jackson Katz that explores the connection between masculinity and violence in the media.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3exzMPT4nGI

1. How does Jackson Katz show that men's behaviors are socially constructed and socially learned?
2. How does a key social institution, the Media, shape how we perceive men in American society?
3. One of Katz's central arguments is that our society creates violence so that it is a normative expectation rather than an act of deviance, or a social abnormality. How would a sociologist test this claim? Would it vary between applied and academic sociologists?

YouTube: The Corporation - Legal Person - 2of14

This segment from the documentary The Corporation details how corporations are legal persons and shows the impact this can have on society.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjCsBPMZokU

1. This clip from the documentary The Corporation suggests we can examine the corporation as an individual in order to understand it? How does this differ from the Social World model? Explain.
2. How would you examine the issue of global capitalism from the Social World model?
3. In this clip, the documentarians highlight several individuals. Which ones, in your opinion, are applied researchers and which are academic researchers? Explain. What are the job titles of all of these individuals? What does this suggest for the employment possibilities for sociologists?