Sociology

2 Pages Only

Apply the three major theoretical perspectives of sociology to the phenomenon of fast food.  We are all familiar with it.  Most of us have eaten at fast-food restaurants, and like it or not, we've all seen the advertising and passed them on the road thousands of times.  And that makes this phenomenon perfect for a sociology exercise where we will look at something familiar, but look at it in a new way.

So what you will do here is take just one of the three major theoretical perspectives, and use it to analyze fast food.  

 Take the Conflict perspective, and address these questions:  How would a sociologist analyze the American phenomenon of fast food from a Conflict perspective?  What powerful groups benefit from fast food?  What groups are exploited by it?  What forms of inequality are revealed in the fast food phenomenon?  What patterns of inequality of race, class, and gender do you see in the fast food industry?  (Think, especially about who does which jobs in this industry.) 

Now that you know which perspective you will take, here is what you do:

2. Post a clear, thoughtful discussion of questions assigned to you above.  Your post should be 2 or 3 clear, well-organized paragraphs.  It should use correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.  You don't have to use formal citations, but your post should show that you are familiar with the material assigned by using the terms from PowerPoint lecture 

ALSO 

Explain what it means to "think like a sociologist" and "make the familiar strange."  Use at least one example to make your point.

Briefly explain how a functionalist, a conflict theorist, and a symbolic interactionist would explain the educational system in the United States (K-12, not the higher education system). 

Your answer should be a well organized essay of 3 short paragraphs, one for each of the three theoretical approaches.  As always, your essay should be virtually free of errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.