A short and sweet video on the absurdities of gender role policing as kids versus adults. This may be good to pair with discussions of gendered objects, gender role socialization, and masculinity/femininity in general.
From PBS Newshour: "Groups in Denmark and the U.S. are choosing to live in intentionally intergenerational communities, which emerged to strengthen social ties between aging seniors and their younger counterparts who are balancing work and family. People living in them say the model fosters an interdependent environment and helps everyone feel more comfortable with the process of getting older". See the full transcript of the video here.
An excellent example of language formation and socially constructed meanings behind symbols such as emojis. We learn that the meaning of an emoji in one culture may not be the same as another.
A humorous look at dysfunctional sexual education programs in the United States with a call for a more comprehensive sexual education. In this video we learn how educators commonly shame and/or frighten teens into remaining abstinent, which isn't all that surprising given the enormous sex-negativity prevalent in our culture. However, abstinence-centered sex ed has little-to-no effect in preventing teen pregnancies or STDs, and ultimately does a disservice to youth and society. We need a sex-positive approach where we empower people to make healthy, informed sexual decisions. In order to do that we need to honestly discuss sex and sexuality in all of their unsettling complexity, conveying accurate information to individuals in a manner free from moral judgement.
Great stats on how our idealized and unrealistic view of "normal" sex compares to reality. This video does a good job on provoking audience reaction using gastronomic images. While some may see this as perhaps inappropriate for the classroom, I believe this video dispels misconceptions about sex in an edgy educative manner in line with a sex-positive ideal.
An interesting perspective on China's required military service for young people and how they avoid such service. Keep in mind that many American men, some of whom are now in positions of great social power, did the same excusatory practices during Vietnam. While this video may start out sounding a bit too ethnocentric, I think it recovers well and ultimately shows us that "we" are not so different after all. This lesson is made more important when we consider the anomic state of our globalized economies right now.
A righteous response to violence against black women from within their own community and the larger society-- The Black Women's Defense League: "Black Women’s Defense League is a coalition of women of color from all walks of life on the path to total liberation. BWDL focus’ on self defense through martial arts and and other hand to hand combat techniques armed training with various types of artillery including knife fighting, marksmanship, and weapons of opportunity. BWDL also engages in emergency preparedness, urban survival training, and battered women’s rescue. In addition to training BWDL works towards raising awareness and solutions to the areas of concern that face black women at large".
This video is all about identity and empowerment in a racist society marred by violence. It's also a good example of color consciousness and pride. Unfortunately, we see that the BWDL still relies on the white power structure to secure the proper training (white-owned shooting ranges). #BlackLivesMatter
"Today, more than 40 percent of American children born deaf receive cochlear implants. The technology effectively restores hearing by bypassing the ear and delivering audio information directly to the brain. The vast majority of deaf children who are implanted develop hearing and speaking skills comparable to their hearing peers, thus allowing them the option to “mainstream” into normal schools.
Deaf education in the U.S. has gone through many phases. American Sign Language (ASL) is currently the dominant mode of instruction in deaf schools, but there have been periods where ASL was banned and students were forced to speak and lip-read, an ineffective approach known as oralism. ASL has now gained legitimacy and been shown to include the deep grammar and syntax found in spoken languages. It is also the wellspring of deaf culture, a proud community wary of historical attempts to assimilate them into a hearing world.
As more parents opt for cochlear implants, VICE News explores their impact on the medical condition that gave rise to a cultural identity".
How does a society respond when deviants push the moral boundary of what is considered socially acceptable? Residents in this town want the population to unite against coffee baristas who show off their bodies to attract customers. We see the beginnings of a moral campaign (it's all about the children, right?) in this interesting example which speaks to the functional view of deviant behavior. This is also a good example of Merton's innovators (accepting societal goals but rejecting the standard means).
A video detailing the extravagant lives of wealthy young Chinese women living in Canada. The main theme here is the conspicuous consumption of status symbols made possible by being born into a family of high socioeconomic status. This can also be seen through a dramaturgical perspective as staging behavior is rather prominent here, especially surrounding their image online and on television.
This is a good example of religious privilege in American society—Christian students do not have to choose between honoring a religious holiday with their family or going to school to learn and advance one’s education. While students may commonly view missing a day or so of school as no big deal (or even desirable), missing classes may seriously disadvantage those who are highly invested in their education (especially if education is the key to social mobility). This is also a good example of competing social institutions.
A timeless classic from poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron, originally written in 1970. This is a version from the 1983 film Black Wax. I think this holds up to a modern audience where we currently talk about sending people to Mars and beyond, all while we continue to look away from the social problems faced by minority populations. #BlackLivesMatter
From Alexis C. Madrigal writing for The Atlantic: "Whitey on the Moon," changed the way I thought about the space race forever. It anchored the flight into the heavens, tethering it to the persistence of racial inequality, and pulling it out of the abstract, universal realm in which we like to place our technical achievements. Though I still think the hunger for the technological sublime crosses racial boundaries, it destabilized the ease with which people could use "our" in that kind of sentence. To which America went the glory of the moon landing? And what did it cost our nation to put whitey on the moon?
Here is another version of the poem: https://youtu.be/PtBy_ppG4hY
A comical look at whitewashing in Hollywood, a phenomenon where white actors are cast for non-white roles. While more of a discussion on the social impacts of the practice would be good to have with a class, we see just how pervasive this practice is.
Available for free for a limited time-- This episode explores how technology and the Internet affected our sexual relationships through 3 vastly different profiles, all loaded with data for context. The couple who met on a BDSM fetish website introduces us to the concept of pervertables and raises questions surrounding consent; the young man in Japan who is in love with Rinko, a character on his Nintendo 3DS, challenges our typical notions of a relationship; and the young woman who had her nude photos posted to over 2,000 revenge porn websites with no legal framework to turn to for help. All of these stories highlight social problems related to sex in our digital world.
Original Source: http://www.sho.com/dark-net/season/1/episode/1
This is a hilarious segment which pokes fun at some of the misconceptions surrounding feminism. The "Moments of Wonder" bit features dim-witted Philomena Cunk in an investigative format with the aesthetic of a BBC nature/science documentary. Kudos to Professor Mary Evans who handles the interview portion like a pro. If men were women, do you think they'd be better at doing feminism than we are?
Original Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06t3r8p
An interesting and contemporary look at South Korean immigrants in the United States. We learn that 88% of young South Koreans (millennials) want to leave the country, but why? The answer seems to be in the unbearably competitive (i.e., long) work schedule. It appears that South Korea's neoliberal economy has created unattainable standards of materialism and an unsatisfying work/life balance. As a result, many young South Koreans see the social status structure of America as more desirable-- a view made more interesting when we consider how many Americans feel that Europeans have better policies towards vacations, parental leave, shift length, and more.
This is a humorous example from the UK of the functional role of deviant behavior. We see society come together to shame those receiving benefits from the state (known as welfare in the US). This is also an insightful example of how deviants are exploited for entertainment and ridicule. "Poverty porn" would be a good term to discuss in addition to the many sociological concepts evident in the clip.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03qgvsc
A humorous look into how modern American men negotiate the pressures of the masculine ideal. We get an outsider perspective here too as the host is from the UK. Jump to 6:09 to see what a biological determinist thinks of sociology. If you want to take this a step further with your class, analyze the comments left on this video's YouTube page. For some reason, men do not react well when their gender identity is discussed outside of the traditional macho-man context. For in the words of one particular commenter, it is the "pussification of our dignity" ...