A hypothesis must be able to be proven wrong in order to be suitable for logical and scientific inquiry. Conspiracy theorists tend to advance non-falsifiable arguments resulting in no amount of evidence being able to sway their (often ridiculous) stance. In the words of Shaquille O'Neal, "I drove from coast to coast and that shit looked flat to me”.
A timeless example of impression management, the managed self, and front-stage/back-stage behavior. My favorite part of this tantrum is 1:18 when he momentarily snaps back into a composed impression. In 5, 4, 3, ...
Using the Contact Hypothesis where a system of domination and subordination is established when 2 unequal groups first meet, should we really be actively seeking out extraterrestrials? And who should be making that decision for our entire planet? What repercussions could this have on our society? How does this square with the democratic ideal of the collective prosperity of the people? While these questions may be rather absurd in an empirical sense, they get at something about the operation of society that is applicable to a wide array of other topics including technology, civilization, and power.
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.
My students enjoy this video as an example of social constructionism even though some of the cultural nuances are lost to them. They call Philomena Cunk (aka Diane Morgan) the "lady with the funny voice" and sometimes I show them the segment about time as well.
An exploration of the modern American military industrial complex in relation to the F-35 Lightning II jet. With the project employing hundreds of thousands of Americans throughout the country, canceling the overly-funded project would be an impractical move with grave political repercussions.
Largely based in the biomedical sciences with some psychology, this is a good video on the reproducibility crisis in modern science. The discussion on the scientific process and the social construction of knowledge is rather insightful and made easy to understand.
Original Video: http://www.pbs.org/video/2365934840/
How do public works projects get done in a capitalistic system? Privatization is a common answer in contemporary American society. This video highlights some of the problems with this approach through looking at privatized roads, tolls, and city parking.
Max Weber would have a fit if he saw this for here we see the iron cage of rationality applied to the home. WeWork is a company which applied McDonaldization to the work/office space and now is branching out into the home/apartment market with WeLive. The residents- in this rationally-ordered "commune" seem to view domestic life as just another burden best taken care of by some dispassionate expert. The goal seems to be a aimed at creating a maximum-efficiency environment where one can fully and completely devote their energies to their work. For $4,875 per month you can enjoy a dorm-like environment where your physical space and living schedule has been planned in a manner that can be called "the WeWork circle of life".
A brilliant satire on comedian Russell Brand's communist/socialist politics. Students generally recognize Brand (formerly married to singer Katy Perry) and although this is humorous marxist rhetoric, it is nevertheless true. In the Truevolution episodes, Brand analyzes commercials (aka "mind control pellets") demonstrating how they preserve the status quo of inequality and social oppression. The language used here is particularly impressive and serves as a fine example of the conflict perspective applied to everyday life.
Introduction-- https://youtu.be/anc51ErPBxg?t=2m47s
Truevolution 1 (commercials & Ikea): https://youtu.be/bSmP4q3oQ6c?t=18m22s
Truevolution 2 (kids shows): https://youtu.be/3An8mzU1HGE?t=9m40s
Russell Brand as Prime Minister: https://youtu.be/EKDKt0lh3Y0
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0520y52
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